Living with my K reg 1993 Rover 220 GTi

I wanted a fast car that was fun to drive but didn't want a common - boy racer image car. I briefly considered the MG Maestro turbo - but they all seem to be full of rust or seriously overpriced by deluded owners that believe these cars are becoming collectable - all the ads revealed that the cars took ages to sell at the inflated prices with some owners advertising for over 3-4 months!!!!! I looked long and hard and then discovered the awesome Rover 2.0 engine But do they do a sporty model? Yup - not that many were made as the typical Rover driver is over 50 and wears tweed (- not really it's just an image thing that I hope to end!) There was the 3 door coupe, a 220 coupe (the sporty looking one) or the 3 door hatchback GSi or GTi - I went for the latter as this looks really nice and is not as long as the 220coupe and would handle better for that and I imagine that body parts for the pretty rare 3 door coupe - would be expensive to fix so the GTi it was then - nobody expects a 0-60 time of 7.9 seconds from a Rover (I Didn't).

Criticisms: The Power steering is very very light - feedback is practically non existent! Reliability - there are some inherent design faults in the engine -one cylinder always leaks and the head gaskets can go with alarming regularity (every 2-4 years if not cared for! TIPS:NEVER LET THE ENGINE OVERHEAT THIS WILL ALWAYS CAUSE DAMAGE AND DO NOT EXEED 2500 RPM UNTIL THE ENGINE HAS WARMED UP - the pistons will start to rattle when cold then it'll start burning oil!)

Fuel consumption - I wanted 0-60 in sub 8 seconds and 40-45 mpg perhaps I'm not being realistic (I get about 20 - 26mpg)!!! The radios built in AMP is now dead - so I've got no in car entertainment I hope it's just a loose wire! (It was a loose fascia so problem now sorted!) Small rattle from the fuse box cover bit of insulation tape sorted this and the rear tailgate is really heavy - I'm getting picky now.

Rover 220 GTi Engine

The engine in the car is a 2 litre Multipoint fuel injection systems controlled by Rover MEMS engine management system. Rover told me it was an LT series build engine and other companies have told me it's a T Series engine - it generates around 140 bhp - not bad and returns between 20 and 25 mpg - doesn't matter if I drive it hard or not!! Power is fairly uninspiring up to about 2000 revs - at 3000 rpm the engine really starts to pull. first gear hits about 30mph at redline and 2nd gear will see 60. Mid range and torque are superb from this car. (The car does not have a turbo engine (yet) this sees a sub 6.5 second sprint to 60 and puts out 190bhp in standard form easily tweakable to 250bhp. (A turbo conversion would need a new gearbox as the standard gearbox is not strong enough t o handle all of that power! - a Tweaked turbo engine would also wreck the standard turbo gearbox already noted as a weak spot in the turbo (Tomcat) models Modding the standard car could easily cost as much as a turbo engine conversion from a scrap yard donor so I think I would prefer the full Turbo conversion rather than mod the standard engine.

Recent problems - A loud rattle in engine when its warm on light and heavy acceleration between 2500 and 3000 rpm it sounds serious enough to warrant not wasting money getting it fixed - a trip to the scrappy should produce a suitable donor engine although I haven't noticed a performance drop off! Replacement engine dropped in and 200 miles later

- ahh threw a con rod through the sump and trhough the downpipe - engine destroyed - try again!! New engine being fully reconditioned - I'm not taking any chances this time. 3' Scorpion exhaust fitted to achieve more power & more noise!!! Rear wiper freezes on the return wipe and will not move again until it is slid down the the bottom again - a one wipe wonder - new wiper motor fixed this little annoyance! New rully reconditioned engine fitted - going really well more power - smoother and more refined this is the later engine 150bhp from a rover 800 - the mounts are different but the basic engine is the same T series It should be putting out more power - the compression has been increased and the whole inside has been tidied up, crank polish/grind new piston rings etc and with a better flowing exhaust and a piper-x air filter things are much easier going now and it purrs like a kitten I reckon we ar getting close to the 175bhp I wanted - will get the car dyno tested soon when it's been run in. The rebuild engine is back and installed and it is running sweet - the car literally purrs and the 3'' Scorpion exhaust sounds fantastic - a real deep power sound. I am so pleased with the way the car is running now - 3000 miles to bed in the new pistons and I can then start to really see what the car is capable of 55mph 2500 rpm in 5th gear.

Out of interest the old ratios were 28 mph 1st gear redline / 58 mph 2nd Gear redline 3rd gear became illegal speeds so I didn't record a figure for it.

