1210kg - that's getting close to being a real light car - A new mod appears on my horizon...if you've got 300bhp your going to be putting out 240bhp per tonne - that's must be seriously quick...

what is the lightest modded wrx out there - anyone know ?

 

i had a clio 182 up my **** the other day and they are seriously quick little cars. dispatched him in the sti though If i had been in my old wrx though i really dont think there would have been a lot in it. the days of the impreza are numbered

 

I agree with Edd above. I chased a mate in his 05 STi PPP over some very entertaining moorland roads and he couldn't get away from my 03 WRX PPP. Followed a Land Rover Disco (new one) along Ribblesdale on monday and he was doing very well too. I passed him and left him behind, but for such a big floppy thing it surprised me, especially as the other 7 Scoobs following me couldn't get past. On the same day I was up behind an Audi A4 diesel who certainly like to push it. It would have been dangerous to try and pass but I could have, but I had a lot of fun teasing him from behind (oo-er). Most cars these days have good chassis's and suspension and adequate power, so in the hands of a good driver can turn in good speed. Hell, I even drove a Fiat Siecento rental car on holiday once and was only passed by a sooped up Golf GTi (low, big rims, phat pipe etc) in the whole fortnight, and he struggled like mad to open up a couple of hundred yards each mile thereafter. So, it isn't all about the car either

 

Given that the original question was regarding a newage 05 wrx and NOT a completely different 95 WRX its pretty irrelivant dont you?

besides your 260ps WRX is only 260ps (256bhp) on Jap fuel anyway so given that ive seen cars similar to yours only make 225-230 on UK fuel. Only way to sort that argument is to do a straight line test

 

ive seen one of these go. thay do look styleish too. but im sure there 230 bhp. but when thay testard on top gear, thay said there was to much power for a front wheel drive car. but at the same same its mid power was quick. but thay also said it was rubbish on corners, and worse on powering from a corner.. so it sound like its traction is not as good as there power of the thing. i bet if you put a newage wrx with the vxr, i do think the wrx would win. ive seen astra turbos get battered by subaru's and there 200+ standard. my mate had the astra turbo engine in his corsa c, ( 02 astra turbo engine ), and managed to get a 13.89 on the quarter. so. i do think a scooby may be slightly quicker...

 

You tell me my new age has a whole lump more power than yours but more weight .......

 

it is a light car the doors, boot bonnet weight next to nothing it is only putting out about 260 to 265 but hks induction kit and decat middle pipe coming soon

 

Nooo - we just need carbon fibre wings, bonnet,boot, spoilers, doors, rip out the back seats and the interior trim/door panels,dump the aircon, and maybe get the weight down to 1100kg and nothing will get close ever again....

 

It was the focus RS that did 1.32.2, VXR was 1.33 and the (new)Focus st was 1.34.9 (the megane with the fat **** was quicker than VXR BTW)

My bro inlaw has an 05 WRX and I pick up a Vxr on Sat so next week we'll have a safe play on his airfield.

I did consider having a Scooby (had a go in 1), but in the end, it was just down to personall prefrance {sp}.

 

So about 275bhp ......

 

nicked these figures of another site, she is no slouch thats for sure



engineECOTEC Inline-4positionTurbochargedvalvetrain4 Valves per Cyldisplacement1998 cc / 121.9 cu inbore86 mm / 3.39 instroke86 mm / 3.39 incompression8.8:1power170 kw / 237 bhp @ 5600 rpmhp per litre120.12 bhp per litrebhp/weight172.29 bhp per weighttorque320 nm / 236.0 ft lbs @ 2400 rpmdrive wheelsFWD w/ESPf brake size321 mm / 12.6 inr brake size278 mm / 10.9 infront wheelsF 45.7 x 20.3 cm / 18 x 8 inrear wheelsR 45.7 x 20.3 cm / 18 x 8 infront tire size225/40 R 18rear tire size225/40 R 18weight1393 kg / 3071 lbslength4290 mm / 168.9 inwidth1092 mm / 43.0 inheight1420 mm / 55.9 intop speed244.6 kph / 152 mph0 - 60 mph6.2 seconds

 

With due respect Gary, I doubt it, the Astra would win by a small margin, once traction was no longer an issue. Throw in rain, bumps nasty bends though and etc....

And both you and I know there is sufficiently little in it to be completely negated by who got on the throttle first, driver skill etc..

NS04

 

I dont doubt the VXR will be a bit of a handful. I think it looks damned nice and for a while will be a rarity on the roads. As has been said its down to the driver how quick it will be compared to other cars.

I think the new astra is the first Vauxhall other than the VX220 turbo I could contemplate owning in a long time.

 

I knew it wouldnt take long for the wet twisties to come into it

 

no, be fore i got a scooby, i always had vauxhalls. my last car was a custom corsa gsi with 189 bhp. it cost just over 12k to build. + i was at traxx. thay had one there. i asked vxr racing team there. i was going to do an astra gsi up, and turbo it, but seen my scooby instead. thats doing 265 bhp. happy!

