beema vs opel

[rossi]

own an astra G 1.8 sedan but moding it seems to be pretty expensive, my question is should i go the SRiT or an old E30 bmw m3 or 325i and put some work into it?
i can see a small rear driver being an awesome car to drive
and the m3 comes with a decent 147kw :D and the 325 comes with 125kw all NA so a blower of some sort is still an option down the track. . .
ideas?
anyone driven the beema's to compare?

[KID_SRi]

I'd go E30 M3.
Having been a few E30's with www.eurocca.net
They are a Great Drive. A Bloke Eurocca is doing a Turbo Conversion on his E30 M3, It shall be a Weapon.

[Blue_Dvl]

the m3 is a fantastic car to drive, well balanced and still quick. However If your wanting to spend money on modifying then would definately go for the SRiT. Its far easier to modify with more gains to be had for less $$, and the maintainence costs on the bimmer would be quite high (even for older models)

there is a guy on one of the bmw forums spent $16k on his E30 325 and has 158kw at the rear wheels, naturally aspirated...... fantastic

[Tfer]

Depending on your budget.... what about a Vectrac CDXi 3.2l manual..... should get one for around $25k :D

155kw and 300Nm and gets along nicely :)

But, sorry, I am not sure of your actual budget ;)

[rossi]

just on the costs on mods, surely the m3 would be cheaper simply because its been around that much longer?
i was in another disussion over mods for my 1.8 astra and apparenlty they're quite costly and give low returns for what you put in, money wise
is this not the case with the SRiT?

[oneightoo]

ask mr corsa what gains you get for how much you spend when modding a 1.8

[rossi]

ask mr corsa what gains you get for how much you spend when modding a 1.8

i shall, but the idea of a 156 kw rear driver the same size as my astra is just dam apealing! :D

[rossi]

in response to tfer
looking to spend max 22G
so that would be the SRiT end of story
or i could pick up an E30 m3 for around 15G and put 7G into it
or pick up a 325 E30 for around 10G and put 10G into it.
decisions decisions

[Tfer]

in response to tfer
looking to spend max 22G
so that would be the SRiT end of story
or i could pick up an E30 m3 for around 15G and put 7G into it
or pick up a 325 E30 for around 10G and put 10G into it.
decisions decisions

Actually hunt hard for a Veccy C as well...... you may just surprise yourself.... if you were going to spend that sort of dollars, go the Sri-T or M3 (both good suspension setups standard) :)

[JasonGilholme]

What about 220 something KW's at the front wheels in something the size of a corsa??? intersting??? :p

[Apex]

own an astra G 1.8 sedan but moding it seems to be pretty expensive, my question is should i go the SRiT or an old E30 bmw m3 or 325i and put some work into it?
i can see a small rear driver being an awesome car to drive
and the m3 comes with a decent 147kw :D and the 325 comes with 125kw all NA so a blower of some sort is still an option down the track. . .
ideas?
anyone driven the beema's to compare?

Would have thought an E30 M3 would be worth moon-beams, not to sure how common they are either, would think you may struggle to find one!

Love the E3o M3 it was my hero car as a kid (late eighties early nineties) I think the E30 is still the most successful touring car of all time! Ah reminiscing…:p

[Apex]

Found a E30 M3 http://motorpoint.autoweb.drive.com.au/cms/usedcars/model_M3/carType_used/make_BMW/start_15/results_TRUE/ID_3270618/vehicle.html for 50k

[Shaun]

in response to tfer
looking to spend max 22G
so that would be the SRiT end of story
or i could pick up an E30 m3 for around 15G and put 7G into it
or pick up a 325 E30 for around 10G and put 10G into it.
decisions decisions

Not always the end of the story. Mines for sale for 22k neg. SRi T that is.

[ultim8DTM5]

Hate to say it but BMWs are more expensive than Holdens to modify. A quality 325is would be $15-20k and a BMW M3 (E30) would be $30k in RHD very rough.

