Astra H VXR Sprint

To monitor both engine oil and gearbox oil temperatures a suitable gauge is required. Rather than two cheaper gauges, meaning extra work on installing them and finding a suitable location in the car, I tracked down this SPA Digital Dual Oil Temperature Gauge. Relatively expensive at around £190 but worth the cost due to the features it offers and:

Spa Dual Digital Oil Temperature Gauge

It comes with twin wiring looms and two oil temperature sender units which means the only wiring that is needed is a switch feed (with a 250 mA fuse) and an earth, so pretty simple on that front:

Spa Dual Digital Oil Temperature Gauge

Fitting for the Engine Oil Temperature Sender, which is located into the back of the oil pump. This blank plug is fitted into the factory oil pump. It has been drilled and tapped to accept one of the supplied temperature senders. It will be refitted with a new sealing washer:

Engine Oil Temperature Fitting

Fitting for the Gearbox Oil Temperature Sender, which is a Speedflow fitting (M18x1.5 to ⅛th NPT) sourced from Australia. This is located into the front of the gearbox where the level check plug would otherwise be, and will be fitted with a new sealing washer supplied with the fitting:

M18x1.5 to ⅛th NPT Adapter

Sender Units installed into fittings (engine oil – left, gearbox oil – right):

Senders Installed into Fittings

Gearbox Oil Temperature Sender:

Gearbox Oil Temperature Sender

Engine Oil Temperature Sender:

Engine Oil Temperature Sender

Next was the issue of where to mount the gauge. So a dual gauge facia (front for a vent pod) was bought from ebay for the SPA Gauge and the Boost Gauge which is designed to sit in the right hand air vent.

I then set about modifying the right hand air vent housing to accept the facia. Several hours of cutting and shaping with a multi tool later and the facia was bonded to the housing. The supplied facia is gloss black:

Dual Gauge Pod

And from the rear with two OE plastic captive nuts to allow the complete assembly to be held into the car securely:

Dual Gauge Pod – Rear

Not happy with the gloss black finish the facia was prepped and sprayed in Matt Black:

Dual Gauge Pod – Satin Black

And with both gauges fitted ready to go into the car. The comprehensive wiring supplied with the SPA gauge means that the only connection into the gauge is a 12 pin multi plug, that simply plugs in, and the boost gauge has a vacuum/boost line run to it from the engine (fuel pressure regulator vacuum pipework) and an illumination feed for when the headlights are on to illumine the gauge. This feed was run into the car from the feed to the side light from the right hand headlight loom as a 12v feed is needed (the bulb in the gauge is 12v):

Gauges Installed

Gauges Installed

Picture from under the dash showing the retaining screws (just visible centre and top left) secured through the original air vent plastic pipework and into the captive nuts in the gauge pod, which all one up when the gauge pod is pushed fully home:

Retaining Screws

Gauges installed and functioning. Boost Gauge (Left) and Dual Oil Temperature Gauge showing the Engine Oil Temperture (Top) and Gearbox Oil Temperature (Bottom. The functions and settings for the SPA gauge are controlled by the red push button mounted on the steering cowl, visible bottom left of picture:

Gauges Installed

So the addition of this high flow inlet manifold will help to give more mid range and top end power, complimenting the K06 turbo and the steel rods.

High Flow and OE Manifold Inlet Manifolds

OE Manifold and High Flow Inlet Manifolds

OE Manifold and High Flow Inlet Manifolds

4mm Thick Thermal Inlet Manifold Gasket to help reduce heatsoak from the head into the new inlet manifold:

4mm Thick Thermal Inlet Manifold Gasket

Longer studs are fitted when used with a thermal inlet manifold gasket:

Replacement Studs

Inlet Manifold Fitted:

Inlet Manifold Fitted

Inlet Manifold Fitted

Both Alternator brackets require the holes opening up slightly so as not to pull the alternator out of alignment when used with the new inlet manifold:

Alternator Mounting Brackets

The brackets refitted:

Alternator Bracket Fitted

Steady Bracket Fitted

Alternator to Inlet Manifold Bracket

To aid fitment of this bracket (shown fitted above) a slight bend to the right hand end will align the bracket to sit flush with the inlet manifold, and carefully removing a short section of the lower return lip of the bracket will give additional clearance against the manifold.