 

jockc79 seems to be having his own conversation here.
The weight of your car has nothing to do with what the engine puts out.

Anyway, back on topic, the VXR is very quick on the move, but you have to work at it, the torque steer under full push makes it hard going.

 

I would imagine front tyres wouldnt last too long.

 

that torque front wheel steering with that kind of power will literally just be totally unstable in the wet...I just can't get excited about any fwd car - no matter how hard I try

 

Its obviously been a few years since you last drive a 205GTi then

 

i tell you what, have you seen some vauxhall moded. my mates just/nearly built a car that would kill a scooby, lap it up!!!! a corsa b van, looks standard from the out side, but the engine's around 240bhp, a calibra turbo engine been tuned a little. & get this... four wheel drive. so a four wheel drive turbo corsa b van. hoping hes got it ready by the total vauxhall show. but back to the vxr, i would get one. but its good fun in me scooby. all some one has to do is get some thay now with one. and put it to the test, arange a date at pod.....

 

FWD can be great fun, just as long as there's not too much power to overwhelm the drive.
A good suspension set up helps too.

 

yeah, your right - maybe too long! I had a Mk1 Golf Gti years ago and that was a real hoot so maybe I'm being a bit to subjective...If I had one I'm sure I'd love it!

 

These pointless VS threads really are amusing.Its so entertaining watching these people swallow the bait and bite like mad.Truth is a VXR is probably quicker than a wrx of the same year so what my classic Type R will happily kick its *** ner ner ner

 

Yes, the VXR may be quicker, until of course you get a drop of rain, then you're f***ed. Read the extensive tests in recent editions of Autocar and Auto Express. Simple mathematics is that symmetrical 4 wheel drive layout and flat 4 engine are an extrememly difficult-to-beat combination, and the VXR doesn't have that. Vauxhalls never have had the best handling, despite the efforts of Lotus input. All this info is in the weekly and monthly car mags, available at your local WH Smiths.

 

weight doesnt make a difference to what the engine puts out but it speed depends on it power to weight ratio no point in lots of power if the car is really heavy

 

Personally i think it all depends on the driver.

 

Makes me chuckle when scoob drivers bang on about the rain and wet twisties etc.

My experience of scoob drivers in the rain goes back to a wet Bedford track day last Feb with SIDC and you lot.
I took my humble 205 along and have plenty of footage of you lot spinning off into the fields while I reeled you in a spat you out. Just because you have AWD doesn't mean you're the daddy.
My mate took his 944 turbo along too. Same sort of power as you guys with dreaded rear wheel drive, other than a couple he was running quickest on the day.

You may have the car but have you got the ability to drive it?


As for winding people up, its great fun, especially when they take the bait

Gary

 

http://www.northloop.co.uk/videos_tu...rdovertake.htm

Been a while since this was posted!

 

Back to the original post!!

I have heard a lot of bad things about the Astra in reviews and top gear etc about its torque steer and lack of grip but I dare say in the dry in a straight line it would beat my WRX. Maybe not initially off the line but i reckon it would soon catch up and draw level and may even pull ahead. That said, it would be close, and maybe it wouldnt be faster at all, but will almost certainly be down to getting a good start. From a rolling start there is less driver skill involved but I would be inclined to think that the astra would pull ahead purely because of its extra power and similar weight but its a hard one to call. From the reviews of the VXR ive seen to date, it must be a bit pf a pig in the wet though as they all claimed it was struggling for front end grip and traction in the dry so in wet conditions i would imagine it would be a nightmare. A few tenths here or there round a track means nothing to be honest. Its how the car feels to you. My WRX feels fast and sounds brilliant and I love it. Ive no doubt many people feel the same about their VXR's and just because someone speculates that one or the other is slightly faster in a straight line or round the corners woud not take away from how each person enjoys their own car.
No-one actually knows for sure which car is faster but ill admit it, it would be intersesting to find out but at the end of the day that would not be the deciding factor for picking one car over the other.

 

This is perhaps the truest statement of all...

I'd say 90% of people can point and aim a fast car but only 10% take the time, discipline and patience to master it...it takes hours of practice to learn the finer points of good driving and whats more you really need to THINK about driving..

I've said it before but I thought I was a great driver for years until I got the 911. Then I discovered all I had was 'attitude' and 'good instincts' born from the fact my first ever car was a TR7 and I spent the first 2 years of my driving just being an awful driver - I spent every other day pointing the wrong direction cos I just kept loosing the ridiculously light back end..my actual technical ability was seriously lacking..

There are so many advanced techniques that are not common knowledge - for example - on the 911 you have no abs - but how many people would believe or even suspect there is a basic technique for non-abs cars (like the early 911) which will allows to you EASILY outbrake an ABS car...I didn't know until I read about it - practiced it and spent hours mastering it...

this is why track days/advanced driver training off road are essential - you've got to put the 'I'm the greatest driver' behind you ( which usually means your simply stupid enough to overtake on blind corners or drive like an idiot in built up areas ) and overcome your 'manly' ego and accept there is a lot more to fast driving than being a reckless fool...