They are 20 year old cars so EVERYTHING needs to be changed, not just modified.

[EL BURITO]

how about u come out on sunday and have a look and talk to the beemer guy ect and Nik

http://www.opelaus.com/forum/showthread.php?p=205521#post205521

[auzvectra]

i would say go for the sri-t hands down, not just cause i do performance bits for em either ;).
tune $400, or kit i think is $600-700 now.
fmic kit $900 + postage, and it's already a quick lil machine :).
in the low 14's with a good driver no hassles :D.
with a lil more work u'll break the 13's, which is the next level for many sri-t's now.

[blueraven]

yes, an m3 would be nice, but the e30 is..well.. REALLY old, and you wont find one in good condition with low k's end of story. And i used to have and e30 323i, was a great car, but jesus only a few small things went wrong and it cost me a mint to get it fixed. I would hate to know what the parts on an M3 would cost!

Buy the sri t, save a few hundred bucks and Rhino can sell you a reflash (or wayne/turblue) and you will have fun, in a near new (couple of years old is new in my book) european car which will have next to nothing wrong with it in at least a few years, not to mention the astra is a damn good car for the money, even when you take performance out of the equation.

Looks, economy, full leather, aircon, power everything etc etc.

Dont get me wrong i did like my bmw, but i am tired of owning cars i have to 'fix' something on every other week, not saying it will happen, but with all older cars its a big risk. (So now i waste my money on it anyway by modding it :D )

come to the cruise, you can see a heap of e30's, and a few modded opels ;)

[rossi]

dam
i figured the E30's m3 would be hard to find, especially when i went into redbook.com.au and they only had ones from 94' and upwards, and they reckon you should be looking at between 20 and 30G for those so thought the E30 would be slightly cheaper (not realising its about to have its 20th birthday and become a collectors item) i liked them before, but loved them when i saw one at a track day absolutely killing the skylines, STi's and silvias on a relatively tight cone course
but looking at it realistically the SRiT would probably be the better option (also considering the response i've gotten), as blueraven said there would always be something that needed fixing on the bmw. and parts (again from response) look pretty sparse and pricey
all opel need to do is bring out either an AWD or RWD astra and wouldnt be in this dilemah! :D

[rossi]

in fact i think i just found the M3 i saw that day
http://www.eurocca.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20200
looked abotu the same differeent mags though i think?
rest was pretty much the same and says he's in perth??

[blueraven]

yeah he is, and yeah his m3 is damn nice...he will most likely be at the cruise if you wanna look at it.

but he wants near 30k...

[rossi]

would love to make this cruise, but unfortunatly will be in Augusta for the week end
yeh 30K is slightly out of my price bracket for the time being, is a dam nice car though from what i saw/heard on the day, couldnt believe how sticky the rear was! awesome.

[auzvectra]

opel did make a rwd astra, it just never made it past the shores of germany, n even there we arnt sure it was released, i was told it was by a reliable source, but people say it wasnt :(.
although 300,000 is lil much for an astra :(.
as for awd, i have looked into it ;).

[rusole21]

Actually hunt hard for a Veccy C as well...... you may just surprise yourself.... if you were going to spend that sort of dollars, go the Sri-T or M3 (both good suspension setups standard) :)
i think he is after a fast car. :D

[rossi]

haha yeh they did make a RWD astra, they also shoe horned a v8 into it and threw it on a race track agaist C class mercs and audi TT's :D gotta love german touring car's
but i had heard rumours that there are AWD kits out of Germany for astra's?? i was intruiged but figured there would be a nice price tag to go with it so my thoughts stopped there haha
i heard this back in south africa where opels are opels

[blueraven]

awd kit = calibra turbo + angle grinder :)

[blueraven]

oh and could never bring myself to pay 30k for a 20 year old car!

