28 replies to this topic

[JWD]

Hi all, 

 

I've just come to my senses (I hope) and purchased a VX220 Turbo.

 

Ideally it's going to be something to use on nice days and keep tucked away in the garage as a bit of an investment that I can get some fun out of along the way.

 

The car is very clean and has been with the same owner since 1,200 miles and obsessively maintained by Phoenix Motorsports, I've not viewed the car yet but have had a video appraisal sent to me and can honestly say the car is pretty much as it left the factory condition wise.

 

Link below;

 

http://www.lloydmoto...8146600507.aspx

 

Looking forward to reading through the forum to gain some knowledge and most of all collecting the car

[WrightStuff]

Certainly looks the very definition of 'mint' condition. But at that price it should be!

Welcome to the site. Whats the first mod ? 

[JWD]

Yeah I must admit I've paid a premium but it suited with my part exchange and would rather do that than try to skimp and get a car that needs money throwing at it.... I spoke to Phoenix today and they seemed very fond of the car and said it's the best condition VX220 they've seen in a long long time.

 

Not sure on the mod' scene, will probably leave it fairly standard, it has a full Miltek turbo back exhaust with a 200 cell cat which was fitted at Thorney Motorsport, but no real mention of the car being mapped so I may consider getting that done depending on how it drives.

[scw02102]

With a full exhaust it should have remap and if not get one as it will make a significance to the power If it has a flat spot around 3500 - 4500 it's on a standard map Oh and welcome

[oggster]

nice car,keep it as is or that 15k will soon be 20k +

 

bring on the sun!

[wellsey]

Hi all,

 

I have literally just signed in to the group as I am just about to leave to pick up my new toy!!!! 2004 turbo in Coral blue.

Just wondered if anyone knew of any regular meets local to me in the Essex area as it would be nice to pop over and see what goes on??

 

Sorry to butt in on your topic JWD lovely car by the way!! I looked at that one as well looks awesome mate.

 

Hope to catch up with a few of you soon

[JWD]

Thanks guys, and no problem Wellsey, out of interest what made you change to the Coral Blue one you've bought?

 

I initially wanted a Black or Moonland one but condition is king for me.

 

Looking forward to getting back from work to pick it up

[wellsey]

JWD

 

I went for the blue one as it was a lot closer to me and thought it looked awesome in this colour. It is also in pristine condition with low miles. Just leaving now to collect it kid at Christmas springs to mind!!!

If you wanted to see it, its still on the dealers website JCT 9 cars Middlesex.

 

Have fun picking the car up mate we've got the weather for it

[JWD]

Very nice mate, Enjoy! I've got just over a week to wait until I get home...

 

I initially set out to get something fun that will appreciate over time if looked after, at first I found a 996 Turbo that I was keen on, however it required a substantial outlay above the value of my current car, coupled with the high running costs and the fact it was a squeeze in my garage with the rest of the gear I have to store I steered away from this;

 

http://www.qualityca...effield-3714255

 

I then moved onto this which again came with the additional outlay which was off putting, was also a little concerned on the wrap and what it may be covering or if the paint had been damaged during application;

 

http://www.uksportsc...6100-miles-new/

 

And then I came onto Elises but wanted a bit more punch, which then pushed me onto the VX220 Turbo, I also considered a NA to turn into a bit of a project and supercharge etc. but as I've modified cars in the past I know that once you start it seems to be an ongoing process which never seems to end.

 

It's going to be a long week of waiting

 

 

[WrightStuff]

but as I've modified cars in the past I know that once you start it seems to be an ongoing process which never seems to end.

 

You're starting off on the right foot.

These cars are built for driving enjoyment not endlessly twatting about tinkering with, which only makes them unreliable anyway. Too many people chasing power and not enjoying the ownership experience. All IMHO.

[Ormes]

Welcome

[rob999]

Hi all,   I have literally just signed in to the group as I am just about to leave to pick up my new toy!!!! 2004 turbo in Coral blue. Just wondered if anyone knew of any regular meets local to me in the Essex area as it would be nice to pop over and see what goes on??   Sorry to butt in on your topic JWD lovely car by the way!! I looked at that one as well looks awesome mate.   Hope to catch up with a few of you soon

I'll get an Essex meet up soon Welcome both of y'all!

