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[tmx]

where i work we share our building with the local police and i was talking to one of the Traffic cops

i was in the omega and he was talking to me about it i said it was an MV6 and he said very nice car that the 3litre lump is a choclate engine though i asked him why and he said that when they used to have them on the force they were very easy to blow up

he said in a motorway persuit they would overheat and stuff and they dont like being raced around town much

he said i should save my pennies and get a 3.2 as its a much better engine!

but i have never heard of a v6 vauxhall engine blowing up apart from tbelt failiures i always thought they were a good solid lump!

[VXL V6]

The 3.2 / 2.6 have a steel crank so are supposedly stronger.

[Kevin Wood]

Hmm. very little difference other than the cranks, I thought, so unless they were breaking them it sounds suspect. :-/

You've only got to watch road wars to see how they're driven - never change up until it's bouncing off the rev limiter, etc. They decide if your driving style is going to inflict the same grief on the engine.

I would have thought the "vollgasfest" tests would have ironed out any bugs - it killed off the V8 Omega, as legend has it.

Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

Doesn't sound right.....and only the 3.2 had a steel crank, the 2.6 does not.

And the crank does not affect the heat of the engine!

[tmx]

i know on the VVOC Vaux Vec OwnersClub a guy carried out a turbo conversion on a 3.0 v6 and h tried putting 3 bar boost through it and blew the conrods to pieces but most engines without extensive results would do the same!

as for over heating all vauxhalls run hot and its a vauxhall trait in my opinion!

your right about roadwars though thrashed constanly especially Pat he seems to like the limiter bouncing about abit

[Kevin Wood]

i know on the VVOC Vaux Vec OwnersClub a guy carried out a turbo conversion on a 3.0 v6 and h tried putting 3 bar boost through it and blew the conrods to pieces but most engines without extensive results would do the same!

as for over heating all vauxhalls run hot and its a vauxhall trait in my opinion!

your right about roadwars though thrashed constanly especially Pat he seems to like the limiter bouncing about abit

  3 bar of boost on an engine that has cast pistons and stock compression ratio is only going to end in tears.

I don't believe running hot is a trait. A modern engine runs, on the whole, at the temperature determined by the thermostat / fan switches.  Unless the cooling system is really in a bad way it won't stray outside these limits in our climate. You might start to find weaknesses as you tune an engine, but left stock they've got huge reserves of cooling over what's normally required.

A Ford Zetec engine runs at around 100 degrees C on the manufacturer's thermostat (doesn't start opening until 98).

I suspect plod vehicles suffer from the "not my car" syndrome. (We've all done it in pool cars / hire cars. Imagine it when you are "the law" and are unlikely, therefore, to get nicked.)

Kevin

[Markjay]

There can be many reasons why the Omegas used by your local police force overheated, from infrequent coolant changes, use of wrong coolant, neglected HBV valve leaks, neglected oil coolers leaks.... but none are integral to the engine.

I ran two V6 omegas for a total of 10 years and 100k miles between them, one was a 2.5 the other a 2.6, and while I did not break them I must also say that I have never ever had a occasion where the engine over heated... but then they were properly maintained.

[Mr Skrunts]

where i work we share our building with the local police and i was talking to one of the Traffic cops

i was in the omega and he was talking to me about it i said it was an MV6 and he said very nice car that the 3litre lump is a choclate engine though i asked him why and he said that when they used to have them on the force they were very easy to blow up

he said in a motorway persuit they would overheat and stuff and they dont like being raced around town much

he said i should save my pennies and get a 3.2 as its a much better engine!

but i have never heard of a v6 vauxhall engine blowing up apart from tbelt failiures i always thought they were a good solid lump!

After seeing my local force in action, taking speed bumps at speed to count the air time, the gouges in the road and the biggest sparks they can create (with massive smiles on thier faces and giggling with fits of laughter as they land) then no wonder they dont like being raced round town, lets face, the average driver does not use the car on the rev limeter in normal or even fast road use.

When the average motorist pays his own repair bills, or the company monitors a reps repair bill then questions are asked.

But with Police cars they have to be maintained regardless of cost, so I bet there are NO questions asked because they have to be repaired regardless.

Based on the above the cars get abused (allededly) but if they drove by example as they should there would be a lot less problems, if they drove them in accordance to the law like we have to there would be more reliability.  Admitted there are the high speed chases etc, we all watch road wars, I bet there are not as many failures due to high speed pursuits as there are failures caused with regards to poor driving.

Why do they fail, apparently they are often abused.

Why are they often abused, because they know they can.

Lets face it, if you had the chance of driving a company car with "repaired at regardless of cost option" what would you do.

[size=8]Admin, if this post causes any concern for the forum, then please just delete it.[/size]

[Humpy]

So what's a crankshaft made out of if it's not steel? :-?

