coldel Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Well its been 4 weeks now and thought I would give this a 'summer' weather write up. Obviously when the weather turns it will be interesting to see how usable it is and at what point its not usable and will go under cover. But the last four weeks have blessed me with stunning weather for a convertible roadster Buying Experience There are not a lot of these about, typically over the last 6 months I have not seen on PH, ebay and AT more than 30 for sale at any one time. There are amongst that lot about 6-7 which just havent sold because of dealers thinking they are worth 5k more than they actually are, even at dealer prices. In fact most dealers have no idea what these cars are. I joined the VX forum, helpful bunch on there, but really good for picking up VXs for sale before they hit PH - its quite common for them to be kept within enthusiasts. I bought my VX off the forum off a long serving member along with plenty of endorsements. Also don't be put off by number of owners, these cars are passed around a lot with relatively few miles added each owner, mine has 6 previous owners I think with 50k on the clock. There really wasn't much to look out for, typical things such as checking oil, coolant, brake levels, suspension, all the usual stuff you would for any car. The real VX specific stuff was paintwork, clams were incorrectly stored during build stage and moisture got into the fibre glass meaning under cold weather it expands and bubbles the paintwork. Checking for previous damage, there are a lot of write offs, both declared and undeclared out there - due to the cost of replacement body panels you can write off a car hitting a rabbit. Some cars are repaired undeclared but you then are in the dark in case it was more than just panel damage. Again having at least half the cars life on the forum gave some reassurance. ​I traveled on the train for four hours to get mine - expect to do a lot of traveling to find the right one. I also spent 5 months looking before finding the right one. The Car Mine is the NA version, there are two others technically which are the Turbo and the VXR. VXR's are uber rare, only 60 ever made. Turbos are pretty common although lots of cat d's around, nothing wrong with them but never buy without photo evidence of repair and bills. Most people will clamour for the turbo due to its immense performance but amongst those in the know the NA has the better handling capability and can be upgraded cheaply with a SC to easily outperform a turbo. It is, sparse. You climb in and its a mission to do this, backwards. One foot in and then rotate and drop, then swing in right foot. There is no cool way of getting in and out. Once you are in though it feels like the car envelopes you and everything you need is just an inch or two away. The drivers side seat slides back and forth, there is a comedy hand pump for lumber support but the steering column is fixed in place. The passenger seat does not move at all. There is carpets where the foot rests are but otherwise its exposed aluminium. This means its loud inside, there is on the forum a carpet solution for £35 which carpets the whole interior but it kind of takes away from the car what its about for me and of course adds weight which I will get back to later... ...that said I will be covering the centre tunnel in leather and adding a leather handbrake gaiter. But yes the weight, every kg counts. When I have a passenger I lose a lot of performance! probably about a second off the 0-60 at a guess! Depends on the passenger of course but it has a massive impact, so even a few kgs here and there when modding combined makes a big impact on the cars performance. Handling wise there is no change, but its that straight line speed that is impacted. Steering wheel is a momo leather jobby (with an airbag!), drilled peddles, alu handbrake and gear knob. No central locking (weight saving). The big problem interior wise is the heater, there isn't one. Well technically there is but it has two problems, it doesnt blow hot air, and the tube connecting it to the vents is in essence bacofoil. the tube can be replaced but a new uprated heater unit is about £300. Seriously, if you like your creature comforts and/or you have various bodily ailments which mean some yoga moves are difficult, this is a hard car to live with. There is a head unit and two speakers. Not sure what else you can say about that. Driving Experience Yep this is where it all gets exciting, and really to the point of the car, driving this thing is incredible. Strip away the power steering, air bags, traction control, roof(!) and just about every luxury and you have a race car in all but name. The feedback through the steering wheel is incredible. I know we say we get good feedback through the Zed but seriously this is on another level plus one. Its no sleight on the Zed but by sitting a few inches off the ground in a lightweight car (circa 800kgs half the zed weight) with a small steering wheel with no power steering the whole setup is for your brain, hands and the wheel to communicate directly. As you drive down the road you are feeling the road as if you are walking on it bare foot, its the only way to describe it. Every tiny contour, I drive the ford focus afterwards and I feel so numb I find it frightening that people can safely drive like that - without knowing whats actually happening under the wheels. I have yet to really test the grip levels but its the handling that really sets it apart, and having this intense communication with the road really puts you in a great position to know how far you can push it. Think it will be an aerodrome drive or something to really test the grip levels... All this comes at a price though - I went on a drive out with Daz the other weekend and as much as I was smiling at the end of two hours I was physically tired. My shoulders ached and my left leg was getting a bit of cramp! Its a small engined NA, so you have to work the gears to get the best out of it, and also when tossing it through corners it has to be two handed and at points I'm hanging onto the car as it drags me round the corner. The zed I could corner hard with one hand on the wheel, impossible now. Maintenance Hard to make a call on this due to only 4 weeks ownership but looking into costs in case, if someone stole my discs and pads, to replace with branded decent stuff all round would be less than £200. Most engine parts are mass produced as its just a vectra engine, so minimal cost. Worst case scenario if the engine went bang you can get a used one with 30k on the clock for around £600. The real fear with these cars is the bodywork, any damage and its hefty bills. The only other problem is the wheels, they are an odd size and only two brands make the right sized tyres for them. Some owners swap out for exige wheels where the selection is more varied (and often cheaper). Overall Physically a tough car to live with and drive, no comforts, you work every second on the car when driving it - it doesn't 'cruise'. However in its favour is a rare car with great looks for its age (although can be marmite, they look better in reality than on camera), until you drive this or an elise or a formula single seater you cannot comprehend in your brain how much grip it has and when you do it makes you re-evaluate everything you had driven before which you thought could 'handle well'. Despite the non race spec engine its pretty nippy within speed limits, reaching 60 in under 6 seconds. You MUST test drive these before you buy, a passenger seat drive is ok but get your insurance to cover you if buying privately because it will really be only then you know if this is the car for you. Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cs2000 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Interesting read, I think its a shame they scrimped on the creature comforts such as a proper heater and movable passenger seat + steering wheel as I guess this puts many people off. The sparse interior certainly did that with me. However, on my drive back from London Friday I saw two of them (bizarrely, as I never see these) one silver and one orange and I always stare at them, lovely looking cars in real life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Excellent write up Had I bothered to write up my S1 Elise properly, it would have been very similar...except bizarrely my heater was ok and there was no airbag ..plus the K series engine (by the time I had one the issues were understood and could be overcome). Mine was fine once dodgy temp sensor sorted. It also took a bit of effort to make it sound better than stock. Some of the later, improved seats can be retro fitted in the case of the Elise... I don't know whether this applies to the VX220 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 I wouldnt say it was a case of scrimping, everything adds weight and the car is all about having as little of it as possible. I think when Wasso stripped out his boot on his Zed, along with various other bits and pieces he saved 80kgs or something, thats an average adult male in weight. The heater I agree is pathetic. The VX220 seats are super comfy, when doing the drive the other day after 2 hours (plus hour and forty five mins getting there) I still felt nice and comfy, I hear a lot of the Lotus buys try to retro fit VX seats in. I also forgot about the VSE (Vauxhall Sports Exhaust) which came with the car, sounds bloody amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I heard an NA 220 driving near Epsom Downs during the week and it sounded really good...certainly not the standard S1 hairdryer sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 I think there is a video on page 1 of this thread with my exhaust note - ran an iphone app on it and it was about 97 dbls static Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Good write up If you're after another good forum, try SELOC, they really know their stuff. 66 VXRs were made though, 65 for the road and number 00 for the VX heritage collection. /geek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 I flitted with SELOC for a while but drifted away once I got this, should re-engage really as so much of the info is transferable. Yes my bad - 66 VXRs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikesding Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Very nice! This was my plan when I have enough to have a weekend car and a daily car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Done a bit of work on the interior - removed the centre tunnel and clad it with a leather cover. Also put some red 4d carbon vinyl on the dash to match the car Pic is a bit crap, but hey its dark out there today! Also changed the spark plugs, took ten mins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikesding Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Very nice write up by the way - I missed that the first time I commented Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Looking good col, im still looking for mine included in the search list is supercharged 300bhp one (big scare) but will be epic if i can snap it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 (edited) . Edited August 23, 2013 by jumping350 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Supercharged VXs are scary as hell mate - I did a few passenger rides and i was hanging on like you wouldnt believe. I do have an inkling to SC mine...so tempting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 This ones a lotus so either way still bloody scary,do it! I guess that might solve the straight line speed issue lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Well at the moment its on par with a Zed, but like I say being sat in an airbagless (except for steering wheel) car made out of fibre glass and doing those speeds is pretty seat of the pants time. SC cars are track monsters really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Yeah that's what im aiming at really for a car that's only gonna be out a few months a year its got to be a beast,gonna do some eve sessions at brands you should come down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Well a decent SC VX would 'beast' just about everything else you will meet on a track. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren-B Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Nice read Col As you probably know I met one of your fellow vx members last weekend @ Rockingham, Guy called Ryan in a silver SC'd. Really nice guy, he even took me out for a few laps, An absolutely great car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 Yeah you got a mention on the VX forum mate Need to organise another drive out soon...before the weather gets autumny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 ...and I owe you brekkie for the roof cable Maybe an adjusted Kent route without the closed M25! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 (edited) A nice little update on this: I decided the speakers need a little more ooompf so purchased and just installed these little beauties: Also the interior plastics, being 11 years old and in original state are in need of some tlc. I ummed and urred and ended up getting a carbon dip on them in red. I tried out the dash plates first with the company (easiest to remove, not very big etc) and very happy with the results: I will probably do the door cards the same way as well. Also have put leather over the centre tunnel and put in an Elise handbrake (much chunkier!) which is in annodized black and looks miles better than the OEM one. So progressing slowly but surely Edited October 4, 2013 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Gets a bit nippy in there nowadays so applied a roof liner - very pleased with the results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 You big girl! That's not the S2 liner, which one is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 A guy on the VX forum gets his mother to make them yes I am a girl but they are in great nick and super comfy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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