Vectra 2.2 Sri engine

[jason 82]

I have recently bought a zafira 2.2 petrol, the same engine is in the vectra 2.2 Sri, and produces 150bhp. I am strongly considering changing my donor to accommodate this cracking little engine. It's fairly light weight, and produces bags of torque from mid range all the way through. People are scared of these engines, as they have a tendency to snap timing chains, but this is down to bad servicing. What happens is after time, the paper oil filter breaks up, and lodges into the hydraulic timing chain tensioner causing the issue. These engines are relatively cheap to buy & maintain, & my heavy old zafira is producing 30mpg being driven gently, so imagine what this babey could do in one of our roadsters ! As I said before, not 100% sure that this is what I am going to do, as I have already started to strip my 1.8 mx5. Just sharing my train of thought, as people are showing interest in Saab engines etc just thought I would throw another very worthy contender into the mix !

[alga]

A few observations about fuel economy. I have a Zetec Silvertop. Ford Mondeo 2.0i is listed as 8 l/100km (32 mpg) combined, whereas I'm getting 9-ish l/100km (29 mpg) on average. 8.2 l/100km was the most economical tank, and the worst (which included track work) were around 10. Considering that the roadster is rarely driven mildly, I think it's pretty good.