TS Astra 2.2...Trackday toy?!?

[deviant]

Ok so my 2003 TS 2.2 has been on the market for a couple of months now and it looks like it is not going to shift anytime soon...I have had a couple of people call but they did the usual trick of organsing something and then not showing up. Other than that zero interest.

To be honest I think the used car market has fallen on its face because lots of cars are now just sitting for months on end...anyway I digress.

I am thinking about keeping the Astra for a while longer but also modifying it to be a fast road / trackday daily driver...
Has anyone ever been down this path with their car?

Did the 2.2 and the turbo share many underbody components? The reason I ask is that whiteline do a handling kit for the TS turbo but not the 2.2..
Are brake discs and calipers the same for the 2 cars?

I have also found that Koni do adjustable shocks and Eibach do springs.

I believe the car would really benefit with a set of much lighter rims but thats an easy one to track down.

I have not found a heavy duty clutch kit yet. Im also not expecting to find any readily available engine tuning parts other than the usual bolt on breathing tweaks.

The thing that puts me off slightly is that after spending the money I am no doubt going to be left with something that handles ok but is not really all that fast...but considering the $$$ : fun ratio its looking quite favourable.

[Vectracious]

Best person to talk to would be Keevers - he's done a lot of work to his SRi.

[JohnBu]

suspension should be the same.

should get a sway bar.

brakes are larger on the turbo, i'm assuming calipers will be different.

i've noticed the used car market, (and also new car market) slowing down. i'm betting interest rates are a factor on why ppl are looking to reduce discretionary costs.

we're trying to sell a car too.. same thing, a few callers, but no show.

I wouldn't buy another car and keep the SRi for track days..

either do the SRi up (handling mods) and keep it for another couple of years.. or sell the SRi cheaper and get yourself a daily driver that can also do track days.

[deviant]

I was really really hanging my nose over a Focus XR5, AH SRI-T or an imported EP3 Civic Type-R....however they are all close to $30K and as you say interest rates are really quite silly on car loans at the moment which is one reason for thinking of messing with the Astra.

I was also thinking to myself that with it seeming to not really be worth anything and now being out of warranty I dont really stand to lose a lot of value in modifying and tracking it.

[Wraith]

I was really really hanging my nose over a Focus XR5, AH SRI-T or an imported EP3 Civic Type-R....however they are all close to $30K and as you say interest rates are really quite silly on car loans at the moment which is one reason for thinking of messing with the Astra.

I was also thinking to myself that with it seeming to not really be worth anything and now being out of warranty I dont really stand to lose a lot of value in modifying and tracking it.

Things have definitely slowed down, car sales house sales etc. etc. tough times...

However ' if ' you price a car to sell, it will sell - how willing are you get rid of it ?? price it accordingly ;)

I was recently looking at TS Astras for sale on carsales.com and 9 out 10 of them were over priced !!! either people have no idea what current market values are, or they're trying to find a sucker ?? fat chance with todays economic climate...

You could also try going around yards and getting a trade in or change over price on your car against an XR5 or whatever else your interested in and go from there...

[R3N]

First, you'll have to accept the fact that your car won't as fast in terms of speed due to the lack of tunability for the engine, not to mention costs associated with it. But in terms of handling, you can get alot out of it. My 1.8 Astra sedan, lowered on kings, with a whiteline sway bar and 215 tyres can out handle a standard mini cooper S.

I was looking at getting an SRiT a couple of years back and tweak the hell out of the handling. What you'll need is:

- rear sway bar
- springs
- shocks
- front strut bar
- better brake discs/pads, racing pads if you're serious but will need to be swapped in for track days and will probably finish once you're done for the day
- lightweight alloys with stickier rubber
- braided brake lines
- racing brake fluid

Now, after all those are done, you'll be wishing you had a bucket seat and harness

[MatsHolden]

Keep it for a track day car. Yeah you could get a daily to do track days... but it will never be a focused track day car as one that's taken off the road and used only for the track. You are limited to what you can do if you want to have it as a daily as well.

