As a newbie on here are there any simple mods to gain a bit of power in the old 8v's? You're probably going to tell me there are no simple or cheap ways to get gains etc etc, I'm just wondering as I remember a mate of mine having an 8v about 8 years ago and he got that quite nippy just by changing the exhaust, a chip and I think someone he worked with put Audi throttle bodies on it or something (memorys quite hazy). I'm wondering as an 8v mk 2 is probably going to be my next car, as I've never had a mk2 GTi and also funds are a bit limited. Cheers for any response guys.
Simplest things you can do first are; freer flowing exhaust, panel filter (K+N, or similar) with drilled airbox and cold air feed, chip (though TBH the gains are quite small). Next level (budget depending) would be to flow the head, bigger valves, fit a performance cam, 2.0l crank. Throttle bodies are difficult on 8v`s, because there is not a lot of space. Apparently (with some modification) you can fit the crossflow head from the new Beetle to allow them to be fitted easier. Nowadays, with 1.8T`s being readily available, tuned 8v`s are getting rarer. Most people do the basics first then save up for the conversion!
I put in a simple K&N filter, a full stainless exhaust from Jetex that I actually got here second hand off here, and took out the trumpet from the airbox (havent drilled it as the exhaust is rather loud...). Just these things made a big difference. Not a major BHP gain or anything, but certainly enough to make the car feel a lot perkier and 'eager'. I think the total cost was about 170. I would also recommend just doing the cheap and obvious stuff like a new set of spark plugs, leads, and a new dizzy cap and rotor. Again, just these cheapo changes on my car made it feel refreshed and generally nicer to drive (especially idle). I'm about to embark on a 2.0L conversion, and to be honest reading what people say, even just the most basic upgrade of parts in this conversion should make a big difference. Ideally I want to be around a standard 16v in terms of power, and I'm fairly sure I can do that with less than 600 and a bit of wheeling and dealing.
If its a Digifant that you end up getting go through rubjonny's FAQ on setting it up http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124949 There's also a mod your can do the Air Flow Meter (AFM) to increase the fuelling a bit on Digifants on the older K-Jets you can get a mod to the Warm Up Regulator (WUR) but thiss needs to be done by someone like Stealth - you won't be able to DIY
Cheers, just wanted a few ideas and that's helped already. Is there any sort of buying guide on here - what to look for, common faults etc?
