Citroen AX GT Review

Overall Rating

Light,looks good,fast,cheap to insure.

Errrm....bit old?

I own an Ax Gt when i first got it i thought it was perfectly fast then after a month or so i decided i needed more speed so i got a stainless steel exhaust and a k&n air filter. Great i thought as i sped off but after a month or so i needed even more so i got on the phone to a mate(fully qualified mechanic)and he said for less than a grand he would fit a saxo VTS engine. It took him less than a week to get it done and it cost just 900 pound, bargain it was producing 120 bhp but i still wanted more so i set off to a local mod shop and they uprated the heads and cams and a few other bits and i tested it on a rolling road it is now 170bhp and i dont know its top speed as i have never found a long enough straight road to test. I next plan more engine mods interior and alloys lowering brakes and bodykit you may see it at a cruise soon, oh yeah later today i am getting nos (50bhp increase) i cant wait.

Members' Comments onOriginal Gangstar2003.'s Review

• sammie_g. on 29th Mar 2003

  my mates got a 1100 ax with a pipercross bolt-on filter and 3.5 inch exhaust and that seems fast enough.
  I dread to think what its like with 200ish bhp.
  

• drew. on 17th Apr 2003

  Im a mechanic myself and I am very interested in doing the vts conversion for my ax gt. How much did the vts engine cost?, were there any modifications such as engine mounts to be done?, do you uprate the driveshafts?, brakes?, I would be grateful for a posative responce.

• frostie. on 23rd May 2003

  sound nice mate? i:ve got a ax gti it goes like a little rocket and look,s the nut i yet have the guts to put nos in it people tell me it does the car no good at all what do you think? the ax is just a great toy i love it but from time to time it keep,s going wrong

• alex. on 19th Jun 2003

  can't imagine how fast ur car is, ive got an ax 1100cc n its quick, but dats only producin 60bhp at best, h8 to fink wot it'd do wiv an engine wiv 200 bhp+
  

• crusty bap. on 23rd Jun 2003

  Hi.
  
  I have a 1990 AX GT with 131,000 miles on the clock. Put a pipercross filter on it and a huge back box, plus it has 15" alloys.
  
  My question is, it tops out around 90 - 95 miles per hour, i thought as standard it would do at least 100, maybe 110?
  
  Can anyone shed any light on this for me?
  
  Thanks
  
  Crusty Bap

• ashok. on 8th Jul 2003

  just regarding 'crusty bap'...
  
  hey mate you should be getting a hell of a lot out of that GT. I have a 88 AX RE 1.1 (f reg)and ive got it to 105! bearing in mind it only has done 47k on the clock its in preety good nic! No mods btw.
  
  Ash

• sex machine. on 15th Jul 2003

  ive got a ax gt, with a k&n plus a straight through exhaust (roars like a lion, great). i can get 110 out of mine. suspension in not up 2 the job as standard. sounds like somethins not rite with yours, get it seen 2

• james. on 28th Jul 2003

  Do you really think NOS is a good idea mate? Nos is mainly used in show cars, not road cars. Ive got a ax with a straight through pipe and KnN which gives the little car enough power for me! how much did you get the vts motor for?
  
  james
  

• tommycoles on 19th Aug 2003

  i've got a problem with my 954cc AX. just wondering if anyone else has had any problems like this or if they know anything about it. It seems after about 20mins or so of driving the car accelerator goes nutz. e.g i pull up 2 the lights or slow down and the car just revs up fully. Its not the accelerator cable sticking and i've changed my stepper motor, iv been told it may be the sensors round the right side of the stepper.

• DiddyGt on 31st Aug 2003

  I've just bought one of these little beautys. Stuck a K&N on and a Jetex full system and now dyno-jetted runs at 110bhp which does scare me to death but it does only top out at 110mph. Anyone have any ideas on increasing top speed?

• doof1014 on 1st Sep 2003

  regarding tommycoles' accelerator problem, i owned an 1100cc n 1 day the throttle stuck open fully aal of a sudden, i found it to be the throttle cable, not sticking it was jumpin out of its sleeve, lift the bonnet and see if you can pull the cable away (up) from the bracket if u can u mite see dat wen it goes back down it can sit ova outside the bracket sleeve. if this does it, jus ring tie the outer cable to the bracket job done.
  
  it could also be, dont laugh, your floor mats!! due to the small area where the pedals are as u brake u may also be revving.
  
  or it could be a problem with iva a blocked jet in ur carb or blocked brather pipe, as i had to strip down n re build my carb.
  
