June "Car of the Month" - The Forgotten V6s!!

[Bowtie-muscle]

WELCOME TO

"The Car of The Month for June"

​

Another month has come upon us, and I have received yet another suggestion for car choice. Once again it takes a different turn and we will have 6 cars to choose from!
Now some cars are must have for most garages, as for me, they usually begin with every Chevy I can get and multiple versions of most them. I also enjoy most of the classic and modern muscle cars. Then there are those that grab your attention with their looks, the Gran Turismo S, classic Ferrari's, Aston Martin or perhaps a Lambo! Or maybe you're more about performance, ok, then there is the NSX, Elise 111R, GT-R, and so many more. Evan the little cars with less horsepower get some love, as we found out in April with the "Little Engine That Could"

Which brings us to this month's selection, cars that tend to get overlooked or forgotten. PD did not likely include them for their looks, as I believe most would agree. They are big, heavy and most are front wheel drive, there is the one odd ball with AWD. But each does have the unique powertrain of having a V6 under the hood (or bonnet for my friends abroad). So let's grab one, two, or all of these lesser used cars and see what would we can get out of them shall we?

Special thanks goes out to @Woodski_427 for making the suggestion!

So I present to you:

Alfa Romeo - 166 2.5 V6 24vSportronic '98

Citroen Xantia 3.0i V6 Exclusive '00

Opel/Vauxhall Vectra 3.2 V6 '03

Peugeot 406 Coupe 3.0 V6 '98

Volkswagon Bora V6 4Motion '01

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

"The Tunes"

​

By @shaunm80:
Bora 450pp (SH)
Vectra 450pp (SH) - Vauxhall
406 Coupe 450pp (SH)
166 Sportronic 450pp (SH)
Xantia 450pp (SH)

By @sinof1337 :
Bora 450pp (SH)
Vectra 500pp (SH)
Opel Vectra 450pp (CS)

By @Flaco13 :
Vauxhall Vectra 500pp(SH or ANY)

By Bowtie-muscle
Opel Vectra 450pp (SH)
Bora 450pp (SH)
406 Coupe 450pp (SH)
166 450pp (SH)

By @Woodski_427 :
Xantia 450pp and 400pp
406 Coupe 450pp(CS/SH)

By @danlimski :
166 Sportronic 522pp
Bora 480pp
166 Sportronic Supercharged

By @mgo :
406 Coupe 450pp (CS)

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

"The Reviews"

​

By @Soren Jacquet :
@shaunm80 - Bora
@shaunm80 - Vauxhall Vectra
@shaunm80 - 406 Coupe
@shaunm80 - 166

By @Burned_Rubber
[USER=197477]@shaunm80 - Bora

By @ALB123 :
@shaunm80 - Bora

By @Woodski_427 :
Lap times at Cape Ring South[/USER]
Woodski_427/@shaunm80/Bowtie-muscle 406 comparison
Woodski_427 Xantia and Vectra reviews

By @TurnLeft :
@shaunm80 - Bora
@sinof1337 - Vectra
@Flaco13 Vectra
@danlimski Alfa 166
@mgo 406 Coupe

By Bowtie-muscle :
@shaunm80 and @Woodski_427 Xantia / @sinof1337 Vectra and @mgo 406 coupe
here
@Flaco13 Vectra
@danlimski Alfa 166

 

[Brewguy44]

Uhhh, MMMkay!!! What have you been drinking or smoking?? and do you have anymore?

So I can grasp this concept.

I don't have a single one of these in my garage, but I will give it some thought.

This is going to be an interesting COTM.

 

[TurnLeft]

This is a great idea 👍, I don't think that many people have done these so it will make them work a bit out of their comfort zone, sort of like muscle cars without the muscle , I'm not sure but I think that @shaunm80 probably did one of these , I'll see how the month goes and if time permits I'll come in and do some reviews.

 

[shaunm80]

This is a great idea 👍, I don't think that many people have done these so it will make them work a bit out of their comfort zone, sort of like muscle cars without the muscle , I'm not sure but I think that @shaunm80 probably did one of these , I'll see how the month goes and if time permits I'll come in and do some reviews.

I have done some tunes for these already. Will upload them shortly. I did not own 4 of these cars until very recently. They are strangely fun. not sure in a good or bad way yet.

 

[TurnLeft]

I have done some tunes for these already. Will upload them shortly. I did not own 4 of these cars until very recently. They are strangely fun. not sure in a good or bad way yet.

