can you make it easy

[rosoli]

newbie.
need list of what to buy and where to get more zip.
own: 2000,APH,1.8t
need 1, 2, 3....list
chip? saw one on ebay for $30 inc shipping
intake? saw one on ebay for $32 inc shipping
tail wagger? $100 - will it help air flow, thus enhance turbo
plugs? read thread, will spend $ if good pop

or is all of this just minimal improvement....
or good bang for the buck...
or just buy premium gas and stay stock...
or do all of the above for good % kick???

[jazzcat]

i wouldn't trust a $30 chip with a turbo car but thats just me

[noR]

chip: That ebay thing was bogus junk. A "chip" means to reprogram the car, not trick a sensor.

tailwagger: great for aesthetic reasons, but won't get you much noticable difference in performance at all. You have a manual switch for that; relocate it to an easier location to reach and you'll save yourself a bundle (and have a completely customized feature in your personal beetle).

If you want a quick guide to some fly stuff w/o doing the research yourself; here's a nice list:

Chip: Apr
Turbo Back Exhaust: Apr
Suspension: Sachs Club Sport Kit, Stage IV
Clutch: Sachs Vr6 pressure plate, G60 flywheel [get the parts and have them as backup, don't install until your stock is done though]
Intake: K&N drop in filter (if you want noise, get a Neuspeed P-flo)
Brakes: Hawk HP+ pads
Turbo hoses: Samco (ABD lower intercooler hard pipe as well)
Vacuum lines: Hose Techniques

That'll get you going, help you turn, help you stop, and be a very respectable setup.


I'd say that's all fairly good bang for the buck; you can save some if you want; but in quick summation, that'd do you pretty good.

[noR]

To elaborate a bit:
Your brakes are fine, they're great calipers, and changing isn't necessary unless you're racing for lengths of time or just tricking stuff out. The rotors are great, there will be no noticable +'s to crossdrilled or slotted; just get some performance pads to stop you better.

Your spark plugs are fine, they spark great, and I really do not believe you'll see any great advantage, but feel free to put in what you want at your normally scheduled 40K tune-up.

The upgrades will cause enough power to wear on your clutch and reduce it's lifespan (which is already short) noticably.

Suspension:I selected a well rounded kit for you that will not provide a harsh ride, but will still maintain excellent handling in both everyday, and performance, situations. The kit replaced dampers, springs, and front sway bar, and adds a lower tie-bar and rear sway bar. An upper strut mount isn't really necessary, but may be to your liking?

Changing the intake is unnecessary, but if you want a loud racer feel too it, by all means put in a metal short intake. I suggested a K&N because you will get a smidge of better performance out of it, however it is likely that it will not filter as well as the stock element. Your call, performance, or longevity. It'll do fine for a long time I'm sure, but a toll is always taken.

DV, sorry, I did miss that. Get a baily or forge DV. Your stock will not hold up well to the increased pressure after the chip. (and is in fact, probably old and worn out already)

If you don't mind a bit of vibration, I also suggest a VF-engineering dogbone engine/transmission mount, along with either VF-Engineering side motor/transmission mounts, or some Turn2 inserts to tighten things up. Yes, it'll vibrate much more; but if you look at the difference between stock and these, they make the engine much more efficient by reducing torque lost into the mounting system. (engine twisting around doing absolutely nothing)


There it is... the easy way.

I'm sure you can save $ by changing a few parts out from my list, and you can spend more $ by adding more pieces. There's more performance to be had of course; but it gets more involved the deeper you go, and you said easy.

[Fowvay]

35hp Chip. www.awetuning.com for a GIAC chip or www.ecstuning.com for an APR chip. Both work extremly well.

18hp Techtonics Turbo back exhaust. www.tttuning.com

5-10hp N75H valve other wise known as the "Racevalve" www.ecstuning.com

7-12hp ABD Turbo inlet Pipe (TIP).. www.abdracing.com

5-9hp Remove snow snorkle (do search) and get a drop in K&N Filter. This will start a debate with people but I have VAG-COM'd several cars after doing this and have netted gains of 5-9hp each time.

