Astra VXR engine transplant complete!

Finally, we are almost there!! The Astra VXR Z20 LEH engine fires up like a dream - no warning lights, error codes to be seen. Just one small niggle with the gearbox which should be sorted this week but the Corsa is driveable. The important thing is the original objective that this engine transplant would result in a fully road legal Corsa will be met, utilising the standard Vauxhall ECU engine and vehicle management systems. This means that, in the event of any issues the normal Vauxhall diagnostic tools can be used to identify and resolve the problem.
Once the gearbox issue is sorted we will be out and about over the Christmas break putting some miles on the engine amd ensuring there are no problems under normal driving conditions. Then, in the New Year it's onto the rolling road to remap the engine so we can realise the full potential of the stage 5 400bhp engine. A full respray to restore the bodywork to showroom condition and we will be ready to launch the vehicle to the world!

Corsa Race Car Update

For various, unforseen reasons work on this Astra Z20 LEH engine transplant project had to be put on hold. Finally, work has now resumed in earnest in an attempt to finally put this long running project to bed. One last hurdle to overcome is regarding the gearbox cables - neither the standard Corsa or Astra cables will fit so we are having to sort out having bespoke cables manufactured. Not as easy a job as you would think but once this is sorted we are ready to fire up the Corsa in earnest.
More updates to follow shortly.

A bit of Karcher promotion

A good days fun with Thorney Offroad was had at the recent Endurofest event, no race this time but the chance to show off the Wildcat in action round their 7 mile enduro course and try out Thorney's new Karcher pressure washer.

The course was interesting, built for MX bikes rather than a UTV it was narrow but really good fun with drop offs, jumps and some water splashes all thrown in and the Wildcat did them all with style. 

One of the issues with off road racing is that the tracks tend to be remote with no water and no power so if you want to wash the car or bike down afterwards you're pretty much stuck but this time we got to use the new Karcher pressure washer. The one Thorney have is a self contained generator and pressure washer in one unit, small enough to put in the back of a Yamaha Rhino or in our case the back of the TMS support van. All Thorney did was add a 100 litre water tank and we were good for several washes of the Wildcat. Really is a decent bit of kit, only a foot and half square it makes it easy to just chuck in the back of the van and 100 litres of water was good for 4/5 full Wildcat washes or 30 odd MX bikes, certainly makes unloading once back at the race workshop less if a chore.

Thorney Offroad is part of Thorney Motorsport who we are working with on the Z20 LEH Astra engine conversion into our Corsa SRI Race car. More details here.

Arctic Cat Wildcat Declared Winner!

Dirt Trax Magazine set the stage for the long-awaited grudge match between the Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000 and the Polaris RzR XP 900. The Dirt Trax crew challenged themselves to dig deep as they developed their opinions and impressions to answer the raging question: Who has the best Pure-Sport ROV?
After pitting the two against each other and evaluating all aspects of the machines, the conclusion was no surprise; the Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000 was given the nod in this comparison. The most opinionated editors in the business said the Wildcat brings an extra measure of performance to critical areas buyers will immediately appreciate.
Key talking points from the article-

• The Wildcat nailed the high performance Pure Sport Side x Side equation out of the gate
• Electronic Power Steering (EPS) makes the Wildcat exceptionally easy to drive
• Handling of the Walker Evans shocks with remote reservoirs and staggering 18-inches of suspension travel will make you a better driver
• Plush interior is luxurious with stitched bucket seats and plenty of leg room
• The sensation of covering rough terrain at speed is so profound it is shocking

Click here to read the full article (reproduced courtesy of Dirt Trax Magazine).
Thorney Offroad race and sell the Arctic Cat Wildcat side by side here in the UK. Much more information on this awesome machine including how to get your hands on one right now can be found on the Thorney Offroad Wildcat website.

First Wildcat race win for Thorney Motorsport

At the recent side by side offroad race meeting held at Haresfield race track Thorney Offroad, racing their Arctic Cat Wildcat SxS secured a convincing victory. It was a great UK race debut for the Wildcats, every other competitor lapped and the race win by a good distance!

