Is Turboing a n/a a bad thing?

[superbro]

I have a 83 1.5. I have some guys telling me to put a turbo on it. But some of my good vw buddy's have all way told me that it would do more harm then good. What do you guys think?

[rabbitman]

I don't think the 1.5 ever came in 83, mustu been swapped.

I'm no expert but 1.5's need head studs if your gonna turbo it, even without a turbo it's not a bad idea.
The stock bolts don't go into the block far enough to hold good, studs are longer and grab lots more threads.
With studs and a turbo it'll rip .

[8v-of-fury]

Yes the 1.5 was only available in cars built in 1978, 1979, and 1980. No 1983 lol. If you are completely sure it is the original engine and is not turbo'd then it is the 1.6, and in which case is much easier to turbo.

If you do in fact have the 1.6, it will merely be a matter of fitting the turbo manifolds, making a fitting in the oil pan for oil drain, a turbo IP.. however the stock one will work for small boost (like an ECO), and someway to control boost?? i think that is the basics.. more or less..

If it is the 1.5... I don't think i would spend to much time or money on modifying it.. as you can readily find a 1.6 TD and not have to do anything to it but turn up the fuel and boost 

[zukgod1]

Throw in some head studs and boost away!!!!

[rabbitman]

If you look on the front of the block below cylinder no. 3 there will be a two letter code, like cy, jk, ck and such. Post it and someone here will know what engine you got.

[RabbitJockey]

non turbo and turbo pumps both can deliver the same amount of fueling.

[8v-of-fury]

non turbo and turbo pumps both can deliver the same amount of fueling.

thus a true statement! Yet non turbo pumps cannot deliver fueling relative to boost.. which is Ideal for turbo engines Yes you can run a turbo with out a turbo pump, but then you will have an ECO-Diesel as I stated before. You will be fine with a N/a pump, but you won't get maximum efficiency and power. Unless of course your just looking for economy and longevity?

[8v-of-fury]

Andrew unleashed the AWESOME.

it's a 1.5.. experiment with it! The only real way you will EVER know its capabilities, and you can have some wicked fun blowing an engine up.

[VWSmokr]

Quoting 8v-of-fury: "...You will be fine with a N/a pump, but you won't get maximum efficiency and power. Unless of course your just looking for economy and longevity?"

IMO there's no problem with added economy & longevity! My wanna-be d/d, driven 'reasonably', gets about 43mpg city/55mpg highway now. How much more fuel mileage could one reasonably expect from a VW 1.6 NA converted to turbo, while still using the NA pump?

Will the turbo system, again... with the NA pump, likely do anything for the 1000-2500rpm part of the torque curve? (Engine turns about 2350rpm @ 65mph in 5th gear, and currently has 2.25" exhaust to the rear except for its free-flowing 2.5" x 24" glasspack muffler.)

What, if anything, would an intercooler do to help a turbo-conversion that's still using the NA pump?

Lotsa questions; I'd prefer to get another 50-60K more reliable/economical miles from the current engine, while completing my collection of parts for a completely new 1.6TD, as well as buttoning up some other projects. (Not interested in blowing this up... this engine will probably live on to power an emergency generator on WVO, once the new TD is ready to install in the car.)

All answers, suggestions & SWAGs appreciated. TIA

J.R.
SoCal

[8v-of-fury]

What, if anything, would an intercooler do to help a turbo-conversion that's still using the NA pump?

Colder air is ALWAYS your friend. Whenever you compress something an energy is given off. The energy in this case is heat, anyway oyu can remove the heat from the equation, or reduce it, (intercooler) is a significant gain anyway you cut it. YOU may not notice the gains from adding an IC to an ECO (essentially it is what you have), but your engine will and it will thank you for it. By giving you another 50-60k adding an IC to an ECO is another economy thing.. you obviously aren't in it for POWER! so you must be in it for ECONOMY! taking the reliable N/a, cramming cold air in to it (turbo and IC) you are by far increasing the engines longevity. It will have to work that much less that over a time period it will cause less wear, and thus give you a longer time in service

Goodluck with that!

[hamradio]

LOL, turboing a NA is def. not a bad thing.


I'm trying to kill my 11mm 1.6 with 15psi and my vnt15.  I can't.

[Golf/Jetta]

don't slap on a turbo IP, you'll end up melting the valves and pistons.
but one could use it for a quick getaway (very sparingly) a switch or noob on the dash.

[arb]

I turbo'd my NA 1.6 and have it set up for an IC. Getting 10 psi booth max, and the economy is great. I have the stock NA IP. One advantage with this Eco-diesel is I don't get any smoke - all my fuel is burned rather than drawing attention from local law enforcement. (Dodge never sold a diesel version of the Caravan this side of the Pond)  So, TURBO it !!!  IC it, keep your NA IP. You'll see maybe 70 hp. :-)

[hamradio]

don't slap on a turbo IP, you'll end up melting the valves and pistons.
but one could use it for a quick getaway (very sparingly) a switch or noob on the dash.

Umm, why?


I could actually get higher egt's with my old NA pump than I can with my turbo pump.  I'm still not seeing past 700* F or so.

[8v-of-fury]

don't slap on a turbo IP, you'll end up melting the valves and pistons.
but one could use it for a quick getaway (very sparingly) a switch or noob on the dash.

Uhmmm... Care to explain this? They can deliver the same amount of fuel to an engine. I am kinda half sure you would melt pistons with a turned up N/A pump, as opposed to a turned up TD pump, quicker. To get power from an N/A pump you will have to have the fuel screw cranked up to have fueling for when the turbo fully spools, and doing so will give you WAY TO MUCH fuel for when the turbo is not fully spooled. Effectively melting your pistons and throwing a few rods through the block  However! throw a TD pump on there, and with use of the LDA you will be able to govern how much fuel is entering the engine relative to how much boost the turbo is making (how fast it is spooling). Thus you will never have to much fuel, and you won't melt your pistons  Assuming you don't crank the fuel screw up.

Best plan of action.. find a TD pump, find a turbo. run them BOTH at stock settings and add an IC. your car will love you. You've added more fuel, you've added more air, and you've made that air colder. A diesel engine would love nothing more than that.