Green GC in the Astra!

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Hi,
AJ _ I am about to leave for the Nurburgring to be a part of the DADC-Zurich 38th 24hr race.

Four Astras are amongst the 250 cars competing. 2 are 'listed as OPCs, 1 is a GTC and the other a G. Most are German or Swiss drivers with one car having two Danes. When I was there last year I was very impressed with the Astra. I am a fan of Opel cars and have been since the 1960s
 
Wow, that's great. I wish I was able to travel more...Germany would be top of the list. A Baltic cruise would be ideal.

There's actually a Nurburgring Edition to commerate the record...

opelopc.jpg


We absolutely love the Astra. My wife had very specific criteria:

European, Manual, 2-door.

We ended up getting a lot more than a stripper Golf would offer:

Stability control, 17"s, twin projector headlights, heated seats, Trip comp, pwr accessories, sport pack, big brakes and a lot of little things that go unnoticed. After Klunking her Mom's A6 that had a deer strike, I think it was about $11k USD. Unreal.

It def changed our view of GM. I'm not sure we'd pay full price for it, but it was competitive in it's price range. Opel has an interesting history, and it's very good that GM kept them. Now, GM dumping Saturn is another story, one we were acutely aware of. All told, it is a unique car, we like that. It actually has some similar qualities to the old Audi Coupe GT that she loved so much. I nixed the Saturn badge and have a smart looking Opel badge coming for it.

Anyway, thanks for chiming in, and I know you approve of the Euro-spec oil for it.
thumbsup2.gif


Castrol.de oil selector

Druckvorschau Drucken
Kategorie : Pkw
Marke : Opel
Modell : Astra H (2004 - )
Typ : Astra H OPC ( Z20LEH ) (2006 - 2007)


Komprimieren Alles anzeigen
Motor Z20LEH
Füllmenge : Füllmenge (gesamt) 5 Liter

Einsatz : Flexibel (max)
Intervalle : Wechseln 30000 km / 12 Monate
Produkte : Castrol Edge 0W-30

btw- Top Gear featured the Astra in a comparo episode that's on youtube.
 
Hi,
AJ - I always thought that for most Drivers (on an International basis) GM's Opel Division was the best of the bunch. I worked a lot with Opel on Rekords and Kadetts in Denmark

The Rekord of the late 1970s was the base floor pan for the Commodore here in OZ. Fitted here of course with both a GM 6 and V8 along with a lethargic 4!

I had a great Opel Calibra for two years - an easy 200kmh and a good handler!!

A little comment from "another source"
STARTS
In the last six years, OPC vehicles have broken a string of records on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife 20.8 km track. The Astra OPC did it first in 8:35:94 in 2005. The Zafira OPC still holds the title fastest van for its 8:54:38 time made in 2006. The Corsa OPC holds the title for small car: 8:47:99 in a standard production model driven by Manuel Reuter in 2007. Moreover, all OPC cars have passed rigorous endurance tests on the Green [censored], considered the toughest and most demanding race track in the world.

The Nordschleife is the spot where Opel cars have endured their most rigorous testing since the 1960s. Four years ago, the Rüsselsheim automaker signed a partner contract with the legendary race track and opened its own test center directly at the ring.

It is the ideal test spot for all Opel products – and the toughest for OPC models: The Insignia OPC underwent 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) of endurance testing there and passed with no faults.
ENDS

Oh and yes I'm on a Baltic Cruise after the 'Ring to StPetersburg and Tallin. After Zuffenhausen of course
But going "home" to Stockholm and Copenhagen is always my pleasure as it will be this time too
 
This forum should be renamed to: Bob is The Oil Police (BITOP).

Don't flame me, but I use GC in my pressure washer because I have three quarter of a quart of it sitting around, and I didn't want to open a brand new bottle of my other oil. It's running great.
 
I looked at the Astra but the listed MPG weren't great for a 1.8 4 cylinder. Now that it's an orphan I'm glad I didn't buy one. It is a nice car and I would have been tempted at 11K.
 
Originally Posted By: castamir
Don't flame me, but I use GC in my pressure washer because I have three quarter of a quart of it sitting around, and I didn't want to open a brand new bottle of my other oil. It's running great.

I used it in my Honda... snowblower.
 
OMG!
I have used GC in the Aero (green, although I didn't know it at the time), both my Accords, and it is in the Sube now.
It is very good oil, it does make any engine I have tried it in seem smoother and quieter, and I have not seen it hurt fuel economy.
All of you are just jealous, because AJ has a stash of green, and you don't.
Heck, I'm jealous, and I am glad for AJ that the Saturn is working out well for him.
Too bad GM didn't tap Opel or Vauxall earlier in the day.
 
I'm not too worried about parts or even service. I already ordered an Opel badge from ebay.co.uk
 
I already ordered an Opel badge from ebay.co.uk

Cool, although a Vauxhall badge would be even cooler.
Nobody in this country would have a clue.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I looked at the Astra but the listed MPG weren't great for a 1.8 4 cylinder. Now that it's an orphan I'm glad I didn't buy one. It is a nice car and I would have been tempted at 11K.


Wife just came home from a 100+ miles trip, driving fast with some mountains and some city driving. 28.2 mpg with the GC.

I got 27 on a similar trip in the Accord 4 cyl auto, driving a LOT faster.
 
It is cool!
Only a rare few will recognize it, anyway.
Pretty good fuel economy from that beast, as well.
The Honda?
Well, Hondas have always been unnatually economical, in my long experience with them.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Originally Posted By: pbm
I looked at the Astra but the listed MPG weren't great for a 1.8 4 cylinder. Now that it's an orphan I'm glad I didn't buy one. It is a nice car and I would have been tempted at 11K.


Wife just came home from a 100+ miles trip, driving fast with some mountains and some city driving. 28.2 mpg with the GC.

I got 27 on a similar trip in the Accord 4 cyl auto, driving a LOT faster.


lol, I can't get less than 30 MPG driving highway in my saab (same engine but turbocharged with a 7.5psi low inertia turbo). Including lots of varied terrain.

What gives? Does fast = 100 mph?!?
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nürburgring_lap_times


8:35 Opel Astra OPC 2.0T (240PS) FWD Record


Wikipedia is hardly a credible source, considering anyone can go in and make edits at any time. The "FWD Record" portion there is an example of what I'm talking about and should be removed. On top of that, that specific version of the chart itself is terribly dated. The time you posted for the Astra was from 2005.

If you want something current check out this post from a thread on supercars.net.

http://www.supercars.net/PitLane?viewThread=y&gID=3&fID=0&tID=10073

The creator of the thread makes it a point to keep it constantly updated, as you can see from the edit date at the bottom of the post. It even includes the most recent run of the Ferrari 599XX last week breaking the 7 minute barrier.

With that said, I'm curious how you managed to overlook the Cobalt SS running the track 13 seconds faster than the Astra?

8:22 Cobalt SS
 
Wait, it's unreliable, but then you quote it?

Anyway...I got to drive the car a little bit. It's really nice to hit the high rpms and the engine stay smooth. You have to rev this engine to get it to do anything, it's really flat in the mids, so whatever sacrifice there is at mid-rpm is more than made up for when you hit the highs. It's geared low, so you can do that pretty well. Def not an economy car.

Once of my suggestions in the thick vs thin debate is that automatic cars seem to be more ideal on the thin oil, but manual cars seem to benefit from the thicker. They get driven harder, so imo, the wear might be better in-check with the slightly thicker oil.

Anyway, 100% pleased, and it's not even warm out yet.
 
Originally Posted By: Doug Hillary
Hi,
AJ - I always thought that for most Drivers (on an International basis) GM's Opel Division was the best of the bunch. I worked a lot with Opel on Rekords and Kadetts in Denmark

The Rekord of the late 1970s was the base floor pan for the Commodore here in OZ. Fitted here of course with both a GM 6 and V8 along with a lethargic 4!

I had a great Opel Calibra for two years - an easy 200kmh and a good handler!!

A little comment from "another source"
STARTS
In the last six years, OPC vehicles have broken a string of records on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife 20.8 km track. The Astra OPC did it first in 8:35:94 in 2005. The Zafira OPC still holds the title fastest van for its 8:54:38 time made in 2006. The Corsa OPC holds the title for small car: 8:47:99 in a standard production model driven by Manuel Reuter in 2007. Moreover, all OPC cars have passed rigorous endurance tests on the Green [censored], considered the toughest and most demanding race track in the world.

The Nordschleife is the spot where Opel cars have endured their most rigorous testing since the 1960s. Four years ago, the Rüsselsheim automaker signed a partner contract with the legendary race track and opened its own test center directly at the ring.

It is the ideal test spot for all Opel products – and the toughest for OPC models: The Insignia OPC underwent 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) of endurance testing there and passed with no faults.
ENDS

Oh and yes I'm on a Baltic Cruise after the 'Ring to StPetersburg and Tallin. After Zuffenhausen of course
But going "home" to Stockholm and Copenhagen is always my pleasure as it will be this time too


Best of the bunch, yes. But still smells like GM.
We have had several Opels in Turkey, starting with old Opel Rekords, newer Opel Corsa and Vectra and all of them were money pits compared to Japanese cars.Just like the GM vehicles Opels come with a lifetime of issues.

Good deal for Audi Junkie to have the Astra at a competitive price.I am sure it will give you less headache than other GM vehicles.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Wait, it's unreliable, but then you quote it?


I never once said that the chart on Wikipedia was unreliable. I said it was hardly credible, with reference to the "FWD record" part listed, because anyone like you or myself can go in and make edits to it at any time. I then provided a link to a much more current and consistently updated chart of Nurburgring times to clearly show just how long it's been since anyone took the time to update the one on Wikipedia.

Regardless, the Cobalt SS time had been set in 2008 and was clearly listed on the Wikipedia version of the chart. I was just curious as to how you managed to overlook it when you tried to imply that the Astra holds a Nurburgring record, when it clearly does not. I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, I just didn't understand how having a sporty European suspension package on a car somehow transforms it in to being a sports car when it's clearly marketed by the manufacturer as a small family car. Of course that doesn't mean you can't drive it in a sporty manner, but it's hardly a sports car by definition.
 
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