vt ss series 1

[camc88]

Just wondering if anyone could provide me some information on the vt ss series 1 as i am thinking of buying one. Some things i would like to know is does the 5 litre have any balls? Are they reliable cars? and what is a reasonable price to pay for a clean one.
Any help would be greatly appeciated, Cheers!

[vyssbeast]

are you specifically against an LS1?? because you can go the series to & get it?

[Tez82]

Mate I had series 1 VT SS and let me say it had nothing :p with the heavy body of the VT and 179kw the car really didn't go hard at all nor did i feel that magical low down torque that all the 5L lovers claim there is.. If you got the money for the Gen3 and you will never look back. Plus when it comes to mods you will be cheaper in the long run spending a bit more getting a newer gen3 than the old 5L. Remember that 5L has been around since mid 80's ;)

Tez

[furys8]

great reliable engine you cant fault them no piston slap like the gen3 but u just cant compare the 5 litre against a gen 3 its totally superior in every way,and performane is a totall mismatch the 5 litre is miles away,but like i said the 5litre is a very reliable engine and if u wanted to spend money u can get them to go hard ,just aint worth the effort.:nos:

[shyLS1]

What Tez82 said is all true, But remember that the 304 in the VT was the best 308 that holden ever released. They have extra webing on the blocks that make them real strong! Boost anyone! and with the value of these cars being a lot cheaper then a VT2 ss it would make a good low budget weapon.
Plus I reckon they just sound better.
Matt

[Tez82]

Yeah thats true forgot to say the sound of the 5L is awesome however this is the case to do with the firing order etc.. With the Gen3, GM had to meet a lot tougher emmision laws etc thus the change.... Even supercharged 5L's can't pull 12's without spending 8grand plus? spend 8 grand on the ls1 you get into the 11's with ease :D

Tez

[furys8]

Yeah thats true forgot to say the sound of the 5L is awesome however this is the case to do with the firing order etc.. With the Gen3, GM had to meet a lot tougher emmision laws etc thus the change.... Even supercharged 5L's can't pull 12's without spending 8grand plus? spend 8 grand on the ls1 you get into the 11's with ease :D

Tez
thats not quite true tez i know of a supercharged vr sedan in melbourne runs into the 11s every run at calder not sure of actual time but its in the 11s unopened.

[vyssbeast]

but how much did he spend getting to that?? and setup also? i think that was Tez's point

[shyLS1]

Yeah but you are forgetting to take into count the difference in initial purchase price. You can get a VT1ss for around $12 000 spend $8 000 on it and you get $20 000, now find me a GOOD VT ss for $20 000 that can keep up with a blown 304 VT!
Have fun
Matt

[furys8]

but how much did he spend getting to that?? and setup also? i think that was Tez's point
second hand was about$3000

[camc88]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Im love to hop into an ls1 but im on my p's in 1 month so i think 5L is the most i can go. Is there any ls1 p platers on these forums and do the cops give you much trouble if you are?

[vyssbeast]

yeh im a p-plater and there are a few others
the 5Ltr you can get away with legally as far as i know (power:weight)
LS1 technicaly you cannot, but in my area alone (with 5-10mins of my home) there are at least 5 P-platers with LS1s
myself, 3 VY-SS's, VY clubby, VX SS, VX berlina (possibly more)
now i think it basically comes down to how subtle you keep it
one of those SS is running an exhaust with no reso n its so low its not even funny ... the rest are fairly stock besides a catback or extractors possibly.
I havent been hasseled by cops (only pulled over once for a diff reason though they did mention the power:weight then let it go) the rest as far as i know havent had any issues ... so you can definatly take the risk as its only a $110 fine ... i think its worth it
thers another guy on here thats a p-plater and got done 6times ($660) ... considering how much the car is costing ya you can factor that into the price of the car i guess its no biggi and i think its worth it over the 5Ltr
but its your decision if you wanna be tiptoeing around and trying not to attract too much attention .. choose where you should take your car
chapel street wit P-plates n an exhaust might not be a bright idea, catch my drift?? oh n dont drift lol :)

[dadem0n]

Well I own a VT SS Series 1 and a VZ LS1.

