It was my letter in Golf mag Januray edition about the Carbs on an 8v. Firstly - what a lot of waffle that reply was from C&R!! Basically all I got out of it for my effort was the type of plugs I need to use to block off the injector ports! Did anyone understand the sort of Hydrualic tappet head I could alternatively use(apart from the solid tappet one I already have)??? PB Head?? is this off the Mk2 GTI?? They forget not everyone has the VW parts listings at their bedside! Why are they so against 40's - I have no trouble heat wrapping the exhaust or fabricating a simple heat shield and for goodness sake it is only gonna be out on a dry day in the summer!! Yes I have a k-jet system but no one around me can service it - lots of guys can set the 40's for me! Their rant against 4 branch manifolds was a bit OTT - its not hard getting another coat of weld on it before installation and ARB's are not necessary - (good shocks and a lower brace work equally as well!!)(proven) Having read other threads from those with this conversion it sounds just the sort of fun I am looking for and its realatively simple with the parts supply 'I' have. I'm not interested in massive bhp - I live on small country roads. Your thoughts are invited!!
i didn't see the article, but i've heard C&R slate 4 branch manifolds before saying they crack, increase the under bonnet temp and not much more performance than a flowed standard item. I've had a tsr stainless 4 branch on my mk2 for 3 years. It's heat wrapped and never had a problem of too much heat, it gave a decent boost to the midrange and hasn't cracked. They may be against the 4 branch and talk up flowed standard items because they don't have their own 4 branch to make a big mark up on, but have the equipment to flow standard parts?! I've heard many peeps displeased with C&R...
I'm sure a decent heat shield combined with a heat wrapped manifold will reduce temps enough. You'll just need to find a way of getting a good airflow to the carbs as they will be facing the back of the engine bay
Ignore C+R... that is THE BEST advice you are gonna get -- EVER! The PB head is off a late MK2 8v GTI AFAIK.
I`ve had my stainless mainfold for a while now (with a Vib engine mount though) and it`s fine, definite improvement to midrange torque on my little 1.8. I deal with the parts, mailorder side quite a bit (uaually Roy) and he`s a great bloke, never had a problem at all. The bloke who writes the mag Q+A`s seems to be a tad up his own arse at times though!
Thanks for the support!! Hey I got a nice shiny chrome single lamp grille and lovely brand new 79 door cards off Si VWW last night!!! Ha ha that cheered me up!! Anyways! Yeah the air flow to the carbs will be important so I'll have to get some sort of a pipe fabricated. In my letter I had to be more negative than positive just to get the information I required!!!!! the plugs are m24x1.5 So I need a head from a late vw golf gti 8v matching the code they gave me.... will this enable me to use a better cam????? as c&r said the Kent GS1 would be the only suitable one for carbs with solid tappet head?? this right?? Thanks for all the responses!
Get a crossflow 8v from America (or a very new Mk4 8v head, from the new beetle over here), not only for the carbs sake but also for an added performance advantage and also cos there aint that many over here. You cant then turbo it at a later date.
If you use a PB digifant (87-92) head then you can run a hydraulic cam (GS2H/BP285H/TSR 202 etc etc) A solid lifter head is better for big revs though.. I think the rant by C&R concerns all the negatives about the carbs...heatsoak,tight fit,against bulk head,need regular setting up etc etc Why not get hold of a new beetle 2.0 crossflow head & fit that with some twin 40s.. This head flows miles better than a flowed EV/PB as standard!!, so you will make a great deal more power!
mmmm the beetle heads sounds a good idea! O.K. will the 2.0l head bolt straight on??? Gotta be some differences???? Is the exhaust manifold to the rear and if so will the golf mk1 8valve four branch fit?? I take it the intake manifold for the carbs will fit the beetle head? I need more info guys! Thanks again!
The head is different, obviously. There was some information on the old forum but it has gone [:^(] . The head does have extra connections for things, and I think that some work is needed to be done on one of the oil galleys. Nothing major tho. The good parts is that the carbs are on the front and the exhaust is on the back. The exhaust manifold from your 8v should fit and everything is the same size. With the carbs on the front you dont need to worry about heat soak or bulk-head clearance. You can also get a smaller radiator from a nova GTE, ask velly 16v about this as he has one. I think that PhatVR6 has done a turbo8v using a crossflow head so he should be able to tell you about what needs to be done to put the head on an older block.
I can get a beetle xflow head!!!!!!! I have to buy complete engine from the breaker but at a respectable 400 Considering a port polish and cam for the mk1 head would probably end up this amount of cash it may not be a bad deal. Really need the advice on matching up the head to the block and what to look for!!! PLEASE HELP! this could make a good project a GREAT project
just use the whole crossflow engine ya silly booga have a look on vortex in the hybrid/swap forum or the 8v forum, loads of stuff in there
I think the common mis conception of 4 branch manifolds is that they flow better and thats where the gain is. Whilst it's true they often do flow better, in most cases, power gains will come from pulse tuning.. Someone else can explain the pule tuning bit, i can't be arsed to type it out !
Same idea, I had a quote of 250 for a twin carb manifold for the crossflow head. That includes getting it over from america.
if youre going to end up buying a new engine anyway, can you not pick up a 16v lump for that money? that has a crossflow head too, you could put your carbs on the front of that and get loads more power
