1.8lt 20v engines

[Shteifen]

Ive read alot of different stories, good to know the rods are the weak link.

why is the weakest link always in the rods on vws......
ive heard of vr's its the rod bolts, and yeah in 1.8 20v's its the rods themselves.

[Preen59]

Actually in the earlier engines, the rods are stronger than the pistons. Good for over 20PSI. The early formula 2 engines used to rev to around 9500rpm on standard rods.

Rod bolts are usually the weak point in most standard engines. Not specific to VW's.

Try and get the same sort of power out of standard equipment in a japanese make and see what happens..

[Jmac]

AGU engines have a good reputation for handling mods. They also have bigger small ends. Rods are the weak link as they are in any engine, up the juice on stds you can come to strife , having said that the AGU is good for around 350+HP i would say. Still its not the power that kills them its the torque. Thats what scares me about Hybrids and spooling up fast. Ive seen banana rods at around 400Nm fo torque. Not pretty and they have a habit of creating extra crankcase ventilation i.e Leg out of the bed. If you are considering going heavy on the mods consider getting the rods replaced, someone has mentioned Integrated, good option.