[blueraven]

hahaha...yerp pretty much what he said. You can get away without a few things, but you will eventually want it all anyway.

[deviant]

Well I'm not really after a truly dedicated track car...just to put something together thats not going to be to frustrating on track but still ok for the daily grind. If I had the money for a dedicated track machine I would be in a Radical :D

[JohnBu]

I was really really hanging my nose over a Focus XR5, AH SRI-T or an imported EP3 Civic Type-R....however they are all close to $30K and as you say interest rates are really quite silly on car loans at the moment which is one reason for thinking of messing with the Astra.

I was also thinking to myself that with it seeming to not really be worth anything and now being out of warranty I dont really stand to lose a lot of value in modifying and tracking it.

interest rates on cars aren't that much in the overall scheme of things..

2% extra p.a. on a $20k loan is only $400 p.a.

however 2% extra on a $400k mortgage is an extra $8,000 p.a.

hence alot of people won't be upgrading their cars.

while people with mortgages may not be in the market for your car, they may not buy that new mazda 6, it affects the market for all cars- new and used.

the XR5 is certainly a nice car, i like it.

Have you considered the MPS 3, one seller is asking $28,750, done under 20,000km.

so if you really want that new car, it will be cheaper to sell your SRi for lower than you want and pick up a new one, as you won't have 2 sets of rego/insurance to contend with.

otherwise, keep your SRi, spend $1k on suspension mods, save the money you were going to spend on the new car.. buy a Evo IX for $25k in 2 years time.

[auzvectra]

def agree with mat and nik, especially with handling mods, mine handles like it on rails, but u pay with the comfort ;).
as for power mods, i know ur talking more minor mods then what i've done to my sri-t, but lets just say it ends up being a bit of a bitch to drive, try a multi level carpark with a button clutch ;), u cant let it all the way out or u'll end up in the wall 50m in front of you ;).

as for lower levels of mods on a sri, daveeek has his runinng nicely with about 140 odd kw (cant remember exact amount) at the fly, with my remap, cat back?? exhaust, 2.4L intake manifold, n a few other small mods.
he also has the suspension n sway ect....

[daaaaavek]

Sounds about right.. here's a link to the current graph:
http://www.z22se.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4705&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=25#p87978

Next step: supercharger :)

[daiflu]

You could make the 2.2 a fun track car. There is actually a fair bit of aftermarket parts available for the Z22SE overseas. There are touring style astras getting 300hp from the NA motor and plenty of turbo/super charged kits available with some of the serious drag cars (not astras, but same motor) pushing near 1000hp. This is obviously an extreme example, with the motors coming from GM's racing division and costing about as much as a house!
Really, the only limitation is how much coin you're willing to spend.
And on that note; I wouldn't recommend using the astra as a track car. The parts are quite expensive, usually due to the extra needed for shipping from UK or US. This makes the car a not very enticing bang for buck option. There are a lot cheaper cars out there which are much more fun as a plaything. It would be unique for this reason though.
I thought about this exact option for a while, but one track project car is enough for me ;)

[glider]

Next step: supercharger :)

do eeet!

[d.c.]

Really, the only limitation is how much coin you're willing to spend.
And on that note; I wouldn't recommend using the astra as a track car. The parts are quite expensive, usually due to the extra needed for shipping from UK or US. This makes the car a not very enticing bang for buck option. There are a lot cheaper cars out there which are much more fun as a plaything. It would be unique for this reason though.
I thought about this exact option for a while, but one track project car is enough for me ;)

I would have to agree, if you want a track toy / weekend car I don't think an Astra is the best choice. I would sell the Astra (price it down to get rid of it) and buy something that would be better suited to the track.
Lots of people track older MX5s, RX7s and Silvia's and track based parts for these are easy to come buy not like the Astra where as daiflu said parts are not plentiful or cheap in Aus.
You could even buy a project someone else has already started and save some coin on parts. Check out http://my105.com/

Having said that though a stripped out, caged, NA, Astra track car would look sweet and certainly be different.

[Tfer]

All I can say is good luck with the project if you decide to proceed.... if you do proceed, I am jealous :D