The quest for more power, what to do?

A2Steve

A2OC Donor
Wales
I'm at a bit of a crossroad now with my A2. The exterior and interior is near enough how I want it but I'd like more power. Its already been remapped and is lowered 25 mm on monroe shocks, has ceramic disks and pads and hopefully soon a H&R rear anti-roll bar.

My options are, to continue with this A2 and fit a bigger turbo, bigger injectors, a stainless exhaust, custom map and an MYP box.

Or

Sell my A2, buy a low mileage A2 1.4 petrol for tootling about and also an Audi TT mk1 225 Quattro for times when I want a bit of fun.

The question is, am I expecting too much from a little A2 designed for economy...it was never designed to be a quick car and would it be better to just buy a car I.e the TT that was designed for the purpose?

In my position, what would you do? Stick with my current A2 that I love and keep modding or go for option 2 the peyrol A2 & TT combo?
 
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Depends on How deep your pockets are :rolleyes:

Id say head porting and standard turbo refresh and a decat would be a good place to start as so impressed with my tdi , goes like a rocket and so much fun and keeping reliability too, id also say standard box and gearing is fine as flys up to 125mph red line with ease which is plenty fast enough to stay with anything i found due to the lower gearing and lightness , you could go for the bigger turbo for loads more horses and a 6speed , i did buy one to fit to my project tdi but decided to stick to standard box now as 125 plenty quick enough for me and enjoy the getting there more than i would going any faster, injectors are good enough for about 140bhp so no point in swapping them unless you want more horses.... like i said how deep are your pockets
 
Personally I don't think you should sell Steve. You've poured your heart and soul into transforming your A2 into the car you want it to be. Another A2 will never live up to your current example, even if you strip some of the elements out and refit them in the new one, there'll always be certain elements that don't quite fit the bill in the same way. I guess Steve B will be better placed to advise though, as he has now sold the car which he poured his heart and soul into in the same way. Hopefully he will partake or PM you. Whether you continue to push the boundaries of the current car or accept it for what it is is debatable; pros and cons for each and it will have a limit which may still leave you craving for more even if you pursue the former. Power is great, but then the A2 doesn't quite need it to thrill. If at all possible, keep what you have and save over the next few years for that elusive TT. A forever keeper A2 in the condition of yours, coupled with a grand TT, is a perfect combination; ask Jeffers.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
I certainly don't have massively deep pockets but then I've had my car for 3 years now, the longeat ive ever owned one car. If I'd carried on chopping and changing cars in that time then I would have lost thousands by now anyway.

The myp gearbox is for lower revs at higher speeds and to handle the higher torque output created by future mods. I don't necessarily want to go fast top end and never do more than 80 for safety sake but would just like to get there a lot quicker.

Gary you've looked into changing over to a larger turbo, how many hours labour would you say it is? Good news on the injectors though, I'd be happy with around 140 bhp, I think it would make the A2 a quick little car that would surprise a lot of people.
 
I have A2 and a mk1 TT - I'd say keep the A2 and hunt out a decent 225 - there are plenty out there you just have to be patient.

Having said that I would like a bit more poke out of my A2, Jigsaw what are the best hardware bangs for your buck - you seem to have focused on the exhaust side where the TT experts say first gain is found in the TIP.

Simon.
 
Find a nice tt and use that , I had one a few months back that I bought for the wife ( was a cabby ) and I was quite impressed with it . Nice car for the money and easily tweakabke
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. All food for thought. Unlike some dreamer threads, this is a genuine proposition so I'm grateful for all the input.
 
A turbo could be swapped in a day easily with basic tools but on its own there wouldnt be any real gains id imagine on its own, it would be part of a collection of parts for any real gains,
simon you say the TIP and gather you mean injector nozzels , these flow more fuel over standard and more fuel means a bigger bang , BUT !! unless you get more air youl just have more black smoke as the engines unable to burn all that extra fuel efficently ..
the best upgrade on a standard tdi is a remap ,
 
Mk1 TTs aren't renowned as being all that fun :confused: . Too heavy and laboured with classic Audi understeer. A friend has a TT and it's his labour of love but was given an A2 as a courtesy car and his exact words were "it's like a go-kart!" He was tempted to do the reverse of what you're mulling over.
What's lacking on the acceleration side? I haven't driven a remapped TDi so I don't know the power curve.
 
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A turbo could be swapped in a day easily with basic tools but on its own there wouldnt be any real gains id imagine on its own, it would be part of a collection of parts for any real gains,
simon you say the TIP and gather you mean injector nozzels , these flow more fuel over standard and more fuel means a bigger bang , BUT !! unless you get more air youl just have more black smoke as the engines unable to burn all that extra fuel efficently ..
the best upgrade on a standard tdi is a remap ,

I've gained a lot of knowledge over the last two years. Two years ago I cpuld only do an oil change, now I can strip an A2 to a bare shell but saying that breaking an A2 is a world apart from working on an engine in situ.

I know my limitations and know where I should be paying for someone more skilled to do the work for me.

