80 replies to this topic

[VXR 43]

I found it as normal to drive than any other car I have driven. The only thing that would normally come past on track would be a Radical or something similar.

[spuk87]

Man this thread is a frustrating read! In answer to the OP, stage 4s tend to sell for slightly more than standard/st2 VXs anyway (I think?), and since you are part way there and just need injectors, turbo and IC or CC it probably won't cost a great deal more to upgrade your own car. I think I would be willing to spend slightly more knowing that it's my car rather than risking a trade to someone else's car which may have it's faults. Maybe have a look at real-world costs to upgrade to stage 4 yourself and compare it to current/recent stage 4s for sale, then you can see whether you would be willing to spend the extra involved. PS the above does not take account of uprated clutch etc so buying a pre stage 4'd car makes more sense probably...

[Cookies220]

You'll also want to think about which type of stage 4 you go for: CMS - CC TMS - CC + IC MMG - IC You may have a preference for one over the other. Also remember that early stage 4's will be different to new ones in terms of exhausts, CC's and probably even the maps used. If you can afford it, I'd go with getting it done to your existing vx. It's always more fun to mod than to just buy 'ready made'

[denno]

Plenty of food for thought, at the moment im guessing just for stage 4 power i'd be looking at around £4.5k including clutch. Then like some have said there is suspension, wheels & tyres 16/17 combo, brakes and lsd so looking at nearer £8K maybe? To swap for a stage 4 car i'd be looking at around £2-3k but then there is the hassle of selling mine, waiting for the right car etc so its by no means a no-brainer. Interesting that someone mentioned there might not be as big a difference between stage 2 and 4 on the road in which case that could be a factor as it's only ever been used for road use so might not be worth doing unless i decide to start doing trackdays.

[chrisgold]

Plenty of food for thought, at the moment im guessing just for stage 4 power i'd be looking at around £4.5k including clutch. Then like some have said there is suspension, wheels & tyres 16/17 combo, brakes and lsd so looking at nearer £8K maybe?

To swap for a stage 4 car i'd be looking at around £2-3k but then there is the hassle of selling mine, waiting for the right car etc so its by no means a no-brainer.

Interesting that someone mentioned there might not be as big a difference between stage 2 and 4 on the road in which case that could be a factor as it's only ever been used for road use so might not be worth doing unless i decide to start doing trackdays.

Stage 4
If your already stage 2, so ur talking an extra 3k for stage 4, plus a clutch, Courtneys Competition' Clutch is £500 with the cylinder, I know Loads of garages that will fit one for about a 5th of the courtney £500 fitting figure (I guess maybe they just dont want to be changing clutches?) Stage 4 is only not drivable round towns if you get the paddle clutch, which we are not talking about.

Brakes
Ive been bullied into telling you: New disks and Mintex 1155 pads from Camskill £200

ATE Superblue Brake fluid £15

Goodrich Braided Brake lines £60

Wheels + Tyres
Someone sold a set of Almost new TD 1.2's and Yoko Tyres for about £450 I think (they mite still be for sale on the forums)

So your talking 5k max all in for everything.

Im sure someone will try to point out something I have said wrong, but thats the way I see it.

And you dont have to do it all at once, I just did mine over a few months, well its still going....

Edited by chrisgold, 01 September 2010 - 07:50 AM.

[Bargi]

Plenty of food for thought, at the moment im guessing just for stage 4 power i'd be looking at around £4.5k including clutch. Then like some have said there is suspension, wheels & tyres 16/17 combo, brakes and lsd so looking at nearer £8K maybe?

To swap for a stage 4 car i'd be looking at around £2-3k but then there is the hassle of selling mine, waiting for the right car etc so its by no means a no-brainer.

Interesting that someone mentioned there might not be as big a difference between stage 2 and 4 on the road in which case that could be a factor as it's only ever been used for road use so might not be worth doing unless i decide to start doing trackdays.

