Nova 1.3 SR

[ivegota16v]

Just had a race with one of "these", it managed to keep up with me all the way to 120ish, pullled up at some traffic lights and the bloke said it had 2.0 16v under the hood!!!! i was thinking "how the f£$k is this thing keeping up!!!!!!!"

and just had a race with a 2.0 MR2, about equal id say i had maybe a little bit on him!!!!

that nova, i couldnt belive it, i was like hahhahaha ill have him!!!

 

[BRUN]

well if it had a 2.0 16v under the bonnet no wonder it could keep up, im sure it weighs a lot less than the 16v, especially as most of it was probably rust

 

[Rich-D]

Ahh... using stealth to hide his performance!

Looks like a 1.3, but is hiding a valver. Sneaky.

 

[ivegota16v]

completely stealth, looked like the usual boy racer 1.3 sr. Even had a skanky exhaust trim the cheeky bugger!

 

[Adams_16v]

Them 2.0 16v Novas are fast as fuk. Im supprised it didnt just have you mate, well done for havin a go, id have loved to have seen your face!

 

[Simon172]

just dont drive them around any corners at speed! understeer city...

 

[Ben H]

Classic! Just my kind of car! (erm...on reflection, maybe not )

 

[Adams_16v]

Ben, Not heard from the HDI posse for a few days, anythin happenin?

 

[CS_Matt]

this wasnt in or aroudn basingstoke was it

my m8 has exactly that setup lol

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by Simon172 on 01 February 2003

just dont drive them around any corners at speed! understeer city...

Not the ones Ive driven...

 

[PaulRobo]

There not as bad as people think.

 

[big hp]

My mate has got a 2.0 nova and it destroys me. his is pushing 185bhp tho. Those Vauxhall engines are bloody easy to extract power from.

 

[RobFenn]

They are every bit as bad as you think. Theyre awful.

 

[Scudetto]

about nine years ago, my dad bought a 85 1.6 Astra Estate.

He put in the 2.0 engine from the GSi, an SRi gearbox (i think it was), the braking system from a senator and the suspension from a GSi. Outside, it was totally standard. He did this for a laugh. To say that car was utterly bonkers to drive, is an understatment.

g

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by RobFenn on 03 February 2003

They are every bit as bad as you think. Theyre awful.

Err... no they are NOT as bad as you think!

Have you actually driven one?!

I have and they DO handle a lot better than youd think.

 

[OutKa5t]

I had a 2ltr 16v Nova (My 4th Nova). Yes they do produce power and it was faster than my 16v but it was god awefull in the wet. Most of the reason was the low rev torque, had to be very carefull when putting the power down.

Still bags of fun tho.

 

[Scudetto]

i think the thing with the SR, is that it has a sweet engine, but everything else (steering, brakes, suspension) is average. Despite that, theyre still quite amusing. Its one of the cars that actually more fun to drive than the sum of its parts suggests, IMHO after owning an SR for three years.

g

 

[RobFenn]

I have driven many novas, about 7, every standard one was a complete joke. Theyre dull and wooden with little grip.

 

[M.C.]

Hi peeps,



I havent been on for a while, but couldnt leave this one without a reply. Im glad to see some pretty sensible discussion here in the whole. Ive had many cars in my time, and by far my favourite was a 1.4 SR Nova. I tuned it very heavily for very little money, and soon realised that the Nova is ideal for track use in that it is light and can handle very well. Im not a huge fan of 2.0 16v conversions for the reason mentioned in this topic. The extra power is amazing, but the 50kg extra over the front does destroy handling. It will still be quite acomplished, but will never be as good as standard. My friend and I have tuned a 1400 16v to its limits, and have found no 2.0 whether on TBs, turbod or carbd that can match it on a track.

The big problem with the understeer is the Anti Roll bar design. This combined with hard suspension causes the front to drift badly, but either adjusting the front/rear stiffness, or removing the ARB can solve this, and we have managed to get neutral handling.

Novas can be excellent, but its becoming increasingly difficult to find ones that havent rotted through. This will be the downfall of the Nova, and unfortuanately there isnt much to take over because of limitations with emissions, weight, etc. Ive just started work on a new Nova shell, biggest part is getting rid of the rust!

I personally wouldnt own one now for a day to day car, only as a track toy. I liked my Clio dynamique, handling and braking was good, I would own another, but I now drive a V6 4-motion, and that give a little of everything to keep me happy, speed handling (ish), comfort and style. Im getting old!

Cheers,



MC