View Full Version : 16xe to 20xe owners only please
Right tho's thats had a 16xe in the car and changed to a 20xe. are you glad you done it? Is there much difference in driving them? can you pull away easy in 2nd with a 20xe? Any info you can think of to help me would be great. Thanks :thumb:
GRUNT 16V
12-08-09, 03:04 PM
20xe Are Great Fun In A Straight Line But Are A Handful To Kaine It Through The Lanes
hc coupe
12-08-09, 03:29 PM
I wish I went with the 2.0 option now but I think you have to base it all on alot of factors.
I didn't and don't have a massive budget so I'm unable to tune the 1.6 16v to achieve the same results as the stock 2.0 .
To reach the same/ similar performance figures I would have to extensive tune the engine..which I then can't afford on the insurance if I did.
A stock xe engine would have better performance figures than I currently have now and I would be paying £200 less on my insurance because its un-modified.
Handling I can't comment on because I've never driven a 2.0 however the 1.6 16v is very responses and nimble to drive (that's my experience)..however if set up correctly I can't imagine it being a huge amount of difference...anyone raced two well spec novas around that can comment?.
I think if I was to do the engine conversion all over again I would put the 2.0 in and think long term which would have suited me better.
Flip a coin and go that way..heads 2.0
I would be paying £200 less on my insurance because its un-modified.
A 2.0 would still be "modified", so cost probably just as much as a 1.6
hc coupe
12-08-09, 04:59 PM
Ok point taken...
Looking at my insurance quote with a stock XE I would be paying £837 and with the "tuned" 1.6 16v (137bhp) I'm paying £1027
Thats what I meant........:thumb:
20xe Are Great Fun In A Straight Line But Are A Handful To Kaine It Through The Lanes
No more than a 1600 ime - I had a 1.6 TBd screamer and swapped it for a 2L screamer - best decision ever.
Ok - I had to pay a few more £ on getting it to handle the same, but it was worth it
best person to talk to is adam i think
As Will said
If you set them up right they go very well round corners with a 2ltr xe.
im goin the opposite way lol.
my 20xe chewed through rubber mounts and a few drive shafts, so got solid mounts and it was horrible as i felt all the vibrations, it didnt handle just understeered and steering was really heavy.
goin the 16xe route now and cant wait to finish it,
yea the performance is down a little but brought up a bit by a mantzel inlet box and a 4branch manifold.
just want it to be fun again.
novaboz
12-08-09, 08:48 PM
im goin the opposite way lol.
my 20xe chewed through rubber mounts and a few drive shafts, so got solid mounts and it was horrible as i felt all the vibrations, it didnt handle just understeered and steering was really heavy.
goin the 16xe route now and cant wait to finish it,
yea the performance is down a little but brought up a bit by a mantzel inlet box and a 4branch manifold.
just want it to be fun again.
iv done the same mate, iv got a cheap version of the manntzel inlet, 4-2-1 (both dont cost to much if not bothered about bein second hand) some cams and maped to suit... people say you cant tell the difrence in hadling between the two, but it just feels so much lighter and easier through the corners to me and is lots more fun.. but thats jus my opinion :)
I've got solid mounts on mine which I used on the XE, the odd thing is it was really flakey if you tiptoe round corners, but if you use the power to drag the car round they actually go handle pretty well.
dont be ghey get rid of the small block ****e bang an xe in you will never! regret it!
You know what i think bigs lol
My opinion for what it's worth
Std 2.0 Xe = power/torque +, handling -. Spend money on suspension/setup and the handling can be made sweet.
Std 1.6 Xe = power/torque-, handling +. Spend money on the engine, and the power/torque can be raised.
Excluding probably 20 or so people on this site, Nova's are used on the road 99.9% of the time and in that case the XE, IMHO, is the better choice because it'll be a lot faster immediately without any tuning required.
However, if you're driving, on the road, right at the limit where you may find the XE's handling "difficult", you must be a moron/have balls of steel* and betravelling extremely quickly!
