VX220 on track

[steve b]

On friday I went to Abingdon with Motor Sport Events as I often do, however on friday I was forced to take my track car home halfway through the day as it developed brake pad problem (they started disintergrating).

So I decided to return with my VX200 daily driver that I'd said to myself I wouldn't track. I got it sound checked took the roof off, queued up to go out. When I got to 2nd in the queue it suddenly clouded over and started thrashing it down, so I started getting wet but decided to go out anyway. It was so heavy rain I had my wiper on the fastest setting and could hardly see where I was going. Not the best way to try a new car on track. Anyway it was quite suprising, I was going reasonably quickly in the conditions. It was quite limited with grip and a little twitchy however very easy and natural to correct. I did one session in the wet in the morning in my Eunos with R888s and it had more grip in the wet than the VX with its OEM Bridgestones.

As the afternoon went on it dried out steadily and ended up hot, sunny & dry. In the dry I was able to really lean on the car and I'm very impressed absolutely no body roll, very direct responses to inputs and grip level was higher than the Eunos so highly impressed. The brakes that people say are not much good on the VX forums were great at stopping the car, much better than the Eunos, however they did fade after being out for a while though.

Overally I think its got an amazing chassis just so direct and easy to drive, even in the wet. It was actually quite nice to not have masses of Torque in the mid range like the turbo'd Eunos as once straight I could plant the throttle in the wet and it would grip and build speed over the rev range whereas in my Eunos I'd have to be really carefull.

If I had the money I'd get rid of my Eunos and get another VX n/a and supercharge it for trackdays. However for the cost the Eunos is hard to beat and I do like huge acceleration that it can provide and using all a fast cars power is one of the main things I like about trackdays. I think I was also a bit concious of the cost that repairing any damage to the VX would be really high un-like the MX5 that could be reshelled for £1000 so I was a bit calmer with it. Didn't try to provoke it like I do with the Eunos.

[aw11rally]

I had a VX220 turbo for about 3 months before some old duffer in a micra turned right into the side of it....write off!

I absolutely loved that chassis though, I really didn't rate the engine, for a 2l turbo it was a bit guttless, 0-60 in 4.7 and 155mph isn't slow I know but a 2l turbo should have more than 200bhp and 200lbft ish. And the fact that the car is so light and responsove really showed up any flat spots in the poower delivery, of which there were lots!

Still, ignoring the engine it was an amazing car, if i had been given the chance it would have been tracked, I had a set of R888s lined up and an exhaust and re-map was planned, maybe even a VXR turbo and intercooler. All this was stopped by Mr Micra!

Not all bad news though, the insurance company gave me a Nissan 350z hire car which I had for a month after which I gave it back saying it was too heavy and slow, nothing like the VX, so they gave me a brand new Porsche Cayman S which I had for two months and went through a set of tires, which the hire company paid for! Clarkson always goes on about the cayman not having an LSD but from experience it is still a great car without it, it would easily spin both wheels in the dry, had no problem powersliding and would do donuts no problem, I had to it was a hire car after all. Eventually the insurance company decided the VX was a write off and paid out the full amount, I didn't even lose my no claims or pay any excess...thanks Mr Micra.

After that I decided expensive cars were not for me, too much heart break when someome wrecks them, I now have 3 Mk1 MR2's, a Range Rover Classic 4.2 V8 LSE and a 4.1 V8 Porshce 924 which add up to a grand total of £6k less than half the price of the VX turbo and I have a lot more fun.

I do think I will go back to a VXT at some point though, I fancy one with 300bhp for hill climbs.

[JJ]

Nice to hear some feedback on the VX Steve !

MR2 gone yet ??!

Was thinking about contacting you the other day, saw a MX5 turbo for sale.. and thought... now I wonder... track day abuser ... Hmmmm... then i thought about the hundreds of pounds I'd be putting into the car and track days.. and thought I rather blitz it on a holiday !!

[steve b]

Hi JJ,

yes the MR2's gone, an MX5 owner had it he was very pleased with it, couldn't take it away fast enough

We all need good holidays

Last track day of the year on Saturday for me, going to see what Silverstones like Then the car gets all the bits I've been meaning to do for ages done ready for its new engine. Core of which should have been delivered to Chris Wilson today

[matt_mr2t]

I had a VX220 turbo for about 3 months before some old duffer in a micra turned right into the side of it....write off!

I absolutely loved that chassis though, I really didn't rate the engine, for a 2l turbo it was a bit guttless, 0-60 in 4.7 and 155mph isn't slow I know but a 2l turbo should have more than 200bhp and 200lbft ish. And the fact that the car is so light and responsove really showed up any flat spots in the poower delivery, of which there were lots!

