Looking for power upgrade advice on stock '91 RV 1.8 GTI

[Spyda]

ummmm vr6 anyone?

170bhp out of the box, prity straight forward swap and if you get stuck there are plenty of wright ups. It wont cost more than 5k. People will tell you its too heavy but its only ~50kg difference. A bit of work and youre near 200hp and alot more torques than a 4banger. The 16v with all that work should be about 200hp, true? but it wont be down low.

[jayjay]

hey pommydubber,

pretty much everything that everyone has stated here in the past few replies are all viable options.

if you wanna go fast in a mk2, they're all very sensibly priced and are quite linear in terms of cost to power. ( ie 2.0 8v = little money/power, 20v turbo = big money/power )

the 16v motor you stated, ( PL code ) wont have the compatible ( read: plug and play ) engine loom for your 91 aussie spec(?) car. that motor runs on k-jet and hence has a different pulley set up, no electronic fuel injection! hahaha. the 16v motor that you'd want is an ABF out of a seat mk3 ibiza cupra.

vr6 mk2s are a lot of fun, 20v mk2s are insane, and as everyone has said, 020 diesel gearboxes are win.

[pommydubber]

I`d go 020 TDI box with a 20V or 16v in a Mk2 and the 02A boxes are very heavy and unnecessary in all but the most extreme applications - like Martys

Ok Golf loon,
I have been through all the options and it seems to me like an 8v or 16v 2.0l lump from a SEAT or MK3 Golf plus an 020 TDI gearbox (As you recommend) is the way to go with my conversion. Would you agree with this? I want minimal installation problems. Am i right in thinking the TDI 020 Gearbox will bolt onto the original MK2 GTI 8v drive shafts and mate up to the shift linkages. What about the clutch on a TDI 020 Gearbox? is it Hydraulic? if so how do i attach it to my Mk2 Golf?

[jayjay]

the mk2 020 gearbox is rod shift like all the others. it should mate perfectly to your current shifter box, assuming that you haven't changed from the original.

the clutch used in the diesel gearboxes is it's the smaller spline input shaft (24 teeth), not the large spline clutch (28 teeth) found in late model mk3 2.0 8 valves and 16v mk2s.

[Golf Loon]

I reckon I`d use your original 8v gearbox with the Cupra engine and a new clutch and the car would be a screamer.

I have a complete 16v ABF engine with all wiring loom and manifolds ready to bolt into your car. Pm me for details and pricing if you want.

[pommydubber]

I reckon I`d use your original 8v gearbox with the Cupra engine and a new clutch and the car would be a screamer.

I have a complete 16v ABF engine with all wiring loom and manifolds ready to bolt into your car. Pm me for details and pricing if you want.

SWEET! Look forward to chatting to you about it.
What does Pm me about it mean? Not familiar with that abbreviation.

[Peter Jones]

SWEET! Look forward to chatting to you about it.
What does Pm me about it mean? Not familiar with that abbreviation.

Click on Matt's user name in a post above and you'll see an option to send him a private message (PM).

Pete

[whiteVR6]

Dont forget collets for the valve springs , bearings if your gonna pull the motor down , oil pump , machine work , flywheel , front pulley seal , rear main seal , coolant flanges , coolant hoses etc etc . Remember its a 20 year old car .


If it was me , Id stick with the 1.8l 8v , bore it out with high comp pistons . bigger valves with titanium collets / retainers . Nice set of IE rods . Lightweight flywheel and stage 1 clutch , rebuild the box with one of the new type wavetrac lsd's , change all the coolant hoses , water pump , timing bellt, coolant flanges and radiator . Get a nice set of lightweight rims , fix the brakes up etc etc . At the end of the day the 16V isnt going to be much quicker unless you spend some decent money on it !

[pommydubber]

Dont forget collets for the valve springs , bearings if your gonna pull the motor down , oil pump , machine work , flywheel , front pulley seal , rear main seal , coolant flanges , coolant hoses etc etc . Remember its a 20 year old car .


If it was me , Id stick with the 1.8l 8v , bore it out with high comp pistons . bigger valves with titanium collets / retainers . Nice set of IE rods . Lightweight flywheel and stage 1 clutch , rebuild the box with one of the new type wavetrac lsd's , change all the coolant hoses , water pump , timing bellt, coolant flanges and radiator . Get a nice set of lightweight rims , fix the brakes up etc etc . At the end of the day the 16V isnt going to be much quicker unless you spend some decent money on it !

Well that was my original plan but no one here seems to think the 8v is worth the bother. They all point to the 16v units. My 8v is supposed to produce 100hp standard. With the mods i was going to do like bored out to 2.0L with high comp pistons, wild cam, decent rods, larger valves, port & polish, what sort of hp will i be looking at?

[jayjay]

well that's exactly what i hope to be running. i'm hoping for 170bhp (this is relatively conservative) depending how well i can tune it. the problem is that it will quite a highly strung motor in comparison to a 16v pushing that much power. the 16v will inevitably flow better so peak hp will be a lot more than you can work out of an 8v.

that said. there's a certain charm to the 8valves. And bolting in a 16v, while making it a lot faster than it is with an RV, it will be peaky and wont have the push-in-the-back kinda torque you're thinking. (if it's stock)