[rossi]

it would simply be for the fact that its an m3, i'd de-badge it and laugh when the commodore next to me watches as i disappear into the distance. and even better when you power through a corner as good as a wrx :D

[auzvectra]

hate to tell u this, but wrxy's are not good handlers :p

[rossi]

really?
spose their AWD just means they can power on a bit sooner than other cars through corners?

[auzvectra]

nope, stand on the gas too quick, n they understeer. worse then a front wheel :).
is the dry they arent too bad, but in the wet they are useless round corners.
well, i dont know how the current models go, but the pre-bugeye's wernt ne good. they arent slow, just slow round corners, well most cars seem slow round corners compared to the G sri-t :D.

[xplosv57]

just on the costs on mods, surely the m3 would be cheaper simply because its been around that much longer?



yes, an m3 would be nice, but the e30 is..well.. REALLY old, and you wont find one in good condition with low k's end of story. ;)

Oh dear, im glad you found out how much E30 M3s are really worth cos they are worth big bucks, they were never sold here from factory so all are private imports and are worth a hell of alot!!!

Blueraven, not end of story, youd be suprised how many lil old ladies have E30's sitting in their garages with under 100000km on the clock, my mate bought an '88 325i full option with 16000km last year from an old lady!!!

As much as its a BMW, E30 parts are very cheap and readily available, very easy to work on, and the majority ive come across are very reliable!! They have great handling, especially on track and the 6 cylinder motor is a weapon with small mods!! Personally id go for the update version '88 onwards, great lil package on a budget!!!!

Id rather punt around a car which is older, easy to fix and parts that are easy to fit than a newer Astra Turbo which parts are more expensive, harder to come by and not really a car any joe blow can put a spanner to!!!

Plus the E30 is rear wheel drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

[rjastra]

All E30 M3s were LHD... so if its a RHD car then its been converted and the steering ratio wont be the same as a proper original M3

Another car to look for is a Merc 190E 2.3-16 or 2.5 Evo. A competitor to the E30 M3 and were available in RHD (so there maybe some pvt imports around).

Or... get an E30 325i thats had a Hartage engine conversion (2.7 or larger).
Hmmm, can you dump the 3.5L from the 535 into one?

[xplosv57]

All E30 M3s were LHD... so if its a RHD car then its been converted and the steering ratio wont be the same as a proper original M3

Or... get an E30 325i thats had a Hartage engine conversion (2.7 or larger).
Hmmm, can you dump the 3.5L from the 535 into one?

Well the few E30 M3s ive seen, some have been kept LHD, but the RHD conversions are fine, still feel like an M3!!!

I think finding a Hartge motored E30 would be much more difficult to find than an E30 M3, and also if found, would fecth big dollars!!! Know a customer who owns 2 Alpina BMWs and wants quite a bit for it!!!

With an engine conversion, ive seen BMW V12s in E30s, as well as LS1's so alot of motors can fit, including the 535 motor!!!

[ultim8DTM5]

All E30 M3s were LHD... so if its a RHD car then its been converted and the steering ratio wont be the same as a proper original M3

Another car to look for is a Merc 190E 2.3-16 or 2.5 Evo. A competitor to the E30 M3 and were available in RHD (so there maybe some pvt imports around).

Or... get an E30 325i thats had a Hartage engine conversion (2.7 or larger).
Hmmm, can you dump the 3.5L from the 535 into one?

I thought the UK-deliveries were RHD from the factory...

[xplosv57]

Ahhh yes good point, they were RHD from the UK, so yes some can be picked up genuine RHD, my bad!!!!

[rusole21]

nope, stand on the gas too quick, n they understeer. worse then a front wheel :).
is the dry they arent too bad, but in the wet they are useless round corners.
well, i dont know how the current models go, but the pre-bugeye's wernt ne good. they arent slow, just slow round corners, well most cars seem slow round corners compared to the G sri-t :D.
man your biased. haha the g's arent that good around corners. rediculous amounts of understeer. wrxs are chuckable. back em into the corners and hammer out. all race cars are either back wheel drive or all wheel drive for a reason.

