turbo overhauling?

[emery1990]

i emailed a mechanic asking about getting my turbo reworked..upgraded to ball bearings , more airflow etc, which ive read about in one of the topics, and he said about a turbo overhaul..ive heard been called loads of other things to though, turbo tuning etc. where would i go to get this done. how much bhp does it give you.

 

[turbonutter69]

i emailed a mechanic asking about getting my turbo reworked..upgraded to ball bearings , more airflow etc, which ive read about in one of the topics, and he said about a turbo overhaul..ive heard been called loads of other things to though, turbo tuning etc. where would i go to get this done. how much bhp does it give you.

For the cost of you replacing things in the Turbo you may be better off sourcing a Turbo that already comes with what you want to put in yours. Have a look at Turbotecnics website to give you an idea. They should have an aftermarket turbo to fit your car. They also rebuild turbo's as well.

 

[Country Bumpkin]

Turbochargers need to be perfectly balanced or they will self destruct. If you are considering an upgrade, there is machining to be done to the housings too. Get it done properly by a company which specialises in such things.
With that in mind they will also be able to advise you on which turbo, upgrade, internals, mods etc will be best suited to achieve your goal.
Don't forget that by fitting a bigger or upgraded turbo you will require the additional fuelling to suit, more air requires more fuel which in turn can require timing adjustment depending on how far you go, it is better to control that than not.
An upgrade will also need control to regulate boost, and the additional fuelling. it is highly unlikely that your standard ECU will be able to regulate the larger injectors that will need to be fitted to assist with the new fuel demands.
On top of that, there is fuel delivery, your stock fuel pump may not be able to deliver the amount of fuel to feed the injectors. Then there is fuel pressure regulating, your stock FPR may not be able to hold a steady pressure.
I don't want to put you off upgrading, far from it but i do want you to understand that it is not a straight forward thing and the costs snowball.
Do your research and base your upgrade path on your budget.
As for how much BHP it gives, this is down to so many things, the size and flow of the turbo, which injectors, which route of cooling the air etc etc etc.
There is just so much to write here that it would take ages.
First and most important though is starting with a good, well serviced engine that has good compression and a solid bottom end. If not you will only bring about an early demise to it and be left with a bag of scrap metal.
We often have people phoning the workshop wanting 500 bhp and a budget of £500, it's never going to happen, be sensible with your choice and don't overlook the insurance hike too.
Good luck.

 

[emery1990]

oh right..i thought you was able to just get more airflow in the turbo just giving like i dunno an extra 15bhp. yer i want be able to do what your saying just as..for insurance and budget reasons..how much would you think itd cost to do what you say, say a turbo to bring it up to about 250bhp as i think i read on a nother forum theres a person that has the 1.8t engine running at 245bhp. also could i sell my current turbo aswell if so how much. wheres your shop, do you do remapping.

edit. is a hybrid turbo different to a turbo ? obviously does the same thing but are they made differently etc

 

[emery1990]

read about the hybrid turbos on that site..i would need one of them..they costs around £620 for my car, and can get up to 250bhp out of it..would i be looking at about a 1k job..bit more if you include labour..can i get the upgrades needed just on my car as it is now,, so i can like build up so that the turbos the last thing i need. ?

It states the turbo is designed for standard or mildly tuned engines..will tuning it abit get a better result or not really.

 

[turbonutter69]

read about the hybrid turbos on that site..i would need one of them..they costs around £620 for my car, and can get up to 250bhp out of it..would i be looking at about a 1k job..bit more if you include labour..can i get the upgrades needed just on my car as it is now,, so i can like build up so that the turbos the last thing i need. ?

It states the turbo is designed for standard or mildly tuned engines..will tuning it abit get a better result or not really.

The more you upgrade and tune yes the better the results. When looking at turbo's they give you a maximum that the turbo can deliver and handle. So don't just expect to bolt on a 250bhp turbo and get that figure straight away. You will need some if not alot of upgrades.

 

[emery1990]

The more you upgrade and tune yes the better the results. When looking at turbo's they give you a maximum that the turbo can deliver and handle. So don't just expect to bolt on a 250bhp turbo and get that figure straight away. You will need some if not alot of upgrades.

yer it says up to..so with the help of other upgrades 250bhp can be reached, id need to change brakes with that power aswell...but because i dont ever go over a 100mph..and my brakes atm can handle that...i likes acceleration,,and my car is susposed to do around 140mph..then wouldnt my normal brakes be ok.

Could i just put the turbo in then and just upgrade slowly after as i havnt got a money tree or anything.