Getting the best performance from the Rover 220 GTi

The history of the car - fairly typical - last owner had not kept up with the servicing and some mechanical faults needed attention. The test drive showed the car to be torquey but a little hesitant and stodgy - a service was needed badly - just changing the air filter improved the idle and I renewed all of the HT leads and Dissy cap and put in some BOSH Quad electrode plugs - about the best you can get for this car. (Rear bushes were shot, not unsurprising for a Rover though, and one of the shocks had started to bleed a little) I tracked down some gas shocks made by G-Max and the handling was magically restored to this little rocket. Rover 200 brakes are not brilliant - the standard 220 GTi has vented disks I mated this to EBC Greenstuff pads - excellent pads make up for the usual breaking problems- redstuff pads needed a little warming to work best (about 100-200c) so I went for the standard Greenstuff pads and the plus is that now I don't have to clean the alloy wheels so much as they are low brake dust pads). I replaced the brake fluid with a synthetic fluid and the hoses are now braided - the brakes do not fade at all now - pretty impressive stuff! The body work was in brilliant condition (diamond white), recent new front tyres - budget ones though and the interior has the following blemishes - wrinkles on the front drivers half leather seat (it comes to us all with age!) The mileage was approaching 100K and the gearbox had been reconditioned about 1 year ago although this became the cause of some expensive problems for me- I think the clutch used was a standard one from a Rover 1.4 or something - it's already wearing and the pedal feels high. (Another little job for me to sort out - perhaps when I fix the engine I will get an EBC racing clutch - that should last longer - Couldn't find one so got a Black Diamond Power clutch!). I must congratulate Shell on it's OPTIMAX fuel - the car really does fly when I put it in - and I am told so I believe that it cleans the engine as I drive - the hydraulic valves can stick and a good fuel help to stop that problem from happening.

Future Modifications:
Air Induction filter with some kind of cold air induction feed - I may fabricate a funnel myself to supercharge the air flow - or I may just get a turbo T16 tomcat engine conversion instead.
Cams -probably not as they stop the car from idling well at under 1000 revs - the 220 engine already hates crawling in slow traffic - constantly pulling the car.
Stiffer suspension - Nope - the standard 220 GTi set up is fine - comfortable and almost 0 body roll - rather than lower the car I think I may get some 17 inch compomotive TH3 rally style white alloy wheels with megga low profile pirelli PZERO's to maintain the standard dimensions. (The turbo benefits from a softer front suspension - especially in the wet - this much I have learn't but weather (he he pun intended) this would help my 220 GTi I don't know although the 220 GTi is much lighter than the turbo.
Re-chipping the Rover MEMS - Can't find a cheap chip replacement option so I will go for an ICON race system - this is fairly cheap (£225) and can be easily un-plugged for long journeys with Auntie Nora!!! Basically it lies to the MEMS about the sensor readings and takes the MEMS output and again lies - to the engine components retarding or advancing the ignition timing the ICON race processor is much faster than the MEMS one so makes better calculations.
Radiator - The engine does not like too much heat - they can be completely ruined but they do run pretty hot (it takes about 4 miles to get the engine up to operating temperature though!) so I need to look at BIG RADIATOR conversions - or get a powerful fan - a brand new pattern radiator has made a fantastic difference along with tons of antifreeze and coolant and when cruising on the motorway the engine temperature drops right down..
Electric Water pump - I suspect that the mechanical water pump saps a lot of power from the engine and on the motorway the engine temp drastically drops down so fuel efficiency is not quite all that it could be - hot engines give better fuel & performance! The option open to me is an electric water pump which is controlled remotely and pumps harder if the engine temp rises and slower if it drops - they also draw very little power. Trouble is that the unit also drives the power steering.
Clutch - A racing clutch more to reduce running costs than to increase performance feels nice and heavy and responsive and puts the power down instantly!
Gearbox - Got a low ratio (brand new custom built!) reconditioned box from a 420 Turbo with a Torsion Diff with a really slick gear change feel to it. It turned out that my old gearbox - (reconditioned!) was putting a strain on the engines which is why they kept going on me.

Many thanks to Ian for his tireless dedication to get me back on the road - he has really done a sterling job and created the best 220 GTi currently around. The engine is cleaned and detailed and the exhaust manifolds have been polished to maximise the gas flow.

Where can I buy parts from for the Rover 220 GTi? - Motobuild Racing. & Larkspeed both have excellent websites.

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