Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

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NeelsSanders
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Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by NeelsSanders »

Hi guys.

So I'm new to the vw's.
I've traded my corolla for a Golf mk2 2.0 8v. I've seen many people and YouTube videos getting a lot of power out of this cars. What I want to know is which would be the best way to go on doing some upgrades.

So first of all, I have a 32/36 dgev weber that I thought about throwing on there. But being unfamiliar with vw's and Google not giving me what I'm looking for, I've came to ask you guys for help. What kind of problems and challenges will I face in doing this? Which thing do I have to consider and what would I need to achieve this. And let's say that I take this route, what other upgrades is there to achieve more performance. Things related to cams, vernier pulleys, exhaust system, racing clutch etc.

Then taking a different approach would be to turbocharge it. So for this I'm gonna need a fuel injecting manifold and EFI system right. Which manifold do I get and which EfI or ECU system would you prefer. Again what is the problems and challenges that will arise from taking this approach. And will it be better to throw on a 16v head with its fuel injected manifold and again which EFI or ECU system would I use

Then just something else is, which head between a 16v and 8v is better and which one would you recommend.
Also if there is any suggestions on upgrades or tuning (engine or non engine related) please feel free to answer as this is still an open project.

Thanks guys
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Ashveer03 »

The big question is, how much do u want to spend on it..?

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by NeelsSanders »

I don't currently have a spend limit as I just want to know what the possibilities is for something like this and what challenges I may face. I want to get all the facts straight and know everything there is to know before I proceed in doing this tipe of things. So there is no spend limit for now and like I said if I go for the weber option I already have most of the parts. But I want to know which will be the best option by getting so replies and facts about it and there after doing a comparison of everything like performance, costs etc. I can also pick up a 16v head with manifold complete for R2500
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Jetta2 »

Carb route will work out waaaaaay cheaper than the potential 40K plus for going the forced induction route. It is not cheap to do a proper (read as using quality parts and doing things properly) turbo setup.
Obviously the turbo route will yield much better performance than the carb route.
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Ashveer03 »

I agree with jetta2.

I think, the way to decide a build is:
1. Decide what power u want to make
2. Then decide how much time u have, and whether u gonna diy or get it done by somebody
3. How much do u want to spend as a total.

Cash is ALWAYS the problem.

U cant ask for what others think u should build. Everybody wants a quick charged car but only a few can afford it. Anything is possible if u can afford it.

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by NeelsSanders »

Like I said this is just an idea for now. That's why cost isn't such a big deal at the moment. My main concern is:

For turbo charged
°What will I need
°Whats the challenges
°What should I take in consideration

For carb route
°What do I need
°what's the challenges
°what should I consider
°is it worth it and will there be a noticeable difference in performance

The other things is will it be better to throw on the 16v head and go carb on it or keep it fuel injected. Also which of the two will be a better option on both the carb and turbo route, the 8v or 16v.and what other customization can I do except for the carb or turbo upgrade to get more performance. I'm not expecting someone to tell me what to do or how to build. The main reason for the post is about what my options will be and what recommendations there is.
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Ashveer03 »

Well from the little knowledge i have on turbo charging an na engine..

For turbo charged
°What will I need
*Low boost
- If the engine has alot of km, u will probably need a rebuild
- Turbo
- Turbo Manifold
- Oil feed and drain lines
- Intercooler
- Boost piping
- New fuel lines, fuel pump, injectors
- Downpipe and exhaust
- Turbo intake pipe
- Arp head bolts/studs
- Head spacer
- Engine managament and a proper tuner
- Braking system upgrade bigger discs, maybe 4way disc brakes
- Proper suspension
- not too sure whether a stock clutch will handle abit of boost
* Higher boost
- some sort of spark upgrade (i dont know if an oem coil and plugs will supply enough)
- Definitely clutch upgrade
- some sort of cv upgrade
- Pistons
- Conrods
- Arp rod and main bolts
- Possibly bigger turbo and injectors
- I would do headwork and a cam too.

Thats pretty much the main stuff u will need (i probably forgot to add a few things there, whoever did turbo their NA engine can correct me) . There will always be the small things that u forget to add.

°Whats the challenges
- I think the only challenge is getting the cash, as i said earlier nothing is impossible it just costs a $hit load of $$$.

°What should I take in consideration
- As above, there will always be small things that u forget about. Before even considering a build, u need to first aim at what sort of power u want so u would know which direction to take. There are no shortcuts. Shortcuts = unreliable headache. Other things are gonna break aswell, that chassis was not meant to run a turbo charged motor so be prepared to allow for the extras. Ffz box will most likely break aswell.

