skinnyman

Last bump before they go on ebay. I'm happy to arrange shipping and offers are welcome as I'm trying to clear out the garage - I'm gathering too many parts again! I'm in Scarborough so if anyone wants to collect then feel free or I can arrange for them to be in Pontefract if that helps. Cheers, Andrew.

I've been looking at those too but they are still out of my price range. There's some debate as to which people prefer as some folks who have owned the Vectra then move onto the Insignia. A bit like the MK1 Octavia vRS versus the Mk2, there's a certain percentage of folks who come back to the older car for whatever reason. I'm happy at the moment with what I've got but like anyone who's into cars I'm always on the lookout for the next purchase.

It's an 09 plate that I bought from a dealer in Derby. What year was yours?

It crept up on me too. This is the first Vauxhall I have owned and was more of a Ford man having owned about ten in the past. I remember very clearly the day a Vectra VXR pulled up alongside me when I had the Mk1 vRS, just after I had it remapped. I was amazed at how he pulled away down the road compared to my Octavia and thought 'I gotta get me one of those!' It's not everyone's cup of tea but it suits me at the moment.

The sound is enough to warrant the cost of running one and this particular car is a daily driver. He gets extra man points for that. As for the graph, I find them useful in various ways but knowing when it runs out of puff is one of them.

I was surprised by the torque graph to be honest. Mind you, it does feel like the graph looks when driving if that makes sense and it's nice to know things look relatively healthy. I've been looking into a remap and there's only one place I'm considering should I decide to go for it. http://www.courtenaysport.co.uk/vectra-vxr-tuning/info_87.html The headline bhp only goes up to just over 300bhp, but it's the mid range shove that is where the car feels quicker. Could be interesting. As for the lad in the VXR8, this is how it sounds as I found a clip on Youtube that he posted up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t-tmDfcTMI 1:04 is where it gets interesting. The gear change from 2nd to 3rd is a nice sound too. I need to save some pennies and buy me one of those.

I thought I’d share my print out from today at RS Tuning in Leeds. I met up with a load of lads from the VXR owners club (vxronline.co.uk) There was a mixture of Corsas, Astras and I was the only one with a Vectra. I haven’t modded the car in any way and even replaced the K&N panel filter with an oem paper version to ensure it’s totally stock. As you can see the old bus did quite well and managed 283bhp on its first and only run on the dynos. I once had a Mk1 Octavia vRS mapped there and subsequently had the car on various rollers over the time I had it. The RS Tuning setup always gave me the lowest figures so I’m quite happy with the results from today as they’re a good guide. I was doing quite well in the power stakes, being second behind an Astra with 305bhp, that is until one of the lads put his VXR8 on the rollers. He managed 672bhp on his one and only run and seemed reasonably happy with that. p.s. Sorry about the dodgy photo but I don't have a scanner at home.

1. samuir1974 - Both please 2. KBPhoto - AD Very Cherry (and the Lush towels) please. 3. Mr Auric Goldfinger- both please ( also ordered Pack 2 micro cloths and don't forget my red applicator pad F O C ) 4. Thisday - Both please - Throw it in with everything else please! 5. Cactusjack - Both please, along with the other 2 GB's. 6. Radders567 - Both please - Please put in with GB 3. I don't need anymore microfibres. 7. Prykey - Both Please - Post with Group Buy #3 please. 8. Keith64 - AD Very Cherry please 9. Mushtafa - Both Plus GB#3 10. surfingobo - Both Plus GB#3 11. Meta55b = both please. 12. skinnyman - both please plus microfibre 2nd list.(I've taken my name off the microfibre list so I'll just buy the cleaner now) 13. WizzardsCuff - both please plus GB#3 14. VRobS + GB3 pm sent.

