@@thebomber5028 my mate went back to them three times mate with constant engine failures and they always had a reason as to why it was not under warranty
Nice video mate. Ash at Giz is a legend. Had my vxr mapped by Ash and also did the stem seals too. He is the best in the vxr game 👍 glad it’s sorted mate annoying after spending so much money on a full engine rebuild
😂 tbf I restored them about 2 years ago They've got a lot worse the last year but the car has been off the road getting engine work done for 6 months in total, so I've not had chance to sort them again 😔
Looks fantastic mate. Would suggest a new heatshield (tigworx) is ace. And a new stainless steel water line going across the shield 👏 would finish off the engine bay definitely 👍🏼
Help :( In my Astra, a smell of oil has started coming from the air vents. I can also smell it under the hood. Generally, the smell is noticeable while the car is stationary. I also heard a whistling sound, which is strange because I recently replaced the air intake hoses and the breather hose. I don’t know where to look for the cause. The oil level isn’t dropping, but there’s a slight smell of gasoline.
Bloody hell mate I thought my luck was bad lol I bet you were fuming considering it’s a fresh build glad giz managed to sort u out though top vid as always
Yeah I've been on the brink of scrapping it to be honest (still am). To top it all off, first drive after picking it up the water pump has failed and it's mixing oil and coolant as well. Wanting to do another video on that when it's all figured out, hoping it's just the oil cooler, but I know I'm not that lucky with this car and bet it will turn out to be the head gasket.
@@Yodaracing1 yep I trust this isn't Ash's fault - it had a brand new oil cooler at the same time, the Nevlock one with braided lines, so I'm betting that was faulty honestly. Think I'm going to bypass it this week, just run the front cooler instead, change coolant again and see if it stays clear this time
Stage 1 is usually just a remap, so no other modifications are required. Stages are just a way that tuning companies name their packages though. Do whatever you want or can afford, then get a custom remap to suit that 🙂
Who done your engine build as I am in process of looking at doing mine but I don’t have the time to do it myself due to work and family commitments so personally I’d prefer to avoid these type of people. Also when I had my old mk5 Astra VXR I tried the eibachs and really didn’t like them so went for the DAP R springs from courtenay sport and they transformed the car. Both sets were paired with the RARB but found the EIBACHS to be kind of floaty. Great to see these cars still going about. I now have the Zaf B VXR and been upgrading parts left right and centre. To just leave the forge to be the final part of the puzzle.
Rusty Autos forged it. The bottom end they built is "fine", but it's not the level of quality you expect when shelling out 3 grand (eg there was a lot of rust in the coolant galleries when Ash took the head off, so it hadn't been cleaned properly after the machining work). If you take an engine that's completely failed and ask someone to rebuild it you expect them to check everything and give it you back good as new, not send it out the door with oil and air leaking past the valves and without even doing a leakdown test. I'd recommend Giz, RnD, Courtenay Sport, or just go to a reputable race engine builder and tell them what you want rather than a Z20 specialist as there's a lot of cowboys about when it comes to the Astra it seems.
I agree the eibachs are a bit soft, I was hoping putting the RARB on full stiff would help with that. Courtenay Sport were out of stock of DAPR when I was ordering unfortunately, they'd have been my first choice. These are a stopgap til I fork out for two way adjustable coilovers next year, so handling wise I'd say they're better than stock + "good enough" for now 🙂
@@JamesBalazs yea I can agree with that. I have been speaking to a few people up this area (chesterfield) and they have put me off using rusty autos. I have a guy that will do it if I can drop the car off for a few weeks to him but he is in Milton Keynes. Then you have brearly in Nottingham again mixed reviews. Car runs fine etc but these z20leh can give no end of headaches. I was chasing a coolant leak for a few weeks there and turns out it was a faulty coolant cap 🤦🏻♂️
@@JamesBalazs yea set off bilsteins are the way to go. Pricey as they are, they are fantastic. Pair them with the box rebuilt and a quaiffe or wavetrac diff you will be in heaven.
When I uploaded the video it was already with them in bits mate, I do wish I'd known sooner but if you check their pages it's all 5* reviews so I didn't know any better
I’d be fuming if that happened after having a engine build I’d be going straight back
Forever hearing bad things about rustys builds. Glad you got it sorted mate. Ash is a wizard
Always thought they were decent,clearly not
@@thebomber5028 my mate went back to them three times mate with constant engine failures and they always had a reason as to why it was not under warranty
Nice video mate. Ash at Giz is a legend. Had my vxr mapped by Ash and also did the stem seals too. He is the best in the vxr game 👍 glad it’s sorted mate annoying after spending so much money on a full engine rebuild
been following this for a while now, come on man get your headlights sorted haha
😂 tbf I restored them about 2 years ago
They've got a lot worse the last year but the car has been off the road getting engine work done for 6 months in total, so I've not had chance to sort them again 😔
@@JamesBalazs haha that's good to hear, I just fixed mine up on my Mk4 GSI Z20let
Great vid mate, hard to trust ppl to do a proper job. Giz seem brand new tho
Looks fantastic mate. Would suggest a new heatshield (tigworx) is ace. And a new stainless steel water line going across the shield 👏 would finish off the engine bay definitely 👍🏼
Help :(
In my Astra, a smell of oil has started coming from the air vents. I can also smell it under the hood. Generally, the smell is noticeable while the car is stationary. I also heard a whistling sound, which is strange because I recently replaced the air intake hoses and the breather hose. I don’t know where to look for the cause. The oil level isn’t dropping, but there’s a slight smell of gasoline.
