Affordable Performance

[GeorgeMK1]

Hey guys, im sure i ask a few of these questions on behalf of a few more ppl here with mk1's.

Just curious on what are your thoughts of some good cheap performance parts to give the little golf a
bit of a boost up. As well if you can possibly give it a rough price, and how hard it is to find.

Just curious on anything, like full exhaust, carby upgrade, etc. I know that slapping a cam does nothing
unless you have worked the head etc. I've had a look around the net and so forth to get some info, but
thing is i'm curious what parts im able to get in Australia without having to import anything..

Any help would be appreciated

George

[julian_s13]

Same as any other engine mate, Exhaust , Intake, good spark plugs / leads.. then headwork cam & carby.
Even a good service on the motor will do wonders..

[GeorgeMK1]

Same as any other engine mate, Exhaust , Intake, good spark plugs / leads.. then headwork cam & carby.
Even a good service on the motor will do wonders..

What i ment was, you cant exactly find a mild cam for a golf, nor the extractors and other parts like that very easily. The intake and spark plugs i guess are universal parts more or less, so that doesnt worry me.

[GoLfMan]

G-Grind cam is a nice mild unit, gives a nice idle

I'd do the G-grind cam, a 45DCOE Weber, Extractors + 2" exhaust, good leads and plugs.

giggle a minute that set up

[Jarred]

they're not too hard to find, you just have to look in the right places. search on the forum, there's plenty of info floating around. often some parts (new ones) will come from OS, but that's not really such a big issue, there are also local suppliers and second hand bits floating about.

You'll get some out of a cam upgrade, without getting head work. A Ggrind is factory spec and will work with a standard head. Look out for a UK/South african spec head, as it'll have big valves, in combo with some twin carbs, a cam and full exhaust, it'll go alright.

[MiKe1_golf]

Weber 45 DCOE Carby and Manifold to Suit Mk.1 VW Golf - eBay Carburetors, Air Intake, Fuel Delivery, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 29-Jun-10 21:47:10 AEST)

[GeorgeMK1]

So basically a nice mild cam, good carby and exhaust should be quite sufficient..

Mike i saw that weber, i've got my eye on it! Apart from that, i also saw a full 2.5" exhaust going for $400, i think it was 4-2-1 extractors, so ill have a look at that too!

I've been talking to my brother from south africa and hopefully he might be able to ship over a bunch of parts from there, and wouldnt mind the head as im sur eit will be next to nothign there. if anyone else wants anything just let me know, however still only a plan, and not final yet.

[Jarred]

South african heads have I think 40mm and 36/7mm valves, much bigger than an aussie delivered mk 2's, so defiantly a worthy upgrade.

[16v_kid]

You'll get some out of a cam upgrade, without getting head work. A Ggrind is factory spec and will work with a standard head. Look out for a UK/South african spec head, as it'll have big valves, in combo with some twin carbs, a cam and full exhaust, it'll go alright.

exact!

we ran a schrick 288 cam in a non worked head and it still gave a significant amount of performance.

[Water Boy]

I personally think a 2.5 exhuast system is too big for most N/A Golf motors.

A 2" high flow mandrel bent system will help and sound good. You can whack on a 2.25" tip if ya want but I dont think you need any bigger.

In regards to extractors on an 8v my Dad said he didnt really feel any power gains with extractors. He found that a good down pipe off the standard exhuast manifold worked well for street/track use.

As other have said good leads/plugs/dizzy/wiring etc are well worth some time and a little extra cash. You dont need to soend bucket loads but it will help being reliable and easier to tune knowing you are not chasing your telling with a dodgy lead or rotor button.

Dont forget about brakes and suspenion too. Also a decent clutch is nice to get the HP down.

[Jace]

There's more parts on ebay together at the moment than there's been in the last six months I reckon.

My MK1 feels plenty fast for me.

[gldgti]

In all my workings on mk1 golf exhausts, i can say the best overall configuration seemed to be 4 into 2 until all the way back to near the gearshift, then into 1. 2 inch is big enough like water boy said. Any bigger and you'll lose torque below 3500. Also note that the mk1 GTI has 4 into 2, and joins near the gearshift.

I guess a 2l might need bigger, especially if you had a 2l 16V, but for a 1.6 or 1.8 8V, 2" is good.



Thats with a standard 1.8l RV from a mk2 gti, with a g-grid cam, and a single 40mm DHLA. Electronic ignition. Runs a mk1gti exhaust manifold with 1.5inch downpipes, into 2" at the gearshift, all the way to the back (pressbent). Has straight through rear box and a resonator just after the shifter for quietness.

[16v_kid]

I guess a 2l might need bigger, especially if you had a 2l 16V, but for a 1.6 or 1.8 8V, 2" is good.

Many moons ago, we ran a 2.5" on our 1.8 16v and it was losing back presure. So 2" I would say at the maximum.

[GeorgeMK1]

Because the mk3 engines have good low torque i was thinking of going with some extractors, (think it was 4-1?) to get some higher end torque.

Strange thing is when i bought the golf, i already had a performance exhaust from the shifter to the rear, however the front is stock. What exactly does 'a down pipe' mean? Is that getting the standard exhaust manifold and just adding one pipe going straight down, instead of the 4-2 or 4-2-1 ??

ill have to research on a set of good leads and plugs, as i see you guys highly recomend it before any other mods.

[Jarred]

...
ill have to research on a set of good leads and plugs, as i see you guys highly recomend it before any other mods.

This is more a thing of having a good base to start with. No point throwing on a hot head, cam and carbs, if the bottom end is leaky or the distributor is playing up.

Try and get it to run perfect ( a rebuild would be nice, but expensive and mostly unnessecary) before you start modding, otherwise you wont see proper gains and might run into troubles tuning/running.

One of the often over looked areas is the ignition system, everything from the dizzy, to the plugs and leads and coil. having new/upgraded items will mean the engine will be getting a good strong spark and run strong.

Hope that makes sense (it's getting late :\..)