Fun always = GOOD .

 

[shaunm80]

Volkswagen Bora V6 4MOTION '01 (450PP SH)

Link here

 

[shaunm80]

Vauxhall Vectra 3.2 V6 '03 (450PP SH)

Link here

 

[shaunm80]

Peugeot 406 Coupe 3.0 V6 '98 (450PP SH)

Link here

 

[shaunm80]

Alfa Romeo 166 2.5 V6 24V Sportronic '98 (450PP SH)

Link here

 

[shaunm80]

Citroen Xantia 3.0i V6 Exclusive '00 (Chrome Version) (450PP SH)

Link here

 

[shaunm80]

Well, These are the only tunes I shall be uploading for this months CoTM. I hope you all enjoy them and if you get chance, give them a review.

 

[Brewguy44]

Damn, That was fast!!

 

[shaunm80]

@Woodski_427 - Great choice.. Did I say great, I meant interesting.. I have given each of your machines a go and well, I think I have got them firing on all cylinders once again, even that big ugly Citroen V6.. I say no more. it needed some interesting paint to make it cool..

@Bowtie-muscle - I have a feeling there are going to be some love-hate reviews going on this month.. and thats just the looks of the car they are reviewing. Who knows what they will think of the tunes themselves.

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

Uhhh, MMMkay!!! What have you been drinking or smoking?? and do you have anymore?

So I can grasp this concept.

I don't have a single one of these in my garage, but I will give it some thought.

This is going to be an interesting COTM.

That was the point, most will overlook these cars, many for their lack of looks , or for their weight. This should provide the community with a few tunes for these forgotten cars.

@Woodski_427 - Great choice.. Did I say great, I meant interesting.. I have given each of your machines a go and well, I think I have got them firing on all cylinders once again, even that big ugly Citroen V6.. I say no more. it needed some interesting paint to make it cool..

@Bowtie-muscle - I have a feeling there are going to be some love-hate reviews going on this month.. and thats just the looks of the car they are reviewing. Who knows what they will think of the tunes themselves.

Well, the hate part I believe , not so sure on the love part. But hopefully some good tunes will come from it. I have 3 I am hoping to get posted tomorrow. How good they are remains to be seen, but I was pleasantly surprised by them. So long as you go to the proper track that is.

 

[shaunm80]

I have tested my tunes on Rome, High Speed Ring, Deep Forest and a few others similar to these. They all seem to cope well with these types of tracks so thats where my tunes are at home. I am sure someone will find a interesting place to stretch my big old ugly V6s to the limit. I do like the Alfa Romeo however, that is strangely a nice car to look at but I can't explain why.

 

[Woodski_427]

Yes I'm responsible for this .

One of things that keeps me interested in GT is the range of cars - not just supercars and racing cars but a great choice of the relatively ordinary (albeit mostly performance versions) that are left over from the older GTs. As some of you may know from around here and seasonal threads I always try to use these less obvious cars for A-Spec, seasonals and sometimes online (though my tunes tend to suck online). My two most used cars are a couple of Mini Marcos' and my trusty Spitfire.

I thought about these V6s because, as @Bowtie-muscle mentioned in the OP, they don't get mentioned much around these parts and I though it would be good to see what you tuners could do with them - they certainly ain't the best. I did use a Xantia for a seasonal race at Madrid a couple months ago - that was hard work .

Uhhh, MMMkay!!! What have you been drinking or smoking?? and do you have anymore?

So I can grasp this concept.

Sure, I can send you a pint or two of 'real ale' if you think it will help - there's a small brewery just up the road .


I see @shaunm80 has already prepared some cars 👍

@Woodski_427 - Great choice.. Did I say great, I meant interesting.. I have given each of your machines a go and well, I think I have got them firing on all cylinders once again, even that big ugly Citroen V6.. I say no more. it needed some interesting paint to make it cool..

Yes...interesting . They'll never be class beaters but they can be quite fast on the right track (without too many corners normally ). Look forward to giving them a try.

Thanks to @Bowtie-muscle for giving a go 👍.

 

[shaunm80]

Yes I'm responsible for this .

One of things that keeps me interested in GT is the range of cars - not just supercars and racing cars but a great choice of the relatively ordinary (albeit mostly performance versions) that are left over from the older GTs. As some of you may know from around here and seasonal threads I always try to use these less obvious cars for A-Spec, seasonals and sometimes online (though my tunes tend to suck online). My two most used cars are a couple of Mini Marcos' and my trusty Spitfire.