Bloody hell mate I thought my luck was bad lol I bet you were fuming considering it’s a fresh build glad giz managed to sort u out though top vid as always
Yeah I've been on the brink of scrapping it to be honest (still am). To top it all off, first drive after picking it up the water pump has failed and it's mixing oil and coolant as well. Wanting to do another video on that when it's all figured out, hoping it's just the oil cooler, but I know I'm not that lucky with this car and bet it will turn out to be the head gasket.
@@JamesBalazs surely it had a brand new gasket when the head was off at giz? Oil coolers are common as far as I’m aware though feel for you mate
@@Yodaracing1 yep I trust this isn't Ash's fault - it had a brand new oil cooler at the same time, the Nevlock one with braided lines, so I'm betting that was faulty honestly. Think I'm going to bypass it this week, just run the front cooler instead, change coolant again and see if it stays clear this time
@@JamesBalazs deffo a way of narrowing it down if u bypass it and it’s still doing it then least u know it’s not that
@@JamesBalazs the nevlock cooler have a high failure rate mate, either best of bypassing it or try get hold of an oem
What u think about the nevlock kit for fully build and Z20LEH ? Nice video, best of luck!
What oil you running mate , need to service mine , regards
I use Valvoline Synpower 5w40 fully synthetic
That's what Courtenay Sport recommends 🙂
what i need for stage 1 on astra h 1.6 twinport?
Stage 1 is usually just a remap, so no other modifications are required.
Stages are just a way that tuning companies name their packages though. Do whatever you want or can afford, then get a custom remap to suit that 🙂
Pliz more vids of the vxr
Who done your engine build as I am in process of looking at doing mine but I don’t have the time to do it myself due to work and family commitments so personally I’d prefer to avoid these type of people.
Also when I had my old mk5 Astra VXR I tried the eibachs and really didn’t like them so went for the DAP R springs from courtenay sport and they transformed the car. Both sets were paired with the RARB but found the EIBACHS to be kind of floaty.
Great to see these cars still going about. I now have the Zaf B VXR and been upgrading parts left right and centre. To just leave the forge to be the final part of the puzzle.
Rusty Autos forged it. The bottom end they built is "fine", but it's not the level of quality you expect when shelling out 3 grand (eg there was a lot of rust in the coolant galleries when Ash took the head off, so it hadn't been cleaned properly after the machining work). If you take an engine that's completely failed and ask someone to rebuild it you expect them to check everything and give it you back good as new, not send it out the door with oil and air leaking past the valves and without even doing a leakdown test.
I'd recommend Giz, RnD, Courtenay Sport, or just go to a reputable race engine builder and tell them what you want rather than a Z20 specialist as there's a lot of cowboys about when it comes to the Astra it seems.
I agree the eibachs are a bit soft, I was hoping putting the RARB on full stiff would help with that. Courtenay Sport were out of stock of DAPR when I was ordering unfortunately, they'd have been my first choice. These are a stopgap til I fork out for two way adjustable coilovers next year, so handling wise I'd say they're better than stock + "good enough" for now 🙂
@@JamesBalazs yea I can agree with that. I have been speaking to a few people up this area (chesterfield) and they have put me off using rusty autos. I have a guy that will do it if I can drop the car off for a few weeks to him but he is in Milton Keynes. Then you have brearly in Nottingham again mixed reviews. Car runs fine etc but these z20leh can give no end of headaches. I was chasing a coolant leak for a few weeks there and turns out it was a faulty coolant cap 🤦🏻♂️
@@JamesBalazs yea set off bilsteins are the way to go. Pricey as they are, they are fantastic. Pair them with the box rebuilt and a quaiffe or wavetrac diff you will be in heaven.
Take it to junior john hes in nottingham he done mine 3 years ago still going strong at 430 hp
Have you find eibach too harsh on bad roads? i dont like the comfort of them at all so i am going to reiinstall the stock one
I think they're great honestly, the ride quality is as good as stock. Not as harsh as other brands of lowering springs, and way better than coilovers.
@@JamesBalazs i paired them with koni strt and here in Greece roads are really bad. I am going back to stock
Should just throw in a Saab B204 or B234. 500+ Bhp from a stock engine, no mods. Just add Injectors and turbos to suit.
Tbh I wish I had done a B234 when the engine first went. The Z20 has been a nightmare so far.
@@JamesBalazs I tune T5 cars for a living. Transplants is a big part of that. Paul @ The SAAB Clinic UK.
.
I told you not to take it to rusty Autos and I’m sure others also did, I even pm you on instagram lol, they haven’t even got a ramp.
When I uploaded the video it was already with them in bits mate, I do wish I'd known sooner but if you check their pages it's all 5* reviews so I didn't know any better
@@JamesBalazs you getting your money back?