Luke

What are they like..remember been a passenger in one going around Millbrook at one hell of a speed. Not many around and a bit "Q".

Cheers

David_Dickson

Very underestimated cars imo.
get one thats been owned by an enthusiast who knows how to maintain it properly though.

Have a search on www.migweb.co.uk for detailed information.

Luke

Read a lot about most now been 2 wheel drive due to shagged 4x4 systems!! I am sure that the owners clubs will have a few for sale??? The link didnt work... but will do a search

Big Col

www.migweb.co.uk/forums/

Plums!

I hear they have an extremely delicate 4x4 system...

Heard there was no viscous coupling... could be wrong!

Anyway the major worry is that all 4 tyres must have exactly the same wear or you will change the ratio's between the drive shafts.... apparently it's there weak point and will destroy the transmision!

Plums.

mozzaITA

Its very true those 4x4 systems are made of chocolate, watch out for the cav gsi 4x4 they all suffer the same fate!!!.. you can remove a fuse and run in 2 wheel drive mode if worst comes to worst but i dont think they are worth taking the risk to be honest!

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

A mate of mine had a Cav Turbo a few years back and it was not as great as it could have been.

Don't get me wrong it was quick, but it didn't really feel it, the power delivery was very smooth, it was very quiet and suspension more on the comfort side, so it was a great car for long drives, but not so good for throwing round corners.

The 4wd system went on that though... they always do...

fastfrank

i came up against one of these when I used to have my normally aspirated MR2. I flawed it from a set of lights and noticed him asite me at 70. At this point he flawed it even more and left me for dead. It was a this point I decided I needed 4x4 Turbo power and so chose the scoob. I've never seen the Cav since so I guess he knew I wasn't going to mess if I saw him again.

Flat 4x4

I thought about one when they were first out but there had already been 4x4 problems on the original 2.0Li 4x4 and GSi 16v 4x4, so I reckoned that if if 130/150bp caused a problem, what chance with 200!?

If you want stealth, 4x4 and turbo try Octavia 4x4 and Jabbasport.
No regrets after owning GT4, Legacy and Impreza Turbos.

j_p_h

I had a calibra turbo a few years back i had no problems with the 4 wd like most do. Proper licence losing car dont realise the speeds you are doing.

As someone said above though they do not feel quick just like a scoob in my opinion no proper kick to them far far to smooth.

STattam

I got a Cavvy Turb. Quick car, have beaten loads of things.... no one knows what they are, If i had a £1 for everytime someone had said to me " I didnt know they made a...." They can be as reliable as anthing else if well maintained by someone who knows what they are doing

DAC

had to reply as I had one.

great car - mine was ex-police, I was told it was standard when I bought it from a police car distributor, but it was faster than any of the cosworths I've had, and they were 270/280bhp so god knows what they'd done to it.
150,000 miles and 4wd system worked fine.
true about tyres need to be all about same tread depth - and 4wd is fragile.
but not permanent 4wd - so unless traction is a prob works like a fwd.
well worth rooting out a nice one, but not at the prices some of the club owners want.

gav888

I borrowed a Calibra Turbo from were i used to work, great car, had lots of fun in it, went on to own a 16V calibra as couldnt afford one at the time, prob though, the 4WD system is cack, didnt seem to handle too well and had to change all the tires and clutch before it was sold!!! (not my fault )

But, good cheap fun car, just expect it to go 2WD if not cared for.

cjaffray

Had one for 2 years, cost me about 4 Grand in repair bills and thats without ever having bother with the 4x4, buy one for £1500 (which is all they are worth now) and you will be buying other peoples problems, I still have nightmares about it and feel sorry for people i see driving about in one with a big grin thinking they are great. Buy one only if you have a big wallet. They are good cars but very expensive to keep up as they are getting old.

Luke

O'well....

gav888

If ya looking for a cheap 4WD turbo, what about the old celica GT4, the 91 models are cheap, and still reliable, much more than the vauxhall.

Luke

Gav

very good point... just fancied something bit more "Q" and a six speed for a bit of Bling Bling!!

gav888

LOL, know what you mean, not sure on any other "Q" cars, what about a BM??

DAC

Q car

Saab 900SE 2.0turbo (GM900 1994-1998)

185bhp, leather, aircon, cruise
can be chipped to 227bhp for £400

pick them up for less than £2000 now - get one with FDSH and will do many many miles - mines on 149,200 and going strong.

good security as standard - and no-one knicks em anyway

richs2891

Always liked the cav 4x4 turbos drove one a while back as loan car when my company car in for service. Quick and comfy, nice motorway cruiser but definately no B road stormer.
What makes me really laugh is what the hell has Vauxhall done with the Vetras ?

Richard

Pie_n_Chips

My brother has owned a calibra turbo for the last 3 years, maintained privatly and has never had an ounce of trouble with the drivetrain. So don't believe everything you hear on the net, yes they are a complex drivetrain, some would argue overly so, but if maintained properly(ie new revised accumulator, fluid change and of course the tires) then you shouldn't have any worries.
Oh they can also be tuned to well over 300bhp with the phase kits. My brothers is currently running a phase 3 plus kit which should see him over 320bhp, he has been running a phase 2 kit, for over a year, which saw 280bhp on the rollers @ 19psi

The only thing he's had go was the original clutch, which didn't like the 325lbft odd of torque going through it

cjaffray

Ouch, the thought of a cav turbo running 320 BHP, a guy I know did the conversion and it lasted a week before his head cracked, not saying they all will, but it wont last long with all those ponies, the conversion is about 4 Grand anyway so who in their right mind would do that to a £1500 motor, not me!