What other work would you say would need to done in combination with a bigger turbo? I assumed that a bigger turbo combined with a stainless exhaust and a custom map would see the car producing about 140hp? Would this not be the case?
 
im looking at induction side of my tdi today out with the airbox but curious about the intake hose along top of front panel small bore as to what purpose it serves on standard air intake , as for power suck squeeze bang blow more air in bigger intercooler head porting the list goes on , so my plan is to start with the mechanical mods first then remap to get the most from them, so first induction kit ,and can any one tell me if theres a larger diameter air flow sensor that can be fitted
colder air is more dense so burns better hence larger intercooler , but also unsure if a larger turbo would create lag
mark
 
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A turbo could be swapped in a day easily with basic tools but on its own there wouldnt be any real gains id imagine on its own, it would be part of a collection of parts for any real gains,
simon you say the TIP and gather you mean injector nozzels , these flow more fuel over standard and more fuel means a bigger bang , BUT !! unless you get more air youl just have more black smoke as the engines unable to burn all that extra fuel efficently ..
the best upgrade on a standard tdi is a remap ,

Hi Gary,

'TIP' is turbo intake pipe', from the TT forum to get the most out of a custom remap the recommended mod is one of these: https://www.awesomegti.com/shop-by-brand/badger-5/badger-5-80mm-turbo-intake-pipe-version-3-for-1-8t-225bhp-engines/ Theory seems to be that despite the turbine entry being a small diameter there are flow gains to be had if the turbo is sucking from a much larger diameter smooth bore pipe.

No experience myself but I've seen several times mention of small or no gains from de-catting the A2 so wondered if the restriction was the intake?

Simon.
 
Hi Gary,

'TIP' is turbo intake pipe', from the TT forum to get the most out of a custom remap the recommended mod is one of these: https://www.awesomegti.com/shop-by-brand/badger-5/badger-5-80mm-turbo-intake-pipe-version-3-for-1-8t-225bhp-engines/ Theory seems to be that despite the turbine entry being a small diameter there are flow gains to be had if the turbo is sucking from a much larger diameter smooth bore pipe.

No experience myself but I've seen several times mention of small or no gains from de-catting the A2 so wondered if the restriction was the intake?

Simon.

my mistake , ive not researched this so unsure but can see where it may help ,but being a petrol engine which has to suck air into the engine its hugely different to our tdi engine which has air pumped in, id see the main restriction being the ports them selfs as they are tiny in our tdi cylinder heads at just over an inch in diameter standard and you can only push so much air through them as restrictive as such a choke point and that brings up marks question about a larger MAF. the way i see things the 1.9 tdi pushing out over 200bhp+ use the same size so this cant hinder performance and will easily deliver enough airflow into the engine, the difference is the sensor itself reads to 3 or 4 bar so it can measure airflow more accurately and then fuel the engine more precisely .
the cat is the only part of the standard exhaust that restricts power , so a race cat or decat would increase hp
the intercooler size and piping is good for 140+bhp as been done before , now increasing the piping size would create lag but a performance intercooler of the same size with larger core would be better imho as cooling the air better than a standard intercooler
 
Interesting thread Steve, personally I'd keep what you've got as it's pence to keep on the drive and insure, and search for a nice TT, a 180bhp Quattro at the least as they aren't all Quattro's, the front wheel drives are 200kilos lighter I think, but that's the only advantage, 225's are great and very much the engine for modding, or go for the 3.2 as I did, same road tax cost as a 225 but a different drive altogether, I love mine as you know, lastly I don't think you'd be able to get any more power down on an up rated A2, I would think you'll be spinning your tyres all the way to the nearest tyre shop every 3 months lol! Pic for reference oh and to tease lol!
Cheers Jeff
 

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my mistake , ive not researched this so unsure but can see where it may help ,but being a petrol engine which has to suck air into the engine its hugely different to our tdi engine which has air pumped in, id see the main restriction being the ports them selfs as they are tiny in our tdi cylinder heads at just over an inch in diameter standard and you can only push so much air through them as restrictive as such a choke point and that brings up marks question about a larger MAF. the way i see things the 1.9 tdi pushing out over 200bhp+ use the same size so this cant hinder performance and will easily deliver enough airflow into the engine, the difference is the sensor itself reads to 3 or 4 bar so it can measure airflow more accurately and then fuel the engine more precisely .
the cat is the only part of the standard exhaust that restricts power , so a race cat or decat would increase hp
the intercooler size and piping is good for 140+bhp as been done before , now increasing the piping size would create lag but a performance intercooler of the same size with larger core would be better imho as cooling the air better than a standard intercooler

Gary I'm not seeing the difference between a turbocharged diesel and gasoline engine, in both cases the turbo is supplying pressurised air and the injectors are supplying fuel. To make more power you need more fuel and more boost (air) to burn that fuel which ever type it is.

Simon.
 
Let me know how you get on with the myp. That was my next mod on the 90 to fix a weak synchro on 3rd and increase economy. I can't keep the 90 planted its so fast through the gears, it may be an alignment issue but it feels very rapid.
 
You say the a2 was never meant for speed but one of its advantages is its light weight,

Also, U see any variable vane turbo that you fit on the AMF will naturally perform better and have a better boost response low down then your current turbo even tho it's bigger, the standard turbo on the AMF is a bit laggy..

Turbos to choose from

Gt1749v
Gt1749va

Ud also need an n75 valve to get it working right

If you are able and have a garage I don't see why you shouldn't do its straight forward to fit a turbo, il be taking my engine out to do mine as I have s few sensors to get at as well as upgrading to a g60 flywheel and vr6 223mm clutch

U
 
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I've been having a good look over the turbo setup on the tdi engine I've just removed from my breaker.

First impression, wow what a small turbo.

Quick question. Is the standard exhaust manifold no good for a larger turbo? I.e is the mounting point a different size or maybe not a 3 bolt flange?
 
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