newbie

[doggydowg]

Hello everyone, this is my first post;-)

Im a bit new to the Vauxhall sceane, ive just bought a astra mk2 gte and need some advice.

The car is meant to be cammd up and i want to chip it but on tuners webisghts and over the phone they say they cant supply a chip for me as it is cammd and i will need to send them my hole ecu?

Are they trying to scam money out of me or is this true?

I was thinking it may be due to the timing being altererd by the cam?

Any advice much appricated thanks Paul.

[REMUS]

Hmm it does make sense, aftermarket "off the shelf" ecu's are set up to be run on standard engines, although ecu's to some degree adapt to the different fueling requirements they can't cope with extreme cams or a combination of improvements.

For instance a gte 16v (is yours a 16 or 8?) will run fine on a standard ecu with only minor improvements like full 2.5" stainless exhaust, induction kit etc. But if you start putting hi profile cam's throttle bodies and 45's onto the car you need to change your set up.

The best way to chip a car is to go to their place and get it all set up on a rolling road session, it will cost you but its worth it because it takes all your mods into consideration and can smooth the power deliver, becuase if the ecu is set up for a tall powercurve for top speed and you have cams profiled for acceleration it could serious impair your performance.

Hope this helps

P.S welcome to the group m8!!! and what other plans do you have for her (picies would be nice too)

[doggydowg]

Hi Remus

This is suposed to be my family stroke get me to work car so wont be gogin to amd with her.

The problem is i dont know if it is cammd or not i have read ppl saying on there profiles breather mod and sandwidge pl8 mod what is this about?

Any cheep freebie mods that make the car quick please send links;-)

I have raced my r5 gt turbo against this and it is quicker then a 2ltr 16 valv nova i raced apart from its non abuility to go round corners lol.

Alot of car for the money thoe.

I have been told to get an exhaust chip and for some reason fse power boost valve?

Im not too sure about the fse but rest makes sense, every car ive ever owned has been turboed so not sure where to start.

How restrictive are the exhausts systems? i can see the manifolds are prittty fin;-)

[Rob_S]

forget the chips
breather mod is similar to this

but, for a standard inlet engine, instead of chopping off the shaded area just drill some holes at the top right section to let oil drain thro

[REMUS]

god knows what the sandwidge pl8 mod is.

FSE boost valves are junk you don't need them on a 16v, there is no such thing as an exhaust chip.

The 16v manifold is a very good item, you didnt say if it was 16 or 8v btw, a nova 2.0 16v should be quicker unless the numpty used an ecotek engine in the transplant. And standard r5 gtt's arn't super quick tbh.

The only freebie mods you can really do are: lightening, stripping out all excess interior bit's (such as back seats, carpet, sound deadening... etc) and drilling the airbox.

[Rob_S]

the wedge mod perhaps? remove the wedge on the larger throttle

[doggydowg]

hmm could be wedge mod il try that sbd mod when i get a little more familiier with the engine.

My r5 isnt standard was running 20 psi and had some advance on the ignition too verry quick little car has no top end or power stearing or abs or interior so isnt good for baby transporting lol.

My brother wants to get me a cheep pressy for the astra is suggested getting a nice back box does anyone know what the dimmensions are on the pipe conecting too back box?

Or if anyone has one for sale;-)

the Nova i raced was a 16 valve maybe eco teck i drove the nova seemed about as quick as a 1.9 pug but handled very well;-)
thanks for advice ppls.

[Gander]

The best start to modifying a 16v is to make sure you've got a good base to start from.
Change the Oil & filter, check the leads, plugs, Dissy & rotor arm (if fitted), get the Injectors ultrasonicly cleaned and replace the air filter with either a new paper filter or aftermarket element. DO NOT USE A CONE FILTER. Red tops tend to get upset as they draw in hot air from the bay, if you must have a cone filter then make sure its either isolated from the rest of the bay or is surrounded by cold air ducting!
Chipping is a bit hit and miss as generic maps are used, really you want a tailor made map specificly for your engine. A unichip would be the solution to that.
The exhaust manifold is a great standard item and most aftermarket items struggle to improve over it.

IIRC The sandwich plate mod is a modification to the sump baffle but thats all i know

[doggydowg]

The best start to modifying a 16v is to make sure you've got a good base to start from.
Change the Oil & filter, check the leads, plugs, Dissy & rotor arm (if fitted), get the Injectors ultrasonicly cleaned and replace the air filter with either a new paper filter or aftermarket element. DO NOT USE A CONE FILTER. Red tops tend to get upset as they draw in hot air from the bay, if you must have a cone filter then make sure its either isolated from the rest of the bay or is surrounded by cold air ducting!
Chipping is a bit hit and miss as generic maps are used, really you want a tailor made map specificly for your engine. A unichip would be the solution to that.
The exhaust manifold is a great standard item and most aftermarket items struggle to improve over it.

IIRC The sandwich plate mod is a modification to the sump baffle but thats all i know

Chears i take it standard air filters arnt restrictive then?

I was guna slap on a k@n cone filter i had laying around i will avoid that now;-)

my car seems a bit jerky at low revs ie 30 in 4th i would have thoght with all the torque it would be happy at these speeds is this my car or red tops?

if so any suggestions as to how to fix this?

chears Paul.

[DarrenH]

the breather mod in robs reply will alleviate some of the jerkyness.

i normally dont promote fuel pressure modifications (like the FSE) but nether-the-less i did something to my own car in its infancy. i fitted a 3 bar fuel pressure regulator off of cavalier/calibra turbo, which replaced the original 2.5bar version. its a straight swap and only a relatively small increase in fuel pressure. bit better throttle response, maybe a little perkier in the mid range where road cars are usually lean'ish for economy.

you can also modifiy the air intake, which means removing all the resonator box that lives in the front grill next to the radiator. get rid of the trumpet and bracket and the resonator bottle itself. pull off the short rubber cone shaped hosing between the grill and the coner of the airbox and replace with some large diametre air ducting to the grill. replace the paper air cleaner element with a good quality aftermarket panel filter.

[traffman]

hi matey , have fun an enjoy gte ownership!

aftermarket filters are they way forward , ive also did the ducting mod str8 into the airbox.
The only thing now is my airbox resembles a chunk of swiss cheese!

[jamie_f]

hey hey, you live near me, we'll have to meet up some time.

[REMUS]

we need to get all these mods down in some sort of archive forum.

[GRAK]

we need to get all these mods down in some sort of archive forum.

Thats a good idea then it would be easier to see what mods are worth doing and whats not.

[GRAK]

Hello bye the way, your not to far from me either, maybe arange a meet down on the south coast sometime?
It'll be cool to see so many mk2's together.