[JasonGilholme]

it would simply be for the fact that its an m3, i'd de-badge it and laugh when the commodore next to me watches as i disappear into the distance. and even better when you power through a corner as good as a wrx :D

You don't need an M3 to flog a commodre. SRI barina can do that.

If you wanna beat a comodore get the 1.8 astra and do some basic mods.

Also, i have to agree with matt about wrx's. They don't handle particularly well. Every review i've seen the driver has tried to power out early and just understeered.

In saying that you're probably right, a car the size of the bmw would handle just like the wrx. lol.

Personally, stick with the astra and spend a little bit of cash and you'll have a fun ride that will handles nicely and beat the comodores in your area.

[nadg63]

Fit a MY99 WRX out with Whiteline kit and it'll outcorner a SRiT, plus it will fire out of the corner much harder; I have both and if in a hurry I'd take my Sube over the Astra any day, (my SRiT also has a Whiteline rear bar)

Apart from front/rear swaybars and rear links the MOST important thing to stop the things understeering is the anti-lift kit.

When you try and accelerate a standard WRX out of a corner if you watch the bonnet you can see it lift up, unweighting the front wheels hence the understeer - the anti-lift kit prevents this and keeps the front end nailed to the road.

[blueraven]

Fit a MY99 WRX out with Whiteline kit and it'll outcorner a SRiT

thats suprising...would it outcorner an SriT with a whiteline package tho?

i would have thought in stock trim the wrx would have out steered the SriT, i guess i might be wrong.

[rossi]

When you try and accelerate a standard WRX out of a corner if you watch the bonnet you can see it lift up

and does it! a mate has one of the earlier edition WRX's, when he let me take it for a bash i took it through a 'speed restrictor' in an unbuilt sub division near my house, now usually in my astra i can hit it at about 90 and power out, no hastles. took it in the wrx at about 75/ 80 put the power down and it didnt feel to comfortable at all around the front end. . . maybe im just not used to the extra boot in the wrx haha

[Wraith]

It all depends on your budget and taste.

An M3 would be great, BUT an E30 is way too old these days and parts for any Beemer model are mega expensive......the look of this model is IMHO pretty ordinary.

An E46 or at least an E36 M3, yes please anyday over anything else regardless of the cost.

But Sri t vs E30 I'd get the Sri t Astra, similar power to begin with and much more bang for the buck there after with mods and much, much easier and cheaper to get power gains from :)

[rossi]

But Sri t vs E30 I'd get the Sri t Astra, similar power to begin with and much more bang for the buck there after with mods and much, much easier and cheaper to get power gains from :)
once i get that power, i hear i alot of guys saying they're having trouble conveying it to the road, with out lighting up the tyres?

[rossi]

having said that i think in the long term the SRiT would be a better buy, im just being finiky over details :D
plus they have all the extra's already installed

[rusole21]

once i get that power, i hear i alot of guys saying they're having trouble conveying it to the road, with out lighting up the tyres?
then tourque steer. 0-60 foot times are terrible in the astra. ask blue raven.

but yeah astra over e30 m3.

[blueraven]

i have no issues with torque steer...and my 60ft issues wouldnt be so bad if i had 17's and better tyres

[rossi]

what difference does having stocky tyres make?
i thought the whole point in mags was that they're lighter and better grip?

[EL BURITO]

what difference does having stocky tyres make?
i thought the whole point in mags was that they're lighter and better grip?
is about puting the power to the road.
Niks problem (I belive) is due to the offset of the wheels and the weight

[blueraven]

no my problem if the fact that the 18's i have are heavy, and the sidewall/profile is very low so it doesnt distort and grip as well as tyre with a taller sidewall under accelleration. I has a play off against handling though, the 18's grip better around corners, bot not in a straight line basically. That and with the power i have i need something really sticky to avoid wheelspin :(

The offset doesnt affect the grip, if anything my slightly wider track helps grip around corners...

