Right this is my first mk2 and i love it, but i dont know much about them (yet) thats why im askin the experts I have bought a '91 1.8 8v gti. Im wondering what can i do to get some more power? i dont fancy tryin anything hard like a 20v turbo conversion. Can i change the bottom end/head to make any difference? i.e a mk3 2.0 or mk2 16v gti? or is it just a case of changing the engine? if so would a mk3 2.0 16v be much trouble to fit? and then when this is done what sort of cost and trouble would i be looking at, at either throttle bodies or supercharging the engine? help much appreciated! thank you
A lot of people on here with 8v's do the 2 litre bottom end conversion. There are a variety of possibilities for various different VAG cars. 2E Probably the most common, found in the early (pre 95) MK3 Golf GTI 8Vs. Also found in Passats from the same era. AGG Found in late (post 95) MK3 Golf GTI 8Vs. Do a search on the forums for 8v 2 litre conversion, there is a couple of how to guides on here. You can also have your head ported and polished and also have bigger valves put in. Its a good idea to get some work done to the standard digi head otherwise you may only see an extra 5bhp from the bottom end swap.
cheers mate, where would i get these things done? and what sort of cost? im presuming i could do the bottom end myself, no change of head or anything done to the 8v's?
Depends where you are located really mate, there are a few good firms around that do head work for you. There is a thread on the forum about a group buy from the man in the shed for those needing head work. In the thread there is also a list of whats on offer and prices. Not sure if the group buy is still running though. As for the 2l bottom end like you said its easy enough to do it yourself as long as you have all the parts to hand. Cheers Nick
How hard is this though? is it just a case of engine change? or do you need engine loom and ecu change? different mounts/driveshafts and gearbox?
I think its just a case of changing the engine and the engine loom as the later MK2's have the same fusebox as most of the newer VW's. Don't know if you'll need to change the fuel pumps though. You could drop a VR6 lump in if you really wanted.
My car was a 90 digi, I did a 9A conversion, you have to change looms and ecu, I opted to run kjet injection, so had to fit various 16v bits, inc ecu to get it running. I think its quite common for people to use kjet as its an easier system to work with. I had very little experience before doing it, the engine swap isnt that difficult, setting it up to run right at the end is the hard bit
ECU and engine loom required. Use the same mounts, gearbox and shafts (or new versions of the same ones). Get a non-immobilised ABF ECU for simplicity, if you can. You need the engine, manifolds, injection, ECU, Engine loom, and ancillaries from the ABF. My mate in Perth happens to have all those bits for sale... Or you can convert your car to KJet and run it on that... more work though.
The 2.0 16v sounds fairly straight forward then. Just out of interest, what kinda power will it run once complete? i read somewhere that the mk3 2.0 16v engine was de-tuned by vw, because when it was made the first results came out within a few bhp of the vr6 engine?
You probably read that on here... With a remap, no catalyst, and a decent exhaust you should get 160-170bhp, if you believe rolling road numbers... and lots more torque than a 1.8 8v.
