Mk4 gti extra power

[bullsta]

Morning all.Any ideas on simple(and cheap) yet effective ways to get a little extra poke out of a mk4 gti.Well versed on the chipping option but hesitant as i,d like to keep car for a number of years without damaging engine or resale.ANY advice greatly appreciated.Especially in regards to that first 2k revs when I really notice turbo lag.Thanks

[team_v]

Intake
Ecu remap (no worries with engine longevity from all reports i have read)
Exhaust

Check out Plautos's thread in the polo section.
It should have all the stuff you need as the Polo GTI has the same engine from memory as the Mk4 GTI.

[Peter Jones]

A Bora V5 or V6 transplant would wake it up and wouldn't have any turbo lag.

There's been brand new Bora motors appearing on eBay of late. VOLKSWAGEN Bora V5 Engine complete NOS (eBay item 220675559925 end time 27-Nov-10 13:31:15 AEDST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats

We never got V5 or V6 FWD Golfs here but they were available in Europe and the US so the conversion should be possible.

[bullsta]

thanks for quick response guys.Over budget for what I can justify at mo.might be worth waiting.What about small stuff re air filters,plugs actuator etc.Only after a bit of extra power?.Will probably chip next year or upgrade to mk5

[Jarred]

frankly, chipping it will be the best bang for your buck, and give you much more performance than an intake or exhaust alone.

It's not like you'd be the first to do it. it's a very common upgrade, so engine damamge shouldn't be an issue, solely because you chipped it,. You can also remove them before sale.

[BL33SU]

manual boost controller for like $90

[noone]

Chip. Generally it gives the best benefits for the cheapest cost. Lots of other options, but many need a retune to get the best from the vehicle.

[dubbed]

I'm probably in the minority here, however...

A chip will definitely give you the best BFYB. BUT, let's face it: these cars aren't designed to handle the extra 30-40% of power/torque. Stuff is going to start to break once you go down that path. The electronics in these cars are horrendous so making them do any more than they're designed for is asking for trouble, not to mention the poor wearing chassis/suspension components and bushes.

I wouldn't bother unless you're going to drive it like an old lady or if you drop some more cash into it and have some more set aside in the event of premature wearing of components.

[bullsta]

food for thought dubbed

[h100vw]

VW saw fit to endow the later MK4s with a K03s and 180hp/132KW out of the factory. The same hardware as a Polo GTI effectively. The Polo is software restricted to 150hp/110KW.

It doesn't matter whether the car is chipped or not. A 6 to 10 year old car is likely to want bushes and suspension replacement anyway, even if it hasn't racked up a million Ks.

If you want a car that's a bit faster, you wouldn't spend money on a downpipe and exhaust/FMIC etc and ignore the fact you can get lots more power with software.

There's nothing wrong with the electronics, just the VW didn't bring any ME7 Golfs to Australia. The ME3.8 doesn't have the features of the ME7 but it's by no means a bad ECU.

This isn't formula 1, where there's only 2 throttle positions and if the car's not braking it's accelerating. You couldn't hope to wear the engine out much sooner with a flash, than without. You would end up in hospital or prison trying.

If the 1.8T was a fragile motor, it wouldn't be installed in so many vehicles around the world.

Gavin

[McDub]

There's nothing wrong with the electronics, just the VW didn't bring any ME7 Golfs to Australia. The ME3.8 doesn't have the features of the ME7 but it's by no means a bad ECU.

lets just hope there's a case of one bad one... (fingers crossed in an optimistic fashion!)


but agree with what gavin said, and particularly if you're worried about resale, you're gonna do more damage to the resale with physical mods than you are with a software mod IMO.

but regardless of all this, if you want to do one mod other than ecu, i'd install a new downpipe. should get around 10% gain as the stock downpipe is quite restrictive. and it won't make a difference in sound so prob will not affect resale as they wouldn't notice it... actually saying that, my new downpipe/cat does cause the occasional misfire, but the stock muffler is so chambered that it's not very noticeable.

[bullsta]

thankjs for all the advice

[noone]

Downpipe does change the exhaust note, for the Polo GTI, added a few kw, not 10%.

Many flashed 1.8t's with no abnormal issues.

[YellowDieselGolf]

A Bora V5 or V6 transplant would wake it up and wouldn't have any turbo lag.

There's been brand new Bora motors appearing on eBay of late. VOLKSWAGEN Bora V5 Engine complete NOS (eBay item 220675559925 end time 27-Nov-10 13:31:15 AEDST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats

We never got V5 or V6 FWD Golfs here but they were available in Europe and the US so the conversion should be possible.

$2500 plus frieght, labour and any additional parts - for fifteen kilowatts!?!! Sure, it'd be unique, but what happens if you want more that 125KW? What about when you want to sell it? Who would buy a v5 GTI?

OP - just chip it. There are heaps of chipped cars that are just as reliable as when they were new.

Three words - APR. 146KW. $1275.