24th Apr 2009, 17:26

Saxos are not faster, my GTi will beat Saxos, it all depends what mods you have done, but if both are standard the GTi wins every day.

I had 135mph out of my GTi, what Saxo can do that. Why do people think the Saxo is faster. IT'S CRAP. It's a car made from a plastic bag.

And yes my RS Turbo was suped up, that's why it beat Scoobys easily... I'm not stupid, I know it wouldn't beat them standard.

Anyone know if the Renault Clio 172 is any good?

25th Apr 2009, 10:49

The GTi won't do 135mph standard, the Clio Sports you mention don't do much more than that, and they have a lot more power. You would be lucky to get much over 120mph actual speed, so if the speedo said 135mph and was 10% out you were doing 122mph, which sounds a bit more realistic.

For info on the Clios, just look up some reviews on this site, plenty about.

26th Apr 2009, 15:16

The GTi does do 135mph standard. I did it in mine and it was not struggling either!

27th Apr 2009, 06:48

For the last time, THE GTI DID 135MPH. It was against an Audi. We were both going the same speed. If you want I'll pick you up and show you. Put your foot flat on the pedal, it will do it. The Audi beat me easily, but we were messing about.

27th Apr 2009, 12:43

No it didn't do 135, it has 115 bhp, which just isn't enough. Cars with 160 bhp+ only just about achieve 135, so you're a long way off!

28th Apr 2009, 13:09

I give up, I don't even care. The GTi is a fab car and great value for money. Best car I have owned so far, but I want the new Focus RS next. Can't wait

28th Apr 2009, 17:59

Just thinking why people with Ford Escort GTis go over the top with their speed. They must have poor speedo's, because why would the book figures lie?

Look at www.parkers.co.uk

Saxos VTS are faster, my GTi will not beat a Saxo VTS, it all depends what mods you have done, but if both are standard, the GTi loses every day.

30th Apr 2009, 11:19

I have owned many cars, from Saxo's including the VTR and the VTS, to Colts to 200sx's, and now a GTi Escort. No the GTi is not fast as in Ferrari Fast, but YES it IS quick. Mine is fully standard (but not for much longer), and believe me are capable of 135mph (GPS verified) and it's not to do with power or lack thereof. It is more to do with gear ratios. Hell I had a 1.6 Finesse which was capable of 130mph (GPS verified again).

Also it is more than capable of doing 0-60 in well under 9 seconds. This has been verified on rolling road and drag strips. I have not raced a VTS/R as yet, but will let you know the results when I have.

One other thing no one has taken into consideration is how well the Zetec engine flows and the torque it creates all the way through to 4krpm, which is when the power kicks in. It provides a much smoother power curve than when I had my VTS dyno'd. Hope this helps the argument resolve one way or another.

30th Apr 2009, 19:01

Two that claim of 130 mph from an Escort GTi is just outrageous. My 2.0 converted Escort only just do that, so from 1.8 it's not likely.

30th Apr 2009, 21:30

Hi people, I have a Ford Escort GTi, and the car judders a bit when I drive it for a while. It's fine at 1st, but a few minutes later it starts to judder. I've changed the idle control valve, but it still has a slight judder when I put my foot down. Can someone please help? Cheers.

1st May 2009, 12:22

Yes another owner claims to have reached 135mph, (me) as does my friend who also owns a GTi Escort. If I can find a way to scan his dyno run onto here, it shows his car doing 115 mph in 4th gear. So to reach 135 with 3k left to use of 5th gear is not a hard thing to accomplish.

Also, why is everyone so concerned about what Ford books say about top speed and acceleration? Ford are well known to underestimate their cars, and have done throughout history.

One last thing to the guy who's done a 2L conversion. Have you checked your ratio's? Including your wheel+tyre size, final drive and gear box? If you're struggling to reach 130 in that then, there's summat letting you down.

1st May 2009, 12:44

Used to own 1.6s Fiesta, that did 110mph in 4th gear, but flat out only did about 115mph. Still had 2000rpm left though, but it just didn't have the power to pull any more. Same as Escort GTi.

1st May 2009, 14:08

You wouldn't have the power to get the rev's up that high. It may be geared to do that speed, but 115bhp just ain't gonna get you there in reality. Dyno's have no resistance so you can on a dyno, but not on the road.

2nd May 2009, 03:57

I don't think people realise just how fast 135 mph is, I mean, the top official speed for the Escort Cosworth is 139 mph and that has double the power of the GTI, UK Impreza WRX, 143 MPH. Why would a 115 bhp car be able to do 135?

2nd May 2009, 05:51

Can someone help me please. My car judders a lot when it heats up. It's fine in high gears, but when I put my foot down it starts to judder and the exhaust pops. It's been in the shop and had a new air idle valve, but still has the same problem. HELP HELP HELP.

3rd May 2009, 04:52

To the guy with the judder, there are things you can check. I had issues with my lower arms which gave a juddery feeling to acceleration. Also how does your clutch feel? Could it be slipping or not engaging fully?

Alternatively, have you checked your throttle body isn't sticking and is operating smoothly? Other than that, without driving the car there are few things I can suggest checking. Perhaps a small misfire at low revs? A loose or dirty earth connection? Have you had a engine diagnostic check run?

Hope this helps?

3rd May 2009, 07:13

Yes, I've had a diagnostic, and he said get a new air idle valve, which I did. I've had new bottom arms put on both sides, a new CV boot and tracking done. But don't think these things have anything to do with the car juddering. The clutch feels fine. It's OK at 1st, but when the car heats up it judders a lot in low gears, and when I put my foot down.

4th May 2009, 05:41

It's all sorted now. Turned out I just needed new HT leads. All that bother and it turned out to be something stupid. Runs perfect now, cheers for the help.

My rear near side drum has started to leak now. LOL. Anyone know how to fix it?

4th May 2009, 18:38

Yep you need a new hydraulic wheel cylinder.

It's like a little piston that pushes the rear brake pads in to the drums.

1. Jack up car.

2. Axle stands in jack up places.

3. Take off wheel.

4. Take off drum.

Look after bearing.

5. Undo 8mm nut on brake pipe. Make sure you have a bucket or something to catch the brake fluid in.

6. Undo wheel cylinder.

7. Put new one on.

8. Put back on brake pipe and then put back on brake drum, and don't forget to put back the bearing.

9. Put new brake fluid into the master cylinder.

10. Bleed the brakes.

This is how to bleed brakes.

Then put the wheels back on and drop the car on floor, and start the engine and pump the brakes; job done.