For carb route
Well i have done this years ago. 32/36 is a great carb for a daily. If u want a little more then go for a 38Dgas

°What do I need
- Carb
- Adapter plates
- A good few air and fuel jets
- i would do a branch and exhaust
- probably headwork and a cam if u want a little extra
- throttle wheel for the carb (most efi throttlebodies have them)
- custom accelerator cable
- Accelerator cable bracket
- The oem pump should be able to supply enough fuel, if u have a problem there a facet pump is not very expensive.
- Depending on the type of carb, some of them require a return line so u might need a fpr.

°what's the challenges
- Jetting the carb is the most irritating. U can probably use an air/fuel ratio gauge to help u out abit.
- Adjusting the carb initially, when its running its pretty much trouble free. Alot of people will disagree with me, but in my opinion the 32/36 and 38dgas are 1 of the most reliable and tunable. If i havto use a carb again its definitely gonna be 1 of those. Not a fan of the dcd.

°what should I consider
- incorrect jetting can either give u too much or too less fuel. Both ways its bad for ur engine.
- these weber carbs are pretty scarce nowdays and good quality service kits for them are difficult to find, they outdated - not many people keep them.
- gears on the 38dgas is common to wear out and very difficult to find.


°is it worth it and will there be a noticeable difference in performance
- well if u have an oem vw carb, a bigger 1 would give u a difference. (Well it gave me quite a difference every time i have done it, a few times on a vw but more on fords) they all responded well.
- they respond better with supporting mods (well obvious)

Then again, i might have forgotten to add a few things. Above is the basic idea u have asked for.

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Jetta2 »

Easiest is a 2 litre ADY or 2E motor, rip the head off, get the stock pistons pocketed for a 16V head, pop in some ARP conrod studs, chuck on the 16V head, get the pulleys for a 16V, get a standalone management system, chuck boost at it and make very decent power and it will be reliable.

Stock ADY or 2E internals (pistons and rods) are strong enough to handle 1.5Bar of boost and the above setup has been used by many many people on this forum and they make scary and reliable power on higher boost levels.

Do a simple search on this forum as there are tons of builds and this same question has been asked since the dawn of time.
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by NeelsSanders »

Thanks guys that was the things I was looking to know. Ashveer03 thanks for the detailed answer. I already have a 32/36 weber and custom adapter plate. I think I will go the carb route for now with some branches and exhaust. As well as a cam. Then with time I will gather all the required parts you guys mentioned as well as what I find from other threads and when I have every thing settled I wil turbo it.

Any ideas for which cam to throw on there together with the weber for some more power and possibly a vernier pulley if it's worth it. And where can I buy it?
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Ashveer03 »

Nellis on the forum works for Eastas. Send him a pm in sure he can get 1 for u.. i think a 276 or 282 should be ok

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by NeelsSanders »

But going for a 276 or 282 is for more high end power. I'm not gonna race or push the car to see how many km/h I can get out of it. I want something that will give a lot of torque and performance on the lower side. Let say my friend stops next to me at a robot. That short distance from robot to robot isn't really gonna benefit from an higher end cam, will it? Isn't power beter to have here from pull a way and be able to stop at the next robot without even shifting from third gear to forth. I'm looking for something that will allow higher engine ram and low end torque. But not to rough as this will be my daily driver. How about the 272/276 hybrid which will give both torque on low end as well as power on high end?
Or perhaps any other suggestions
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by SHAUN »

I think you should turbo charge the carb motor.
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Ashveer03 »

NeelsSanders wrote:But going for a 276 or 282 is for more high end power. I'm not gonna race or push the car to see how many km/h I can get out of it. I want something that will give a lot of torque and performance on the lower side. Let say my friend stops next to me at a robot. That short distance from robot to robot isn't really gonna benefit from an higher end cam, will it? Isn't power beter to have here from pull a way and be able to stop at the next robot without even shifting from third gear to forth. I'm looking for something that will allow higher engine ram and low end torque. But not to rough as this will be my daily driver. How about the 272/276 hybrid which will give both torque on low end as well as power on high end?
Or perhaps any other suggestions
Speak to Nellis regarding wat type cam u want. He will have specs on them and probably give u the estimated powerband of each cam

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Ashveer03 »

SHAUN wrote:I think you should turbo charge the carb motor.
Lol, i always wanted to do that irrespective of the hard time it would give me.
There's not much info on blow-through and draw-through conversions though, its all gonna be trial n error.

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by SHAUN »

Ashveer03 wrote: Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:27 pm
SHAUN wrote:I think you should turbo charge the carb motor.
Lol, i always wanted to do that irrespective of the hard time it would give me.
There's not much info on blow-through and draw-through conversions though, its all gonna be trial n error.