 

[HDi fun]

The 1.8T engine (the 20 valve unit) is available in lots of states of tune. VW even did a 1.8 20v non turbo Passat for a while. It was a bit lame with only 125bhp, but, like all VW's still managed to get on with job pretty well. There was even a 1.6 petrol Passat which barely delivered 100bhp but they geared it low so even that wasn't unbearable.

OK, where am I going?

Whatever changes you make you will need to get the ECU remapped to make full use of them.

This is where the costs start to mount up. It would be better to save up a chunk of cash and make some changes in one swipe otherwise you'll be paying for each successive remap. Most tuners will discount multiple visits. Even so, I think I'd get impatient waiting for each stage.

You can probably push your engine in standard form to about 200bhp with nothing more than a remap. That might be a good place to start and then decide if you actually need another 50bhp and the additional costs it will incur.

The only query I have over the A3 1.8T is the brakes. The earlier ones I've driven always felt a little bit lacking. They're not bad as such, just not confidence inspiring. Even in standard tune with 150bhp you can still make pretty good progress in an A3.

Yet the S3 has often been criticised for having savage 'hair-trigger' brakes. Personally I prefer a set of slightly more fierce brakes that a set which requires too much pedal movement and pressure.

What you have got there though, as a package is a robust little car with a proven engine that can be easily tuned. Strangely, the higher tuned variants seem to be more reliable, less susceptible to oil sludging etc. Maybe VW always meant it to be a 250bhp motor!!

 

[MasterAuron]

Overweight car for its size. Probably doesn't help the breaking either. You want acceleration lose 200 kilos.

 

[HDi fun]

Overweight car for its size. Probably doesn't help the breaking either. You want acceleration lose 200 kilos.

What is the kerb weight of these? I never thought of them as being heavy, but perhaps that's the problem?

Weight reduction is getting fashionable in here at the moment. But there's not a lot to an A3 so losing 200kg is going to be pretty hard work.

 

[MasterAuron]

There must be something to them, the 3-doors are 1300kgs+! For a FWD Hatchback that's not exactly anorexic. Saying that, in it's current market sector, that's actually not too bad. I don't understand the trend of newer cars being heavier and heavier, it seems like a step backwards to me.

 

[HDi fun]

There must be something to them, the 3-doors are 1300kgs+! For a FWD Hatchback that's not exactly anorexic. Saying that, in it's current market sector, that's actually not too bad. I don't understand the trend of newer cars being heavier and heavier, it seems like a step backwards to me.

Blimey - I thought my car was a bit portly at over 1500kg but it's a lot larger than an A3.

It does seem that weight, or mass, is fashionable. Strange, when you consider that we're all told to lose body mass.

Your point is a good one. Making a car heavy, and supposedly safe, as a result seems to conflict with the ethics of good design. Look at an F1 car. Light - yes; quick - yes; stable - anything that can negotiate bends at 160mph has got to be stable.

They're light. But the monocoque is incredibly strong. THat's down to good design and some exotic materials.

So, why are road cars so hefty?

 

[WLBjork]

Where's the weight?

Metal Bodies (especially steel)
ICE
Air Con
Seating
Space and safety equipment for 4 people
Spare tyre
Tool Kit
Glass (windows, light fittings)

It all adds up...

 

[emery1990]

Yes i would like an the extra 50bhp lol..i will get a remap proberly this year, got to save for a lads holiday atm.

yer it is a heavy car, ive already taking out the spare tyre..that weighing around 25kg. isnt really much i can think of really, as i dont want to start messing around with the interior and that.

still looking for the answer for the price of bringing it up to 250bhp..from 210bhp,,as that what a custom remap gets me.

yer the brakes dont feel that bad to me. as im used to driving the more moving brake pedals on my old peugeout. but surely if you dont go no faster than you do anyway, whats the point in upgrading the brakes, quite expensice aswell arnt they, heard i can keep the calibers but needs bigger discs and calliber holders?.

 

[HDi fun]

Even if you're speeds aren't actually higher you're still likely to load up the brakes because you can accelerate to higher speeds between brake applications.

I wasn't really suggesting uprating them for the performance upgrade but more because I've generally found the lower spec A3s a bit lacking. This of course, is just my opinion. If you're happy with 'em then by all means keep using 'em.

 

[Country Bumpkin]

Look at it another way, if the car doesn't go, it's an inconvenience. If it doesn't stop, you're dead !

 

[emery1990]

It does stop though lol. and yes i see what you mean, probally something ill do but not straight away.