[Charlatan]

Ahhh yes good point, they were RHD from the UK, so yes some can be picked up genuine RHD, my bad!!!!

Nope, they were all LHD. Any right-hookers are conversions.

[auzvectra]

ok rusole. i know a wrx CANNOT keep with me on a tight "track" :),
proven fact, this was a 99ish sti with a set of coil overs, n wateva else.
infact if you set the sri-t up right, not lots of $$$ either, they are great handlers, not trying to boast, but not many cars can keep up with us around a tight track.
as for grip, the only issue i have ever had with grip was with the factory tyres, since i changed them, i do not get wheel spin, i even out launched a wrx in the rain (mind u he didnt have it for long, but still thats an effort).
even when i had mine running really well last week, i still had no grip issue, n i mean it was running REAL well ;).
all i have done to mine is kingsprings, they help for grip a heap, and some super sticky rubber, not even expensive stuff.

[blueraven]

i have lapped tight tracks as quick as sti's and evos...

[rossi]

the only reason i would have considered getting a wrx was its track speed, but i like what im hearing with the SRiT :D
funny how under published SRi's are, all you ever hear about is WRX's when it comes to small car track attacks!

[Vectracious]

A member in the WRX club who also has a Vectra has taken both to track days - both are stock suspension wise - the Vectra carries the same corner speeds as his MY02 WRX.

Even my MY05 is not that much better through the corners than my old JSII - sure the exit speed is better and you can get on the power earlier, but for stock v stock, they were very similar.

Auzvectra - that guy you outlaunched in the rain must have been very very green and bogged it down.

[auzvectra]

Auzvectra - that guy you outlaunched in the rain must have been very very green and bogged it down.

he was, but still i did launch pretty hard, my tyre's grip almost as well in the wet as in the dry, n i did 5K launches down the 1/4 ;).
i didnt think the veccy was that good, well it was but, compared to the Sri-T it is hopeless at handling, remember that our chassi has been set up by lotus, with stiffer shocks front n rear, stiffer rear torsion beam, lower suspension, i'm not sure if the front sway is different.
and i was reading a reveiw the other day on the sri-t in 04, i noticed in the pics, that the astra they had didnt have the sri suspension, so it would have been no where near as stable as 1 with the sri suspension.
the Sri-T is very underrated!!!!!

[auzvectra]

oh yeah a sri-t did a 68 sec track time round queensland raceway not too long ago, which is about what an average s2000 does, n they are spose to be track weapons!.
i'm not sure what a wrx'y does.

[Apex]

i have lapped tight tracks as quick as sti's and evos...

They were probably in a state of constant Turbo lag:p ! Having driven various STI’s and EVO’s 1-9, I have to say comparing any of them it to an Astra is like comparing a Grey hound to a Pug dog. STI/EVO are in a different league.



oh yeah a sri-t did a 68 sec track time round queensland raceway not too long ago, which is about what an average s2000 does, n they are spose to be track weapons!.
i'm not sure what a wrx'y does.

Astra Sri-T, Great handling? Im lead to believe the AH handled better than the old shape? My car handles very average, my last car (Toyota Altezza) would run rings around it! In fact my 25year old Corolla leaves it for dead on a twisty road!

[rusole21]

oh yeah a sri-t did a 68 sec track time round queensland raceway not too long ago, which is about what an average s2000 does, n they are spose to be track weapons!.
i'm not sure what a wrx'y does.
62-68 is average for a wrx. thats what i read on a forum

[Vectracious]

he was, but still i did launch pretty hard, my tyre's grip almost as well in the wet as in the dry, n i did 5K launches down the 1/4 ;).
i didnt think the veccy was that good, well it was but, compared to the Sri-T it is hopeless at handling, remember that our chassi has been set up by lotus, with stiffer shocks front n rear, stiffer rear torsion beam, lower suspension, i'm not sure if the front sway is different.
and i was reading a reveiw the other day on the sri-t in 04, i noticed in the pics, that the astra they had didnt have the sri suspension, so it would have been no where near as stable as 1 with the sri suspension.
the Sri-T is very underrated!!!!!

