c20xe help

[james_19]

i have c20xe which has done 105,000 miles with a new head gasket and 16 new valves and new timing belt.
i want to modify it as its standard,
any help on what to do?
would you start from the bottom stregthening the bottom upwards or maybe a full engine rebuild.
the engine is running fine, but just dont want to spend alot of money of it on cams, tb's carbs mapping etc.. and then then engine blows up or have major problems.
cheers james

[philip]

if you build it properly it wont blow up.

but your looking at quite a few K to get a decent bottom end, head, and tb's...if wanted tbs.


what you want power wise
what car is it going in
what the car getting used for
whats your budget

answer them and can go from there:thumb:

[james_19]

well i want about 180bhp to 200bhp
its in an astra van at the moment
just everyday road use
about 2,000

[Stoo]

to be honest

a set of TBs set up and mapped properly, and ARP rod bolts will see you at nigh on 180-190bhp

you dont REALLY need to be rebuilding/lightening/balancing at that state of tune

[Stuart]

do you use the van for work etc?

if so then I'd really leave the engine be and get a weekend car to piss about with.... one thing you dont want is an engine that is modified that might pose problems to your work

[Paul]

As said, set of tb's and aftemarket management will see about 180bhp.

But will cost you about £2-3000.

[james_19]

no am at uni mate. bought it cos i love astra vans.
i dont use it for work.
its a fully modified van with body kit etc.
i just want to tune the engine.
i would love a set of twin 40's or a single 45 or even throttle bodies
but i cant find anywhere that is cheap enought e.g like 800 for a throttle body kit seocnd hand or 400 for a weber kit.

[Stoo]

pi$$ing in the wind mate

do a bit of research

[james_19]

i have done alot of research mate, but as i am used to workin with diesels just want some advice thats all.

[Stuart]

have a read on the SBD site... lots of info/options there, and then scour places like ebay and mig for 2nd hand kits

[james_19]

i have mate first place i went. there are things but abit on the dear side if you get me. its not that there dear am just not willing to pay that.
how much would you say to buy a c20let and wire it in, would it wire to a c20xe wiring loom

[Stuart]

not to mention insure it?

If you arent willing to pay for the mods, then stop fcuking considering them. Easy really

[philip]

a stuarts said. Tb's are good to get around the 200bhp mark. but its £2k easy for the set up new+ fitting + mapping.

fin d a running LET, should be plug and play really.

but if keeping n/a and want decent power, your not going to get it with £2k, ive just spent £8k on my xe for parts, ecu, etc

[Stoo]

It sounds like you dont know what you want at all really!

If you want TBs and youve done your research, you know how much they cost and whats involved.

If you want an LET, again do some research. Not a simple plug and play in all honesty.

Once youve made up your mind properly and know what you want, you will be in a better position to be helped.

Which insurance company are you with by the way?

[james_19]

am with adrian flux.

[philip]

i had a qoute for £550 FC for my corsa gsi, with cage, seats, loom, f28, all engine mods declared, brakes, suspension, wheels etc etc


but if you plan on not insuring it as a 20xe/let do yourself a favour and dont say on the boards, people will think you a prick...no offence

[james_19]

what u on about? it is registered as a c20xe and am is insured as that.

[Pistol Pete]

What he is on about is... some people do engine swaps then dont change the V5. Epic failure!!

You seem abit unsure as to what you want. On your budget, £2000, you will struggle to get TB's, loom and it setup for that.

[mayhem]

cams and have your ecu mapped.. not to expensive, and its still daily driveable.

[james_19]

but if a got a fast road cam, uprating my cam would mean that the vales hit the pistons, wouldnt this mean the pistons would have to be repocketed??

[Stoo]

but if a got a fast road cam, uprating my cam would mean that the vales hit the pistons, wouldnt this mean the pistons would have to be repocketed??

OH

MY

GOD

[Rich]

Are you planning on doing these things yourself? It doesnt sound like you really know what your talking about. I know everyones gotta learn somtime, but it sounds like your jumping in at the deep end.

Some cams will be fine on standard managment, others with need aftermarket managgment/pocketed pistons. Your looking at alot of money whichever way you go, you cannot highly tune an engine cheaply.

If you want a little more, find a set of kent/piper fast road cams. You can only use a mild lift on standard managment, but it means you will not lose low rev drivabilty, will still idle nice but will give you a bit more ooomph. Get a decent flowing 4 into 1 manifold and matching system. Might be better off sorting the handling out, lsd, decent suspension.

[james_19]

i know mate am just gettin to grips with tuning a petrol engine.
i understand that tuning a engine highly is not cheap at all,
getting my engine to over 200bhp with all uprated parts would cost me around 8k.
so if u say that i wouldnt need to change the management what cams would be suitable??

