A.t.p

Hi everyone.
I've owned my escort Rs turbo s2 for 2 years now, and the thing is that i have become really bored with it, it's Stock except from mongoose exhaust system, -31 cossie actuator, and magnetti marelli coil. I have just had it fully repainted and all that, but i'm seriously tired of being smoked by Many length by everyone and everything, even civic esi with 125 HP's.
People always get all hyped up and excited about seeing my rst, As it is a very rare car i Denmark where i'm from, but it just falls Apart when i'm always meters behind.

The Dream when i bought the car, was getting it around 180-200 HP (stage 1 tuning) but i have started studying and therefore haven't Got tons of money.
I Will be able to get a chipped box, other intercooler, and Racing clutch very cheap from someone that i know. But i'm also realising that i won't be able to afford the costs of a enchanced gearbox :/
I hate how slow the Stock rst is.. and it Will take years before i Can afford the gearbox, so i have realised that i won't be able to get my 200 HP rst
Just as a fact, i use it as my Daily drive.

So, even though i love the turbo, i'm thinking about Selling it, and the get a Honda del sol vti with 160 HP and do the usual tune with exhaust and manifold, and other bits.
I really like japanese cars aswell, and i like that the del sol is a bit more Nice inside, but still a sporty little racer with removable roof.

What are your thoughts, Will it be a bad thing to do? keeping in mind, that i'm used to a Stock rst and probably won't get mutch further than that with my rst :/

Cheers

nigel b

the honda will be a better car
a stock rst nowadays is slower than most diesel cars

haz87

A standard gearbox will be fine with 180bhp as long as you drive with a bit of care

doga-ot

iTrader: (1)

My tuned Rst used to slaughter civic type R's

nathansRS

I think you need to consider that your car is not performing correctly at all .

Here are some stats for you:


The 'standard' escort (when newer and in good health) should be capable of 0-100 mph in 23.1 seconds (Motor magazine),23.7 seconds (Fast Lane magazine).

For reference the del sol is 0-100 mph in appx 21.5 seconds (random web search).

A 2003 150Ps golf gt tdi is 0-100 mph in 23.5 seconds.

with only a small increase in boost pressure (standard 0.4 -0.55 bar) to 0.75 bar, the escort will do 0-100 mph in 17.6 seconds (Motor magazine - superchips car), 0-100 mph in 18.2 seconds (Fast Lane magazine, BBR car).

If you want to keep the escort you should at least give it a chance by having it rolling road tuned/tested. Check the boost pressure, fuelling and camshaft timing and hope that it is nothing more serious (a worn engine) causing your standard car to underperform. Once this is fixed increase the boost!

If you just want a change then why not get a real EP3 type R rather than that thing that looks like a girl's shoe?

A.t.p

Yes, i have thought about it not performing as it should and have checked almost everything, replaced plugs, leads, new coil, and so on.. And the Engin Sound's healthy, starts and run smothly, just to damn slow :/
The vti 0-60 time is set between 7-8 seconds if you search Google, and the rst i set to 8,7 seconds?
I love the EP3 type R, but in Denmark they are sold for nothing less than between 9000-10.000 gbp, and thats mutch more than i Can afford, it actually all depends how mutch i Can get for my rst :/

A.t.p

That's great, but this Thread is about me not being able to afford tuning my rst

studabear

If i'm honest a Rs Turbo isn't the car to have if you are short of money, thats why I sold my S1 many years ago. Could you store it for a few years and get yourself a cheap small engined car?

Chas

This could go for any car but I would agree with you. They are easier to work on that most other cars thus cheaper but ultimately they do demand care and attention, with info about the fuelling system now being limited only to those familiar with K-Jetronic (i.e not many!).

I sort of did what you did, but got a Clio 172 as a small car! Granted a 1.2 would have been quite a bit cheaper but I wanted something with a bit of poke and wished to have something frugal and swift at a low price.

boeb

Some wisely spent pounds and a decent setup should be taking care of most civics etc

3i-bays

I'm running a 200 brake rs turbo engine in my 3i, and I'm still on the 3i gearbox. Its been fine for 3 years. I have got an s1 box to fit in it this winter but your box should be fine. Put it in and run it, then replace it when it shits itself

A.t.p

That just doesen't solve the problem, if i take the chance and it breaks, then i'm without a car, and still without the money to buy a stronger gearbox, and then i can't even sell the car if the gearbox is broken, or at least not at the same value as now.
I just Think that the engine seems so fragile, and Would just love to get something stronger and faster than the Stock rst. I Would also love a tuned rst, but as i Said, i really dont belive it Would be realistic to achieve that with my amount of money for the next Many Many years :/

