1993 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi 16 valve from UK and Ireland - Comments

Hi guys.

I wonder if you could help me I was driving in my redtop sri last night and 1st I did 75mph in 2nd gear and my water light came on, but I thought the wire came off so on the way back home I did 110mph in 3rd gear came straight home and when I switched my engine off I could hear water leaking like mad I looked if I could see what was wrong and why it was leaking, but I didn't get it so am wondering if you could help me.

Just to clarify. The poster some time ago who mentioned the Ecotec being torquier than the red top actually had a point. Now we all know the red top had the max power and dash to 60 - although the 7.5s time someone mentioned was a pipe dream; 8.1 is nearer the actual mark. The Ecotec didn't have the peak torque or peak power of the red top, but what it did have was a far broader range of top end torque - meaning it was more drivable than the red top if you wanted instant poke.

The main reason for the Ecotec was the intro of cats which scuppered many vauxhall engines; more so than most makes. Both engines have their problems and both were class-leading in terms of power.

I got a C20xe last week and I'm putting it in my mini.

With a nice pair of Webers I've seen the power chart that says it peaks at about 170bhp or so, give or take...

In a 650kg car, we're talking ENTIRELY different 0-60 times.

I haven't even turned it over yet, but it's done 140mph when it was in the Cav, and it looks really sexy too :)

Can't wait to embarrass some porshes.

Both the X20 and the C20 are great engines, each in their own right. I investigated these engines during my engineering degree, and I'm not sure if people truly realise the Ecotec's potential over the Redtop. The Ecotec develops 95% of its torque at 2500rpm, which the Redtop doesn't.

This low-end torque is inherent in the Ecotec's head design, and whilst the Ecotec can be easily modded to produce more power, the Redtop cannot easily be modded to produce the low-end torque. Fitting a better exhaust manifold to the Ecotec (ie. one similar to the one the Redtop is fitted with) will unlock a sizeable amount of power, putting it much nearer the Redtop.

The Ecotec will always have the low-end torque advantage over the Redtop, can still be tuned to get just as much power, still met strict EEC production regulations back in 1995 (which the Redtop never had to deal with, apart from a Cat on later ones), and still return more miles per gallon.

Also, for the people who talk about lumpier cams on the Redtop, the inlet cams on the Ecotec engine lift the valves 1mm more, using a similar 'minimal scavenging' profile (only about 25 degrees overlap on the Ecotec).

The argument needs to be ended once and for all. The standard Ecotecs did not out-perform the Redtops initially, but held much more potential for the long-term. The Redtop was a landmark engine for its time, and is still a great engine even today, I love the things - but face it people, the Ecotec overtook it more than 10 years ago. They get in excess of 1200bhp (reliably) out of Ecotecs these days for drag racing, and guess what, they still have that inherent torque advantage over rival engines low down and in the mid range, even in that extreme state of tune.

It's a shame things as silly as a few sensor failures and blocked breather pipes gave the Ecotec such bad press among people in the early days. They really were minor problems, ironed out long ago. People who claim 'the engine is crap' just because of things like this really don't know what they're talking about.

Vauxhall forever.

The Vauxhall Redtop Engine will always be a landmark in Engineering 150bhp from an engine without a turbo back in 1993 was awesome. There are cars today not producing that much power and torque. Rumour has it that the Vauxhall Redtop Engine has similar or the same technology used in RS Cosworth Lumps i.e. Forged Pistons and Competition cams which meant that when pushed the engine delivered violent power and torque. I am currently the proud owner of a Limited Edition MK4 Astra SRI Turbo producing 190bhp as standard which is fitted with the Ecotec Variant. Whilst the Redtop Engine is a violent hooligan waiting to be let loose on anyone stupid or brave enough to throw down the challenge, The Ecotec is more of a silent and deadly assassin with smoother torque lower down the rev range in every gear. My conclusion, if brute strength is what you want?.. The Redtop Engine is for you and if Drive ability and surprising power is what you want the Ecotec will do you proud.

I wouldn't go that far mate, redtop astra's and cavs were fast in their day, but even then they had plenty of competition.

Actually

no they didn't. The redtop left everything of its day choking on its exhaust. Everything of its day must be taken to mean the 'hot' offerings of all the other volume manufacturers, not Ferrari, Porsche and Lambourghini et al.

The GM (Europe) team threw down the gauntlet to their engineers and said "just come up with something that knocks all of our competitors into a cocked hat" and that's exactly what they got.

With 16v technology still something of a novelty amongst those manufacturers, 8v hot hatches were being left for dead when the redtop came on-cam at the magical 4500rpm mark - it really was the new performance yardstick.

However, with all the fun firmly lodged at the top end of the rev range it wasn't as driveable in an everyday sense as the ecotec but the sort of people who buy redtops are quite happy to look past that.

A fearsome warrior in its day, it will still give a very good account of itself now.

I own a redtop Cav and it's very quick car. Beats most of the modern cars on the road today. XE rules.

0-60 in 6.5 with a top speed of 144, with less than 200bhp in a car as aerodynamic as a brick, with the weight to match 1000 of them?!

What a load of cack. I've got a Focus RS with a 0-60 of 6.6. I bet you wouldn't get near me, in any gear, at any rpm or more importantly, in that Cavvy, any corner.

Ford forever

RS FTW.

With regards to the comment about the Focus RS,

how can you make a comment about the red top when yours is turbo charged. If you want to make comments, pick on the Cav Turbo, which is the same cc and is turbo charged like yours. The Cav would wipe the floor with the Focus.

I owned a Cav red top with a Cos cast head, which produced 176 bhp stock. After a few mods I had 225 bhp on the rollers.

I've raced Cossies on the motorway and made them look silly. Yes top end they are faster, but for pure grunt the Cav would pull ahead every time. I never lost a race in the Cav.

I own a Vectra track car with a c20xe fitted, I enjoy everything about driving it especially the acceleration and noise from the redtop when it's in high revs. Once a month it gets driven as hard as possible around the track, loaded back onto it's trailer and taken home until the next track day. It NEVER breaks...Don't think the same can be said for a FORD (Fix Or Repair Daily)

How do you find out if you have a coscast head?

There will be no oil gallery core plug in the dispack (or distributor) end of the head. It will also have Coscast stamped on the underside lip of cylinder 2 on the exhaust side of the head but I'm not sure you'll be able to see this while the head is in situ on the block.

Don't be misled by the GM stamp story; it is a myth that only the non-Coscast heads have these, you will find the GM stamp on both types.

Dude talking about his "225bhp" valver... are you on drugs?

First of all, the FRS is 212bhp, the Cav turbo is what, 202 or something? I've tore new cracks in Calibra turbos which run the exact same engine, I even made a quoted 300bhp one look like a 1.6 along B roads.

I also think you're dreaming with the quoted power figure, and that you've seen off Cosworths. My nephew built a track Nova, totally stripped out with a C20XE on throttle bodies. That was 204bhp @ 7800rpm and he only just managed to get ahead of me on a straight line in a car weighing 710KGs.

The Zetec turbo that is the Focus RS engine (before the clueless boys come on, Duratec RS is a badge, it's a 2.0 Zetec with low comp pistons, uprated rods, sodium filled exhaust valves and a high flow oil pump) and is as reliable as the day is long. That's why they use Zetec's in kitkars now, not porous unreliable tappy XE's.

I do rallying, and have a 2.0 red top in a Nissan Micra pushing 240bhp, now that's a machine ;)