I hadn't driven the VT for a couple of months due to a little "accident" but I jumped in and started it up on the weekend. Took it for a quick run down to the panel beaters.... and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face :D :D :D

I forgot how pathetic our LS1s sound compared to a good 5L with an exhaust. It is soooooooo much nicer soundwise, and my VZ has a 3.5" loud sureflow catback :hmmm:

If you want a tough sounding car to run around in, that looks good and goes fine, get the VT.

If you are interested in drag racing, get the LS1.

Im thinking twice about getting rid of the VT now :driving:

[vyssbeast]

good point ... i die everytime i hear a 5Ltr with an exhaust ... havent heard an LS1 that compares yet (without a cam and so on) but even then

[camc88]

so does a vt ss 1 have any go or are they a bit of a slug? Would it knock off a ford ba xr6 n/a?? cheers

[essess8]

i had a vt I ss it was an ok car, with all the basic bolt on mods it was a little slower than a bog stock standard ls1 ss. the engine in it never gave me a hassle just other things like power steering pump getting too hot, the gearbox was a weak link i went through 2 in just over a year that was with a manual. other than that it was a really good car i loved it, the roller motor in the vt's sound a lot better than their older counter parts too :)

[camc88]

which would be better, auto or manual??

[dadem0n]

i had a vt I ss it was an ok car, with all the basic bolt on mods it was a little slower than a bog stock standard ls1 ss. the engine in it never gave me a hassle just other things like power steering pump getting too hot, the gearbox was a weak link i went through 2 in just over a year that was with a manual. other than that it was a really good car i loved it, the roller motor in the vt's sound a lot better than their older counter parts too :)

Well my series 1 would eat most LS1s (including my own) away from the lights (even though this is wrong ;) ), The 5.0L have the legs and torque to get off the line, then the 5.7L reels them in when it starts spinning higher.

Never had any mechanical issues in 4 years of abuse :driving:

[StevieD]

Grant, have you got a stally in yours yet?

[dadem0n]

Grant, have you got a stally in yours yet?

The LS1? Not yet :deal:

[VT GEN3]

Who says the LS1 doesnt sound good. Put a set of 4-1 headers and a twin 2.5inch system on it. Ive owned a 304, a 302 windsor and I reckon the LS1 sounds better (they actually rev).

I had a 304 in a VS and I had to spend some serious $$$ to get it going any good. Same goes for the 302 Injected windsor. The LS1 straight out of the box would probably beat both of those cars I spent the serious dosh on.

Get the LS1 because you know you will start modding it soon enough

[team illucid]

OK - well I got my VT Series 1 SS and was very happy with it for a while, but when the urge for power came rather than going the supercharged route, it was cheaper to buy an LS1 and slot it in.

The VT is the best looking of the VT-VZ series, and the VE is not going to be much if the thing I saw in Adelaide is anything to go by.

So I still have the series 1 with its exceptional build quality, and wont be getting rid of it in a hurry

[tuff304]

I've had the VT I SS manual and now a VX II SS auto.

5.0ltr very strong off the line great driveability around town
LS1 not very responsive off the line but when it winds up past 3000+RPM its all over for the 5.0ltr
5.0ltr sounds sh*tloads better than any LS1

I'm finding pretty similar fuel usage around 13.5-14.5ltrs/100klms around town.

If you are interested in modifying your car go LS1 you will never look back

if you just want a car and not concerned about mods then go a 5.0ltr maybe the 195kw enhanced or factory holden stroker kit (215kw)

Good luck either way

[JNP304]

My mate had one and in a 5 speed they dont go too bad, sloppy shift with that 5 speeder though. Super reliable donk and in the VT you get the sequential injection and roller cam.
But Gen3 you can get cheaper power and I find the G3 a fair bit lighter on juice than the 5.0l
Like the guys said keep a low profile and the cops wont hassle you. I had a VT11 SS on p-plates and put v6 badges on guards and S decals. Everyone thought it was a S pac, good for sleeper value and cope didnt hassle me.

You can pick up a clean series2 VT from around 17k in vic so its a performance bargain.

[dadem0n]

Who says the LS1 doesnt sound good. Put a set of 4-1 headers and a twin 2.5inch system on it. Ive owned a 304, a 302 windsor and I reckon the LS1 sounds better (they actually rev).

I do :stick:

My VT is a 195kw "HSV" with factory extractors and twin 2.5" into 3" exhaust.