Cosworth427

This is the problem with the Vauxhall turbos. Anything around or above 260 HP costs a ton of money and require a rebuild, piston upgrades - the lot. Courtenay and Regal Motorsports do similar upgrade packages.

Not the greatest bang for buck at all, but if you really are a Vauxhall fanboy then go ahead and spend all that money on a "performance Vauxhall".

Carl Davey

iTrader: (3)

Well i think they're great cars, but in a completely different league from the Impreza. I've owned and loved one and wouldn't rule out owning another.

As has been said, you get a hell of alot for your money. Q-car looks, 204bhp, 4wd (maybe ), 6-speed Getrag 'box, leather, the list goes on...! Unfortunately good examples are getting fewer and further between and naturally they fetch a premium.

Tuning wise the Phase kits have proven reliability, and give a decent power hike up to 300bhp for a little over a grand. The txb is an issue although, as said, if looked after correctly by pprevious owners and by yourself they should not cause any more bother thatn any other 4wd system - apart from the occasional fluid change.

Btw, the Cav does have a VC. It is engaged and disengaged (i.e. under braking etc) by a hydraulic system providing the car with semi-permanent 4wd. Reason being to provide more predictable handling under braking.



More here - CavalierTurbo.com (my site...)

Pie_n_Chips

Still running the standard internals chaps after 2 years over 280 bhp and not a broken component in sight, i'd say that was pretty reliable.
4k pah only for running over 350bhp then you'd really want to look at low comping/strengthning the engine. LET engine's are good for 320bhp as standard, transfer box will take upto 340bhp

Phase 2 kit £1000 inc FMIC, fuel pressure regulator, chips n plugs circa 280 bhp
Phase 3 plus kit £400 circa 320bhp

You do the math!!!

JohnA

There is a lot of misinformation around these cars.
Every man and his dog have a view on whether the tx box is made out of 'chocolate' or 'porcelain'

That's mainly because there is no Haynes manual, and Vaux dealers are totally hopeless when it comes to these cars, because they are rare. A tuned calibra turbo can surprise a Scoobie, and even a SupraTT (stock!)

Parts can be very cheap, and there's lots of them in scrappies, as well. Best bang per bang you can get nowadays.

I've got a lot more on my website if anyone's interested:

www.max-boost.co.uk

[Edited by JohnA - 12/16/2003 11:57:58 AM]

Cosworth427

--------------------------------------
"Phase 2 kit £1000 inc FMIC, fuel pressure regulator, chips n plugs circa 280 bhp
Phase 3 plus kit £400 circa 320bhp

You do the math!!!"
--------------------------------------

LOL, I stand corrected. Cheap stuff.

Cosworth427

Then again....

But I'm not too sure the Calibra/Cavalier makes this amount of claimed HP. None of the main tuning shops provide any example rolling road results.

CavT

A Cavalier Turbo is the ultimate Q car, the Calibra looks like it should be fast, the Turbo Cavalier looks like an updated GSi 2ooo.

4x4 System isn't a problem so long as its maintained properly. As long as the tread depths are within 2mm of each other, and fluid is changed when it should be, the 4x4 system, whilst no Mitsi AYC is capable enough. What other 4x4 performance vehicles can you flick off the 4WD over 70mph and back on again releasing a bit of potential as the rear diff and prop don't cause as much transmission loss?

The major problem with the Transfer box system on the Cav is the fact that practically NO owners would ever have been given the advice on how to preserve it! The only way people know is because of someone elses poor experience of them. I've had 4 Cav Turbos now, and I've never had a Transfer box issue yet.
The misinformation about the Cav Turbo is staggering. It's a bit like me perpetuating the myth that Scoobs don't like it at high speed for a great deal of time... oh, hang on, that ones true!


The spec on a Cav Turbo is also quite good, and many a Scooby owner surely wouldn't be trying to say the interior on a Scoob is better (its one weak point).

A standard Cav Turbo to 60mph is ok speed, but its beyond that that it finds its legs and will reel in supposedly more powerful cars.

My Cav Turbo is 320BHP (or thereabouts, depending on the weather) and is a VERY capable car. Unless you are in something VERY special, expect to see me in your rear view mirror or sailing past you

The other thing to consider is when people say "I raced a Cavalier Turbo and kicked his ****", the chances are... they didn't! There are only an estimated 1500 left out of the original 5805 that were made. Quite easy to confuse a GSi 2ooo with a Turbo in the heat of the moment.

As for the mentions of the Saab and GT4's, nice cars, but they really wouldn't be troubling a Cav Turbo.

Yes, security would be better on the other cars, but I don't think there is a Cav Turbo in the land that hasn't got a good alarm/immobiliser/disklock combo on it, so thats not even an issue anymore.

Get one in a mild state of tune, and I think you'd be surprised.

I'd be quite happy to give anyone from Bristol a passenger ride in mine. I think you'd be VERY shocked

DAC

Carl Davey - great site.

all this banter about cav turbos makes me want one again.