Alternator to Inlet Manifold Bracket

And the factory servo vacuum pipe needs to be heated and shaped slightly to fit onto the new inlet manifold:

Servo Pipe Modified to fit new Manifold

Servo Pipe Modified to fit new Manifold

And this is the OE location of the servo vacuum pipe:

OE Manifold Servo Pipe Location

The rear brakes are being changed from the factory 278mm set up using solid discs to a larger 292mm set up using vented discs. This requires new callipers, discs, pads, mounting brackets and break lines. Additionally the rear calliper bodies are aluminium and lighter weight. The larger rear brake kit is being added because with good braking at the front end, the rear of the car tends to go ‘light’ under heavy braking. This larger brake set up helps add some additional braking to the rear end, helping the car to stay more level under very heavy braking.

Rear Vectra C/Saab Calipers cleaned ready for paint. The brackets have been soaked in Bilt Hamber Deox-C to remove the rust and corrosion. The calipers have been manually cleaned of corrosion:

Rear Saab/Vectra C Calipers

Rear CNC machined Mounting Brackets for 292mm Vented Brake Upgrade and Braided Brake Lines:

CNC Rear Mounting Brackets

292mm Vented 8 Groove Pagid Discs and Pagid Pads:

292mm Pagid Vented 8G Discs and Pads

Caliper Brackets painted:

Rear Caliper Mounting Brackets

Rear Caliper Mounting Brackets

Rear Caliper Mounting Brackets

Rear Calipers painted:

Rear Calipers

Rear Calipers

Rear Brake Backplates with the lips trimmed to fit the 292mm discs and painted:

Rear Backplates

Rear Hub, original 278mm disc removed, calliper to come off next:

Rear Hub

The rear hub and mounting brackets are then removed. The hub has to be removed from the original mounting bracket (carefully as sometimes this can damage the ABS hub) and the hub is then fitted into the new CNC machined mounting brackets, new lock nuts are fitted and then torqued up. Finally the discs, calipers and pads are fitted and the new brake lines, then the system is bled through.

292mm Rear Brake Upgrade Fitted:

292mm Rear Brake Set Up Fitted

I bought this 2006 Arden Blue Astra VXR to use as a track day car. It has covered 85,000 miles, but has had regular oil changes over and above the suggested service schedule. A new VXR turbo unit was fitted to it at about 72,000 miles in May 2011, and it had a cambelt and water pump change plus a new uprated clutch and lightweight single mass flywheel at 83,000 miles.

When I bought it it had already been fitted with the following upgrade parts:

• Courtenay Sport Lightweight Single Mass Flywheel
• Sachs Uprated Clutch Cover and Helix Uprated Sprung Disc
• Wavetrac Limited Slip Differential
• Courtenay Piper 76mm (3″) Full Stainless Steel Sports Exhaust System,
• Uprated Courtenay Sport VXRacing Full Height Intercooler (Original Spec with 50mm outlet)
• 18″ Revolution Millennium Alloy Wheels
• DAP Road Springs,
• Whiteline Rear Adjustable Anti Roll Bar
• Alcon 4 Pot Monoblock Front Calipers with 345mm Single Piece Discs
• Courtenay Sport Direct Route Hose Kit and Airbox
• Lower Arm Brake Cooling Ducts
• Foglight Delete Brake Cooling Ducts
• Remapped by Courtenay Sport to 290bhp

which makes it a very good base car to begin with and to improve on.

Foolishly however, I did not many photographs when I first got the car (obviously I was keen to make a start on further improvements!) but here is one (admittedly not a very good one) I do have:

Astra VXR