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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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!

Britcar 24 Hour - Thorney Motorsport

Thorney Motorsport are actively involved in the Astra Z20 LEH engine conversion currently being undertaken on our Corsa SRI race car.
Thorney Motorsport recently took part in the Britcar 24 hour endurance race at Silverstone racing their highly successful BMW E92 GT.  Despite a major setback early in the 24 hours, when an input shaft sheered in half with the resulting shock shattering the clutch plates, the team managed a comendable 3^rd in class.
The full story of the trials and tribulations leading to their success can be viewed on the Thorney Motorsport website.

400bhp Corsa SRI race car - back on track

Due to motor racing commitments for Thorney Motorsport (Britcar 24 hours and BTCC Silverstone) work on the Z20 LEH engine conversion had to be put on hold. A little frustrating but fully understandable. Now that the racing season has drawn to a close TMS are back on the case with a vengance. The iterative process of developing the hybrid ECU system has necessitated stripping down various parts of the engine. This work is now complete so the task of rebuilding the engine is underway. The remainder of the underbonnet components - air intake system, intercooler rigid piping, oil pipework etc. can then be reassembled so that full ECU testing can be undertaken prior to firing up the engine for the first time - heady days indeed!

Uprated Alloy Radiator and Intercooler - Corsa SRI Race Car

The Corsa SRI-R race car had been stripped down to the bare essentials, thus freeing up more space within the engine compartment. Ever conscious of the need to provide maximum cooling efficiency, bearing in mind the 400bhp expected to be available from the engine, a bespoke all alloy radiator and intercooler with rigid piping was designed and manufactured.
The high capacity front mount intercooler drops intake temperatures by over 45% compared to the standard car and 65% when running a higher boost map. This allows a more agressive map on the ECU to take advantage of these lower temperatures and yields resulting higher power with this power more useable more of the time.
For more photos of our 400bhp Corsa race car rebuild visit our Corsa race car website.

Corner Weighting - Corsa Race Car

Looking to the future once the Astra VXR engine transplant into the Corsa race car is finished attention will turn to ensuring that we have optimum chassis dynamics. Chassis dynamics is a flash title for all things that relate to the cars handling and ride. As well as setting up the suspension geometry Thorney Motorsport will also carry out corner weighting to fully optimise the car set up for the track. Proper weight distribution is critical in setting up a well-handling car, for a general overview of corner weighting click here

Bits for Sale - Corsa VXR / Corsa SRI

As a result of the Astra VXR engine transplant project into the ex TMS Corsa SRI race car we have a long list of items for sale. Too long to list here but includes:
- 1.6 Turbo engine (Lower compression than Corsa VXR)
- M32 gearbox + standard diff
- Standard radiator + fan
- Standard VXR/SRI turbo
- Standard Intercooler
- Standard RCV etc. etc.
More info and photos will be posted shortly but, in the meantime, if there is anything you are looking for drop us an e-mail. I'm sure we'll be able to help.

Thorney Motorsport

Many of you will have heard of Thorney Motorsport. Thorney Motorsport are one of the UK's largest Vauxhall Tuning companies as well as running one of the UK's largest specialist track and race preparation operations. TMS have been involved in all of the modifications and upgrades carried out on both the Corsa SRI race car and Corsa VXR Racing. In fact, it is their expertise and engineering experience which is the driving force behind the 400bhp Astra VXR engine conversion currently ongoing on the Corsa race car. Why not visit the Thorney Motorsport website and find out how they can help you.

Ceramic Coated Parts

As part of the Astra VXR engine conversion into the Corsa race car it was decided to have various underbonnet components - exhaust manifold, turbo housing, exhaust downpipe and exhaust front section - ceramic coated. This has been carried out by Zircotec with the Metallic Black finish. Ceramic coating not only significantly lowers exhaust temperatures and reduces heat loss from the exhaust resulting in lower engine bay temperatures but being coated in a metallic black finish they also look good!!