[james_19]

am just deciding at the moment mate, am gettin a strut brace for it aswell as some poly bushes.
i was considering gettin an quaife atb lsd. am just slightly unsure at the moment whether to go with power or handling
cos if u dont have the handling you cant push the power or it will spin oversteer. etc

[philip]

its not if you change the management matey. you have to have the pockets machined deeper on your pistons or buy either the mahle pistons from autosprint that have deeper pockets..£248 iirc or something like omega, accralite, CP etc which are £500 ish.

then you'd need ideal carbs or TB's to make best use of some highlift cams such as 288's(largest can run on hydraulic lifters) otherwise its about £800 to solid lift a head with dual springs, steel caps, lifters, shims, etc etc.


handling would make a good differance.

do a search for QED and check out there 2 'mild' cams think Q38h and Q42h, the 42h's need pockets deepended, but if had carbs, arps, set of those cams, head work you should be around 185-190bhp or there about

[james_19]

cheers pal, thanks for being considerate.
i am learnin all the time.
that sounds good
is about 200 for the QED mild cam Q38h about right??
am tryin to get hold of a set of twin 40's at the minute with no look.

[Stuart]

T40's on an XE will cap the power to "std" levels (assuming of course you engine even makes book numbers as XE's are all old and tired unless rebuilt), but you get more midrange torque from them.

imho power is NOTHING wihtout control... as the great Mr Chapman said
Make it Handle
Make it stop
Make it faster

eg power is the last thing you need to think about

[philip]

id sort the chassis out before building the engine, maybe look at getting a set of 86.5mm mahle pistons from autosprint, with the Q42h cams and a set of 45's, that way you'll see a decent return power wise yet should be under £1000 or there abouts + setting up. id personally rebuild the engine too...budget about £600 as would need overbore to suit the 86.5mm pistons anyway and get the most out of it.

id looking at decent suspension, sorting brakes out and polybushes too, as has already been said

[james_19]

thats what am guna get mate polybushes, a set of g max 60mm springs, front and back strut brace. that should sort it out pretty good.
then am guna rebuild the engine before doing anything to it pal.

[1.6 8v turbo nova]

buy one already tuned? saves you hassle and cash, you'll never get back what u spent on it so steal someone else's hard (annoying) work and cash :)

[craig green]

thats what am guna get mate polybushes, a set of g max 60mm springs, front and back strut brace. that should sort it out pretty good.
then am guna rebuild the engine before doing anything to it pal.

GMAX are toss.

Do you really think the van will be £2000 worth faster with 200bhp than it is with 150bhp?
Personally I don't unless you use a turbo engine which has a whopping dollop of torque which an N/A engine doesnt.

Treat yourself to a nice holiday IMO. :thumb:

[Stuart]

or as a student, £2K will buy you a lot of fresher slags :D

[mayhem]

If you want a little more, find a set of kent/piper fast road cams. You can only use a mild lift on standard managment, but it means you will not lose low rev drivabilty, will still idle nice but will give you a bit more ooomph.

imo when placing cams, have youre ecu mapped.

[james_19]

hmm thats a good idea :P fresher slags haha!
i dont want to change my engine
turbo means lag

[Stoo]

turbo does not always mean lag!

Jeez

when you know what you want come back please.

[james_19]

i know it doesnt always mean lag.
i do know what i want.
sort the suspension, tyres out, then exterior mods
then am gettin an engine rebuild
then uprating the cams to Q38h with omega pistons and then running it on carbs. twin 40's

[james_19]

all it is mate was i didnt know what i wanted and just getting ideas etc.. from you guys who know your stuff.

[Pistol Pete]

Just a thought, is this £2000 you have to spend the same £2000 you had to insure said van a few days ago?

[james_19]

no mate its another £2k

[Pistol Pete]

So, you had 4k to spend and you bought an Astra van, which you are now intending to mod? Crazy lol

[james_19]

well i only spent £800 on the van, it was a bargain really, and the amount of stuff thats had done to it, really i cudnt fault it. i always wanted a astra van.
it will be mint when i have finished with it.

[philip]

buy one already tuned


you cant garauntee its been done properly though.

get car sorted 1st brake, sus wise etc, then look at tuning

[james_19]

you cant garauntee its been done properly though.

get car sorted 1st brake, sus wise etc, then look at tuning

not just that you cant have it how you want it, but i know where the guy is coming from though, it was an option at the time but decided not to.

[Stuart]

ok ill try again...

T40's WILL NOT SEE YOU GAIN OVER BOOK POWER FIGURES. 45's will permit you to.

[james_19]

ok thanks