This first UK Wildcat race was arranged by the ACU and Quad Events UK, the organisers of the British Quad X- Country Championship. Billed as a demonstration race the course was a one hour enduro event over a 7 miles course as used by the quads so it was rough, muddy and brilliant fun.
For a full race report together with photos of the Wildcats in action click here.
Thorney Motorsport are currently preparing our 400bhp, 2 litre Astra VXR powered Corsa race car and used the same race preparation skills to set up and race the Wildcat.
A full race schedule of events across the UK for Wildcat owners to compete in is currently being finalised by Thorney Offroad - their website provides up to date information.

Corsa VXR Racing for Sale

The time has come to put our Corsa VXR Racing up for sale. Our project with Thorney Motorsport to transplant the Astra VXR engine into our other Corsa SRI race car is nearing completion and so we need to concentrate our time and effort on further development of this race car.
We have a dedicated website at www.corsavxrracing.info which describes in detail all the upgrades and performance enhancements that have been carried out, again by Thorney Motorsport, on the Corsa VXR Racing. For full sale details of this exceptional Corsa VXR Racing click here.
If you need any further information or want to view the Corsa please do not hesitate to contact us.

Goodwood Festival of Speed - 28 June to 1 July

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is the largest motoring garden party in the world – a unique summer weekend that brings together an impossibly heady mix of cars, stars and motor sport 'royalty' to create the largest car culture event in the world. Held in the immaculate grounds of Goodwood House, this annual hill-climb event is a true celebration of motor sport and all things automotive.
This year Thorney Offroad will be there with the exciting new Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000i H.O. side by side machine. As the first distributor to have the Wildcat here in the UK they are taking this opportunity to showcase the looks and demonstrate the awesome performance the Wildcat has to offer.
Located in the Offroad section you will have unfettered access to explore these Wildcats - in addition Thorney will be putting them through their paces on the specially designed offroad circuit.
Visit the Goodwood Festival of Speed website for general info or contact Thorney Offroad directly if you are interested in visiting them at the festival.
Thorney Offroad is a division of Thorney Motorsport, our partner in the Astra Z20 LEH engine transplant into our Corsa race car.

Wildcat 1000i H.O. here in the UK

At last the long awaited Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000i H.O. side by side has arrived in the UK. Thorney Offroad are the first UK Arctic Cat dealer to receive shipment of these awesome vehicles and have them available now for viewing and demonstration rides.
To celebrate this fact Thorney Offroad are arranging an official launch day at their brand new Silverstone facilities. The launch date is set for Saturday 16th June and on offer will be:- 

• Tour of Thorney Motorsport race workshop and Thorney Offroad showroom
• Free BBQ
• Rides and drives on the new Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000i H.O.

There is limited availability of places so early booking is recommended.
For more information go to the Thorney Offroad website.

Gearbox Front Mount Bracket

We are making great progress towards completion of the Astra VXR engine transplant. The latest achievement is the design and manufacture of the gearbox front mount bracket. The chassis of the Corsa SRI differs from the Astra VXR is as much it doesn't have a crossmember running across the front of the engine bay. Consequently we have had to manufacture a bespoke crossmember resilient to absorb the torsional loads imparted by the 400bhp Z20 LEH engine. The final design is very innovative since, not only does it provide an anchorage point for the Astra gearbox front mount but also doubles up as an anti-roll bar, thus providing additional body stiffness. Yet again a fine example of Thorney Motorsport's engineering expertise. Once painted this crossmember / anti roll bar assembly will really look the part!

Astra VXR Engine Conversion Update

With less than 4 weeks to go to the launch for the 400bhp Astra VXR engine transplant into the Corsa SRI race car the fabrication of the new front gearbox mount bracket/cross member is under way and should be completed by 22 May. Attention is now focused on production of the full set of cold air intake and cooling silicon and rigid pipes. We intend to use black silicon hoses as well as black rigid pipes, both of which will incorporate the TMS logo. The complete set of hoses/pipes will be available to buy through Thorney Motorsport, once the engine conversion project is finished and fully tested.
We have called in the services of SFS Performance, specialists in the manufacture of motorsport silicon hoses to measure up the installation and produce the kit.

6 weeks and counting ...

