Which is better???

[gtachorley]

I have a 1.6 16v in my Nova which has a 4-1 Manifold and straight through S/S exhaust, a Manzel style inlet manifold and a genuine super chipped ecu.

This has been fast enough for me for a while but after Xmas I fancy some more power so was planning to recondition the head, get it port and polished and get a set of cams, also I was thinking of looking into a turbo or Eaton supercharger conversion as a mate who built a Corsa B with a VXR Corsa engine offered to help out and will be getting rid of his low compression pistons ect as he wants to upgrade them, and also I fancied the challenge and want to get the Nova somewhere near his Corsa (265bhp so gonna take alot lol).

Do people think there is any point doing this much work to a X16XE (will it make enough BHP to justify the cost) or am I best waiting and saving for a LET???

Opinions??

Also has anyone here tried putting a Saab 2.3 16v turbo in a Nova (the one with the Vauxhall gearbox)??

[Angus Closier]

To be honest mate you will get lots of just put a let in it, but 1.6 turbo or supercharged engine I think would be more fun! But how do you plan on running it ecu wise? I think thats what you might fall down on. But if you can afford the low comp pistons and make a manifold and pay for mappable ecu then go for it. Not sure your going to get 265bhp from it unless you really do go all out but you could be xe power all day long.

[VXandy]

I have a turbo conversion for sale if your interested matey, pm me for details :thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

That is totally up to you mate, some people will say stick an XE or LET some will say go for the baby XE. one genuine advantage of the 16XE will be it's wieght which is gonna be a plus side in terms of handling. If I were in your position I'd stick with the 16XE, the money you'll end up spending on the LET conversion would mean some pretty good upgrades for the engine. A supercharged 16XE does sound like fun too :)

[gtachorley]

Cheers lads.

Think i am gonna stick with my 1.6xe, my mate will have the lower compression pistons ect and will probably give them me for next to nowt so thats what has sold me on the idea. Ecu wise think its gonna have to be a full standalone system, could try running it on a piggy back ecu (been told this is an option) but I want the full managment. Gonna try for 200 bhp (or a little bit more if possible), and without the lag of a turbo and with the Nova weighing less I recon I will at least keep up with the Corsa :)

Gonna start collecting parts for a supercharger conversion!!!

Oh and has anyone ever tried the Saab 2.3 16v Turbo into a Nova, because a mate of mine seems convinced it would only need one engine mount fabricating as it has a Vauxhall gearbox (and that thing would give the Corsa a thrashing lol)

[bmw156]

your right, the saab should only need the drivers mount made up.

im sure someone was putting a saab redtop in a n ova on here, and razorjack has a v6 saab in his nova.

and if it was me, i would LET it personally.

mainly for reliable issuses. if you tune the bollocks of a 1.6 and struggle to get to 200bhp the reliability is going to be seriously compramised.

where as a LET, im not sure what they are as standard but im sure they could go to 250BHP and be reliable.

[AlexW]

saab engine is too wide iirc, it would end up where the wheel is iirc.

[bmw156]

http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123789&highlight=redtop+twist

that is what i was thinking of, saab redtop into a astra.

[Southie]

I have similar spec to your current engine and I'm also getting bored lol

The only downfall I see is if your willing to plough loads of money into a uknown then your the only one who can fix it.

Baxter on here had a supercharger on his (not setup properly mind) with a mini charger and didn't blow his "surprisingly" lol

Edd on here has been looking into the eaton charger for his I believe so maybe worth a pm to him.

As LET's go there tried and tested and generally still break but what doesn't but you'll get more ideas/help if/when it breaks.

Good luck with which ever you decide. :)

[Nova_Tek]

where as a LET, im not sure what they are as standard but im sure they could go to 250BHP and be reliable.

LET's put out 204BHP IIRC

I'm going down the LET route. Why? Because it will be a daily driver so I don't want to scream the balls off a highly modded baby xe, highly doubt I'll use it for track days whilst it's my daily and as it will be very much standard then reliability is goning to be another advantage for me.

But if everyone got a LET it would be seriously boring, having something different like a supercharged baby xe makes the project and the Nova a lot more unique. If you do it right then it may be another alternative conversion/ modification for the Nova, like we have seen with RJ's Saab V6 and Baxter's supercharged Nova etc

Do some sums and see what the costs are (if you are struggling to pick one.)

:thumb:

[craig green]

The bigger engine capacity will always put out a better spread of power over a smaller displacement unit. Eg a 200bhp 1.6 vs a std 200bhp LET. I would expect the surge of power later in the revs from a 1600, likewise the 2.0 should prove more reliable, comparing both at 200bhp.

I liked my smallblock turbo's though. Lots of torque, handling still Nova-like & not ten-a-penny. I'd love a LET though, but can't justify the daft prices on such old, worn out engines.