My Ride - Vauxhall Calibra V6

[jaybv6]

I drive a Vauxhall Calibra 2.5 litre V6. As standard they push out 168bhp but mine is currently pushing 194bhp which is good enough to push it to 160mph. I like the lines and she goes well but she is being sold very soon to buy something a bit more family orientated :wink:

I know it's not as flash as other people's rides but it goes quite well and is fully loaded. Hope you like it.

http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/calibrav6/images/mycar/calibrav6-01.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/calibrav6/images/mycar/calibrav6-02.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/calibrav6/images/mycar/calibrav6-03.jpg

[jon_s]

Dude, that is sweet, you have your engine bay sorted!

[SFDMALEX]

I like it. Very clean looking car. Just drop a turbo in it and your set :D

[jaybv6]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I just got bored with the engine bay and after making my induction kit it needed to stand out a bit. Anyone guess where the tin on the left hand side came from?

Brembo - your're right about the front, it does understeer a bit more than usual but if you lift of you can bring it back in line. The front is a standard phase 2 calibra one although since that photo was taken I have modified the towing eye cover into an air duct for the "Home made" induction kit. I think Vauxhall should have made the V6 with 4x4 and twin turbos, that would have been sweet.

SFD - that would be cool apart from the V6 block is too weak to take a turbo, especially if going over 300bhp.

[gis]

nice ride,the calibra's are cool,especially the V6,they sound pretty sweet with a sport exhaust on them,for them to be quick,the V6 is the one to go for IMO.

welcome to the site aswell,good to see another brit here :wink:

[Fleischmann]

I was just about to ask you what car is on the pic under your nick, after reading one of your posts. Well, now I know. Yep that sure is an oldschool ride. A 198 bhp Vauxhall Calibra...is 160mph an assumed top speed or is that just your record ??

[gis]

i would think its capable of 160 now it has 194hp,the stock V6 calibra is capable of between 145-150mph

sorry for answering that jayvb6 :D

[jaybv6]

No problem gis :). I see there are quite a few people from the UK around here.

Fleischmann - 160mph is an pretty accurate estimate as the clocks go to 160mph (digital calibrated speedo), I have had the needle past that and with about 100rpm to go before the limiter***. With the gearing in 5th the car is capable of 162.4 mph if it has the power to push it that far. The gearing is really strange as 2nd gear maxes out at 75mph, 3rd at 112mph, 4th at 141mph and then 5th at 162.4mph. The car seems to wind up quite quickly and I estimate a 0-60 time of around 6.7 seconds. The standard is 7.2 seconds. I managed a 1/4 time of 16.3 with a terminal velocity of 85mph but that's on one of the hottests days of the year and with me weighing in at 115kg (I am a pretty well built guy :) ).

Brembo - Twin turbo is a problem as the rear exhaust manifold is tight as a gnat's ass and there is only a couple of inches between it and the bulkhead. Saab use the same engine and only use a low comperssion blower on the front exhaust manifold.

*** - all these tests have been done on a private road and not on the public highway :wink:

[jaybv6]

I have just uploaded a video clip of my 16.3 quater mile run at Santa Pod. Check it out and see what you think. I will leave it hosted for a week before removing it.

http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/video/jaybv6-quarter.mpg

[gis]

cool little clip,as i thought it sounds pretty good.u got any other vids of your car,like your top speed run,lol

[jaybv6]

gis - certainly not. I have got some of it on the Rolling road though. Give me 2 minutes and I will upload a clip.

[gis]

cool,of course u dont have a top speed run video, it never happened did it, :wink: lol

[jaybv6]

gis - :D :D :o

Right I have searched all three of my pc's and the HDD that had the video clip of my rr run dided 2 months ago and I have not been able to retrieve the data (that is until I learn how to get it all back). I have uploaded this clip but it does not show the soound of my engine off aswell.

http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/video/rr-run-v6.mpg

[gis]

you could hear that pretty good IMO,very nice sound.can i ask what mods u have done to squeeze the extra 30+hp out

[jaybv6]

gis - strange really as before I started playing with the engine it was pushing 175bhp as standard 8) . That's 7bhp up on the book figure (168bhp). One thing I noticed is that my engine seems alot stronger than any other V6 I have seen.