Throughout this Astra VXR engine transplant project regular project review meetings have taken place with Thorney Motorsport. At the last meeting it was decided to set a target date for completion of the project so as to focus the minds of all concerned. With Thorney Motorsport competing this year in the BTCC with their Vauxhall Insignia we fixed the weekend of June 9/10 - this being the next scheduled BTCC race meeting at Oulton Park.
 The aim is to have the Corsa race car fully run-in and dyno tested with a smart new livery to do justice to the collabaration between us and Thorney Motorsport. The Corsa will be on display in the Oulton Park paddock at the TMS team garage.
Still left to do include:-

• Tidying up the various wiring harnesses
• Complete the Pipercross air intake system installation
• Installation of the Scorpian 3" full race exhaust system
• Fabrication of front gearbox mount bracket/cross member
• Dyno testing / custom mapping to achieve 400+ bhp
• Vinyl wrapping / bodywork detailing

6 weeks and counting ...

Engine management sensors - Z20LEH engine conversion

One of the main engineering challenges faced when installing the 400bhp Astra VXR engine (Z20 LEH) into our Corsa SRI race car has been the integration of the Z20 LEH engine ECU with the main Corsa ECU vehicle management system. The engineers at Thorney Motorsport have come up with an ingenious solution to this challenge which ensures the reliable and smooth running of the whole vehicle. Along the way the opportunity has been taken to incorporate several additional sensors into all areas of the vehicle management system including fuel and engine control and monitoring. These extra sensors will provide vital data output to assist with engine set up and ongoing vehicle performance monitoring.
Details of this exciting project undertaken by Thorney Motorsport can be found at our website dedicated to the Corsa SRI race car and this 400bhp Astra VXR engine transplant.

Air Intake System - Corsa Race Car

The Astra VXR engine transplant into our Corsa SRI race car is slowly moving forward. Attention has turned to the cold air intake system. We have decided to use the Pipercross Viper VFC244 sealed unit cold air intake. The unit will be tucked away down inside the nearside front wing away from the heat of the engine bay. It will draw cold air in through the nearside front fog light aperture.
Using 'velocity air force', the Viper air intake directs cold air directly into the engine. The cold air feed takes air from the area of cold, dense air straight into the Viper's inlet, swirling it through a unique Pipercross reverse-flow air filter contained within a carbon fibre heat shield, then into a ram pipe to increase the air pressure before feeding it into the induction system.
The carbon fibre heat shield protects the air charge from under bonnet heat keeping it cool -and therefore more dense -thus introducing more oxygen into the combustion mixture,giving increased power.
The reverse flow technology filter and 150mm ram pipe make use of the physical phenomenon of air tending to move towards surface area's, creating more air flow on the edge rather than in the centre of the inlet. The unique design of the filter cone and the inlet 'tune' the moving air flow to increase its speed and therefore its pressure maximising the laminar air flow into the engine, again resulting
in increased power.

Wildcat 1000i H.O.

Thorney Offroad, a division of Thorney Motorsport are launching the new Arctic Cat racing side by side atv. The Wildcat 1000i H.O. is an awesome, all powerful machine and has it all when it comes to extreme offroading.

In fact, it’s so good that Thorney Offroad are planning to race two of these Wildcat 1000s in competitive side by side racing. Being a race car team Thorney are adept at modifying the Wildcat 1000i H.O. for competition with upgrades to the chassis, cage, suspension, brakes and power train which maximise the already stunning performance.

A website dedicated to the Wildcat 1000i H.O. has been created by 2geedesign for Thorney Offroad and can be found at www.wildcat1000iho.co.uk. Here you will find full details on the Wildcat 1000 to whet your appetite.

At just £13,990 plus VAT why not be the first in the UK to own a Wildcat 1000?

Astra VXR Engine Conversion Update

Over the last couple of months Thorney Motorsport's attention has been focused on preparation for the forthcoming BTCC championship in which TMS are entering two Vauxhall Insignias. Fortunately for us this work is now becoming less demanding upon engineer resources and focus has shifted back to finishing off the Astra VXR engine transplant into the Corsa SRI race car.
As already mentioned by far the most challenging aspect of this project has been in the area of ECU's - making sure that all aspects of the Corsa's electronics and engine management systems are "talking" to each other. We believe this has been sorted and headway has been made  - wiring looms extended, throttle body fitted, ecu brackets made, ecu fitted, wiring sleeved and in conduit. This good work will continue this week - updates and photos to follow ...