*Delete as appropriate
Rick makes a good point.
Also worth mentioning that the 1600 is an awesome bit of kit, but you really need to spend £££ getting them to perform as well as an XE - they just havent got the low-mid range grunt...
I can understand both arguments and its good to see a thread that doesnt immediately banish the 2L as an overweight, under steering beast...
Its down to cash and teh driver at the end of teh day.:thumb:
ant_tay
13-08-09, 01:18 PM
i run an xe in mine and i have out performed mr2's and allsorts on the twisties i also dont run the front ARB but being front heavy i did lose the back end going round a long sweeping left coming onto the motorway and ended up in the fast lane looking bk at the junction i just came from thankfully some how i manage to catch a gap in the traffic and just drove away as if nothing ever happened
the heavy front is something you will get used to and you will adjust your driving style to suit it
Looking at the replys. im going to stick to the 16xe instead of spending the extra cash on getting a 20xe set up right. ive just bought tb's and going to fit them with pocketed pistions. cams ect
Thanks to all the replys you have helped me out alot
However, if you're driving, on the road, right at the limit where you may find the XE's handling "difficult", you must be a moron/have balls of steel* and betravelling extremely quickly!
*Delete as appropriate
i did lose the back end going round a long sweeping left coming onto the motorway and ended up in the fast lane looking bk at the junction i just came from thankfully some how i manage to catch a gap in the traffic and just drove away as if nothing ever happened
Thank you for illustrating my point perfectly about driving at the limit on the road.
Which one are you? Balls of steel or moron? Or both?
ant_tay
14-08-09, 12:42 PM
Thank you for illustrating my point perfectly about driving at the limit on the road.
Which one are you? Balls of steel or moron? Or both?
i push my car to the limit all the time just happend to be i went too far that time so i guess abit of both
Thank you for illustrating my point perfectly about driving at the limit on the road.
Which one are you? Balls of steel or moron? Or both?
If you said you don't/had never pushed a car to its limits on the road then I would call you a liar, Get off your high horse mate.
i push my car to the limit all the time just happend to be i went too far that time so i guess abit of both
Fair play for being honest.
If you said you don't/had never pushed a car to its limits on the road then I would call you a liar, Get off your high horse mate.
I don't ride a horse.
I assume you have an XE Nova? Or maybe a LET? I've owned 2 xe's
The point I'm making is that if you drive a Nova (That was designed with suspect handling from the factory) and add an engine that shouldn't be fitted, along with gearbox just for a bit of extra weight, if you take it up to the limit, you can't possibly be in control. That makes you a moron or you have balls of steel. Or possibly both.
From what I've seen/know about the majority of the people on this site, and the majority of people who own XE/LET's, they only drive to the limit in a straight line UNLESS they're on track.
I'm fairly sure that I have NEVER driven either of the Nova's up to the limit where the XE heavyweight affects the handling to the point that it's dangerous. I don't think I have the skill to reach that point if I'm honest, and neither do most other people.
If you don't agree, fine! It's just my opinion!
I went from 127hp 1.6 16v to pretty much standard 20xe, and the big block is just better lol lol
Its so much quicker, pulls harder, even as standard.
As for handling, my current nova handles better than my old s/b one imo, probably down to a better chassis etc though, so not an entirely fair test.
Its also nearly a second and a half quicker down the 1/4mile.
If i was going to spend £££ on engine bits id still start with a 20xe every day of the week, the only real reason i see to have a 1.6 16v is if your restricted by CC in autograss or whatever. You will never see decent torque from a NA 1600 engine. And its much much cheaper to sort the handling than it is to get 160hp from a 1.6 16v.
If you chuck an xe in on gmax 40mil springs, 150k old rubber engine mounts then of course you'll say it'll handle terribly. Get it welded up, proper suspension, solid mounts, and you're laughing.
I shall be comparing my old quickest Combe lap time from last year (and for anyone that had a pass ride in my old one, they'll tell you it went very well for what it was), to my new one at Eurofest in few weeks time :)
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