To start with I remove the complete inlet tract including the throttle body, Traction control motor and inlet manifold. I completely removed all traces of dirt, oil and carbon deposits and polished the surfaces up. I then removed the OE induction system. I made my own cold air induction kit by doing the following
1 - turning the towing cover into an air vent
2 - fitting a K&N 57i induction kit
3 - shielded the K&N from the hot air by housing it inside a Maxwell House Coffee tin and wrapping it in carbon fibre.
4 - fitting a cold air feed from the towing eye vent to the K&N

This is the towing eye vent I made

http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/images/hook_meet/jay_b_intake_02.jpg

I also give the car regular 3k oil, oil filter, plugs and fuel filter change as well as cleaning up of the throttle body, Traction control motor and inlet manifold.

To benefit any work done I reset the ECU and force it into adaptive learning mode. I then drive the car as normal (i.e. like a nutter) and the ECU learns to slightly over fuel the car. It runs on Super Unleaded with octane boosters when necessary.

It seems a bit unreal that the car has run 194 bhp with very little work but I have had it tested on 3 seperate rolling roads and compared results and they all match up. I have got higher bhp results than another Calibra V6 running K&N induction, exhaust and Uni-chip on the same rolling road, same day. Bizarre but true :o .

[gis]

lol,yes bizarre,but do not complain,lol

with few mods your pushin a nice ammount of extra hp at a low cost.and a standard exhaust.i think the DTM upsweep exhaust looks cool on them (like TT has on his BMW) they sound nice aswell.

anymore mods planned on this car,or is it stayin as it is ready for your vectra GSI?

[jaybv6]

I was gonna mod is past 200bhp but with a family on the way I am leaving it ready to sell. I have to sort a few things out before advertising it but I don't really hope for getting more than £2500 for it. That's cheap for a car that will do 160mph.

[Fleischmann]

*** - all these tests have been done on a private road and not on the public highway :wink:

That's like one of those "Kid's don't try this at home" propaganda 'thingys' :)

[gis]

I was gonna mod is past 200bhp but with a family on the way I am leaving it ready to sell. I have to sort a few things out before advertising it but I don't really hope for getting more than £2500 for it. That's cheap for a car that will do 160mph.

£2500 is pretty cheap,especially for the V6 model.a car doin 160mph for a car nut is nice,but for sum1 my age,that wont happen due to insurance.

whats gonna happen to your fiesta?

[jaybv6]

gis - The fiesta is going aswell. It a 1994 (M) Ford Fiesta 1.6 16v Si, 5 door with 53,000 mile on the clock. In the past year we have only put 2000 miles on it. Here's a few pics.

http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/temp/fiesta_si_front.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/temp/fiesta_si_rear.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/temp/fiesta_si_int.jpg

The Fiest will go for around £1800 as it is a good low mileage example. It also has nearly al the optional extras inc Drivers and passenger airbags, central locking, ABS, Electric front windows, Recaro interior, Remote boot release along with the standard stuff like PAS, immobiliser etc. It's HPI clear as I have all the documentation to prove this.

For a Fiesta I am impressed with the way it drives. I corners like it's on rails due to the sports suspension (the same as on the XR2i) and it's cheaper to insure. I insured this in my wifes name on a provisional license with no NCB and it cost £600 Fully Comp (she's 28).

[gis]

so its true,the fiesta SI is cheap to insure,a guy i know here has one,he is 18 and owns one of those fiestas,he wrote off his first car aswell and he is on his own insurance and pays around £900-950 i thought he was lyin

[jaybv6]

Yeah the Si is blessed by being a group 9 on insurance I think. Not bad as it's basically a lower powered XR21. IMHO i think it lokos better than an XR2i as well.

[gis]

really group 9 insurance,the saxo is only 7 and insurance is a lot more,its just over £1400 for me on my dads insurance,so i think the fiesta SI must be like group 5 or sumthin or me and my dad are goin witht he wrong insurance company,lol coz both the sax and fiesta SI have a 1.6 90hp engine

[jaybv6]

Dunno, all I know is that it all depends on what insurance company you go with. I use a specialist broker for modified vehicles and my insurance was £680 last year on the V6. They gave me a renewal for £980. I shopped around, went back to them and they offered me £580 without even hesitating. If they think they can sting you they will.

just checked and the 16 Si is insurance group 8. You gotta change insurance companies dude.