Sjieter

are you for real? you lose to a esi with 125hp?
For starters , my brother had a 1994 civic eg esi with 125hp with an open intake and invidia catback, stripped out and (fake)bride bucket seats( lighter than oem seats)
my rst (back then) , stock boost , mongoose exhaust, piper cone and i could quite easily pass him all day long
stock rst isn't that slow at all
not meaning to brag just telling how it is

A.t.p

I Would wish i wasn't, but i am :/ apparantly mine must be really shitty, the engine just seems to be healthy and drive as it should. 2 of my friends have efi civic's and another of my friends have a e36 320i. I Can take my friend who drives the BMW, but my two friends with civic's always win by the length of Half a car.

The only thing that seems to be wrong with mine, is when it's cold, the starter just rotate for 10-15 seconds before it starts, but i've Got new plugs, leads, and coil. But if i turn the key (back and forth) and make the fuel pump run, and then keep doing this a few times before i start the car, the car is easier to start, could that be something?

luke19790_3

What boost is running?

A.t.p

It is Stock

botters

iTrader: (2)

if it takes that long to start the fueling is possibly way out my old mfi rst would start literally as i touched the key being mfi it is not waiting for any crank sensor signals or the like so the second it sees a spark it should fire, there is no way you should be getting beat by a stock civic in a stock rst. my old rst was running 188bhp it had a noisy gearbox when i bought it and i abused it daily for 3 years without a problem and my mate did a further 2 years on that gearbox again without a problem as far as i know that gearbox is still good to go haha

A.t.p

So any suggestions on what it could be, a question of setup, or something else wrong? :/

luke19790_3

just read again, buy a chip then get someone to increase the boost\setup

Red_bull

Shame you replaced parts without really having an idea where the issue is. That money could have gone into a spare box. First of all the starting issue is something that shouldn't happen. Find the cause of it and maybe you will gain power.

Check your timing, as its stock its a easy thing to do and you might gain hp

Its simple. Check if fuel path is good, check there are no air leaks and make sure iginition is fine. For sure you got trouble on fueling. So start there

I have run over 200bhp and the box never gave in. Now running 180 or sg and box is fine. If you break a box at around 180 bhp you shouldn't go for upgrade directly. Just take a next stock. If you break it you are just unlucky. And i know its your daily, but if you buy a del sol you buy somebody else his trouble. That car might fail you just as bad as the escort.

A.t.p

You assume i just replaced parts without having an idea. My coil was done and i had Big problems with the car setting out under acceleration, so i replaced it with a magnetti marelli, after i did that, i had a Big spark jumping between my new coil and the lead. So i replaced Those too, Got new plugs, and had the timing set, which helped.

But i thought it Would be a god idea to mention that Those parts have Been replaced, so People didn't have to suggest that, and i had to turn it down. The new parts was necessary.

Yes that's always a risk. I have just heard so Many People talk about the reliability of the vti engine, and my experrince with the cvh engine is that there's always something wrong. I have owned a xr3i cabriolet, and now the rst, and even though i love the cars, i have only had trouble with them, although i still find it hard to give it up because there's something about Those cars. So the decision haven't Been made yet, but i'm very interested in other People's opinion

mentalasanything

To me it sounds like you have electrical and fuelling issues, not "Engine" issues. If it starts and idles with no smoke or rattles I'd say there's not much wrong with the trusty old CVH as an engine.

The biggest issue you have is the old MFi. If it were an option (Cash permitting) I would scrap MFi and go EFi.

But as we're saying cash may be an issue, if I were you I'd check all of the ECU wiring with a continuity tester, test the sensors with a multi meter and check the voltage at the fuel pump. Once you've confirmed they are all OK then have it set up by a professional and have them check the fuel pressure. After all it's 130BHP ish stock so it's not slow.

Lee

Eagle

iTrader: (2)

I ran 20 - 22 psi boost on my 1.6 rst, had a large intercooler, uprated rad, twin cooling fans, bigger turbo, ap clutch and pedal upgrade and a chip, oh and mark shead's fuel reg modification. and a STANDARD gearbox. I drove it on the track many times as fast as it would go. it was always driven hard. never had an issue with the gearbox. I had a spare one just in case. would have that car back if I ever found it again.
only things with tuning the 1.6 is once you fix one area of issue another soon appears, worth doing the whole upgrade in one go. oh and if you fit a bigger intercooler and radiator you will need to look at the alternator pulley, it will sit too close to the hoses and soon eat them lol ...