Tuning the 1.4 TSi TFSI twincharged engine

"Thanks for reading our guide to the 1.4  EA111 engine"

Based on the EA111 engine, the VAG group released a new 1.4 Twincharged engine which outperformed the larger 1.8 TFSi on power and economy. It was later revised again under the guise of the EA112.

We have another article for the newer EA211 1.4 TFSi engines.

By using a supercharger and a turbo to compress the intake charge you benefit from compounding and significantly more air can be pulled into the engine.

The supercharger minimised the lag you get from a turbo, and two work seamlessly together to provide a very powerful but economical engine, depending on how it's driven. It can feel like two engines, so will reflect your driving mood.

The twincharged versions were considered too expensive and complex to produce, partly because of the phenomenal progress made in turbocharger design.

Engine codes we have found for this engine are

• BLG 125 kW 170PS 168 bhp
• BMY 103 kW 140PS 138 bhp
• CAXA 92 kilowatts 125 PS; 123 bhp
• CACX 92 kw 125 PS 123 bhp
• BWK CAVA  CAVF CTHA CNWB CNUB 110 kW 150PS  148 bhp
• CAVD CNWA CTHD CTKA CKMA 118 kW 160PS 158  bhp
• CFBA 96kw 131ps 129 bhp
• CAVG CTHG CTJA 136 kW 185ps
• CAVE CTHE 132 kW 179PS 175bhp

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best Engine Mods for your car

1. Engine Tunes - engine tuning/remapping provides the most advantage in terms of cost savings,  aftermarket ECUs, and piggyback ECUs are all alternatives.
2. Fast road cams are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.
3. Intake and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods will NOT ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
4. Upgrades to turbochargers and superchargers - forced induction is the most efficient approach to increase air supply, allowing you to burn more fuel and make more power. It is one of the most costly upgrades but provides the best gains.
5. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Panel air filter, Lighter flywheel, Engine Tunes/Remapping, Sports exhaust.

Typical stage 2 mods often include: high flow fuel injector, Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, Power/Sport clutch, Fast road cam.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Engine balancing, Competition cam, Sports gearbox, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

Peak power is all well and good but for a daily driven car you need a long power band and perhaps extending the rev range.

In this article we shall give your a good starting base to the best modifications for your car, but we'd encourage you to spend some time on the site looking into the details of each type of performance part.A fast road cam is generally one of the best NASP power modifications you can do mechanically to your engine.

It improves the intake and exhaust flow and pushes up the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a performance chip. TorqueCars would caution you not to go with a motor sports profile cam as this affects the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.

Turbo upgrades are available now for these andt we are seeing some decent hybrid turbos, using the OEM housing. Mitsubishi internals and a larger turbine will help top end power.

The LO270P from LOBA is another interesting hybrid turbo designed for the CTHG CAVG and CAVE engines but we've seen it fitted to others in the range.

It was based on a CNC machined BorgWarner turbo, offers a larger compressor wheel and is balanced to allow higher RPM and a steady flow.

Using high octane petrol is another option if you find you are suffering from pinking or premature ignition on your EA211 engine, you'll also get better fuel economy.

When pushing up the power you will need to increase to the fuelling. More power needs more fuel.

Using higher octane petrol is another option if you find you are suffering from detonation or premature ignition on your VAG Group project after fitting other performance kits. Upgraded injectors will enable you to supply sufficient fuel to the engine.

Uprate the fuel pump to cope with the extra fuel requirements of your tuned 1.4 R4 16v TSI/TFSI's uprated injectors.

Problems and issues

Timing chains were prone to stretch and snap.

Carbon build up was an issue for some owners, particularly those doing short journeys.

160bhp versions suffered from pinking and misfiring especially from cold, which was fixed by a factory change to the engine management software.

Misfiring: Can be caused by faulty plugs, faulty injectors (recall and fix issued in 2010) faulty coil packs.

High oil consumption required new piston rings to fix this issue.

Water pump failures seem to be quite common, so get this checked especially if engine temps seem wrong or erratic.

The crankshaft bearing wears away and can lead to damage to the pistons/piston rings, regular oil changes help mitigate this issue.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Audi, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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