[jaybv6]

gis - This is what I found on a Fiesta site

Si 16v
The Si 16v was introduced in 1994 as an insurance friendly yet sporty Fiesta, a kind of successor to the CHV 1.6 S and SX models. The XR2i and RS 1800 in groups 14 and 15 respectively were becoming severely hampered by increasing premiums that would eventually lead to both cars being discontinued within two years. The Si was powered by the 1.6 version of the Zetec that appeared in the 16v XR2i. This unit, rated at 90bhp, managed to get the car to 60 in just over 10 seconds yet still keep the car in group 8. From the outside the car looked quite different to any previous MK3 Fiesta. Both the front and rear bumpers were of a new smoother design, without the swage lines and coloured stripes of previous models. The front bumper had two 10cm round fog lights and a moulded grille. The Si shared the same black hatch spoiler as the XR2i, with the option of a larger spoiler that fitted on the tailgate, just above the rear clusters. This spoiler was offered with or without an integral brake light. The front arches had small plastic extensions, similar in design to the S2 Escort RS Turbo, but without the side skirts. The rear arches were left as standard. Factory issue on the Si were 14" steel rims with plastic trims of a design first seen on the MK5 escort. Alloys were an option at extra cost, and these are the same as the 16v XR2i. The interior on the Si is regarded by many Fiesta fans as Ford's best. It has the same black dashboard and trim parts, with the new "Jigsaw Raven" pattern and the same winged seats as the XR2i.

I have made the interesting bits bold.

[gis]

hmmm,i think we do need to look around at insurance companys.from the looks of it the insurance should be around the 1k area.the saxo VTR is group 7 insurance.i always thought the SI fiesta did 0-60 in less than 10 seconds,the VTR does it in around 9.5,maybe due to lighter weight.

is your fiesta modded?

[jaybv6]

gis - I preume your name is Danny? Anyhow, youneed to shop around as you could easily get your insurance halved.

[gis]

lol,ok how did u know my name was danny,or did u look in my profile,if not then your freakin me out,lol

dont worry,i will be shoppin around for better insurance.i also need to tell my friend he is gettin ripped off aswell on his 1 litre micra,lol

[jaybv6]

Danny, don't get freaked out. I looked in your profile. I just hate conversing with people using their login id, I'd rather use first names.

As a base line try Adrian Flux.

Then try HIC on 08451 290290, there is a guy called Phill who is supposed to give you decent quotes. That's from my Vauxhall contacts but might be worth a try.

Liverpool and Victoria are good as well. I currently use Greenlight Insurance Services in Bromley and have been with them for 5 years.

All you have to remember is get a quote and then keep ringing round using the best quote so far and they will always try to match it. Hell I have used a ficticious quote in the past and got a good deal.

The Si isn't modified, I was gonna tinker but only after the wife had been insured for a year but now we are selling it I am not gonna bother.

[gis]

i had heard that adrian flux was givin out good quotes recently.so they may be a good one to try.just checked in a magazine aboutt he performance of the SI,it says 10.2 0-60 and top speed of 115,does that soudn about right to you?

[jaybv6]

Yeah, it does. I have had it as far as 110 on the clock but it seems really slow at the top en. Cruising at 90-95 is ok.

[gis]

yeah the saxo is the same,at 90-95 its surprisingly smooth,once it reaches 100 though,you better be patient coz you will have to wait a while for it to get up there,lol

[jaybv6]

Yeah, it's a totally different world in my V6. It's surprising how steady it feels at 150mph really :wink: . That is when I take it round the Top Gear test track :wink: :wink:

[gis]

it should be good when u get the GSI vectra,i see a load of the SRI version but the GSI is kinda rare to see.and has the edge in speed aswell.that should be better to gov your friend witht he FTO a run for his money. :D

[jaybv6]

Unfortunately due to cashflow I might just have to go for the SRi. It still has 170bhp and with my own tried and tested home mods I can get that up to 185 without any issues. One think I still have in the garage is this

http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/temp/induction01.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/temp/induction02.jpg

It's a £200 Blitz Stainless Steel Induction kit which I picked up for £10 :wink: . It had only done about 100 miles before the owner replaced it with a one that sparkled more. That should be good in liberating the horses :D :o .

[gis]

thats pretty cool,were did u pick up a blitz filter for £10.what car is that for?

[jaybv6]

My mate had it lying around his garage and just offered it to me for £10. Of course I took it as if I can't use it I can definitely make money on it. It's fo an FTO but I can make it fit any car within reason. You see the chrome funnel? It reduces the size of the intake to match my Calibra or the forth coming Vectra. Neat.