Humpy

[Andy B]

.......
After seeing my local force in action, taking speed bumps at speed to count the air time, the gouges in the road and the biggest sparks they can create (with massive smiles on thier faces and giggling with fits of laughter as they land) then no wonder they dont like being raced round town, lets face, the average driver does not use the car on the rev limeter in normal or even fast road use. .......

A bit like? ....http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1212548105  

[VXL V6]

Doesn't sound right.....and only the 3.2 had a steel crank, the 2.6 does not.

And the crank does not affect the heat of the engine!

Ah right, I knew the 3.2 did and just assumed that as the 2.6 was produced at the same time they would also use a steel crank.
Presumably GM deemed that it wasn't necessary on the 2.6?

I wasn't saying the crank affected the heat of the engine (i'm not that stupid despite appearences!  ), merely that the steel crank is supposedly stronger.

So what's a crankshaft made out of if it's not steel? :-?

Cast from ductile iron apparently.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crankshaft#Construction

[Mr Skrunts]

.......
After seeing my local force in action, taking speed bumps at speed to count the air time, the gouges in the road and the biggest sparks they can create (with massive smiles on thier faces and giggling with fits of laughter as they land) then no wonder they dont like being raced round town, lets face, the average driver does not use the car on the rev limeter in normal or even fast road use. .......

A bit like? ....http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1212548105  

Sadly, Yes

[hotel21]

I suspect plod vehicles suffer from the "not my car" syndrome.

Agreed.

Hence why I personally would not buy one thats been used extensively on general patrol.  Ex central driving school, perhaps, but not one thats been the plaything of many.....  

[albitz]

So what's a crankshaft made out of if it's not steel? :-?

Humpy

cast iron presumably  :-/

[Jay w]

i know on the VVOC Vaux Vec OwnersClub a guy carried out a turbo conversion on a 3.0 v6 and h tried putting 3 bar boost through it and blew the conrods to pieces but most engines without extensive results would do the same!

as for over heating all vauxhalls run hot and its a vauxhall trait in my opinion!

your right about roadwars though thrashed constanly especially Pat he seems to like the limiter bouncing about abit

  3 bar of boost on an engine that has cast pistons and stock compression ratio is only going to end in tears.

I don't believe running hot is a trait. A modern engine runs, on the whole, at the temperature determined by the thermostat / fan switches.  Unless the cooling system is really in a bad way it won't stray outside these limits in our climate. You might start to find weaknesses as you tune an engine, but left stock they've got huge reserves of cooling over what's normally required.

A Ford Zetec engine runs at around 100 degrees C on the manufacturer's thermostat (doesn't start opening until 98).

I suspect plod vehicles suffer from the "not my car" syndrome. (We've all done it in pool cars / hire cars. Imagine it when you are "the law" and are unlikely, therefore, to get nicked.)
Kevin

Fastest car/van in the world is a rental car  

[Marks DTM Calib]

So what's a crankshaft made out of if it's not steel? :-?

Humpy

cast iron presumably  :-/

Yep....

[unclelicklug]

Standard crank is generally machined from a cast iron blank, cheap to make and easy machining, not the best ultimate strength/lightness.
For more demanding applications a forged steel blank is used, the base metal has better strength characteristics (the forging process will also improve this) so the crank can potentially be lighter and/or lighter stronger.

[Markjay]

Standard crank is generally machined from a cast iron blank, cheap to make and easy machining, not the best ultimate strength/lightness.
For more demanding applications a forged steel blank is used, the base metal has better strength characteristics (the forging process will also improve this) so the crank can potentially be lighter and/or lighter stronger.

Not sure if the standard-tuned Omegas engine actually needs this (not that it a bad thing to have mind you), it's more likely there in preparation for the higher-tuned versions that found their way into some Vectras....

[Marks DTM Calib]

Standard crank is generally machined from a cast iron blank, cheap to make and easy machining, not the best ultimate strength/lightness.
For more demanding applications a forged steel blank is used, the base metal has better strength characteristics (the forging process will also improve this) so the crank can potentially be lighter and/or lighter stronger.

Not sure if the standard-tuned Omegas engine actually needs this (not that it a bad thing to have mind you), it's more likely there in preparation for the higher-tuned versions that found their way into some Vectras....

There were no new higher tuned versions of the 3.2 in the Vectra...........

[Markjay]

Standard crank is generally machined from a cast iron blank, cheap to make and easy machining, not the best ultimate strength/lightness.
For more demanding applications a forged steel blank is used, the base metal has better strength characteristics (the forging process will also improve this) so the crank can potentially be lighter and/or lighter stronger.

Not sure if the standard-tuned Omegas engine actually needs this (not that it a bad thing to have mind you), it's more likely there in preparation for the higher-tuned versions that found their way into some Vectras....