Dont forget, it's just a Vauxhall Ecotec with a turbo bolted on, probably tuned to meet db and emissions regulations. There would have been nothing stopping you upping the power and smoothing out the power delivery with a bit of jiggery pokery

[Rogue]

Last track day of the year on Saturday for me, going to see what Silverstones like

Which circuit? National, International or GP?

[Kongaroo]

Hi Steve

So which has a better power to weight - your VX220 or your GT28RS MX5?

Will be interesting to hear some feedback as to the differences in lap times you experience between the 2 cars.

Btw I'm also going to be swapping out my TD06 for GT28RS in a few weeks (project got delayed due to problems with getting an an external wastegate system fabricated). Looking forward to seeing whether I'm really going to like a lower power 'spool monster' like the GT28RS or whether I prefer the slightly laggy nature of my TD06

[steve b]

Hi Steve

So which has a better power to weight - your VX220 or your GT28RS MX5?

Will be interesting to hear some feedback as to the differences in lap times you experience between the 2 cars.

Btw I'm also going to be swapping out my TD06 for GT28RS in a few weeks (project got delayed due to problems with getting an an external wastegate system fabricated). Looking forward to seeing whether I'm really going to like a lower power 'spool monster' like the GT28RS or whether I prefer the slightly laggy nature of my TD06

Oh the MX5 is way, way faster in a straight line than the VX, my VX is an n/a so about 180bhp/ton (about the same as a stock MR2 rev2 turbo) MX5 is about 265bhp/ton.

I will do basic n/a mods on the VX as its been proven on the dyno that a 4-1 equal length exhaust manifold, 2.4 inlet manifold & remap gives them ~180bhp which will get it to 215bhp/ton Which I think will be perfect for it.

Patrick, Silverstone National, think it may get boring but to be honest the day isn't offering a lot of track time as it sessions.

[JJ]

Btw I'm also going to be swapping out my TD06 for GT28RS in a few weeks (project got delayed due to problems with getting an an external wastegate system fabricated). Looking forward to seeing whether I'm really going to like a lower power 'spool monster' like the GT28RS or whether I prefer the slightly laggy nature of my TD06

Kong, the quicker spool will make a very quick point to point car..... especially on the circuit where the TD06 you'd be texting someone waiting for it to spool

You'll have to give some feedback on that, some of us will be quite interested !

Steve - dont break it... its a daily drive remember !!

[Kongaroo]

Kong, the quicker spool will make a very quick point to point car..... especially on the circuit where the TD06 you'd be texting someone waiting for it to spool

You'll have to give some feedback on that, some of us will be quite interested !

Steve - dont break it... its a daily drive remember !!

Hi JJ - TD06 isn't that bad spoolwise. I still have a 4K power band, it's just 4K to 8K rather than 3250 to 7250, lol. I'm actually hoping to widen my power band by about 600 to 700RPM so about 3300 to 8K. Don't worry I'll be sure to update you on it

I was aiming to do some timed circuit runs with the TD06 setup prior to swapping in the GT28rs to see whether the spool makes much difference. I may be a crap driver but at least it's the same crap driver both times so it'd be fair, lol.

However it's just time and money considerations rearing their ugly heads as usual... I did enquire into how much the Top Gear track costs and it's not cheap - especially when you factor in petrol for the long drive to get there and another long drive back. Who knows - might still happen

[RobCrezz]

Kong, the quicker spool will make a very quick point to point car..... especially on the circuit where the TD06 you'd be texting someone waiting for it to spool

You'll have to give some feedback on that, some of us will be quite interested !

Steve - dont break it... its a daily drive remember !!

Hi JJ - TD06 isn't that bad spoolwise. I still have a 4K power band, it's just 4K to 8K rather than 3250 to 7250, lol. I'm actually hoping to widen my power band by about 600 to 700RPM so about 3300 to 8K. Don't worry I'll be sure to update you on it

I was aiming to do some timed circuit runs with the TD06 setup prior to swapping in the GT28rs to see whether the spool makes much difference. I may be a crap driver but at least it's the same crap driver both times so it'd be fair, lol.

However it's just time and money considerations rearing their ugly heads as usual... I did enquire into how much the Top Gear track costs and it's not cheap - especially when you factor in petrol for the long drive to get there and another long drive back. Who knows - might still happen

Interested in this! I have always fancyed a gt28rs. Superfast spool with good power appeals more than a Gt30 to me.

[steve b]

Silverstone in the Eunos yesterday was great fun

There was an MR2 race car there, took a trip into the gravel trap. Anyone from here?

[JJ]

There was an MR2 race car there, took a trip into the gravel trap. Anyone from here?

Think they forgot to turn or turned too sharp ??!

Was the Eunos competitive with the cars that was there at the weekend ?? I'm sure you'll have had a hoot with it !

[steve b]

There was an MR2 race car there, took a trip into the gravel trap. Anyone from here?