I thought about these V6s because, as @Bowtie-muscle mentioned in the OP, they don't get mentioned much around these parts and I though it would be good to see what you tuners could do with them - they certainly ain't the best. I did use a Xantia for a seasonal race at Madrid a couple months ago - that was hard work .



Sure, I can send you a pint or two of 'real ale' if you think it will help - there's a small brewery just up the road .


I see @shaunm80 has already prepared some cars 👍



Yes...interesting . They'll never be class beaters but they can be quite fast on the right track (without too many corners normally ). Look forward to giving them a try.

Thanks to @Bowtie-muscle for giving a go 👍.

I dare say you have a responsibility this month to give a few tunes a go.. I went through this fun last month and it was definitely worth it. I found a couple of tunes I really enjoyed. Granted, the cars were slightly better looking but still, I couldn't resist the V6 engine this time around.

 

[shaunm80]

Review from @Soren Jacquet for the VW Bora V6 4MOTION '01

This car the Bora V6 4motion ´01
is A winner
Even that I have forgot to make the adjustment on the 6 speed gearbox, it still won the race.
it has good accleration,good breaks, nice handles very good but have a little underrsteering.stable under hard breaking.accleration out of corner uhhhhh nice . good tune

 

[shaunm80]

Reviews from @Soren Jacquet for @shaunm80

Vauxhall Vectra V6 3.2

fast , but understeer a little to much (so no Heavy foot on the throttle) breaks very good.
accleration very good, gearbox are fast and nice.

Peugeot 406 V6

Engine ,gearbox suspention . lovely. But feels like it´s understeer very much, so realy have to be carefull with the throttle.

Alfa Romeo V6

beautifull engin sound-
understeer not much very good handlng accleration very good and the gearbox nice and fast

 

[shaunm80]

VW Bora V6 review by @Burned_Rubber for @shaunm80

Quoting @Soren Jacquet post here

I agree, this tune is very good as is. If you want more oversteer, try tuning the rear springs to 95, rear lsd accel to 22, and torque distribution to 26/74. This doesn't upset the balance too much, but the problem is, the car is more likely to lose rear grip and slide more if you push it out of a corner. If the balance is altered too much, it gets upset and tries to take you for a spin, rather than the other way around
Well done on the tune, @shaunm80

 

[shaunm80]

Reveiew from @ALB123

Volkswagen Bora V6 4MOTION '01

I finally had a chance to build my Volkwagen Jetta (called Bora in GT6). Thanks to Shaun, I only realized this car was in GT6 once I saw his tune...

Anyway, where to begin? I took my new VW Jetta to Suzuka. I thought it would be a good course to test the car on. The tuned V6 provides plenty of torque and horsepower. That's a very good sign. The 450PP class isn't known for blowing people away with power, but this VW is no slouch. One thing I liked about this engine -- with 302hp and 277.8 ft/lb of torque, there were times I would intentionally leave the car in 3rd gear, where I would normally downshift into 2nd gear, just to see how the car pulls. I was very pleased to see that she pulls nicely. The revs need to be up, a little bit, of course...but with maximum torque coming on at 3,600 RPM that shouldn't be a problem.

Shaun went with racing brakes and those help the VW come to a stop quite quickly. She's not the lightest car in the world at 1,350 kg, but she's not an elephant by any stretch of the imagination. You'll feel some weight transfer, through the "S" section of Suzuka, so easy on the throttle. Fortunately, she's really easy to control with the right foot.

Handling is about what you'd expect from this class of car. I think Shaun did a remarkable job of setting the suspension for a firm, but smooth ride. I probably should have taken my Jetta to a bumpier track before doing this write up, but I intentionally went off road a few times (and a couple non-intentionally ) just to see how she would feel coming back onto the track with some bumpiness and this VW handled things just fine. With -1.0 degree of front camber, the car turns in quite well, just don't over cook it or you'll start noticing some understeer. One thing that did surprise me, however, was the playfulness of the rear end of the car. I didn't think I would experience that considering she's a 4WD car, but there were many times that I would entice the car to toss the rear about with some throttle input. This was a welcome discovery!

** For full disclosure, I realized after writing up this review that I had never changed the transmission settings and I was running the car with the stock transmission. I then installed the transmission for Shaun's tune. With the tall 1st gear, some of that playfulness is gone - replace by a more stable driving experience. I don't think there is anything wrong with the stock transmission whatsoever. Lap times were very, very similar with both transmissions. Granted, I wasn't truly pushing my laps for every tenth I could, but I did aim for a strong, fast pace. So, give them both a try.

