mk4 1.6L Upgrades?

**mk4nugget** · 25-09-2013, 10:07 PM

Hi all,

so, I've had a look on the interwebs and im finding it hard to find any upgrades for my 1.6L 8V mk4, everything on the web seems to be for the 2L...are any of the parts interchangeable??

Any ideas of what I can do to get a little more out of it?>

**JustCruisn** · 26-09-2013, 07:54 AM

You need to replace the engine with a 1.8T.
Stan's Epic Golf Build: 1.6se becomes 1.8T

**dubster99** · 26-09-2013, 09:57 AM

Haha this is becoming the most popular conversion now!

**dylan8** · 26-09-2013, 10:31 AM

Not really, the 1.6 and 2l are pretty pointless.
Iv seen some pretty serious mods go into a 2lt (intake, exhaust, cams, headwork etc) and the car only made as much power as a stock gti, also not much...
enjoy it for its reliability and fuel economy, otherwise do a 1.8t or VR6 FWD swap

**kendog** · 26-09-2013, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by JustCruisn

You need to replace the engine with a 1.8T.
Stan's Epic Golf Build: 1.6se becomes 1.8T

Originally Posted by dubster99

Haha this is becoming the most popular conversion now!

Originally Posted by dylan8

Not really, the 1.6 and 2l are pretty pointless.
Iv seen some pretty serious mods go into a 2lt (intake, exhaust, cams, headwork etc) and the car only made as much power as a stock gti, also not much...
enjoy it for its reliability and fuel economy, otherwise do a 1.8t or VR6 FWD swap

Hahaha, you all beat me to it!

Yeah, as the guys mentioned, 1.8T conversion with a stage 1 chip is DOUBLE the power output of the 1.6L 8v (146kw vs 74kw).

I'm really sorry, I know it's not what you wanted to hear, I didn't want to hear it either when I had mine, but in hindsight, you have 3 options, 2 of which Dylan mentioned; 1) Engine Conversion, 2) Leave it as is (trying to get power from it is a waste of money!), and 3) Sell it to get something different.

I had the 1.6L, 8v, AKL engine, and I did my conversion due to my gearbox splitting a hole in the side, and an engine conversion cost me the same with labour as a reconditioned gearbox with labour. Which was about ~$3500, which also included timing belt kit, water pump, etc., while the engine was out and between cars. Mine's been converted for over a year now, and not one spec of oil or issues with it at all.. The highway mileage is actually better than the 1.6L, and with a 2nd hand ecu with APR stage 1 already on it, I'm now at approx 146kw with the GTI engine, compared to 74kw of the 1.6L (both at the crank). The driving experience is worlds apart.

Happy to answer any questions..

**mk4nugget** · 26-09-2013, 07:09 PM

thought this was the case! haha, I acquired the golf through my aunty who no longer needed it, I think I would have bought a 1.8t if I'd had the opportunity. It just shat a gbox so an engine conversions looking pretty good haha.

So 3.5K for a 1.8t engine approx.? I'd be fitting it myself so discount labour?

**Lito** · 26-09-2013, 07:14 PM

Originally Posted by mk4nugget

thought this was the case! haha, I acquired the golf through my aunty who no longer needed it, I think I would have bought a 1.8t if I'd had the opportunity. It just shat a gbox so an engine conversions looking pretty good haha.

So 3.5K for a 1.8t engine approx.? I'd be fitting it myself so discount labour?

You can get 1.8ts pretty cheap these days, just gotta be lucky. I've seen some go for like $500 with a gearbox. Going rate seems to be around $1500. I'd recommend getting one with the agu engine code(golf mk4 gti or 8l a3) just because wiring it up would be less of a hassle. Be careful though, once the mod bug bites it's hard to stop! These engines have a lot of potential

**dubster99** · 26-09-2013, 08:17 PM

I bought a damaged gti for 1300 and sold the rest of the parts to make some cash back. Look out at pickles and gumtree, theres one on gumtree thats for wrecking that supposedly makes 200kws.

**kendog** · 27-09-2013, 10:16 PM

Yeah, sorry, mine was $3500 including labour from a shop! But that was both cars sitting next to each other to copy, in detail, it's a bit more expensive apparently if you just plonk an engine in front of them (due to being more difficult).

As dubster said, it's probably best to get a whole car, mine was a stat write off that still drove absolutely fine (flood damaged). Which I understand the guys got from an auction quite cheap!