30Kg weight difference doesn't sound that much but if it is that small, it appears to have a real adverse affect in terms of handling.

I thought the 2.0 with box etc weighed about 150kg, and the 1.6 with box etc 120kg.

My car with c16xe weights 810kg.

20kg is about the weight of your spare wheel isn't it?

my 1.6 weighs about 970kg.

QED appear to be the only people supplying these blocks and they're certainly not cheap.

It can knock about 20Kg off the weight of your engine.

Does anyone know how much a 1.6 weighs?

that looks nice :)

drools.....

Alloy XE block

alu blocks have steel liners like the 205 gti's have.

Aluminium requires 2800 degrees mixed with cryolite and fluorine gas in order to melt. To melt it in its standard state over 4000+ degrees are required according to the purity of the metal.

aluminium has a very low melting point... i wouldnt think heat dissapation is very good with alu as combustion is at 2000degrees celsius so i cant see aluminiun blocks lasting too long if engines highly modified.

nice and light though but a bit "soft" for a decent bottom end maybe!

indeedy but if u can afford 10k odd on an engine rebuild then i doubt ud be using a standard Rad, and consider a copper core alternative.

Heat dissipation too perhaps.... just a thought

alu block just reduces weight, over cast iron.

Obviously if an engine is tuned to within an inch of its life then reliability may be an issue.

But the main benefit of a alu block is just the weight loss factor.

Ask on www.migweb.co.uk

Im think alu blocks are only used on the very top end of tuning, ie, late 200's....

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience of using an aluminium block with the 2.0 16V XE engine? I have heard that it is possible for engines like this to seize. Is there any truth to that?

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who knows something about this topic, how long the engines last, how highly you can tune them and where you can source the blocks from.

Cheers, Jon