1.4 Petrol Options

GordR

GordR

Member
HI Folks

Been running the A2 for a few weeks now, am very pleased with her but i do feel slightly disapointed with the driveability of the car.. throttle response isnt great , and pull from low down revs isnt spectacular...also finding i cant cruise in 5th as much as id like...

Now before you say it.."you should have bought a tdi" ..yes i know that!

So options now are to swap her for a TDi or look at options in improving performance.

I have tried running on V Power which gave slightly better running.. was certainly less hesitant..but still not perfect.

Am going to give it a full service next week in order to make sure she is running nicely..

But really im looking to see if there are any obvious options , would a chip/remap be of much advantage on a Petrol , obviously i wont get huge power gains but how will driveability change? i have done a quick search and there doesnt seem to be much info.

If a chip is adviseable , who is the best to use for this
Thanks
Gordon
 
Hi I've got a 1.6 petrol and they run a lot better on 98 octane, but then they partially shut down on normal unleaded so you don't get all the performance or economy. In a 1.4 the difference with high octane petrol will be small but still there, if only to clean everything clean. A remap will also only give you a small boost, probably 10%, and cost £££s. Its not the end of the world, you've bought the lightest A2 that you could (apart from the 1.2 tdi which has other issues) which saves you a lot of weight on a tdi and so its probably just a case of getting used to driving it. Run it on different sorts of petrol for a few tank fulls and get used to giving it a few more revs, like you say give it a service, new spark plugs might improve things. There's nothing worse than believing you've bought the wrong car, just get used to making the most of yours. At least it will be quiet.
 
Hi Gordon,

I have been having similar thought to you wrt the 1.4 petrol engine. The beauty of the A2 is that it is so light and aerodynamic that it is quite quick despite being underpowered in a conventional sense. I am looking at the moment at replacing wheels/tyres to some Yokos in order make the most of what power there is, but am always wondering if the 75hp 1.4 in the standard model could be uprated along the lines of Lupo 1.4 75hp to Lupo Sport 100hp. I can only imagine the engines are similar -maybe a diferent cylinder head and ecu? Could this be easily achieved in a petrol A2?

The prospect of 100hp in an 850kg A2 is quite entertaining. A power to weight ratio of about 115hp/ton should cut 0-60 by a couple of seconds and give a lot more power throughout the rev-range, although I find the car fairly good at between 3500-4500rpm anyway.

Who would be the best people to approach to find out what mods would be needed? I cannot see VW dealers being helpful, and there are few tuning companies up here in Edinburgh. Maybe this may be of interest to other petrol A2 owners.

Kind regards,

James.
 
If any modifications you make come to over £1500, you'll be far better off changing cars.

However, using super unleaded and changing the intake and exhaust systems will give a boost that you will appreciate.

There are no official ram-air type products for the A2, but I'm sure that something can be modified from a Lupo system.

These, together with a remap/rolling road session could give you an extra 15-20 bhp and will no doubt help. Costs should come in at well under the £100 mark.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Hi Skipton

Thanks for your input on this and the other thread. I do like the petrol a2 as I think the power delivery is smoother, and the noise a little less agric, but get very jealous when i see the reults you diesel owners get from chipping your cars! 110+hp must be rapid.

Do you think possible 90hp could be achieved for so little money? I figured the lupo sport would be similar engine but may have more significant mods than just ecu mapping. Do you think it will be intake/exhaust related rather that cyl. head? I would like to fit VAG parts if poss. but accept that the Lupo may have completely different exhaust layout (given the central exit on the sport and gti).

I may go and hassle my local VW dealer for some concrete info! Always thought a Lupo GTI engine would be the zenith of performance a2 motoring - light weight with 130hp! Got to be significantly quicker than the Lupo it is from.

Kind regards,

James.
 
You may be right about head changes for the Lupo, but if you start getting into this territory, then you'll instantly hit the £1000 mark and be into the swap zone.

See what you can find out from a tame VW dealer and let the forum know.

Cheers,

Mike
 
lyndonbuck is right, you should enjoy the most of what you have. Although I sometime wish I had bought the tdi. But giving it V-Power or the more expensive BP Ultimate helps the throttle response, while Tesco 99 has the extra edge when cruising in 5th. As a consolation to slight more expensive road tax, the 1.4 petrol is 1399cc and qualifies for cheaper resident parking permit in a number of london councils where as the 1.4 diesel is above 1400cc hence no discount :)

But I have been thinking of getting tdi+chip or simply chip my petrol engine. Skipton is right, if it hit 1500 then think again. But then I want my deal breaker options, all round electric windows, leather and bose. When the BSBs at Stealth Racing isn't too busy chipping everyone's tdi, I'm certainly interested in some performance mods.

Robin, do you have any ideas what can be done for us petrol owners? Engine swap?
 
I feel the need for some more power for my A2 1,4 petrol, so I bought a brand new 101 HP Polo engine on the German ebay site.

I just ordered a set of cams and an exhaust manifold for it, and with a remap I am aiming for around 120-125 HP.

Now that is going to be a lot of fun!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top