  word of warning to all owners watch your heads!!! my head blew for a 2nd time within 3 months (7000miles) so i had to get rid, jus a word of warning

• showbizdave on 8th Sep 2003

  How about this then? Dont put a VTS engine in, go for a VTR (98bhp one), as u wont be killing yourself on insurance and u will be able to do 100mph down the sliproad before joining the motorway! Plus it sounds nicer - AXVTR
  Trust me they fly! Kills all saxos :)
  
  Showbizdave - AXOC member
  www.axoc.co.uk

• ax vtr on 29th Sep 2003

  trust me my boyfriend put a vtr engine in his 94 ax its a little rocket got the pages as well looks the part but wants the gti engine back cant get his hands on 1 any were no 1 in ireland drives these babes

• ben peaslake on 6th May 2004

  Crusty bap, you obviously werent trying hard enough. Iv got a completely standard ax10e and I got 96 out of it.

• gtdeanobambeano on 13th May 2004

  Is it illigal to drive a car with a straight through exhaust pipe, would an exhaust place fit one for you?

• dno1313 on 19th May 2004

  Dude, I have a GT500 with k+n and peco backbox and I got it to 125 without tuning it at a rolling road yet. Sounds like the high mileage could be causing your GT to bottle out at 95.

• mlow97 on 20th May 2004

  When you remove the stepper motor from the throttle body, it won't sit properly when you put it back together. There is a small allen screw that touches the stepper motor, You need to unscrew it until the butterfly is shut when the throttle cable is not pulling. If your ax only does 95, take the head off and de-coke it. Mine hits the limiter at 115.

• Dave Ellis on 8th Nov 2004

  That can't be right, just 95? my '89 GT has 80,000 on the clock and it hit 118 yesterday (on the speedo at least). It was still pulling hard at 6,500 rpm (no engine mods) and the only reason I didnt break 120 (or even 125) was the 40 mph roadworks that were coming up pretty quick.
  Filled my car up last night having been near the red for a while (funds were low) and it was acting strange on the throttle after that. Felt like the carb wasnt opening fully, but if I backed off for half a second it seemed to clear its throat and clear off. My mate reckons it could be sediment caught in the carb, anyone got any ideas?

• BMCfan on 12th Dec 2004

  Crusty bap. Your wheels are too big giving too much friction and wind resistance. Thats why your car is so slow. Oh and your exhaust probably weighs as much as a fully grown donkey too!!

• crusty bap on 14th Dec 2004

  Could well be the big wheels mate.
  As for de-coking it, how would I go about that?

• mlow97 on 15th Dec 2004

  No chance it will be the big wheels, you will probably find that the rolling radius is only slightly bigger if not the same as the standard ones, with that it still couldnt be the wheels cos larger wheels equals higher top speed.
  There is a product called 10k boost that you spray into the carb, this is supossed to decoke the engine, but to do it properly you must remove the cylinder head. It might be worthwhile checking the fuel mixture and ignition timing as well.

• BMCfan on 16th Dec 2004

  Wider wheels will give a lot more resistance and will cut down your top speed. However to a point they will give increased grip when accelerating and cornering so its a case of which do you want most, higher top end or faster cornering.

• crusty bap on 16th Dec 2004

  mlow97 thanks for your reply.
  You seem to know alot more than me :)
  How would I check the fuel mixture and the igntion timing?
  
  Cheers

• mlow97 on 17th Dec 2004

  You can do it yourself if you have the right equipment, but a garage would probably only charge about 20 quid or so to do it, and they would be able to do it with more accuracy. If either of them are out of adjustment you should notice a significant improvement in performance once corrected.

• crusty bap on 20th Dec 2004

  Ok thanks for the info
  Happy Cristmas.

• darting on 25th Oct 2005

  Re VTS conversion.
  
  Yes you need engine mounts, loom, unlocked ECU, Fuel Pump, tank, VTS Driveshafts, VTS Gearbox, also your standard clutch wont last long!

• gauky on 14th May 2006

  i don't mean to sound rude or anything, but i had a citroen ax 1.1 and that was a j reg, it had 70 k on the clock, completely unmodded unless you count my cd player, that was a 5 door and i took it down the m42 at 112 mph and it was still going although i bottled out due to the sheer noise it was making..... 95 mph is just taking the mick babes....

• citroenkid on 3rd May 2007

  I have a Citroen ax 954cc and got 105mph out of that it has only done 53k miles though and that is completely standard I'm thinking of putting a vtr engine in it. Do you know whether it's hard to do, and what needs changing?