Hi All, Finally bought myself a new ride after 2 fruitless months of looking at mk3 VR6s and Corrados, and it's a gorgeous Oak-Green mk2 16-valver. Shame it's got 5 doors but hey, 5-doors is practical, particularly if you have family or friends (I have neither but I live in hope...) Anyhoo, I'm new to this more-than-eight-valves business and so unsure of what to expect regarding performance, economy and reliability. The out-going ride was a 1.8 PB digi 8-valver, easily capable of 38-40mpg on a long cruise, capable of putting many a young pretender in its place and, thanks to some sage advice from The True Christ, never missed a single beat (the blue CTS needed changing when I first bought the car). What should I expect from the 'valver? I'm really hoping for similar economy as (a) I try not to drive like a tw4t (although probably will for a couple of weeks until the 16v novelty wears off), and (b) I know the KR isn't suited to plain old 95 oktan juice - and the good stuff isn't cheap at around 1/Litre. Moving on, what are the KR lumps like for reliability? What seem to be the most common failings and what can I do to try make sure it runs at its best? I've noticed there is some sort of induction kit fitted (Pipercross?) although I'm skeptical about these things and the roar under acceleration will probably get boring fairly soon. Any thoughts on these induction kits? Doesn't look like its making any attempt to channel in nice cold air from anywhere - probably more likely to be sucking up hot air from the engine bay... Anyway the previous owner was decent enough to keep the original airbox safe so I think it'll go back on with a K&N panel fitted. Any help and input most appreciated, DEX PS Anyone wanna buy a '91 8-valver? Burnley UK area if anyone's interested...
i have a 16v and as far as i was aware the induction kits cannot be fitted to a valver due to the fuel lines being on top of the box k&n panel should do the trick as for mpg not good for me as i get 20-25 m/way at 80mph round town 15-18 but i do need a tune up so am not too angry yet! when i first got my valver i blew the engine up within 30miles racing an 8 valve down the dual carriageway only been in the car 2mins so engine was cold and i was redlineing all the way! i still redline in a traffic light gp and the engine loves it the novelty doesn't wear off i'm afriad knowing you have the power is too much fun ive beaten a vectra v6 of the lights up to 90mph before he bottled it ohhh its fun! cold starting is one thing to look for in this weather thats just a case of cleaning or replacing a valve, and stalling seems to be a common one too on here but if any probs arise just put it on here and there will always be someone more than willing to help! have fun
16v engine is pretty much bombproof and will last for ages given propper maintenance and some degree of engine respect (i.e. not redlining it from cold!). Using troubles are small fuel injection related issues such as cold start valves and such like but most parts are cheap and easily available. Doubt you'll get bored of it, stick some Konis on it and you'll love it forever......... MPG is t0ss
i found that to help handling on mine i uprated all the bushes the shocks and springs bump stops anti roll bar rear strut brace and front upper and lower strut brace also only dropped the car 40mm as the vakve is pretty low to start with and i stuck with 15's on 45 rubber handles like a cart!
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just found this one too! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=801 8290796&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch% 2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D8018290796%26fvi%3D1
Economy wise I used to get an average of 30mpg on my 1.8 16v engine once it was well setup, that's motorway, town driving in traffic with normal driving. I did find the digi 8v I had a while ago slightly more economical but nothing like as much fun. I would only run the 16v on Optimax/super unleaded as it seems to give much better response, no pinking and better economy. If your economy is really poor it might be worth checking the timing and CO are set correctly, see various posts on here for info. By the way, nothing wrong with Oak Green 5 doors! Had mine two or three years now, longest I've stuck with a car and steadily improving it as I go along, great car. Edited by: Stu
Thanks to everyone who has responded. I'm happy now that I failed trying to find a decent VR6 as the 'valver seems very nearly as quick, and much better looking than the mk3. Sure I'll burn for saying this but I'll always think of the mk3 as the mk2's fat ugly sister... Anyway it looks like my days of cheap motoring are over for the time being as the new ride is much thirstier than my old Digifant 8-valve - and I don't think the 'valver buzz is likely to wear off anytime soon. Hopefully this may improve when I remove the fitted induction kit and return the intake to standard spec (there appear to be a few connections which should go to the airbox but are currently taped/sealed or tied up out of the way, want to rule out the possibility of any vacuum leaks etc.) - AND a trip to DubSport for a decent going-over and tune-up. Anyhoo... The induction kit I have is made by Pipercross and it replaces the lower half of the airbox with an aluminium frame containing an oiled-foam filter. Fortunately the previous owner kept the original lower airbox (or most of it) so I'll fit that on the next decent day we have. By the way does anyone know if all GTi's have the same design for the lower half of the airbox? The lower half on my Digi 8-valve looks very similar indeed to that on the K-Jet 'valver - if it is then my old K&N panel should fit the 'valver. Which would be nice...
all i know is that on the 16v they changed the shape of the air box but not sure which is which as mine is 89 model with some bits from a 90 model real pain in the ass when it comes to changin bits over!
