Stevesbluewrx

iTrader: (4)

Yesterday a friend of mine from work brought in his VXR that he has owned for the past 9 months (I think). He is based in Scotland so its not that often I see him.

Anyway, when he first bought his car he took me out for a spin. Not bad I thought and was happy to get back to my car and take him for a ride in mine. Of course with the sound of the Scoob he liked mine too.

However, during the last couple of weeks he has spent some money on his VXR.

FMI
Brake upgrade
remap
hose kit etc etc
Miltek exhaust system

So off we go.....i was thinking "ok it sounds a lot better.....turbo spools up nice.......ok now some wastegate chatter....."
Then all of a sudden.........wooooooooooooosh........fap me does that thing move.
On the tour he asked me if I wanted a go......like hell yeah.

To be honest I was thinking that there would be lots of power steer from the now 294.9bhp 312.2 lbft (mapped on 95ron too due to company fuel card!!) power. But in all honestly it was a pleasure to drive.
The exhaust popped on every gear change.......

Not sure how many people have gone from Scoob to VXR ownership? But maybe in the futre I could also be one.

Steve

jonc

How quickly does he goes through front tyres?

VXRBOY

I am still on the first set of tyres after a year, been running 270bhp for the last 6 months, now running around 300, but i dont drive it hard all the time.

Gridlock Mikey

I defected Still miss the noise and occasion of the scoob, but cos I'm an old fart now, I like the relaxing drive that can be had if I feel like it

davecweed

300bhp and fwd, waste of time and money! when will peeps learn!, the corners must be bad!

Stevesbluewrx

iTrader: (4)

I understand the theory of 300bhp through the front is more than risky......but to be honest it was stiffer than I thought.

It would take a lot for more to move away from the Subaru brand. I've driven a slightly modded Leon Cupra R (my sisters) and the VXR come no where near the LCR to be honest.
Its a great bit of kit and its a Vauxhall.......suprised.....hell yeah.

His tyres wouldn't be to much of an issue to be honest. He gets a company allowance anyway......

Steve

Varboy

yes touring cars have terrible trouble with courners as do FWD rally cars

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Why not just do the same mods to your scooby and you'll have as much, if not more power???

Difference is, your scooby will be able to handle it.

BTW If the Astra seemed to put the power down ok in first and second it's cause the ECU pulls the torque right back in those gears....which illustrates the problem with putting over 200bhp down via FWD.

Ns04

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

Don't they get a new set of super sticky tyres after every race/stage though?

I had an LCR and thought it was rubbish. Sure after the Revotechnik remap it was a great motorway tool but never inspired confidence on B-Roads. Put me right off a high power FWD car for good.

Mitchy260

I thought the standard VXR turbo was only rated to about 285bhp so how are you guys managing to get 295-300?

Optimistic rolling road is it?

They remap similar to the LCR's/ST's at the 270ish mark.

slim_boy_fat

Maybe you just cant drive..

scooby222

nope,you can get a fully warranteed factory approved upgrade to 297. i really like the look of them, wouldnt swap the sti for one but ive been trying to convince my gf to get one

GlobalBan

Why would the amount of power a car have affect the way it corners exactly?

Unless of course you are suggesting that 4wd allows you to compensate for cr@p driving technique?

jonc

It depends on the chasis setup of each car, but ultimately you can't power out of a corner in a FWD like you can with a RWD or AWD car, it will just spin the wheels and understeer. However, it can be compensated up to a point with good driving technique.

GlobalBan

I agree you can put the power on as early but equally you don't have to go in as slow in some FWD cars as you might in say an Impreza. You carry the speed through the corner rather than 'slow in, fast out'.
As you say it depends on the chassis of each car. I've never driven a VXR so can't comment. All the AWD drive cars I've driven barring the EVO have been 'slow in, fast out' to get the best out of them.

Comments like 'corners must be bad' just make me think what a clueless **** the person writing them must be.

jjones

having been passenger around bedford aerodome i assure you he can

Matteeboy

Mine's only a diesel (with about the same torque as the VXR) but it still shows that the Astra H chassis is very good.

You can really chuck it about just as long as you are aware of torque steer at lower speeds.

Trucker Ted

I wouldnt say that it compensates for crap driving techniques,but it does help , it is a pretty well known fact that cars with 4wd like the scoob and evo are very forgiving to drivers with little knowledge of skilled high speed car control and they can be driven quickly without fear of understeer or oversteer, unless you are getting to the more extreme end of the cars performance where most normal drivers wont really reach.

If most enthusiastic drivers drove a 2wd car the way they drove their 4wd cars then chances are they will end up as part of the scenery.They do require a lot more input from the driver to keep them on the road when driven near the limit.

scoob_dood

I would make the observation that Audi's dominance in BTCC a few years ago when pitching AWD against the usual FWD cars is a good illustration of this discussion. They were, as I recall eventually forced out through constant handicapping such was the advantage.

That's on a race track - its still open for debate as to whether it makes sufficient difference in the 'real world' and I would suspect the difference would be a lot less.

My personal experience was moving from a VW Golf driving the front wheels only, to a VW Golf that drive all 4 wheels as required - and it felt much more capable in most, if not all situations.

- Jon

davecweed

wot ever!

scoob_dood

The VXR might have it in the looks department, but that's a personal thing.

- Jon

Varboy

I think the Astra looks great but the problem with such cars is that they are 'brought down' image wise by their less well endowed brethren.

I know that the Impreza and Evo have poor siblings but how many of the lesser models do you see compared to the full fat versions?

Image wise, most people who are not 18-35 and male will say, ooo look at that Astra, that's nice colour.

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

Everyone I took out in the LCR was disappointed with the ride but very impressed with the performance. I guess it all depends on what your judging it by.