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[humbucker]

hi all. Im thinkin of gettin hold of a cav as a 2nd motor and project car. Initially i was lookin at gsi's which have c20xe units but have recently seen some gls stunners with ecotec x20xe units which i could play with. So after pros and cons from experts!

[humbucker]

i read that c20xe are some of the best vx engines but wanted some opinions on the x20xe in particular as i would likely get one in better nick with that unit than the former. Anything to watch out for in particular? I realise this isnt omega advice as such so realise post might be in wrong place  

[TheBoy]

Moving

[Kevin Wood]

C20XE is the engine of choice for tuning but getting a bit long in the tooth now. Very popular in kit car circles and can make 170 BHP plus on throttle bodies / carbs without internal modification. I have seen a breathed-on one with steel internals but still NA make over 300. The heads tend to go porous and leak oil into the coolant but it's not a difficult fix in most cases.

Much less following for the x20xe. I can't recall ever seeing one in a kit car. Not analysed the differences but I suspect it's smaller valves and ports, longer stroke and smaller bore. Makes tuning very costly.

There is a 1.6 "Ecotec" which is becoming quite popular amongst tuners nowadays.

Kevin

[markey mark]

c20xe is one of the best engines vauxhall have ever made bud ! if you can get a good late sri with the c20xe in brillant cars !  

[woodsy_mv6]

I've seen C20XE's running 200+ NA, without Throttle boddies

I believe even the C20XE boys refer to the X20XE as the "ECO-REC"

[Martin_1962]

C20XE is the engine of choice for tuning but getting a bit long in the tooth now. Very popular in kit car circles and can make 170 BHP plus on throttle bodies / carbs without internal modification. I have seen a breathed-on one with steel internals but still NA make over 300. The heads tend to go porous and leak oil into the coolant but it's not a difficult fix in most cases.

Much less following for the x20xe. I can't recall ever seeing one in a kit car. Not analysed the differences but I suspect it's smaller valves and ports, longer stroke and smaller bore. Makes tuning very costly.

There is a 1.6 "Ecotec" which is becoming quite popular amongst tuners nowadays.

Kevin

Same 86mm bore and stroke

[Martin_1962]

I've seen C20XE's running 200+ NA, without Throttle boddies

I believe even the C20XE boys refer to the X20XE as the "ECO-REC"

I quite like the Ecotecs - especially in correct V formation

[woodsy_mv6]

Likewise.......im not a 4-pot boy meself

[Bandit127]

Just so I can chip in with coversations at work, what is the code for a "red-top"? Always comes up in chat involving 200 bhp+

[Kevin Wood]

C20XE is the engine of choice for tuning but getting a bit long in the tooth now. Very popular in kit car circles and can make 170 BHP plus on throttle bodies / carbs without internal modification. I have seen a breathed-on one with steel internals but still NA make over 300. The heads tend to go porous and leak oil into the coolant but it's not a difficult fix in most cases.

Much less following for the x20xe. I can't recall ever seeing one in a kit car. Not analysed the differences but I suspect it's smaller valves and ports, longer stroke and smaller bore. Makes tuning very costly.

There is a 1.6 "Ecotec" which is becoming quite popular amongst tuners nowadays.

Kevin

Same 86mm bore and stroke

I suspect the valves and ports are probably a bit smaller on the Ecotec then? (improves emissions and economy) Meaning you've got to do a bit of expensive work before any power gains.

Kevin

[humbucker]

if im honest, tuning isnt something im that worried about at the moment; i wanted something that was going to be reliable, good on standard performance, and able to eat the miles. the ecotec in the omega is fantastic, and while i realise thats an x30xe i wondered if the x20xe was going to be as good.

the c20xe looks like the motor of choice IF theres one available, but tbh so far all ive found are dogs, and the x20xe models (like a later gls for instance) are out there with 55k on the clock. sri's and gsi's are nice thoughts, but if they havent been modded already or hammered then the bodyworks shot. ideally i'd like something standard which i know hasnt been toyed with.

are there noticable differences in power between a c20xe and an x20xe? they're both 2litre units pulling the same body weight after all??

[markey mark]

Just so I can chip in with coversations at work, what is the code for a "red-top"? Always comes up in chat involving 200 bhp+

c20xe is know as the redtop as found in cavvy gsi astra gsi calibra 16v and later cavvy sri  

[markey mark]

if im honest, tuning isnt something im that worried about at the moment; i wanted something that was going to be reliable, good on standard performance, and able to eat the miles. the ecotec in the omega is fantastic, and while i realise thats an x30xe i wondered if the x20xe was going to be as good.

the c20xe looks like the motor of choice IF theres one available, but tbh so far all ive found are dogs, and the x20xe models (like a later gls for instance) are out there with 55k on the clock. sri's and gsi's are nice thoughts, but if they havent been modded already or hammered then the bodyworks shot. ideally i'd like something standard which i know hasnt been toyed with.

are there noticable differences in power between a c20xe and an x20xe? they're both 2litre units pulling the same body weight after all??

its like the difference between the 2.5 and the 3.0 matey ! c20xe is 150bhp and the x20xe is 125bhp ish ! most c20xe produce slighlt more than book power  

[humbucker]

Just so I can chip in with coversations at work, what is the code for a "red-top"? Always comes up in chat involving 200 bhp+

c20xe is know as the redtop as found in cavvy gsi astra gsi calibra 16v and later cavvy sri  

has bright red L shape spark plug cover