If it's just road then you defiantly don't need the 16/17 combo, suspension you could also leave and LSD you could probably live without (just easy with the right foot in the wet )

and none of the above are pre-requisites to go to Stage 4, all can be done later as you push the limits of the car or become a bit more flush. 2nd hand TD's and Gaz suspension do pop up or group buys and you've got time to wait for a bargain.

EDIT: Yeah pretty much what Chris wrote

Edited by Bargi, 01 September 2010 - 08:07 AM.

[N17VES]

Stage 4
If your already stage 2, so ur talking an extra 3k for stage 4, plus a clutch, Courtneys Competition' Clutch is £500 with the cylinder, I know Loads of garages that will fit one for about a 5th of the courtney £500 fitting figure (I guess maybe they just dont want to be changing clutches?) Stage 4 is only not drivable round towns if you get the paddle clutch, which we are not talking about.

...so which of these garages you speak about fit clutches to a vx220's for £100 then??

[siztenboots]

Stage 4
If your already stage 2, so ur talking an extra 3k for stage 4, plus a clutch, Courtneys Competition' Clutch is £500 with the cylinder, I know Loads of garages that will fit one for about a 5th of the courtney £500 fitting figure (I guess maybe they just dont want to be changing clutches?) Stage 4 is only not drivable round towns if you get the paddle clutch, which we are not talking about.

...so which of these garages you speak about fit clutches to a vx220's for £100 then??

maybe they have £10 hourly rates, amazing what you can train a chimp to do

[chrisgold]

Stage 4
If your already stage 2, so ur talking an extra 3k for stage 4, plus a clutch, Courtneys Competition' Clutch is £500 with the cylinder, I know Loads of garages that will fit one for about a 5th of the courtney £500 fitting figure (I guess maybe they just dont want to be changing clutches?) Stage 4 is only not drivable round towns if you get the paddle clutch, which we are not talking about.

...so which of these garages you speak about fit clutches to a vx220's for £100 then??

maybe they have £10 hourly rates, amazing what you can train a chimp to do

£20 hourly rate, so even if they take a full 5 hours thats £100... What u think it takes 3 days to change a clutch?

[N17VES]

Stage 4
If your already stage 2, so ur talking an extra 3k for stage 4, plus a clutch, Courtneys Competition' Clutch is £500 with the cylinder, I know Loads of garages that will fit one for about a 5th of the courtney £500 fitting figure (I guess maybe they just dont want to be changing clutches?) Stage 4 is only not drivable round towns if you get the paddle clutch, which we are not talking about.

...so which of these garages you speak about fit clutches to a vx220's for £100 then??

maybe they have £10 hourly rates, amazing what you can train a chimp to do

£20 hourly rate, so even if they take a full 5 hours thats £100... What u think it takes 3 days to change a clutch?

Lol you have clearly never changed a clutch in a vx then. The last two times I've taken the gearbox out, its taken me 2 full days and I've done it a few times now.

Vauxhall actually take take the engine out, but the box can be squeezed out below the car if the ns rear wishbones are removed, but then the geo will need to be done again. Good luck if you can get it done for £100, I would bit their hand off if they could do it for £300 - wish garages around here only charged £20/hr.

[Zoobeef]

Typical time is around 8 hours. Good price from a grage is £300. Took me around 10 hours the first time, especially as i was on my own for most of it

[VXT Tim]

Stage 4
If your already stage 2, so ur talking an extra 3k for stage 4, plus a clutch, Courtneys Competition' Clutch is £500 with the cylinder, I know Loads of garages that will fit one for about a 5th of the courtney £500 fitting figure (I guess maybe they just dont want to be changing clutches?) Stage 4 is only not drivable round towns if you get the paddle clutch, which we are not talking about.

...so which of these garages you speak about fit clutches to a vx220's for £100 then??

maybe they have £10 hourly rates, amazing what you can train a chimp to do

£20 hourly rate, so even if they take a full 5 hours thats £100... What u think it takes 3 days to change a clutch?

