It's high time I reported on the fun I've been having with this car since buying it at the back end of last year. What a fantastic machine!
I’d been toying with the idea of getting rid of my Saab 95 Aero HOT estate for some time, and while it’s true to say that the 250bhp Swede provided a seemingly unrivalled amount of bang per buck, the car was getting a little long in the tooth, leading me to weigh up the pros and cons of various newer motors that might do an even better job of providing plenty of smiles to the mile.
Time and time again I returned to the notion of owning a Vectra VXR. With its 2.8-litre turbocharged V6, blistering pace, stunning styling, six-speed transmission, huge tuning potential, large luggage area and an ability to happily munch through the squillions of miles that I’m likely to throw at it, I was convinced that the growling Griffin ticked all the right boxes.
eBay threw up a gorgeous Arden Blue example that was collecting dust in North Yorkshire. This particular VXR was packing full-colour integrated factory satnav, 19-inch Ronals that had been painted anthracite, half-leather Recaros with the VXR logo stitched into them and various pieces of carbon-wrapped interior trim. With the exception of an expansion tank overflow pipe that was enthusiastically pissing coolant when the engine was up to temperature (after a somewhat ‘spirited’ test drive!), the car was perfect. Needless to say, I was driving it home a short while later.
The colour information display is pretty cool...
...as is the integrated Bluetooth car phone feature. Who to prank call today?!
The leaky pipe turned out to be a simple fix – an examination of the expansion tank’s filler cap highlighted rubber seals that were as flat as a pancake. I replaced the cap with a new part before filling up with fresh coolant, and I can confirm that the troublesome pipe has been bone dry ever since. Job done. I also plugged in my genuine dealer-spec Tech 2 diagnostic machine and can confirm that there are no worrying trouble codes to speak of, although I have changed the service interval schedule programmed into the car’s ECU to reflect my preferred value of 5k miles. Running oil for the manufacturer’s recommended 20k seems to me to be asking for trouble. Not cool.
Wanting to know more about what was happening under the bonnet of the car during varying driving conditions – but not wanting to clutter my new ride’s dashboard with extra dials – I invested in a Scangauge II digital scan and gauge control module. Plugging directly into the VXR’s OBDII port, the compact, programmable unit provides live data relating to rpm, mpg, speed, fuel and oil pressure, coolant temperature, boost values, and a wide range of additional information including the display of trouble codes as soon as they’re generated. It also features a comprehensive trip computer and a backlight that you can colour code to the host vehicle. Ardentastic!
The car's OBDII port is located beneath its ashtray:
The grid on the back of the storage tray provided a handy guide for me to use when marking out the hole I needed to cut in order to feed the Scangauge II's cable down and under the centre console and into the OBDII port:
All in. Difficult to show this doing it's thang when stationary. You can have four different diagnostic readouts running at any one time. I've currently got it set to RPM, MPG, speed and coolant temperature, all of which are far more accurate than the car's standard dash clocks:
I’ve also bought a new set of factory mats (they add 20bhp dontchakno!) and a K&N high-flow air filter that promises to improve the 280bhp V6’s breathing while providing the car’s Remus twin-exit exhaust system with even more of a bark than it is currently generating. Pop, bang, roar!
More to follow...