Heheheh - I wouldnt dream of doing 5K launches in my non-STi 5 speed - dont fancy replacing gearboxes........

The standard WRX's are set up for mugs, they handle, but its "safe" handling. - ask PaulyJ - my car is in desperate need of an anti-lift kit, and a rear sway bar to get rid of the understeer....

[blueraven]

horses for courses..

driver ability, tyres and track will change the outcome for any car.

i could get a suzuki swift to murder a stock EVO 9 on the right track with the right tyres :D

If i did a 5k launch in my car i would just be sitting there in a clound of smoke :(

And from what i hear all acounts say the AH doesnt handle as well as the G. Also keep in mind the astra Srit didnt win bang for buck/car of the year for no reason, round a track in 03 it was just as fast as the wrx when tested in Wheels magazine.

[nadg63]

horses for courses..

Also keep in mind the astra Srit didnt win bang for buck/car of the year for no reason, round a track in 03 it was just as fast as the wrx when tested in Wheels magazine.

As I happen to have a copy of that issue of Motor with the BFYB test from '03 their lap time results were, (for Wakefield Park):-

SRiT1:14.44

WRX 1:12.84

STi 1:11.53

(and these times were without any Whiteline etc improvements!)

0 - 100 times:-

SRiT 7.23

WRX 5.81

STi 5.43

[Vectracious]

Interesting, the STi is only just over a second faster than a standard WRX....

[rusole21]

As I happen to have a copy of that issue of Motor with the BFYB test from '03 their lap time results were, (for Wakefield Park):-

SRiT1:14.44

WRX 1:12.84

STi 1:11.53

(and these times were without any Whiteline etc improvements!)

0 - 100 times:-

SRiT 7.23

WRX 5.81

STi 5.43
thanks nadg

times are pretty clear there.

and vectracious. the sti is quicker

[rusole21]

horses for courses..

driver ability, tyres and track will change the outcome for any car.

i could get a suzuki swift to murder a stock EVO 9 on the right track with the right tyres :D


hahhahaha love to see the track. gold

[auzvectra]

by the way those test drivers are hopeless with front wheel drive, i did 6.8 0-100 in mine and 14.6, when they said 7.3 0-100 and 15.22.

also as i said earlier, the test cars they got were without the sri suspension, which changes the car quite a bit.

[rusole21]

by the way those test drivers are hopeless with front wheel drive, i did 6.8 0-100 in mine and 14.6, when they said 7.3 0-100 and 15.22.

also as i said earlier, the test cars they got were without the sri suspension, which changes the car quite a bit.
actually its because they use a gtech which is gennerally about .4-.5 slower than a 1/4 mile at a track. because at a track you cross the beam doing 5km/h almost so its a bit quicker. and nearly all astra turbos get that time at a strip. i wrote to motor mag asking them the same thing and thats the answer they gave.

but im sorry for goin off topic. im not sayin that wrx are better than astra because i dont even like them. but they are clearly faster in nearly all respects.

[Vectracious]

and vectracious. the sti is quicker

derrrr. yeah thats what I meant.... got interrupted by those damn customers...

[auzvectra]

im not sayin that wrx are better than astra because i dont even like them. but they are clearly faster in nearly all respects.

i still disagree, and i think the bug eye sti would to, who's arse i was sitting on a few weeks back ;).
the older sti's were very quick strait line, not so round corners (and no1 will EVER change my mine :p), the newer 1's are nowhere near as quick in a strait line, but are sposed to ba able to corner better, but as i said, on a tight track, no way.

so what was this thread about again, sorry rossi :)

[PaulyJ]

Exactly.
Guys, please stay on topic.

