engine swaps

[vectraedd]

hey guys need some advice if u can help, i'm wanting to put a turbo engine in my 99 plate vectra but not 100% sure on what to go for, been toying with a saab 9-5 2.3t engine and box, any other suggestions??

 

[BAD63R]

To be fair mate I wouldn't bother with the Saab engine. They aren't bad just that with Saab going out of business and the fact that a C20LET Red Top turbo can be tuned easier I would suggest that. But if you want to see how easy it is then just take a look at my car from when I did it a couple of years ago.

http://www.torquecars.com/forums/f47/not-been-around-while-here-why-1296/

If you need any advice dont hesitate to ask

 

[vectraedd]

the c20let had crossed my mind but trying to find a good one is like trying to find hens teeth lol, the original plan was to put a c20 in my last vec about 2 years ago but i had a little argument with fence post (wen i say fence post i mean several) and wrote her off so wen i got this vec i've got now i was still struggling to find one, another engine that crossed my mind was the z20let out of the astra gsi but i dont really know much about that engine wen it comes to reliabilty etc..

 

[BAD63R]

The Z20LET is a great engine as it's alot newer and parts are very very available. Only thing is you will have to change alot more than what you would need to if you used the C20 engine. Have you thought about the 3.0 V6? Very cheap to get hold of and they are 3bhp more than a standard turbo. Mine has been tuned to 240bhp and loads left to do and it already beats quite a few turbo's hehe.

 

[vectraedd]

haha yeah that was another one i thought of but my old man wants a 3.0 v6 for his super touring so want some thing diff from him lol. did u have to change or adapt much for the engine mounts and drive chain and what gear box did u use for ur's. thatnks for all ur advice with this use to be a member of vvoc but none of them would help out with advice and one guy told me i was daft to change a engine in a vec!!!

 

[BAD63R]

I used the standard F18 that was in my Vec to begin with then just used the engine and radiator and fmic. The only mount that is of any concern is the drivers side torque bar. This you will have to adapt the original or make one yourself. Thats pretty much it.

 

[vectraedd]

thats not to bad then, was it worth all the work with the power gains

 

[BAD63R]

Well it depends on you to be fair. The most powerfull Vectra B you can get is the GSi at 192bhp. A standard Turbo lump is 206bhp and the standard 3.0 lump is 210bhp. If money is no object you could go for the 3.2 from the Vectra C GSi but they aint cheap but will give you 220bhp standard. The V6's are slightly harder to tune as you woint see the same gains as a turbo, but get a V6 up to the same bhp as a turbo and it will beat it all day long. My Calibra has even beat a Calibra Turbo with working 4x4 running 260bhp (20bhp more than me) this is why I suggest the 3.0 rather than the turbo lump. Plus theres alot less to go wrong and the price difference will allow you to get a further 20bhp from the V6 so it makes sense to go for that engine, spend what you have left and end up with more bhp for the same money

 

[MasterAuron]

4x4....you probably had more power at the wheels and a better torque curve from the bigger V6.

 

[vectraedd]

aaaaaaaaaa to many choices now lol thanks for the info

 

[BAD63R]

Right, this will confuse you a little more then. Let me give you some examples of the options you could consider. So i'll move up in engine size from start to finish.

Fisrt of all, heres the C20NE (2.0 8v) engine with a turbo fitted:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1428528.htm

Next the C20LET (2.0 16v Red Top Turbo) engine:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1405312.htm

Next the Z20LET (2.0 16v Eco Tec Turbo) engine. But if you go for this one it would better getting the VXR engine from a Astra:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1405306.htm

Not sure hwat engine you have so giving you this option aswell. The 2.5 V6 engine is probably one of the cheapest to get hold of and very easy to get parts for:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1379853.htm

Or you can do your GSI look-a -like some real justice and drop and original GSI engine in:-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BREAKING-1999...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item27add59ba7

The 3.0 V6 engine is the one I'd recomend myself but the good thing is, the Vauxhall Omega, where these engines come from are very cheap to buy as a whole so you wont miss a single thing when it comes to the conversion as you will have everything you need from the donar car, then just sell the other parts and make your money back

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1414570.htm

But if you want to go completly mad. This 2.8 V6 Turbo from the Vectra VXR would be very nice at a standard figure of 280bhp

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-VECT...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item33590e55e9

Bit of light reading for you lol. I couldn't find a 3.2 so shows how many of those cars are being stripped but with it being a fairly newish engine they are still quite expensive.

Hope this helps.

 

[vectraedd]

woa what a choice, thanks soo much for ur help mate, ur like a guru of the car world, torque cars im my offical fave forum, once i recieve my cheque and it clears i'm off to start buyin and treat the car, i'll keep u posted on how i get on

 

[BAD63R]

Yeh no problem mate. I pretty good with what other parts will fit your car so if you get stuck on anything at all, just ask. Another quickie aswell if you want to enjoy any interior mods such as a GSi Recaro interior or uprated dash computer etc. Remeber that all Vectras pretty much have the same wiring loom so if you get anything from a high model Vectra, they will fit straight away and just plug in.

The heated recaro seats, fuel computer, dash and a few other bits were all uprated in my Vectra Turbo and made it pretty much exactly like a GSi, but was a turbo instead lol.

 

[vectraedd]

wicked i already managed to get the phase one gsi interior for the car got the phase one bumper skirts and alloys on just now with a power flow exhaust got poly bushes and my dad just bought me a set of coilovers for my xmas just there she's come on so much since i got her once i've found my lead for my phone i'll post a couple of pix from wen i bought her to what she looks like just now.

 

[BAD63R]

Yeh definatly