Tuning my GTD please help me with all the questions

[Robb]

I have spent every last spare minute of time I have doing up a mk2 golf GTD over the last few months, the interior and exterior are now complete and its time to move onto the engine, Im looking for some advice from you very knowledgeable people as to whats worth doing and whats not.

The engine is a GTD, I have replaced the standard intercooler for a Front Mounted setup for more efficient cooling.
I have also just finished replacing the old nozzles with some SMOG new GTD ones
I will be looking at doing the governor mod as I believe this is a must for this engine? Im a little worried about this allowing me to over rev the engine, but feel it may be worth it to lift the fuelling restrictions put in place by not doing it?
I have built a 2.5" exhaust that has just a single GTi backbox to try and kill as much of the noise as possible, but allow a nice free flowing system
I have a K14 turbo, I have removed the blow off valve when doing the front mounted intercooler setup so boost will be controlled via the wastegate.
I will be looking to increase to boost to somewhere around 18-20psi via the wastegate, I presume this is possible, Im told these are very strong little turbos and even at 20psi this will be no trouble to them, Im not a fan of boost valves and much prefer to increase boost via the wastegate, is there enough adjustment in the standard wastegate to allow me to increase the boost as much as I require?
I will then be adjusting the fuel pump alongside increasing the boost to give me optimum power, just on the edge of the smoke lines, this tune will be done with a boost gauge and EGT gauge to monitor levels and make sure everything is safe for the engine.
Do I need to replace the head gasket also? Ive read bits and bobs about this but havnt seen a confirmed answer?

I am also changing all the belts, water pump and clutch alongside already giving her a full service including new plugs, filters and oil, just to make sure I dont kill her whilst increasing the power.

Im hoping to achieve 120-130bhp from doing this, am I dreaming to achieve those figures? For me diesel tuning isnt really about hitting certain bhp figures its more about the way the vehicle drive and the way I can use that power, I like to have low down power personally and sit at lower revs, but have plenty of torque sat there waiting on tap so that I do not have to change down when I want to accelerate just hit the accelerator and away I go, I prefer to keep my car well away from redline as I have always found with previous more modern diesels that the power quickly begins to fall off the higher up the revs I go anyway, its all about keeping it in the turbos optimum range

Is there any more cost effective mods that I have missed since spending alot of time reading this forum? Or is that about everything I can do to increase power without getting into extensive and costly work?

Thanks for any help and guidance, basically im looking to achieve the most drivable car possible without spending much more money than I already have on the old girl

[Rabbit on Roids]

K14 doesnt like 20 psi. 15 is about all the more you should run a K14, after that they turn into a big heat pump..

[Robb]

Apart from that is there anything else I should be lookng at doing?

Thanks for the heads up on that, Ive heard of people running silly big Psi from these turbos, but ill work with 15psi

[Rabbit on Roids]

put a K24 on it, a good sized front mount intercooler, crank up the fuel, and hang on. 

[Robb]

As said ive already done the FMIC conversion so thats not a problem, is the K24 a direct swap?

[OM617]

put a K24 on it, a good sized front mount intercooler, crank up the fuel, and hang on. 

You'll NEED a "good sized" intercooler for how inefficient that KKK turbo is!

[Robb]

I wont be putting a k24 on dont worry, as I said above I like low down power, I like a turbo that spools up as early as possible, lets face it a diesel rev range is pretty limited, the earlier within that range you can get the turbo spooling the better for myself it makes for a much more drivable vehicle for myself and the way I like to accelerate.

Apart from boost then which I will be keeping within the K14's limits, is there anything else from my original post anyone can help me with?

Thank You

[theman53]

From what I have heard a KKK K24 with a 3 inch downpipe spools just about as fast as a K14. No experience, just what I have heard. These diesels rev range is only as good as the GOV mod I would guess mid 5 to 6,000RPM.