[dxb335d]

An E60 M5 sounds like a F1 car that's escaped from qualifying!!

Back when they had V10's...

[A_P]

[Ryan87]

Now that sounds awesome!

Insurance is huge on the M cars though. May have to go back to the drawing board!

[A_P]

How much for the E60 M5? 1/1.2k?

I am paying £660 on the E46

What was it for the VXR8?

[Ryan87]

The quote for the vxr8 with both myself and her on was £785.00 fully comp which I didnt think was too bad as shes only 22.

For the m3 even without her on was 1900 the m5 was nearer 2600.

As much as id love one, I cant warrant that on insurance.

[A_P]

Holy cow, how old are you? I am 28.

[jimmylimmy]

I'll give you my two pence worth having owned both.....

Firstly, its not Vauxhall, it a rebadged HSV, sort of like the Alpina equivalent for Holden.

Like you, I had the itch for a V8 and a mate owned a Monaro followed by a VXR8. A workmate was looking for a new car not long after I bought my 335d and VXR8's were being sold by dealers as pre-registered for £23-£25k to sell the remaining stock, so I pointed him in that direction. Every time we met up, I loved the noise and the way it handled for a big car, and his was bone stock.


Pros:
Standard VXR8 is pretty quick, not as quite as quick as an e9x M3 though, but thats like comparing apples with oranges. The seats in the VXR8 and big, supportive and very comfortable. The interior materials arent as nice as a BMW but I didnt buy it for the interior

I've been on a few Pistonheads meets/runs and nothing short of exotica gets as many looks - probably because of the noise it makes and the fact that 95% of people havent got a clue what it is. I've never had so many random people come up to me to talk about my car, it certainly gets some attention, be that a good or a bad thing

Its basic, easy to service/replace parts and very easy to mod. Intake, Exhaust and remap will free up about 40-50hp, Supercharger will take you up to over 600 and wont cost anything like £12k

Cons:
Gearbox isnt the best feel, parts can be expensive if you stay in the dealer network, its hard on brakes and suspension, it needs a fair few mods to really open it up (Exhaust is first on virtually every owners list as the standard one is far too quiet, standard clutch is pants but most have been replaced with LS7 under warranty), there arent many specialists about, ignorance/badge snobbery

Would I buy another? Thats a hard one... but nothing will make me part with mine short of buying a GT-R

Gratuitous pics of mine:




And a short clip of the noise

[Ryan87]

May have to redo the insurance as I didnt think it was too bad. Iv just recently turned 25.

Jimmylimmy, thank you for that. How do you find the manual? The one iv been in was an auto that had been reprogrammed by monkfish and seemed alright.

My worry with the manual was that the clutch wouldnt last long.

Iam a big fan of the wortec system and love the valved ones for everuday driving.

Not seen one in the colour of yours before, wrapped or a custom paint?

[jimmylimmy]

Mine has the LS7 clutch fitted which is rated to 600hp(ish) so mine is really at the limit. I was contemplating more mods to push power up to over 700hp but would need an LS9 clutch and at £2k, it will have to wait

The standard clutch has a fault where sometimes the pedal doesnt come back up fully when you are changing gear aggressively. It is still working, (not slipping) but Vauxhall just swapped them out for LS7 when owners experienced it. You wont find many manuals that haven't had an LS7 fitted.

The switchable Wortec is the daddy I just need new headers to unleash the full NASCAR mental...

Mine has been wrapped, so not a standard colour

[Subzero2003]

I've driven a couple hard. They are/feel like very heavy cars. They don't turn in anywhere near as well as my 335i and feel cumbersome in the corners. A B road blaster they are not. A big mean muscular V8 they are. The engine noise alone would be very very nearly enough to sway me from a 335i to a VXR8. Then i see the fuel consumption figures and swing well and truly back to the 335i.