Think they forgot to turn or turned too sharp ??!

Was the Eunos competitive with the cars that was there at the weekend ?? I'm sure you'll have had a hoot with it !

Competative, yes Had a full session dual with a new Carrera and whilst doing so passed all sorts of stuff like a Tuscan 2 down the straight (he looked really pi$$ed).

In fact the last two afternoon sessions I only remember being passed by an Ultima running 640bhp

I was catching Ryan in his Supra Race car, but then it turned out he has a knock setup issue that was raining in the power.

The MR2 was in the gravel right in the middle of Brooklands so I think he either went straight on or lost it on turn in.

[JJ]

Ruddy hell... wish I'd been there... looks brilliant....

I've not been on silverstone... plenty of twisties ? straights .. what sort of speeds were you getting upto ??! Can imagine it being pretty boring in the mini you've got snapped in one of your photos !!

Tuscans are quick out of corners... but only because of their instantaneous torque and power to weight... but a straight line on the loud pedal.. I'm sure you wouldn't have had a problem.... !

Carrera - well... modern day supercar, its gonna shift very well on the straight and in and out of corners.. think your R888's would be on the livid edge trying to stick with one of those...

"I only remember being passed by an Ultima running 640bhp "

Little weight... 10ft wide....thing doesn't even need to brake in corners....

[steve b]

It was great fun. It wasn't the full circuit just the national one, but I was really suprised how good it was. I actually went thinking it'd get boring as pictures of the layout looks dull, however as the corners were so tight, yet so fast due to the width of track it was great. Infact Brrokland / Luffield seemed to go on forever

Fastest part for me was just before braking for Copse where I was just touching the rev limiter in 5th so about 130mph, i'll need to get some higher gearing when my new engine goes in At present I didn't really have to use anything but 4th & 5th, I did go down to 3rd though to try and get every bit of power when having fun with the Porsches

http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/track ... ional.html

What made the day so fun for me was the complete lack of any flags, we were all told the usual rules about overtaking but everyine ignored them and the marshalls never waved any flag but red once for when the MR2 went off. So it was a lot more racing the other chaps rather than just driving as quickly as you could, I sware some people even tried blocking, pulling left to try and stop you getting past. Naughty but fun

[markiii]

It was great fun. It wasn't the full circuit just the national one, but I was really suprised how good it was. I actually went thinking it'd get boring as pictures of the layout looks dull, however as the corners were so tight, yet so fast due to the width of track it was great. Infact Brrokland / Luffield seemed to go on forever

Fastest part for me was just before braking for Copse where I was just touching the rev limiter in 5th so about 130mph, i'll need to get some higher gearing when my new engine goes in At present I didn't really have to use anything but 4th & 5th, I did go down to 3rd though to try and get every bit of power when having fun with the Porsches

http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/track ... ional.html

What made the day so fun for me was the complete lack of any flags, we were all told the usual rules about overtaking but everyine ignored them and the marshalls never waved any flag but red once for when the MR2 went off. So it was a lot more racing the other chaps rather than just driving as quickly as you could, I sware some people even tried blocking, pulling left to try and stop you getting past. Naughty but fun

mental not to avoid trackdays run by them then

[Ekona]

Funny, I thought exactly the same thing when I read that earlier. Absolutely disgusting behaviour, and that's how accidents happen.

[steve b]

Funny as I posted it elsewhere and it appears its Silverstones marshalls that result in it being like that rather than Javelin. Someone said they'd been there with "Circuit Days" and it was the same. They didn't like it and complained and were told that marshalls had been asked to use the blue flags, black flags etc but just didn't and nothing could be done as they were not the trackday organisers employees rather Silverstones.

So far of people who have posted over a variety of forums and attended the day every person bar one has said they loved it, only one person said it was awful and they'd not go back. From what he said I'd say it was his problem as he was bitching about someone spinning at Copse infront of him and almost hitting him,.. begged the question why was he so close mid corner if he hadn't liked other peoples driving?

I certainly didn't feel at risk at any point. I litterally only had one WTF moment and that was when running out of straight to find a Tuscan still sat on my rear 1/4 when I wanted to get back over right ready for Brooklands (I had overtaken him exiting Maggots and caught him through Maggots as if he was standing still).

The blocking comment related to an S2000 early in the day when I was still trying to go by the rules, I spent the whole session on his bumper and he was never going to get out my way and no flags ever appeared. While I was sat behind him other chaps with more powerful stuff were just blasting past when they could, so I thought sod it and adpoted that policy for the rest of the day. Come up behind they are driving on line, just pull as left as fesible and go past.

[Ekona]

Interesting, I've done trackdays with Javelin before and they were fantastic, very well organised and immensely safe. Guess that kinda makes sense now if it's Silverstone using their own marshalls though.

Puts me right off ever doing Silverstone now though