[wellsey]

JWD   WHAT A CAR!!!!   Definitely made the right choice cant take the smile off of my face!!! My Mrs has just said she only wishes that she had that effect on me.....lol.

I was on my way to pick up an Elise that I found and am so glad I went for the VXT. 

 

Trust me that wait will be so worth while mate.

 

Good luck.

[wellsey]

 

Hi all,   I have literally just signed in to the group as I am just about to leave to pick up my new toy!!!! 2004 turbo in Coral blue. Just wondered if anyone knew of any regular meets local to me in the Essex area as it would be nice to pop over and see what goes on??   Sorry to butt in on your topic JWD lovely car by the way!! I looked at that one as well looks awesome mate.   Hope to catch up with a few of you soon

I'll get an Essex meet up soon Welcome both of y'all!

 

 

[wellsey]

Will look forward to that mate cheers

[p4cks]

hi JWD - it's good to see another NE owner! There's a few of us now!

 

Your car looks immaculate. I'm slightly jealous of the condition of that interior!

[JWD]

Cheers, glad you're happy with your car mate!

 

P4cks, I'm slightly south of you in Stockton on Tees, do you know of any local specialists you could recommend for future reference? I intend on keeping the service history up with Phoenix but would like to have a more local option should I ever come stuck with issues.

 

I've managed to do some digging and found that the build number of the car is 7227 and used to belong to a member on here called BARNY who owned it for the last 9 years, unfortunately he hasn't logged on since 2006 and has never posted, I've sent him a PM in the hope that he picks it up via email.

 

Does anyone know if Thorney keep a log of cars they've mapped? They supplied and fitted an exhaust to the car and I'm curious as to whether or not they mapped it at the same time.

 

If a map was required I'd probably take it to RS Tuning in Leeds as I've had a good experience with them in the past and know they don't give BS power figures.....

[p4cks]

Well I'm struggling to recommend anywhere. I've used local places, Lotus main dealers and even Vauxhall themselves and still haven't been able to find one place who I can trust implicitly with my car. It's had some work done to it so it's not quite as easy to get work done as it used to be.

 

With regards to Thorney, they/he had an acrimonious exit from this site (he used to own it) from a few disgruntled members who'd had work done. Although I can't speak from my own experience but I think it'd be unlikely that Thorney would have records. Anyway, you'd be able to tell if it's had a remap as it totally transforms the car.

 

If you've got any questions or need advice or anything then feel free to get in touch, everyone (barring Slindborg and Goosenka ) is really friendly as long as you don't quote any photos

[JWD]

Well I picked the car up a week ago today, had a few good runs out in it and it's everything I expected plus a few annoying rattles and squeaks, the car is super clean, not a spot of corrosion on the suspension arms and underside etc so can only assume the car has been used in the dry, it also came with an alloy rad upgrade which is an added bonus!!!

 

I had the airbox off today to see if it had been messed with as the induction sound was louder than I expected, it has the pipes removed but thankfully no holes drilled in it, when removing the airbox I did notice the inlet hose/clip hadn't been mounted on the box correctly which resulted in the hose being half on/half off the box and crushed with the clip being over tightened. After putting this right it seems to drive a lot smoother through the revs so can only guess that the combination of the restricted inlet and the hot unfiltered air from the engine bay was sucking power from the car at low revs.... The inlet pipework was squeaky clean so no concerns regarding dirt being sucked in so can only assume this was from the last service a couple of hundred miles ago

 

I managed to sort one rattle out which was the boot release cable so I've zip tied that back and all is well.

 

It also sounds like the aux belt tensioner could be running dry so will drop the aux belt off tomorrow and see how it feels.

 

No record of the gearbox oil being changed either and I don't believe in this lifetime oil malarky so will be changing that when i get chance!

 

Hoping to get the car to Evotune in Durham over the next week or so for a power run to check everything is running right before I tuck it away for winter, I think it's running a standard map, no receipts in the history showing otherwise and the engine feels like it has a lot more to give. If it makes good power and has no signs of being mapped I'll be getting it mapped and will try to resist modifying it any further

 

Apart from that for a 10yr old car it's in pretty good nick.

 

Will upload some photo's when I suss it out, for some reason I can't embed the url's from photo bucket......

 

 

[Nev]

The gearbox is so lightly loaded on a VX I reckon they can do 100,000 miles on a original oil.