A possible nudge for the VR engine

[Mrk_Mickey]

Hey guys,

I was talking to a mate today about my engine and possible work done to it to make it go a bit better, and it got me thinking...

Basically what I'm asking you lot is what are the options for mild work to the head/intake/exhaust/cams to boost the VR power a bit, and what kinda costs am I looking at? Also if there's anything else I missed which might be a good option, tell me

Suggestions, guides, personal experiences, all are welcome I'm very new to the engine customizing because I haven't done it before so I'm just trying to get a feel for what's possible with my engine.

Cheers guys,
Mickey.

[DubSteve]

I can tell you intake, exhaust, chip and unless your willing to pay extra don't bother!

[Mrk_Mickey]

No offence man but there's absolutely no information there to back it up. I want lots of info or maybe a link so I can do my homework!

I'm interested in headwork, and it sounds like a bunch of fun too so I thought hey why not learn about it, get some knowledge, and then maybe do something to my car?

[Jarred]

No offence man but there's absolutely no information there to back it up. I want lots of info or maybe a link so I can do my homework!

I'm interested in headwork, and it sounds like a bunch of fun too so I thought hey why not learn about it, get some knowledge, and then maybe do something to my car?

do that on an old disposable 1600 in a mk 1 bro, not in a VR6. bugger it up then you'll be without a car and an expensive repair bill!


AFAIK, and i'm not expert on mk 3's, but cams & headwork & extractors etc, don't really do too much for them. FI is the only way to go for a significant HP increase..

[Oneofthegreats]

The best place to start with is asking yourself how much power you would like to make & how much you'd like to spend.

Then the option's & opinion's can be narrowed down.

Otherwise, I could just say do a full rebuilt animal of an engine to suit a GT42R with all the triming's & make 600whp!

[Tim]

You will spend a lot and not get much out of it.

If i was gonna do anything on a vr6 it would be shrick intake, exhaust, and maybe some porting.
Getting too far into the head is gonna cost a packet and the gains will only be modest. Better off bolting on a supercharger.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Lol ok I can see what everyone is saying. I'll just leave it all alone until I acquire a FI car.

[Oneofthegreats]

Lol ok I can see what everyone is saying. I'll just leave it all alone until I acquire a FI car.

I'm not saying that at all.

I'm asking how much power you'd like to make & how much money your prepared to spend.

Then people can help you with with mod's you can make to achieve the desired power.


If someone asked me to build an engine & I ask how much power you want to make & how much is the budget & I get a reply like that, I'd say forget it.

It's not a nasty reply at all.


How am I supposed to know what your chasing. Maybe you could make that power with "x" amount of coin, maybe you can't.

But how much is "X"?

[Mrk_Mickey]

Who knows how much X is...I don't have X, and I won't unless I say to myself I want to spend money on my engine. I don't even know how much any of this stuff costs; that's why I asked. But hey, look at the replies. Got nowhere, didn't I.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Oh, and I'm not legally allowed to drive a forced induction car. I will not spend 4k-10k on forced induction. I don't want that much power. I just want a bit of extra kick and a bit of info that I thought everyone would be glad to pass along, but obviously I've gotta learn it somewhere else.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Mickey, if you want to hear opinions or continue this conversation then open your original thead back up please, we don't need 2 threads going on for this.

As Golfworx said, i'd be doing some research on Vortex or one of the other VR6 sites.

I'm gonna close this one.

The reason I asked before doing any research is because what I assume I will find is a bunch of stuff I don't quite understand; then I'll interpret it wrong, then I'll have learnt by mistake. I asked to be taught here and all I got was 'do this, do that, no point doing this, blah blah' when all i wanted was 'there is this, it does this, there is that, and it does that'.

If people want to help me, can we keep it to that ^^^ please?

Just so my question is clear...I'll re-ask it:

What options are available for light/mild work to the head/cams/intake/exhaust? How does it all work and what effects does it have? Nevermind about my cost query, I'll leave that to whenever/if-ever I want to hear about it.

[Golf Houso]

Ok lets set a target then... standard VR6 puts out 100kw atw, lets make that 120-122kw atw so we can scare off all those polo drivers

So you already have a cat back and an intake (almost done) What else would you need to get to 120kw, cams? A head port? Both?
I'm also very interested in this as well Mickey, I'd like to see what people have to say...

[VR6child]

Is a full exhaust system including extractors and a high flow cat not a good option for a vr?

[Mrk_Mickey]

Is a full exhaust system including extractors and a high flow cat not a good option for a vr?

Everyone says pulling power out of an NA vr6 is like pulling teeth..everyone says extractors are pointless because of the little to no gain in power, and the cat was good enough from stock so there's usually no need to change it.

I'd have thought ANY modification to the way a car breathes/drinks petrol which allows more would be a good thing (obviously, in moderation). Seems not, though....this is what this thread is for..what sorta stuff is around to do to the VR and why? etc etc

[Sharkie]

Ok lets set a target then... standard VR6 puts out 100kw atw, lets make that 120-122kw atw so we can scare off all those polo drivers ...

Sorry to say but when a VR6 makes 122kw atw its only level with a chipped only Polo GTI and it weighs a fair few kgs more, so a chipped Polo will still eat a 120kw atw VR6 for breakfast ..... something to do with making 330NM at 2000rmin ..... much to be said for small light cars with turbos .....

I used to have a 1994 VR6 and it made about 150kw at the flywheel.
Mods worthwhile are chip, exhaust, CAI, Bosh Super-4 sparkplugs made 2kw more, quality synthetic oil made 2kw more, adjustable fuel pressure regulator made 5kw more (after setup on the dyno). Thats an easy 9kw over the std mods.

I was planning on doing the head and cams. A reputable workshop (in South Africa) had done a few and they made 170kw out of the 128kw engine. But sold the VR and bought an E36 M3 which the same workshop then modded for me.

Another workshop was doing a 3.1l conversion ont he VR and that delivered 190kw. http://www.stevesautoclinic.co.za/home.html They don't list it any more, might be worth a try to see how much the components would cost you. remeber any price in rands devide by 7 to get $.

But yes, if you want some serious power, a supercharger will be the only easy and reliable solution.