2.4i's are the mutts nuts...

[gregster]

I gotta say I never thought I would hear myself say this....

but the title of this thread is in fact what I put and hasnt been edited....

I am a 2.8 nut through and though, we have 3 of em, one of each shape short, long and doublecab pickup and they are great.....

but...

A year or so ago I bought a 2.4i as a spares car primarily for its interior for a 2.5tds...
but never used it as sold the tds
Threw it in for a test and it passed, and was gonna sell it, infact was gonna swap it for a renault scenic until the renault cambelt snapped the day before the swap...
Sally used it in the winter as the heater is better than the 2.8's...but then was stuck really as to what to do with it...
As a car they are worth more in spares and frag than complete with MOT and tax, but was handy as spare car when the 2.8 DMF died...
So decided to use it to replace the li'll white leafer as a plaything, robbing some of its better bits for other projects...

On the road it was unexiting, it seemed a bit gutless towing compared with the 2.8's...and in honesty I genuinly didnt like it very much at all.


BUT....
I spent a couple of hours on saturday equipping it with muds, manual lockers, recovery points, chopped towbar etc
and then unleashed it up the woods at the picnic...

And the old girl came alive!

I was shocked to be honest...

5 up it would climb hills in Low 2nd that the 2.0i sport used to struggle in low first, and the car itself is a fair bit heavier to...

The engine doesnt bog down like the 2.0i, it just pulls from 1000rpm on climbs if you bury the loud pedal in the carpet...

It actually engine brakes on decents unlike the 2.0i...

The engine and box in these is the nuts when it comes to the brown hilly stuff...so much that I would say that they are a great option other than a 2.8 bearing in mind you can buy 2 or 3 2.4's for the same price as a 2.8 lwb!

Yes its a leafer and doesnt flex like a 2.8, but less flex gives better sideslope stability and I would sooner have a wheel 4 ft in the air anyway

But the engine gearbox and gearing really are the nuts....

I am still shocked.... I fully expected it to be really poor off road...



The next dilemma is how easy is it going to be to replace a 2.0i lump in a shorty with a 2.4i engine and box? Cos that would be a wicked little truck I reckon...
Is the wiring similar?

Can I live with rattly timing chains that sound like there is a midget football team under the bonnet all shaking paint aerosols...?


My thoughts are that I might find it easier to cut 18" out of the middle of a 2.4lwb to make it a shorty, but I am just wierd like that...


I reckon some of the lads up the woods Sunday were as shocked as me....


There was us thinking that RandomRoss was some sort of demon driver getting his old 2.4i up the hills...when all along the 2.4i was doing all the work while Rosco had a nap behind the steering wheel!!!

Your thoughts guys....

[Drift]

The old opel manta block
Heavy enough to keep the front planted down to the floor and torquey too, Weave did very well in his and had a tyre for every terrain on it
Bit thirsty though

[gregster]

[Drift]

On the road you nugget
Its a good old fashioned engine that plays by old rules and no complicated rubbish so would work well off road and a bit of potential as a toy, loose the cat for a start
Think I like coilers on side slops though

[rospicer]

I used a 2.4 to tow a caravan to the alps a few years back, and it was really slow with the caravan in tow but did really well on the snow and ice covered roads over a 3 month period. Was quite happy with it back then

[gregster]

This one seemed gutless most of the time in honesty, but with a load it performed better, no point in revving it thought, just full throttle at low revs and it pulled ok...
Worryingly I found the towbar was interesting when I cut it off...it has 2 24mm nuts welded to the bottom of the bracket by one of their hex sides on each nut, and the towball was bolted into them! If I had known I wouldnt have towed a trailer with nearly a ton of scrap in it the week before last!

[gregster]

had a good look at it and cutting 12" or so out of the middle looks pretty straighforwards
Need to freshen up the 2.8 and do Sallys clutch etc in her 2.8 shorty then its plasma party at mine!

[rospicer]

Now that sounds interesting

[frontydan]

I got the 2.4i on an L plate.
She had her first offroad experience at the wild welsh weekend and i can't believe how good she was. I know it has replaced my off 2.0 but they just don't compare. There were lanes we did i would have come away from with concussion had i attempted them in my old 2.0.
Granted she is slow on the road but to be brutally honest i don't think anyone on her bought their fronties for speed..... the roads only link the offroad bits anyways.

In all honesty i was considering sellinging due to lack of use....... and ONE whole day of laning and it is now all changed. I am now weighing up my next stoopid modification to complete.

Cheers
Dan