Two Insignias for Thorney Motorsport

Thorney Motorsport has announced it will run two Vauxhall Insignias in 2012’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship for team principal John Thorne and Rob Hedley.
At a launch in Liverpool city centre on 23 February, the team also confirmed a media tie-up with national newspaper the Daily Mirror’s on-line motor sport pages. The Mirror’s logos will appear on both Insignias with its website including regular updates from Thorne about his team’s first season in Britain’s premier motor racing championship.
For more information on this exciting development for Thorney Motorsport head over to their BTCC racing page.
As well as their busy race schedule Thorney also prepare our 400 bhp Corsa race car as well as ensuring our 255bhp road going Corsa VXR Racing develops it's maximum potential.

Calling all potential sponsors

Thorney Motorsport, who are currently preparing our 400bhp Corsa race car, are entering into the exciting world of BTCC motor racing with their home prepared Vauxhall NGTC Insignia.
As befits Thorney Motorsport's wider business interests in road car tuning and automotive repair they believe they can offer an enhanced partnership package to any potential sponsor, this combined with the BTCC's massive audience (2m people watch each race live on ITV4 and a further 35,000 attend the racing in person) means the BTCC and Thorney Motorsport offer huge potential for partners. Thorney have created a brief partners proposal which can be downloaded here.

Thorney Offroad - Polaris RZR XP900R

Thorney Offroad, the offroad division of Thorney Motorsport, exhibited recently at the Autosport International Racing Car Show where they had on display the Polaris RZR XP900R side by side rzr racing machine. This machine is the UK rzr racing drivers vehicle of choice. For the 2012 side by side NoraMX rzr racing series Thorney Offroad will be entering their own racing team as well as providing a full sale, support and arrive and drive options for other competitors.

Being a race car team Thorney is adept at modifying the XP900 for rzr racing competition with upgrades to the chassis, cage, suspension, brakes and power train which maximise the already stunning performance. A lot of the upgrades come from Thorney's partners in the USA where SxS racing has been going for a long time but others are home grown, their race cages are all designed in house and manufactured in the UK as are a lot of other Thorney Offroad performance upgrades.
Thorney Offroad can supply vehicles either ready for upgrades or fully competition prepared machines ready for the rzr racing track, they also offer a full arrive and drive service for the NORA SxS series which in Thorney's view offers the best fun per £ racing that exists in the UK.
For more information about rzr offroad racing and how Thorney Offroad can help you compete in this truly exciting form of motorsport visit the Thorney Offroad website.

Introducing the new Astra GTC200, the fastest GTC Astra yet

Thorney Motorsport, our partner on the Astra VXR engine conversion into the Corsa SRI race car, have launched their new Astra GTC200 model. As Thorney say "If you can't wait for the Astra GTC VXR, drive the next best thing!"
Based on the GTC Astra with either the 1.6 or 1.4 engine the GTC200 benefits from a range of upgrades from Thorney Motorsport, the Vauxhall BTCC team and renowned Vauxhall road tuning company.
These upgrades enhance every element of the car from handling, power, looks and dynamics and draw closely from Thorney Motorsport's long experience in Motorsport.
The Astra GTC200 will be available from February 2012 from Thorney Vauxhall or any local Thorney Motorsport Official Vauxhall Performance Centre. It is completely covered by the Thorney Motorsport 'lifetime, 100,000 mile waranty' so any Vauxhall retailer can look after your car without issue. The Astra GTC200 is even available with 0% interest over 5 years.
For more information head over to the Thorney Vauxhall website.

Astra VXR Engine Conversion Update

With the Christmas break out of the way work continues on the Astra VXR engine conversion, finalising the design and fabrication of the numerous bespoke mounting brackets and protective covers for the various sensors and ECU components. This is taking longer than anticipated but it is vital that all of the additional sensors and ECU peripherals are well protected from physical damage and water ingress. As soon as all of these components are mounted and protected the air intake system layout can be finalised and the various rigid pipes and silicon hoses manufactured. Progress is not rapid but we're getting there slowly but surely!