[Apex]

horses for courses..

driver ability, tyres and track will change the outcome for any car.

i could get a suzuki swift to murder a stock EVO 9 on the right track with the right tyres :D

If i did a 5k launch in my car i would just be sitting there in a clound of smoke :(

And from what i hear all acounts say the AH doesnt handle as well as the G. Also keep in mind the astra Srit didnt win bang for buck/car of the year for no reason, round a track in 03 it was just as fast as the wrx when tested in Wheels magazine.

I agree, I recently learnt what a good set of tires can do for a cars performance, just upgraded to a Targa type Dunlop DZog3 on my old dunger, they are similar to the standard spec tires on late model STI/EVO, the car feels like its going to twist in half now it has so much grip! Driver ability/braveness plays the BIGGEST roll in my opinion, I passed a rich kid in an EV0-8 at the back straight hair pin at Pukekohe last year in my 95kw Corolla and he stayed behind me until we got on the back straight again! Im not going to go to the pub and say my corolla is faster than a EVO-8 though now am I?:)

It seems strange that the newer model Astra witch has a much stiffer body handles worse than the car it replaces? Stupid Opel:rolleyes:

[auzvectra]

It seems strange that the newer model Astra witch has a much stiffer body handles worse than the car it replaces? Stupid Opel:rolleyes:

i guess opel wasnt smart enough to get the boys at lotus to give the tweak this time :).

as for the topic, the sri-t outhandles the E30 also, mate's old E30 (with some suspension work), both equal drivers, i have no trouble keeping with it around corners.
he now drives his gf's mx5, low as hell, an i still keep with him, and the only cars that have kept with us on a certain track we like, is jimeegee in his sri-t (and gf's S2k), chris in his 2.6L veccy (not so close but close :p), and some old old old honda civic (well we can normally see his headlights in the distance :D).
others that have failed, wrx's, sti's, gtr's, general jap imorts, bikes :p (too tight for them, n no time to lay it over the other way).
i'll leave it at that, this post was 1/2 on topic atleast :D.

[rossi]

haha im pretty much getting what i came for, im up for a car that handles, as well as having some boot that isnt gonna cost me alot to service (WRX/EVO) and isnt gonna fall apart on me (some jap imports) and is different, which narrows the field down to well. . . . . the SRiT im happy to say :D will be a couple months till one is sitting in the garage but im definatly getting one id say :cool:

[Vectracious]

Go the Astra.

I would have, if they made it in 4 door as well .. :D

[auzvectra]

they do now.
the ah is being released in a 5 door i beleive.

[Vectracious]

they do now.
the ah is being released in a 5 door i beleive.

Isn't that just the plain SRi with the 2.2, not the SRiT?

[Charlatan]

Wow, the amount of bs in this thread may just set a new internet record!

[Wraith]

im not sayin that wrx are better than astra because i dont even like them. but they are clearly faster in nearly all respects.

I thought the above statement was a given, this is indeed the case, although from brakes release, you have to be ruthless with the rex and clutch bomb it...that's how all the Motor Mag 0-100km/h and 1/4 mile times are achieved, take off in normal fashion and you'll get 0.5-1.0 sec slower !!! that's a fact, they've even said it numerous times.

Pity they're so ugly, hopefully new model will cure this :rolleyes:

From all I've read and people I've spoken to and from my test drive in a VXR, the AH does indeed have better handling than the TS hatch, the TS however with a little tuning, has the better go :)

Vectracious, Holden will definitely be bringing in the 5 door AH Sri turbo :) I have a friend who's considering getting one, you could always trade up the rex :D

Sorry for continuing off topic Pauly :o

[Vectracious]

Vectracious, Holden will definitely be bringing in the 5 door AH Sri turbo :) I have a friend who's considering getting one, you could always trade up the rex :D


I really dont think I could give up the AWD to go back to FWD.....

You're right about the Rex being so ugly.... :(

[Dave]

The beamers and astra's are both very nice cars, but for price vs out come go the astra.

[rossi]

thanks for all the input guys, SRiT is looking the better option overall, will be one replacing my 1.8 Astra in the not too distant future id say