If ya gots the Motts.. Extrude hone your intake manifold, head and exhaust manifold... its a beautiful thing. Will free up quite a few ponies and make the power band really smooth.

Thats my short list for best bang for the buck Power increasers.

Tom aka Fowvay

[TechnoTrix'd]

Just to add to what Ron and Tom have stated, obviously, getting the air volume up is the best place to start (intake, turbo plumbing, Turbo management valves, exhaust).

One other thing to consider is that the 1.8T is completely (99.9%) controled by the CPU. Their are no screwdriver adjustments to be made in order to tweek area's that you might have done with a GM car.

Their are some sneeky way's to overide pieces of the Turbo management system, but any bolt on performance parts are ultimately controled by our CPU's. A better DV will definately give you better performance, but it is still feeding info back to the chip, which will make adjustments to the overall system based on it's input.

This is very good and also can be restrictive. What I can tell you is that the OEM chip has the ability to work with a number of pretty significant modification to your engine and air-flow set-up's. The algorythms that the VW engineer's put in our cars have a wide band of tuning available to them.

Example is that a number of 1.8t guys have gotten their engines close to the 200 whp mark without a chip. That can be a 25% or 30% jump in performance based on the 150hp VW program. These are a mixture of Golf and Beetle drivers.

So, you have gotten a great starting point from these guys. Have fun with it and post your success and failures along the way.

BTW, it is not uncommon for a Golf driver to be running in the high 200's or right at 300 whp as a daily driver, with no or very minor mods to the longblock. A couple of guys here are doing it in their beetles as well. So, these engines have great potential..

TechnoTrix'd....

[NBTurboFreak]

1. Chip (APR, GIAC) or cheaper route Split Second boost controller
2. Samco intake pipe
3. Autotech downpipe
4. TT cat back
5. K&N filter, remove snow box, (if brave drill a few 1"-2" holes in the bottom of the stock air box)
6. Forge 007 DV
7. N75 upgrade

If needed I have a boost controller and an ABD intake pipe just laying around.
I had a 2001 APH and I was doing 174 WHP and 245 WTQ with an air filter, boost controller, neuspeed downpipe, TT cat back, and ABD intake pipe.

[unitool]

Originally Posted by noR

To elaborate a bit:
...Suspension:I selected a well rounded kit for you that will not provide a harsh ride, but will still maintain excellent handling in both everyday, and performance, situations. The kit replaced dampers, springs, and front sway bar, and adds a lower tie-bar and rear sway bar. An upper strut mount isn't really necessary, but may be to your liking?
...

I've never considered using a tie bar with a full ASB setup. As it's just a matter of time until I upgrade my front ASB, I'd like to ask what the benefit would be to adding a lower tie bar to an NB with a full ASB set up, because I might want to do that, too.

[yelojkt]

No matter how you look at it Performance mods are going to cost you money, serious money (for most beetle owners). For example I bought my exhaust at a close-out deal for $480.00, a really good deal considering that exhaust sells retail for around $700.00. Suspensions go from $500.00 to $3000.00. Wheels and tires; $600.00 (cheap Package Deals) to $4500.00. I dont want to discourage you from modding your Beetle, far from it. I just want you to understand that in most cases if you spend less than $100.00 for a performance mod you are getting ripped off. Save that $100.00 and add another $100.00 to it the next month and so on until you can afford quality parts that will truely perform. PS There is one exception to this rule, replace your fuel filter ($15.00) if it has not been replaced this will add about 10 horsepower instantly.

[Fowvay]

I just wanted to add the following.

You paid extra to get a Volkswagen. Pay extra to modify it and maintain your Volkswagen.

Your VW will reward you with an extra fun and extra long life.