Given that if you buy a 2nd hand engine most folks for engine longevity reasons are gunna wanna rip it open & replace big ends, mains, posbily rings & bunging a new oil pump in & if they are tracking it using ARP head & posbly big end bolts. By the time you add all that up its worth seeing how much you get get a full VW exchange 9a or ABF for, as its not silly money for an 'as new' VW engine. Mate did this a while back & the cost was very competitive with buying a 2nd hand lump & fully reconning it. Anyway Recardo ignore all those 2L lot saying good power with standard cams, for power on standard cams you need a properly built high comp 1.9 admitidly not quite as practical as the 2.0L as an everyday car tho. For a 2.0L engine on K-jetid go 9a if I was considering lairy cams in the future, as Barny had grief with pinking with his cams despite a flowed head, which coast a few quid to sort with add on mappping, yet the 9a lot don't seem to suffer, yes 9a/ABF its a similar engine but dif rod ratios etc must- I assume, make a difference. Edited by: iguana
Sometimes though, you can rip apart a perfectly good engine, & 'do it up' only for it to not last as long as if you'd left it alone.
Just to give the chap another option,I got 162bhp from my 1.8 with just a 4branch and exhaust cam modded to an inlet cam and a set up at stealth. Cost me less than 500 all in
thanks for the replies guys.....some nice ideas there. maybe ill get the head next if i can mate it up to the new engine anyway.
Sorry, but I think thats a really crap reason not to move to 2.0. If my 1.8 was running crap, I certainly wouldnt change to a 2.0 in the hope that it would run better Power figures and how a car drives on the road are two totally different things. A tuned 1.8 with hot cams/head will just end up being really peaky, which makes it easy to get caught out of the powerband if you're not in the right gear, whearas a 2.0 with similar power has enough torque to pull any gear at a respectable pace EDIT: if you want to stay with the 1.8 however, then go for the 4 branch, flowed head and twin exhaust cams. The 1.8 gains a lot in low-mid range power with the twin exhaust cams, and the flowed head and 4 branch will work well with this. It will also give you a good upgrade path if you do wish to change over to a 2.0 block as the head and 4 branch can be re-used. Edited by: smithy
"Sorry, but I think thats a really crap reason not to move to 2.0. If my 1.8 was running crap, I certainly wouldnt change to a 2.0 in the hope that it would run better" You wot mayte! I don't get that....
Well, you said that he should leave it alone if its running fine. If I was wanting more power, the fact that it was running fine wouldnt stop me from fitting a 2.0 block EDIT: Sorry... must have taken the wrong meaning from your post, just that i've never heard of anyone holding off on a conversion just because there engine is running fine already? Edited by: smithy
Just have to say, i like how my engine performs with it's shrick cams.. but then i've never driven a 2.0 16v without them..
Going back to the "if it's great leave it alone" comment.... This effectively only gives you 2 choices if you agree with it, which i do. You either keep your engine stock or tune it, whether it's the 1.8 or not. Taking the head off and getting itPorted is effectivelly takingyourengine apart anyway and hence it is not 'left alone'. If you can find a 'decent' 2l you may as well go the whole hogand do the conversion to get a decent gain in power to lug the mk2 around. or at least start with the head as previously suggested....
Oh get you now... Thats not what i meant - I'm basing what I said on the fact that he likes his motor (loves his motor) - but isn't mechanically minded.. therefore leave it alone - cause some egit of a conversion 'expert' will scrape it or score it or somethin [:^(]- you know the story and Jarvis will wish he hadn't started If was in your shoes Jarvis I wouldn't start footerin around with the engine if it runs as sweet as you say.. especially if your not mechanically minded.. not that thats a fault or anythin... Why not go to Stealth and get them to fine tune it? As a starting point - everyone seems to get good results - even standard valvers?? only my 2p's worth and its only my view - he can do what he wills
or buy a man in a shed head, get it fitted to your 1.8 and then get it setup at stealth, which should bag you 160+bhp then if you go to 2.0L you can still use your new head, but will add a load of torque
yup thats what the new plan is just got to work out how to contact the man in a shed in 2 months when i have the cash.....lots of sheds in england
Well Recardo i've gone from a 1.8 16V with 155 Bhp to a 1.9 16V with 175Bhp. Forget about the BHP the difference in torque is very noticeable! Its nothing like the VR but is leagues ahead of the 1.8, to be honest even i have thought of ditching my 1.9 for a 2.0ltr just to see if i will get any extra gains. After reading over my orginal GTI engineering brochure there does look like a huge dufference in the two and after reading many a thread on this issue it does seem worth it. Thankfully mine has had a flowed head etc, so by adding a 2.0 ltr should be a bit of fun And like andy mentioned above engine removal etc is seriously simple and just requires a methodical approach!
i think i would be able to do it myself....im pretty good with my bike engines. my problem is space....i dont fancy leaving my car on the drive all opened up