As always...You've done a great job with this VW Bora (Jetta). I look forward to using it in my next 450PP A-Spec race. 👍

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

Reveiew from @ALB123

Volkswagen Bora V6 4MOTION '01

I finally had a chance to build my Volkwagen Jetta (called Bora in GT6). Thanks to Shaun, I only realized this car was in GT6 once I saw his tune...

Anyway, where to begin? I took my new VW Jetta to Suzuka. I thought it would be a good course to test the car on. The tuned V6 provides plenty of torque and horsepower. That's a very good sign. The 450PP class isn't known for blowing people away with power, but this VW is no slouch. One thing I liked about this engine -- with 302hp and 277.8 ft/lb of torque, there were times I would intentionally leave the car in 3rd gear, where I would normally downshift into 2nd gear, just to see how the car pulls. I was very pleased to see that she pulls nicely. The revs need to be up, a little bit, of course...but with maximum torque coming on at 3,600 RPM that shouldn't be a problem.

Shaun went with racing brakes and those help the VW come to a stop quite quickly. She's not the lightest car in the world at 1,350 kg, but she's not an elephant by any stretch of the imagination. You'll feel some weight transfer, through the "S" section of Suzuka, so easy on the throttle. Fortunately, she's really easy to control with the right foot.

Handling is about what you'd expect from this class of car. I think Shaun did a remarkable job of setting the suspension for a firm, but smooth ride. I probably should have taken my Jetta to a bumpier track before doing this write up, but I intentionally went off road a few times (and a couple non-intentionally ) just to see how she would feel coming back onto the track with some bumpiness and this VW handled things just fine. With -1.0 degree of front camber, the car turns in quite well, just don't over cook it or you'll start noticing some understeer. One thing that did surprise me, however, was the playfulness of the rear end of the car. I didn't think I would experience that considering she's a 4WD car, but there were many times that I would entice the car to toss the rear about with some throttle input. This was a welcome discovery!

** For full disclosure, I realized after writing up this review that I had never changed the transmission settings and I was running the car with the stock transmission. I then installed the transmission for Shaun's tune. With the tall 1st gear, some of that playfulness is gone - replace by a more stable driving experience. I don't think there is anything wrong with the stock transmission whatsoever. Lap times were very, very similar with both transmissions. Granted, I wasn't truly pushing my laps for every tenth I could, but I did aim for a strong, fast pace. So, give them both a try.

As always...You've done a great job with this VW Bora (Jetta). I look forward to using it in my next 450PP A-Spec race. 👍

Very nicely done 👍

 

[shaunm80]

Very nicely done 👍

Thanks. I guess that means that the transmission system is definitely working as it should do once again. It is a gentleman and a hoon tune. Gentleman with my transmission, leave the transmission stock and let it be more hoon. @TurnLeft will have a field day with this one

No pressure @Bowtie-muscle . what you got up your sleeve for this car?

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

Thanks. I guess that means that the transmission system is definitely working as it should do once again. It is a gentleman and a hoon tune. Gentleman with my transmission, leave the transmission stock and let it be more hoon. @TurnLeft will have a field day with this one

No pressure @Bowtie-muscle . what you got up your sleeve for this car?

Actually, I did not try that one................

Yet.
Now I feel I have to.

 

[mgo]

Once again it takes a different turn

Nice one now I'm wondering witch one I chose

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

Nice one now I'm wondering witch one I chose

Vectra has a surprisingly nice grip and performance at full weight reduction and no ballast. Even with all that nose weight, it's not too bad at cornering if you get the rear to help. The Alfa, ugly as it is, not bad either. The Xantia however, may be the toughest of the group.

Purely my opinion of course. I do have some done, just have not had time to get posted yet. Will get the reviews submitted linked up soon as well.

 

[Woodski_427]

The Xantia has been growing on me It's not bad in the undemanding seasonal at Rome! Might even post my tune.

Hopefully will be able to post up some stuff at the weekend!

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

The Xantia has been growing on me It's not bad in the undemanding seasonal at Rome! Might even post my tune.

Hopefully will be able to post up some stuff at the weekend!

They are all Really not that bad and between this current and the last Seasonal, they can get some use. They do need a track where they can show their strengths and not their weaknesses. Rome should be good fun. But don't sleep on the 406