Edit. Seeing as this is taking a while I'll remove my name from this list and buy the GB#2 while it's still available. 1. WookieeM - Pack 2 If there is a choice. Yippeee 2. Hunty278 pack 2 pleas buddy 3. surfingobo pack 2 please plus other GB's if there is a chance to combine postage (just about to pay for them)

Doh! It seems that when the meets are on my doorstep I'm booked up. I'm not going to be able to make this one, sorry. :(

Makes sense now as the Mk2 was noticeably quicker then the MK1 when both were standard. Good to see you enjoying the car.

Is yours standard? When I had mine it was a bit lacklustre with the 180bhp but a remap made it much more able to keep up with the Mk2, as long as it was in standard form.

How would you describe your driving style Jim? I'm fairly easy on my tyres for 90% of the time so it will be interesting to see how long the new tyres last.

This seems to back up the reading I've done online about the Rainsport 3 tyre and its quick wear rate. I've had them on the Ignis for a year or so but that's not much to go by as it is on a limited policy of 5k miles per year and it hasn't even done that yet. Also, it weighs about 900kg so they aren't having to carry a heavy load either. In my wisdom I've bought two for the front of the Vectra that will be going on this week on some refurbed wheels so I'll be watching the wear rate closely. They'll have to cope with the weight of the car and the V6 lump over the front axles, plus I'll be asking them to put 280bhp onto the roads too. It should be a good comparison test though as I'm willing to bet that the Ignis will still be wearing it Rainsport 3s in another years time whereas the Vectra will have worn its out in 5k miles. They were a good price though. Camskill are asking about £106 for them in a 235 35 19" size with a Y speed rating.

When we lived in Huddersfield, my wife had a 750cc Panda. It had 34 raging horses under the bonnet and it did just fine. She used to regularly travel with 5 people in it to the university and back and if you've ever been to Holmfirth then you'll know there's a hill or two round there. I had a black Panda at the time with the 1000cc engine in and I had all of 45bhp to play with. Again, I managed over the four years I owned it to go up and down hills and back up them again without getting out to push at any time. (don't ask about the brakes though) I'm not saying that changing gear didn't have to happen and there was a definite need for forward planning when approaching hills. The flip side of all this was that it was great fun and it taught us both how to drive. Also, they were both pretty much unstoppable in snow for some reason, managing to get places that proper 4x4 vehicles struggled. Even when I upgraded to a super powerful Capri 1.6 Lazer I only had 73bhp to propel us along so in my humble and slightly polemic point of view I reckon it's all a load of codswallop and people should learn to use their gears correctly. edit - My dream car at the time was a 4x4 Sisley. Happy days....

Good point. Here I guess... http://auto-money.co.uk/

Price edited in the original post. The only reason I'm selling is that they don't fit either of my cars otherwise I'd be putting them on very soon. They're a bargain for someone....

Might be worth a look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5dRujiHbpA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tgdtVhQzJM Unless you've already seen them?

Thanks for that link, I've watched it a couple of times now. If the new CTR sounds like that it'd be great!

I'm up in sunny Scarborough. I'm happy to arrange a courier if you'd prefer?

I'm open to offers on these folks.

I have two Dunlop Winter Sport tyres for sale. They are 205 55 R16 91T and both have at least 5mm tread left. I bought these for a car I no longer have and seeing as they won’t go on either of my current cars it seems silly for them to be in the loft. I paid over £100 for these in February but never fitted them and as you can see they are still packaged as they came to me. I am looking for £70 posted for the two. Any questions just ask. Thanks, Andrew.

Looks like a good way to haul the family round. I imagine it'll be even better after a remap!

I'm in agreement about the love people have for their Octavias. I too was smitten for a long time and only got rid because of the need to fit three children in the rear - that was a sad day indeed.... Anyway, I'm wondering what it is that endears the car to people? I know there's the practical aspect, mixed with the performance (after a remap that is) and the running costs aren't too bad either. However, these are practical, measurable factors that can be found in many other cars on the road. What does the Mk1 have that say the Mk2 doesn't?