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Ashveer03 »

Not much around. When u search for that all u get is a buick regal (i think thats the car, came from factory with a blow through system)

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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by NeelsSanders »

Ashveer03 wrote: Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:25 pm
NeelsSanders wrote:But going for a 276 or 282 is for more high end power. I'm not gonna race or push the car to see how many km/h I can get out of it. I want something that will give a lot of torque and performance on the lower side. Let say my friend stops next to me at a robot. That short distance from robot to robot isn't really gonna benefit from an higher end cam, will it? Isn't power beter to have here from pull a way and be able to stop at the next robot without even shifting from third gear to forth. I'm looking for something that will allow higher engine ram and low end torque. But not to rough as this will be my daily driver. How about the 272/276 hybrid which will give both torque on low end as well as power on high end?
Or perhaps any other suggestions
Speak to Nellis regarding wat type cam u want. He will have specs on them and probably give u the estimated powerband of each cam

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Well Shaun thanks for that input but before having to go through all that headaches I'd rather throw on the weber with a supercharger just to be funny. I think it's beter to go feul injected here with an aftermarket management, 16v head with some nice cams and a nice turbo and exhaust system.
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by NeelsSanders »

Hi again guys. I know I've gotten all of my answers and thanks again for everyone input even on turbo charging the 8v carb motor. But after doing a lot of research this last couple of days I've came to a conclusion, (made my decision using all the help from you guys mostly so thanks again) I've decided to go the fuel injection route with a 16v head. It's not worth so lighten the pocket now on the 8v carb just to spend again later going fuel injected to turbo charge it. Most of my research turned up to state that the carb route would be less efficient and somewhat unreliable. Also (even though going for a weber and considering a 36 dcd), it will be quite thirsty compared to fuel injected. Now this raises a new question but since it's still kinda related to the thread I'm not going to create a new thread. Also I know this has been answered in a lot of other threads on here, in fact this is where I've gotten most of my research. But like I said I'm new to Vw. And I haven't quite found a thread with a pretty straight forward answer and a detailed answer. My research turned up that doing the fuel injected conversion I will need the following:

Fuel tank upgrade
Fuel lines upgrade
Fuel pump
Fuel pressure regulator
16v fuel injected head with manifold
Aftermarket fuel management or ECU (considering ECU since I'll have more control with this option)
Air induction kit (cone or standard)

Now please correct me if I'm wrong here or if I've left
Something out or listed something that not needed. Then once again what do I have to consider here except for the budget and what challenges do I face here. Then also what ECU or EFI would be recommended and what kind of fuel tank, lines, pump and pressure regulator do I need. And can someone also explain to me please why I have to upgrade the tank and lines. The pump and regulator makes sense and I could understand if the lines have to be thicker or bigger, but why the fuel tank? What am I missing here. And lastly except for some cams, branches and free flow (or if there's and better upgrade that will gain more power and efficiency than branches and free flow please correct me, also which size free flow and what branches is the better option if going this route), what other upgrades can I look at and which other upgrades is a must for going fuel injected and turbo later on? And also just to gain some knowledge on this, can I get disk brakes for the rear wheels? If so does it come in a standard release for the mk2 or do I have to modify some from another car. And if I'm not mistaken this should be the hub, caliper, disks and of course the pads right? Could I get this in a kit of 2 hubs and calipers and get the disks and pads from a local spares store, or should I special order or modify ones from a different vehicle. And do I have to upgrade the booster and cylinder also.

I just want to apologize for all the simple and common sense questions. I know most of the answers is simple and plain common sense. And even though I already know most of the answers etc. I just want to make double sure of my facts before running into problems following my own head. It's always best to get a second input and some suggestions from others right? I'm really not someone that doesn't have a clue from cars. Im just the kind of person that do all my research, get all my facts straight and plan ahead before taking on a challenge or project. I don't like to run into problems halfway through something or get stuck and scratch my head and then Google oor answers just to find out I'll have to take a few steps back or sometimes start from square one and find out I've buggered something up or wasted money by going the wrong way about something or invested in something I don't need. I'm sure a lot of you guys can understand the frustration and agree with me on this. So I know most of the questions is straight forward or easy to Google or watch a video on youtube, but it's always best to get an straight answer for a question asked by yourself and not somebody else.

So thanks again for all your help guys
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Re: Turbocharging or throwing a 32/36 dgev weber on a Golf mk2 2.0 8v?

Post by Jetta2 »

You will need 16V pistons as well if you want to do a 16V head swop and leave it naturally aspirated.
If you drop a 16V head onto an 8V block, it drops the compression ratio down to 8.5:1 which is perfect for boost. But for naturally aspirated setups, it will be slower than the local Kia Picanto running on two cylinders.
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