There were no new higher tuned versions of the 3.2 in the Vectra...........

OK... I thought the VXRs used the same blocks as the 2.6/3.2 on their V6 2.8 Turbo versions?

[robby30]

Thats enough abuse about my driving for one week thanks!
i have driven both the 3.0 and 3.2 as old bill cars and i can only think of one engine failure, that was due to a 4th to 3rd change at about 115 during a pursuit (Not by me) it was quite spectacular with a big hole in the bottom of the engine.
The failures we had were almost always HBV's. the heads were sometimes changed but the mechainics blamed that on the endless hours of idling at the scenes of accidents.
and as for that thing that you call the rev limiter the technical name for its is the gear change indicator
i have owned a 3.2 manual old bill car for over 20 months now. in its day it was a slough traffic car its had many a staring role on roadwars, same engine and gearbox 140k at least 6 shades of white and now a veteran of 4 track days, the nurburg ring and a john o groats to lands end.
its been faultless
now thats a car!

[Jimbob]

Hate to know what he thinks about those scoda's made out of cake then  

[Mr Skrunts]

Thats enough abuse about my driving for one week thanks!
i have driven both the 3.0 and 3.2 as old bill cars and i can only think of one engine failure, that was due to a 4th to 3rd change at about 115 during a pursuit (Not by me) it was quite spectacular with a big hole in the bottom of the engine.
The failures we had were almost always HBV's. the heads were sometimes changed but the mechainics blamed that on the endless hours of idling at the scenes of accidents.
and as for that thing that you call the rev limiter the technical name for its is the gear change indicator
i have owned a 3.2 manual old bill car for over 20 months now. in its day it was a slough traffic car its had many a staring role on roadwars, same engine and gearbox 140k at least 6 shades of white and now a veteran of 4 track days, the nurburg ring and a john o groats to lands end.
its been faultless
now thats a car!

At the end of the day that has to be put down to damage caused by bad driving then and even a rev limiter will cut the engine based on a pre determined rev limit, not a gear change, which again would not happen on an auto.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Standard crank is generally machined from a cast iron blank, cheap to make and easy machining, not the best ultimate strength/lightness.
For more demanding applications a forged steel blank is used, the base metal has better strength characteristics (the forging process will also improve this) so the crank can potentially be lighter and/or lighter stronger.

Not sure if the standard-tuned Omegas engine actually needs this (not that it a bad thing to have mind you), it's more likely there in preparation for the higher-tuned versions that found their way into some Vectras....

There were no new higher tuned versions of the 3.2 in the Vectra...........

OK... I thought the VXRs used the same blocks as the 2.6/3.2 on their V6 2.8 Turbo versions?

A totally different new generation global engine with variable valve timing, turbo the lot.

[Martin_1962]

Hate to know what he thinks about those scoda's made out of cake then  

You would eat it!

[tmx]

Standard crank is generally machined from a cast iron blank, cheap to make and easy machining, not the best ultimate strength/lightness.
For more demanding applications a forged steel blank is used, the base metal has better strength characteristics (the forging process will also improve this) so the crank can potentially be lighter and/or lighter stronger.

Not sure if the standard-tuned Omegas engine actually needs this (not that it a bad thing to have mind you), it's more likely there in preparation for the higher-tuned versions that found their way into some Vectras....

There were no new higher tuned versions of the 3.2 in the Vectra...........

OK... I thought the VXRs used the same blocks as the 2.6/3.2 on their V6 2.8 Turbo versions?

Vauxhalls VXR Vectra engine is a Saab 2.8 V6 Bi Turbo engine it started life in a saab and vauxhall have borrowed it off saab!

[robby30]

Thats enough abuse about my driving for one week thanks!
i have driven both the 3.0 and 3.2 as old bill cars and i can only think of one engine failure, that was due to a 4th to 3rd change at about 115 during a pursuit (Not by me) it was quite spectacular with a big hole in the bottom of the engine.
The failures we had were almost always HBV's. the heads were sometimes changed but the mechainics blamed that on the endless hours of idling at the scenes of accidents.
and as for that thing that you call the rev limiter the technical name for its is the gear change indicator
i have owned a 3.2 manual old bill car for over 20 months now. in its day it was a slough traffic car its had many a staring role on roadwars, same engine and gearbox 140k at least 6 shades of white and now a veteran of 4 track days, the nurburg ring and a john o groats to lands end.
its been faultless
now thats a car!

At the end of the day that has to be put down to damage caused by bad driving then and even a rev limiter will cut the engine based on a pre determined rev limit, not a gear change, which again would not happen on an auto.

dont get me wrong that was bad driving that made the engine blow up the chap who did it may even admit to it!