[gis]

that will look pretty sweet on avectra,and the only blitz filter i know of on a vectra aswell.so you will be unique,i wonder what power gains you will gain from puttin that on seen as u got like 15hp from your other K&N one.be interesting to find out.

then maybe you can make you from my saxo,LMAO,that filter is the size of my engine bay,lol

[jaybv6]

Danny, It would look cool I agree but you won't be able to see it in the engine bay. I need to get the filter away from the hot air or else it will stall the engine. The filter will be situated behind the front bumper to get the cold air.

On top of that I will be doing my "secret" induction polishing to get the other horses outta the engine.

Out of interest I got a quote today for the Vectra SRi V6. It will be the same as my Calibra V6 (£580 fully comp). Not bad really and that includes me having the Blitz installed.

[gis]

wow,that aint bad at all,fully comp aswell.i know the sri is also around the same performance as the calibra.168hp standard they have dont they?

[jaybv6]

Yup, that's right Danny. 168bhp, but more like 190bhp once I have worked my magic on it. Might even get the moddified throttle bodies once I have the spare cash, that should see me on the 200bhp barrier. :wink:

[gis]

over 200hp,that be a nice amount of power.would u consider a new exhaust.that would work well with helpin the car breathe and with your "home-made" filter you should gain a nice bit of hp,that alone could see you close to about 200hp dont you think? they also make some nice duel exhausts for the vectra :)

[jaybv6]

Aaahh, the V6 is no ordinary engine and does not respond well to some conventional modifications like exhausts. The reason is that the Exhaust manifolds are the restricting factor. These can be replaced but at £1000 for the pair it's a steep price to pay. With all my mods including a Uni-chip I could get it to 220bhp without to many problems. 200bhp is fine for me though. At the end of the day it is gonna be my family car :D .

How about your Saxo, is that standard or have you got the bug to modify yet? A mate of mine had a modified saxo, in fact here are a few pictures of it (the quality isn't too great).

These were after the body kit was fitted but before the real work was done
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/images/saxo/saxo-before-01.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/images/saxo/saxo-before-02.jpg

and these were after the rest was done like the respray, bonnet vent, smoothed boot etc.

http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/images/saxo/saxo-after-01.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/images/saxo/saxo-after-02.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/images/saxo/saxo-after-03.jpg
http://www.jason.burgess.btinternet.co.uk/images/saxo/saxo-after-04.jpg

It looked good in my opinion.

[gis]

droooooool,i wish i could afford to do that,but not at the moment.i have started saving though,bits at a time for the beginning touches like new exhaust and filter.
i like the alloys,i always wanted to see if they suited a saxo and now i know they do,lol,they are TSW venoms arent they?

here is a pic of mine,its a couple months old when we HAD sunshine,if u can remember that small amount,lol i have been meanin to take some new ones but the weather hasnt really been great and also i suck at using a digi camera,lol

http://www.jabbasworld.net/photopost/data/2/1717SICT0037.jpg

[jaybv6]

Danny, that's a lovely colour. One of the best I have ever seen from the Citroen factory. Like all good things it takes time :wink: . You'll get there in the end, and when you do you'll sell up and buy something bigger and better :D .

The VTR's 90bhp 1.6 8v engine is easily tuneable and with a filter and exhaust you should see 100bhp. Add a chip and then 115bhp is yours for the taking.

[gis]

thank you, :D the colour is one reason i like it so much,there are a few saxo's around here and they are all the regular blue,that goldie colour and a couple black ones.i have never really seen another colour like mine.

i have heard about the chips for the VTR and was told it didnt do much power wise.to tell u the truth i havent really looked into it in detail but got told the redline was raised from 6200 to 6700rpm,not sure if thats correct though

[jaybv6]

Yeah, most chip raise the limiter in the ECU as well as smoothing out some of the spikes and stuff in the power and torque curves.

[gis]

yeah it may be worth gettin,but £300 for a chip is quite expensive IMO.but ill have to see if i look into it,im just dreadin the time the first mods go on and i feel the car goin that bit quicker than it used to,and then i will want more,then after a while ill just think " wonder what a VTS is like"
i was lookin at the citroen dealership the other day,my dad was checkin out the new C2 VTR and GT and i was lookin i his used cars part in the back yard and he had a VTS for sale for £4995 and the part that shocked me most which made me think it was worth it was it only had 18k miles on it and the car was 3 years old

[jaybv6]

Not a bad price but have you seen what you can get for £5k these days? Lots of machines that are faster and more tunable.

[gis]

yeah i know what u mean,i saw a twin turbo 300zx for sale for the same price at the nissan garage earlier,also they had a brand new 350Z outside,and the dealership was closed and they left it outside along side the 300ZX,crazy bastards,lol