I bet they'd only do it once at that price!

[Nev]

I found my stage 4 power delivery changed a bit over the course of time. When the car had a new turbo, power delivery was moderately smooth(ish), but after 5k miles I found the transition from no boost to boost was very on/off and made cornering tricky. That may have been because I got more used to the characteristics of the engine or because of wear in the turbo or some other minor fault (like a leaking vaccuum pipe etc). These titchy turbos we have really are at the very end of their limit at stage 4 and should really be upgraded to a slightly larger one IMO, but that of course incurs lost of cost, especially if you get to approx 310 BHP when you need to change the rods.

[turbobob]

I found my stage 4 power delivery changed a bit over the course of time. When the car had a new turbo, power delivery was moderately smooth(ish), but after 5k miles I found the transition from no boost to boost was very on/off and made cornering tricky. That may have been because I got more used to the characteristics of the engine or because of wear in the turbo or some other minor fault (like a leaking vaccuum pipe etc). These titchy turbos we have really are at the very end of their limit at stage 4 and should really be upgraded to a slightly larger one IMO, but that of course incurs lost of cost, especially if you get to approx 310 BHP when you need to change the rods.

I take it that was on a VXR turbo and not a standard VXT turbo?

[Nev]

I found my stage 4 power delivery changed a bit over the course of time. When the car had a new turbo, power delivery was moderately smooth(ish), but after 5k miles I found the transition from no boost to boost was very on/off and made cornering tricky. That may have been because I got more used to the characteristics of the engine or because of wear in the turbo or some other minor fault (like a leaking vaccuum pipe etc). These titchy turbos we have really are at the very end of their limit at stage 4 and should really be upgraded to a slightly larger one IMO, but that of course incurs lost of cost, especially if you get to approx 310 BHP when you need to change the rods.

I take it that was on a VXR turbo and not a standard VXT turbo?

It was with a VXR turbo, but I doubt there is any significant difference between them in reality.

[chrisgold]

Typical time is around 8 hours. Good price from a grage is £300. Took me around 10 hours the first time, especially as i was on my own for most of it

8 x £20 = £160

Simples.....

[Zoobeef]

Typical time is around 8 hours. Good price from a grage is £300. Took me around 10 hours the first time, especially as i was on my own for most of it

8 x £20 = £160

Simples.....

So wheres this garage that charges 20 quid an hour labour? Covering wages and running costs thats not really feasable

[turbobob]

It was with a VXR turbo, but I doubt there is any significant difference between them in reality.

Really? I thought the VXR Turbo was larger?

[denno]

I think i'm edging towards keeping the car, i'm worried i might regret selling as it's a minter and i may not find one as good. Yes it will cost me more to do but i won't have the hassle of selling/buying another one. Can always do the power first and then if i decide to track later down the line can add the extra bits.

[smithers]

Out of interest, of those people commenting on stage 4 cars, how many have actually owned / used one day in day out? Its very easy to quote figures from a tuners website but there are a lot more costs involved than just the quoted prices - ie reliability and maintenance niggles that need constant attention. An 8 hour round trip is not one I have enjoyed to get things fixed under warranty, irrespective of the excellent service I received. I've used mine daily for 2 years and yes, the on/off partial throttle took a little getting used to but for the road the std suspension is not going to kill you, the std wheels have been used without death, and I just don't believe a stage 2 would beat a stage 4 point to point if you have owned each car more than a week. As for the c/c i/c debate, i doubt most people would notice the difference between the quoted temps above, but for me it was the only option at the time. How many factory fit c/c systems can you think of? Fit and forget is always a good option to the op, you will save money on the conversion, but may have to start again on all the niggles you had sorted, and have the fear of the unknown! Does the cost saving outweigh the state of your current cars health? - it seems you've already made your mind up! just my rather large 2p