Guides
Owner-written maintenance and safety guides, with sources credited. Every guide applies to both the VX220 and the Speedster unless it says otherwise. Most end with a box listing what we still don't know, so if you can fill a gap, please get in touch, or see everything we're still looking for.
Start here
Buyers guide: what to check and ask
What to check on the car and the paperwork, what to ask the seller, how much to budget, and the safety checks to do once you own it. Which version to choose has its own guide.
Start here
Which model to choose
NA, supercharged or Turbo, as owners argue it, and an honest list of what the car is like to live with: noise, ride, getting in and out, fuel range and daily use. For before you start looking at cars.
Official manuals: TIS and EPC (free, external)Specialists and parts suppliers
Engine:
Servicing
Body
- Adjusting the windows
- Curing a rattling window
- Door key barrel: stiff, frozen or failed, and how to remove it
- Fitting the hard top
- Front clam removal
- Hard tops: what to look for, which seals fit and living with one
- Rear clam removal
- Soft top cable replacement
- Soft top cable: an alternative repair with a bow string
- Soft top cleaning, proofing and recolouring
- Soft top sagging and leaks
- Soft top trim repair: seal rubber, side padding and spigot caps
- Soft top: taking it off and putting it on
- Windscreen washer upgrade: spray bars and wash-wipe blades
- Wiper blades and arms: which fits, and the early arm problem
Electrical
- Aftermarket light switch panels and how the switches are wired
- Alternator: testing and replacing it
- Central locking (CDL) module: replacing it, or repairing a failed relay
- Central locking and alarm: what your car has and how it fits together
- Central locking backup battery: where it is and how to replace it
- Fitting remote central locking to an NA (or a Turbo without it)
- Indicator flasher relay (K31): where it is, and fixing fast flashing with LED bulbs
- Jump starting, bump starting and battery chargers
- Light switch faults: cleaning, replacing and the dead warning lights
- Main battery replacement
- Rear light bulbs: tail light out, melted holders and blowing bulbs
- Replacing a front fog light bulb
- Replacing a headlight bulb (dipped and main beam)
- Wiper motor failure: water in the motor, cleaning it, and replacements
Reference
- Service and repair manual (TIS) ↗
How jobs are done, service bulletins, diagnostics and wiring diagrams. Free to read, hosted by the Speedster Club Netherlands. It doesn't say which model years each section covers, so check against your own car.
- Parts catalogue (EPC) ↗
Part numbers, by group from body to electrical. Free to read, hosted by the Speedster Club Netherlands. It doesn't say which model years each section covers, so check against your own car.
- Bulb types and upgrades
- Dimensions: length, width, height, wheelbase and track
- Engine adjustment data: idle speed, mixture and fuel (Z22SE, from TIS)
- Fluids and capacities
- How many VX220s were built, how many are left, and in what colours
- How the VX220 came about: development, early years and first Turbo road test
- Relays and fuses (NA)
- Specialists and parts suppliers
- Torque values
- What your chassis number (VIN) means
- Wiring diagrams: what is covered and how to find your circuit
- Wishbone dimensions and what fits what
Suspension
- Fitting adjustable shocks (Gaz Gold coilovers)
- Fitting an uprated front anti-roll bar
- Front wishbone removal: access tips
- Hub carrier bolts
- Rear toe links
- Suspension refresh: what to replace and what it costs
- Wheel alignment (geometry) settings
- Wheel bearings: which to buy, and the front clamp bolt
- Wheel hub and bearing replacement, front and rear
- Wishbone ball joints and bushes
- Wishbone corrosion protection: coatings compared
Drivetrain
- Choosing a clutch
- Clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder and bleeding
- Clutch replacement: dropping the gearbox
- Driveshaft removal and gearbox driveshaft seals
- Driveshafts: knocks, buying a new one and swaps
- F23 gearbox removal and clutch replacement
- Fitting a limited-slip differential (F23 gearbox)
- Gear cable replacement
- Gear cables: faults, choosing and adjusting
- Gearbox oil leak: breather, overfill and seals
- Gearbox oil replacement
- Inner CV boot replacement (passenger side)
Exhaust
- A home-built 4-1 manifold and 2.5 inch exhaust (one owner’s NA project)
- Exhaust backbox choices and noise (Larini, VSE, Milltek, Tullet and others)
- Exhaust dropped or clonking: the sheared hanger bracket
- Exhaust manifold heat: wrap or heat shield?
- Exhaust manifold options for the NA and Turbo
- Exhaust shroud (heat shield) replacement
- NA exhaust manifold replacement (Z22SE)
- NA exhaust tuning: which parts restrict, and what each is worth
- NA exhaust upgrade: what to expect, what it costs
- NA pre-cat removal: the four methods owners used
- Sports cats (100 and 200 cell): are they worth it?
- Swapping the exhaust backbox: clam on or off, and what to expect
Troubleshooting
- ABS warning light on: where to look first
- ABS warning light: repairing a damaged sensor cable
- Central locking faults: won’t lock, won’t unlock, or locked out
- Finding a coolant leak
- Flat battery: finding a drain and testing the charging system
- MAP, boost and lambda sensor faults
- P1512 fault code and a car that won’t start
- Reading fault codes (OBD-II) and a code lookup
- Running hot: diagnosing high coolant temperatures
- Throttle failure and limp mode: the connectors to check
- Turbo MAF sensor faults: symptoms, tests and cleaning
Engine
- Alternator belt, tensioner and idler bracket
- Coil pack: faults, testing and replacing
- EGR valve replacement (NA)
- Engine mount replacement (side mounts)
- Engine oil leak: finding the source
- Misfire under boost: plugs, coils and sensors
- NA oil filter housing leak: seals, torque and the tool
- NA timing chain: when to change it and how
- Replacing the post-cat lambda sensor
Interior
- Dash top removal
- Door panel removal
- Fitting a heated seat kit
- Instrument cluster (stack): removal, a loose needle, and recalibrating after a flat battery
- Replacement seats: what owners fitted, what fits and what to watch for
- Seat comfort: worn padding, back pain and getting a better driving position
- Seat removal
- T7 Design replacement heater: what owners say and fitting notes
Turbo
- Fitting a Pro Alloy charge cooler to a Turbo
- Swapping the standard turbo for the VXR (Z20LEH) turbo
- Turbo boost solenoids: where they are, how to test and replace them
- Turbo boost: low held boost, overboost and flutter
- Turbo cam belt change
- Turbo charge cooler kit: parts, pump wiring and fan wiring
- Turbo cooling circuit and track-day upgrades
- Turbo recirc valve: compressor stall, “turkey” noises and springs
- Turbo stage 1 and 2: what owners did, got and paid (2013)
- Turbo stage 2.5: 3 inch exhaust, injectors and where the limits are
Brakes
Supercharger
- Exhaust for a supercharged NA: what is worth fitting
- Fitting an Eaton M62 supercharger to a Z22SE (NA) VX220
- Is supercharging an NA worth it? Road and track experience
- Mapping a supercharged NA: the base map route and the OBD Tuner route
- Pro Alloy charge cooler kit on a supercharged car
- Supercharged boost pressure: the flat curve and reading MAP logs
- Supercharged car: relay K18 earth fault and part-throttle misfire (case study)
- Supercharging an NA VX220: what you need, what it costs and where it comes from