cx gti turbo

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8304
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Joined: 05 Jan 2006, 08:46
Location: Cheltenham
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cx gti turbo

Post by 8304 »

i have the opportunity to get a cx gti turbo 2

has anybody had one and if so what are they like??

how tough are the engines? - are head gaskets a problem as with the diesel psa engines?

what sort of insurance group are they??

any opinion welcome!!

cheers

Alastair
Zxtd Aura converted from 1.8i Petrol - Lowered, 20psi boost extra fuel - weeeeeee!

MK2 Cortina 1600e

Honda Acty Romahome - 545cc!! - (the "beast")
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

Our friend "doublechevron" (Shane) from down under have the '85 yearmodel turbo 1 CX. Its very much the same car although the turbo 2 is uprated on several points.

The biggest difference is an intercooler fitted on turbo 2 - which made the car one of the worlds strongest torque puller at the time. An impressive puller.

Until Shane comes by here and tells you all about it - read some from his very good website :
http://www.aussiefrogs.com/shane/ -> CX menu -> '85 CXturbo 1 series II
Anders (DK) - '90 BX16Image
DoubleChevron
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Re: cx gti turbo

Post by DoubleChevron »

8304 wrote:i have the opportunity to get a cx gti turbo 2

has anybody had one and if so what are they like??

how tough are the engines? - are head gaskets a problem as with the diesel psa engines?

what sort of insurance group are they??

any opinion welcome!!

cheers

Alastair
In the UK your biggest issue will be rust and electrical connection. There is no engine/gearbox issues with these cars. The drivetrain could take a direct hit from an anti-tank missile and still work :lol: (well maybe a bit of an exageration ...). Seriously though change it's oil and maintain it and I seriously doubt you will ever have a problem with the motor or gearbox.

I assume you know the standard CX checks, ie: rust, balljoints, arm bearings, rotten pipes (UK only) etc...

The really is nothing like a good CX to drive. The sheer grunt of the turbo models just lifts this to another level.

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
andmcit
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Re: cx gti turbo

Post by andmcit »

Lucky bunny Alastair!

What are they like!!!???? :shock:

BLOODY MARVELOUS!

One of THE BEST Citroens...

EVER - OK, I'm a tad biased - I like these SOOO MUCH, let's just say I've bought a few...

And I've kept every one to date!!

If you go for a turbo you'll never regret it and in fact will wonder why you hadn't gone for one sooner!!

The insurance is no hoodoo - it shouldn't be any MORE unreasonable than most normal cars insurance already is - on renewal from a GTi T2 the premium went UP noticeably when I transferred onto a 2.0 Xm, even though circumstances hadn't changed!! ["A newer car? = give us more money"] Bottom line is the insurance companies are not equipped to accept/realise that these are BLOODY RARE and valuable - they'll only offer a pittance IF it ever came to the crunch - guaranteed value is a possibility but will be expensive.

The engines are pretty much bombproof - I've seen a conrod come through a crankcase but that car must have led a troubled earlier life with an owner from hell before my purchasing it - blew apart quite spectacularly on the way home from picking it up...

Replacement head gaskets are unheard of on the PROPER CITROEN CX ENGINES [pre PSA] - an expansion bottle on a mate's GTi T2 EXPLODED [erupted open like a burst balloon!!] and immediately lost it's water as he left it idling after the car had been laid up a while. Must have ran for a while before the 'problem' was noticed and it still ran 100% after water was added again in a new header!!

One thing, lets not kid ourselves with, they are quite thirsty on the fuel consumption - their only real vice - and it doesn't matter whether you drive like an old flat capped Sunday driver [who was last in fifth back in 1982 :evil:] or if you 'use' the car's full potential... :wink:

The car will run semiskimmed too, without conversion required, but WILL run better on the full fat 4 star if you find the one remaining garages that sell it for £30 a gallon!!

The main consumable weakness on these are tyres and exhausts and these ARE expensive. The tyres being metric are SILLLYYY PRICES best bypassed by swapping over to alternative imperial sized ones with sensible to buy tyres - this is a whole new topic of conversation though...

The exhaust is a busy affair with twin parallel pipes from the front silenser back through the rear silenser and it all isn't really very well supported to the point where the quite thin twin pipes fracture and shear where they meet the heavy silenser boxes. Again these are expensive BUT it will be worth getting your hands on the proper Citroen variety rather than pattern one's which don't last. [Again another seperate thread discussion subject...]

What Shane mentions, of course is VERY true; rust/ventilation and crap handbrake are the usual suspects which will be the same on all CX's but EVERY car has design vices which you just kind of tune out of your immediate awareness!!! In fact does the perfect car or EVEN PERFECT PARTNER exist...!? :lol:

Look for a turbo that has been run on decent oil and regular changes as the turbos WILL wear and be expensive for exchange units. Almost all parts are available so servicing items aren't a real issue... YET.

The turbo2 is the boy to drive with an estimated unofficial BHP in standard guise of 185bhp...

Just so long as you've got a clean licence with room to spare and a bloody good snooper... :wink:

All the best, happy shopping...
Andrew
8304
Posts: 199
Joined: 05 Jan 2006, 08:46
Location: Cheltenham
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cx turbo 2

Post by 8304 »

thankyou andmcit and others for your responses.

I went to the international citroen rally in 2004 at interlarken in switzerland and whilst there was looking a a french turbo 2 petrol, the owner approached but couldnt speak a word of english but gestured to take me for a spin down the runnway (becuase the show was on an airport) it did seem bloody quik, especially as there was nothing very near by to tell how fast we were moving and pulling away - but you could feel it was really fast.

i will get the car providing there are no major gremlins when i look at it.....

cheers

alastair
Zxtd Aura converted from 1.8i Petrol - Lowered, 20psi boost extra fuel - weeeeeee!

MK2 Cortina 1600e

Honda Acty Romahome - 545cc!! - (the "beast")
DoubleChevron
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Joined: 22 Sep 2003, 18:06
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Post by DoubleChevron »

I find it quite interesting that you guys all think Turbo I's are considerably slower than turbo II's.

My father purchased my car in the UK after driving a number of Turbo II's. He didn't think think they felt much different. We drove a Turbo II that was for sale in Australia a couple of years back ... It felt no faster than the Turbo I.

There is more difference than just the intercooler. The Turbo II has higher compresion ratio, possibly different cam, smaller crank bearings, different (integrated) igntion & injection. Infact they probably spec'd them the same as they are actually quite close in power/torque due to there different tuning. The turbo II I would imagine should be stronger off boost due to it's higher compression ratio (this also could mean it runs lower boost though :? ??).

I do intend to fit an intercooler to my CX at some stage. I imagine the difference will be quite small, if even noticable (possibly it might improve fuel economy when towing big loads ?).

Most likely the main thing that will improve power is the Machonics conversion (if only someone would dismantle there Machonics ignition ECU and list the modification that needs to be performed !!). It's only minor apparantly !!

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
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