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[humbucker]

next door neighbour has a lotus europa which looks like it has an x20xe in it. i guess i just wondered about reliability etc as i know that the later cavs and calibras were all fitted with these as opposed to c20xe

[markey mark]

next door neighbour has a lotus europa which looks like it has an x20xe in it. i guess i just wondered about reliability etc as i know that the later cavs and calibras were all fitted with these as opposed to c20xe

they only changed them for emmisions laws  

[Martin_1962]

X20XEV is 136bhp AFAIR

Same valve sizes as the 2.5 and 3.0 though!

You can fit the older head or port the X20XEV head

[markey mark]

X20XEV is 136bhp AFAIR

Same valve sizes as the 2.5 and 3.0 though!

You can fit the older head or port the X20XEV head

iirc the early astra gsi with the blacktop was booked at 125bhp and the cavvys think they upped it in vectras and omegas  :-/

[humbucker]

X20XEV is 136bhp AFAIR

Same valve sizes as the 2.5 and 3.0 though!

You can fit the older head or port the X20XEV head

one of the motors i'd seen had a x20xev. is this a different unit to the x20xe then? any 'look out for this' over and above the usual stuff?

hoped that this unit would be quite pokey pre mods, and that at a later stage i could maybe tinker with it if i cant get a decent c20xe

[Martin_1962]

X20XEV is the model number of the Ecotec 2.0 - well it is in the Omega

[humbucker]

X20XEV is the model number of the Ecotec 2.0 - well it is in the Omega

ok that makes sense then, i might have been confusing myself. i definitely recall x20xev on a couple of service books.

[Jay w]

even today the 2.0XE or C2.0XE is an engine that will hold its own.....

common issues include porus heads, this can be fixed and i can't imagine that there are many out there today that have not been repaired.
There were two types of cylinder head put on these engine Coscast (cosworth cast) and GMcast, its the GM ones that give the problems.

If an engine has a Coscast head then they are worth more, purely because the oilways were better and didn't go porus, there are all sorts of wives tales about then having higher lift cams and different valves, that's all rubbish.

Out of the box they produced either 148 bhp (C2.0XE) or 150bhp (2.0XE), up to the early 90's they had a distributor of sorts, from there they went to dispacks, no difference in BHP.

It really is an engine that loves to be revved, with the right gearbox in it you can hit 60 in second, 90 in third and over 120 in fourth  

The X2.0XEV was it's poorer relative, less power, not really built for performance, had a bit of a reputation for using oil and had a lot of sensors on them that gave trouble.
If you were to get a XEV bottom end and lob a XE top end on you would not get 150 bhp, the pistons were slightly deeper dished.

[woodsy_mv6]

Am I correct in recalling that Cosworth did the heads and manifolds for the C20XE, while Lotus did the manifolds for the more emmision friendly X20XE??

[humbucker]

Am I correct in recalling that Cosworth did the heads and manifolds for the C20XE, while Lotus did the manifolds for the more emmision friendly X20XE??

on the earlier c20xe units cosworth supplied the coscraft head which had the oil and water channels futher apart thus reducing the likelyhood of 'porous head'. theyre the head of choice if you can get one. after this the later ones were gm heads made by karl someone or another in germany, not the best regarded addition to the engine bay!

[humbucker]

ive seen an ecotec x20xev with only 55k on a mint 1995 body. im wondering if its worth pursuing as a good reliable but quick motor as my 2nd car (maybe even the every day car depending on running costs) and consider an c20xe switchover at a later day if i could find a good condition unit. im not that bothered about modding the unit to begin with, thats not the primary concern, but a 55k x20xev might be  a better choice than a 130k c20xe thats attached to a motor with a less than perfect body?? whatcha think?? also, would a switchover be simple enough or more to consider?

[Kevin Wood]

next door neighbour has a lotus europa which looks like it has an x20xe in it. i guess i just wondered about reliability etc as i know that the later cavs and calibras were all fitted with these as opposed to c20xe

He's not called Steve, is he? I know a chap with a C20XE powered Europa in the Cambridge area..... :-?

Kevin

[humbucker]

next door neighbour has a lotus europa which looks like it has an x20xe in it. i guess i just wondered about reliability etc as i know that the later cavs and calibras were all fitted with these as opposed to c20xe

He's not called Steve, is he? I know a chap with a C20XE powered Europa in the Cambridge area..... :-?

Kevin
 

he might be known as 'steve' in some circles, but not down this way...  

this is an x20xe europa i think anyway

[JezInBrum]

I had am L plate cavalier SRi16V with the Xe engine. revved much higher than the ecotec thing that replaced it. Best car I owned upto that time. Shame i stuffed it leaving the A38 sideways at 90 odd.
I also had a Gls 16V with the Xev, not the same. Had probe with the egr system & got rid due to dealer incompitance.
If you can find a red top that has not been to mars back & unmodified  with the coscast head go for it. They do come up on ebay from time to time, also seen on autotrader. But as some have mentioned boy racers still hunt for them.

[Kevin Wood]

next door neighbour has a lotus europa which looks like it has an x20xe in it. i guess i just wondered about reliability etc as i know that the later cavs and calibras were all fitted with these as opposed to c20xe

He's not called Steve, is he? I know a chap with a C20XE powered Europa in the Cambridge area..... :-?

Kevin
 

he might be known as 'steve' in some circles, but not down this way...  

this is an x20xe europa i think anyway

You'd know if you lived next door to this guy. And I'd feel for you. His coffee table in the lounge is a kit car chassis.

Kevin