My VZ has 1.75" 4>1s with opened cats and a single loud version 3.5" sureflow exhaust.

The VT sounds 100% better!!!! :woohoo:

[MICK_EZEKIEL]

One good thing about the 5.0L also, is you can convert them to LPG no problems aswell...

[camc88]

are the 5L's heavy on fuel??

[Drewie]

are the 5L's heavy on fuel??

Back in 1994 I had a VN SS and a 6 cyl. VR Commodore, we did a 2000 km trip maybe a bit more using both cars, the VN was towing a 6x4 trailer with a cage and it was loaded with all the kids bikes and heaps of other gear we travelled through some pretty hilly country as well and overall the difference in fuel used between the 2 cars was next to nothing, we logged it all the way to get a comparison, I think the VN used something like 1 tank extra if that for the trip and it was towing, so mine was on a par with the V6. If it had not been towing I would say it would have been the same as the V6 if not better, it was pretty light pedal driving though.

[VX SS S2]

I was considering a 5L when i bought my car. I found the 5L is smoother on idle and nicer to drive normally...and it does sound a heap better than the LS1.

Off the line they feel nice, but when it winds up it just feels as if it runs out of puff...

The 5L will be more reliable than the early VT SS's (reason why i skipped to VX SS Series2) so you don't need to worry about piston slap/oil consumption.

My dad still has a Calais with the 5L on gas... it's done nearly 300,000kms and still going fine, they really do go forever. He had a 5L VN Calais before than and sold it at 340,000 and it was still fine, that was on LPG too.

They are a fair bit worse on fuel (my LS1 gets about 11l/100 and the Calais gets about 18l/100), so in that kind of car it may be worth converting to LPG... you'd get your money back within 2 years or less.

My suggestion is get the 5L at this stage and enjoy without the hassle from cops... then you will have more reason to upgrade to maybe even a 6.0 litre VZ in a couple of years when the price goes down and the VE has been well and truly released onto the used car market :)

Good luck, i still reckon the VT looks nicer than any other model VT-VZ you just need to change the side indicators to clear ones and the tail lights :thumbsup:

[Speedy Gonzales]

A friend of mine who has a VP 304 with cam, stall, full zorst and gears just managed to keep up with my stock as a rock VT.

I always joke that most of the power the 304 makes goes into the exhaust note :lol: Do the same mods to an LS1 well, we all know the results dont we?

[mad.ed]

I do :stick:

My VT is a 195kw "HSV" with factory extractors and twin 2.5" into 3" exhaust.

My VZ has 1.75" 4>1s with opened cats and a single loud version 3.5" sureflow exhaust.

The VT sounds 100% better!!!! :woohoo: i think i have to agree with you on that dademon. I used to own a 5l vs berlina wagon with tri y pacies and single 3 inch. I miss that rumble so much, my vx ss has no sound at all ( its stock). The 5 l has a sound all of its own.

[furys8]

:lmao:
Well my series 1 would eat most LS1s (including my own) away from the lights (even though this is wrong ;) ), The 5.0L have the legs and torque to get off the line, then the 5.7L reels them in when it starts spinning higher.

Never had any mechanical issues in 4 years of abuse :driving:
mate i find that hard to believe i havent come accross a single vt 5 litre ss ,and there have been plenty up for it, try my ute when it was stock and i still kicked there ass so either urs is special or the ones uv raced are shitters.:eek:

[tuff304]

:lmao:
mate i find that hard to believe i havent come accross a single vt 5 litre ss ,and there have been plenty up for it, try my ute when it was stock and i still kicked there ass so either urs is special or the ones uv raced are shitters.:eek:

I had a 5.0ltr 5 speed VT I SS, had a few runs with a couple of VX SS's and easily got them off the line not sure if they were auto or manual though or if they were edited.

[furys8]

I had a 5.0ltr 5 speed VT I SS, had a few runs with a couple of VX SS's and easily got them off the line not sure if they were auto or manual though or if they were edited.
I RECKON THEY MUST OF BEEN PLAYIN WITH YA:woohoo:

[dadem0n]

I RECKON THEY MUST OF BEEN PLAYIN WITH YA:woohoo:

...... I own both at the moment, trust me, its true :limpy: