Turbos: gen me up please!

[Cavcraft]

Is it a straight, easy swap to update a turbo charger?

My Audi 80 TDi (90 horse I think) goes pretty well but a bit extra oomph wouldn't go amiss. Can I juet get a turbo off a newer/bigger/faster TDi from the FAG group and bolt it on?

I wondered if the 130 engined model would be a good one to get one from one but are they a straight swap or would I need the manifold etc, and morre importanly would I need to uprate the pistons and all that shit?

If so I'd probably be better getting a complete 130 lump I'd imagine?

Cheers in advance fellow shiters.

[ashmicro]

if that's the same VAG SHIT engine as fitted to Octavias, the only difference in the 90/110/115/130 is the brain. If you want the 150, you need different injectors. Getting the ECU coded to the immobiliser might be a pain in the Arrse dependent on model/year. Maybe look for a 2nd hand Superchip or a Diesel Tuning Box on eVilBay?

[dollywobbler]

A bigger turbo isn't the only answer. With more turbo pressure, you need to increase fueling to match, so it becomes a bit of a science. As Ashmicro says, the 'brain' controls power more because it controls the fuelling - though some of these magic chips are far too basic and just push more fuel through. On petrol engines, they can end up running far too rich.

[wuvvum]

You need one of these.

 

 

I was always skeptical about the benefits of these gadgets, until the first time I put my foot down in the Rover of Doom. They really do work.

[Cavcraft]

Thanks, chaps.

Had pondered the tuning boxes but some sellers (on an internet auction site) seem to have crap feedback for these items and others seem pretty good.

Nice to hear of someone with actual experience of them Wuvvum, cheers.

[Rocket88]

How old is the Audi? If it's new enough, an ECU re-map is a far better option than a plug in box, and about the same price. Bigger turbos/injectors are a ball ache, and not a cheap option. The plug in boxes are basically a rheostat that fools the ECU into banging in more fuel, crude but effective, although expect large clouds of black smoke occasionally! You can get the same results by tweaking the fuel pump mechanically, and fitting a bigger intercooler. If you go down the re-map route, Revo are bloody good, dealers all over the place. Make sure whoever does it does a Vagcom diagnostic check first though...............

[Father Ted]

Cant comment on the Audi, but there is a world of difference in the PSA donkeys between the intercooled and non intercooled tubo dizzlers.

I concur, having had good results from a tuning box, go for one of those.

[Cavcraft]

It's a 1993-ish one, Col.

Probably before most of the electronic gubbins started kicking in, yo, which is actually part of it's appeal tbh.

[dieselnutjob]

I would prefer a remap.

 

I used to have a 90bhp Passat TDI with a similar engine (it was a 1996 model). That was Superchipped and drove really well.

I also cut the cat off and replaced with a bit of pipe that a blacksmith got to the right shape for me, and which made an upgrade to 55mm exhaust easy. Originally the pipe before the cat was 55mm and the pipe after was 50mm. The rest of the system was cheapo 16v petrol exhaust which got me to 55mm all the way through.

 

I never tested it but it felt like a 120+bhp car to me. Quick enough that it needed GTI brakes on it as well.

 

The tuning boxes do not increase boost, they just fake the modulating piston sendor (I think it's called) to inject more fuel. If there isn't enough air to go with that fuel then you will just get smoke and not power.

 

A proper remap will increase boost from (from memory) about 0.8 bar to about 1.0 bar which give more scope for more fuel and better drivability.

 

The 110bhp had a variable geometry turbo which was less reliable and the 90 bhp ECU won't make it boost any harder without a remap anyway. In fact I'm not sure that a 90 bhp ECU would drive a 110bhp turbo at all.

 

My advice is to get a proper remap, make sure that the cat isn't blocked, or remove it, and disable the EGR (just pull the plug off the EGR solenoid). Make sure your air filter is clean as well.

[Rocket88]

It's a 1993-ish one, Col.

Probably before most of the electronic gubbins started kicking in, yo, which is actually part of it's appeal tbh.

 

Too new for a re-map. A fiddle with the fuel pump [loads on the net] is the cheap way to go.

[wuvvum]

I'm pretty sure the system on the Rover controls the turbo as well. There's certainly settings for the turbo on the list of parameters on the box. It goes far too well and smokes far too little for the box to be merely increasing the fuelling, and the turbo responds differently to a standard car too - there's far less lag and the turbo kicks in noticeably earlier.

[tonedepear]

Dunno if it applies to your age engine, but I had a 53 plate 150 Ibiza and a £19 ebay tuning box (the one that boasts genuine VW plugs) and that transformed from a fairly hot hatch into an absurdly rapid machine. They claimed about 180 from their chip. I assume it just fooled the engine to over fuel/boost a bit like the old 20p resistors people used to flog to "chip" 1.1 106s but in a more sophisticated box, but good lord it made a difference!

 

It also didn't explode or owt.

 

Edit: One like this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TDI-PD-Tuning-Chip-Bora-Passat-1-9-100-105-115-130-140-/200516570946?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2eafb80f42 so possibly not of use for the older Audi job. Bah.

[Guest Len H]

I don't think it's possible to adjust the fuelling manually on the Bosch VP pumps, hence the need for tuning boxes, etc. Your Audi 80 does have an ECU, I think that ultimately controls the fuelling.

[shite_meister]

I would have thought that it was just the intercooled 1.9 TD without any ECU no? if thats the case then the T4 lot do what Colin says and dick about with the injector pump for more oomph. What engine code is it?

[Guest Len H]

Incorrect, the VAG TDI was one of the first diesels with (limited) electronic control.

[Cavcraft]

How do I find what engine code it is please? Cheers.

[Guest Len H]

V5/MOT, not that the engine code matters really.

[Pillock]

The older TD lumps like yours have different injectors for each power output - they're not that much removed from the ASV/AHV/ASU etc engines found in pre-PD VAG dizzlers. Mechanical injection, no fancy turbo geometry or anything. They do have an ECU for mapping and controlling all the sensors but they're not that complicated at all.

The only difference between my 110hp and the 130hp is the injectors - putting .205 nozzles on mine gives 130hp.

Between 90hp and 110hp the injectors and turbo are both different.

[dieselnutjob]

I think that the TD has an accelerator cable going to the pump, whereas the TDI has no cable as the pump is electronically controlled.

The TD and TDI are hugely different beasts.

Wasn't the TD an umwelt which means massively underfuelled and therefore very tunable?

[Guest Len H]

Yeah, but Cavette's 80 is a TDI

[Rocket88]

If it's an umwelt engine, there's much fun to be had by some fairly cheap mods to the fuel pump. They can be made to produce insane horsepower with very little expenditure, but be prepared for loads of black smoke.................a fiddle with the pin in the fuel pump [if you can find one, fit the pin from a 1.6 VAG td], about £20] get shot of the EGR [just blank it off] fit an intercooler, lit blue touch paper etc. About 120 to 140 bhp with these mods,

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Remember the old HOPA units? They basically increased the fuelling to match standard boost. Set it up on a dyno, up the fuelling until it pissed black smoke out and back it off until it was okay. A mate fitted one to a 525tds - went from 143 to 180 bhp.

HOPA's were good on the Mark 111 TDI Rolfs as well - same engine I'd imagine.