Make your NA diesel (non-turbo) a faster car

[rabbitman]

Lucas, I finally got napa to order one and ups blue is "only" $21, that's probably not much more than what usps would cost so I took it.....thanks though

[2strokesmoke]

Definately use good quality,thick wall exhaust pipe ! You would be amazed at the difference,inside the car-No matter what the engine size,or vehicle.Cheap thin wall pipe,will cause resonance inside the vechicle.As stated before,the tailpipe needs to exit out from under the vehicle,after the passenger compartment,or you will also get more resonance.
I've had many vehicles,with large displacements,nice cams,flowmasters,glasspacks,ect... All have been very comfortable in the  cabin,by just following these two rules.
You would be surprised in the difference,thick wall pipe makes !

[8v-of-fury]

Now lets say for arguments sake I found a way to do the Gov Mod without taking the pumps top off... Yet I kept the fuel screw at or below stock settings to keep the smoke as a gray wisp behind the car, or not even there at all. I have researched and tested a method, that effectively does the WOT part of what the Gov Mod does.. with nothing more then a wrench and screwdriver.

The full throttle stop is what i messed around with, and after talking to a local yocal around here that deals with these engines/pumps as a hobby. We came to the conclusion that if you were to back to the throttle stop out all the way and then manually move the throttle arm through its entire motion to where it doesn't want to turn anymore, and then bringing the stop screw to meet it in this position.. your effectively "Shimming" the governor assembly solid. Instead of taking it out and adding springs, and making the gov mod active %100 of the time and at all peddle positions, we now only have this full fueling when at WOT.

I tested this theory on my bone stock 1981 1.6 N/A, stock intake, stock 1.5" exhaust, and stock pump. I originally had the fuel screw turned in about 1/2 turn just so i could get the thick black smoke on those hard WOT pulls, it bumped my idle to around 1050-1100 I'd say. So i backed it down to where the idle sounded closer to stock or lower, probably 900. Did the adjustment to the throttle stop and went out for a highway test.

The 400m on ramp alone showed 112-115mk/h for an RPM of 5100-5200 in 3rd with my FF trans. It kept pulling a little bit more but she was screaming, so I grabbed 4th and quickly (Not usually heard in context with a 1.6 N/a) climbed to and passed 130km/h. Last night I had absolutely no problems keeping up with my Gf in her 90 with the 1.8 whilst cruising the back roads.

I suggest anyone with a 1.6 N/A and bone stock pump go try this out, because I can vouch it is fueling... I wouldn't have pulled to 5200 in 3rd if it weren't

[Rabbit on Roids]

lol, so you can keep up with a girl in a digi 8v? is that supposed to be cool? seems just like wining the special olympics to me.. but you never know, your gf might know how to drive the hell out of it

[8v-of-fury]

you can keep up with a girl in a digi 8v?

In a bone stock 1.6 N/a with 900k on it? I'd say that's a fairly substantial feat. Gf is a maniac btw

[Rabbit on Roids]

it took me boost.. i still have yet to see a fast n/a diesel.

[8v-of-fury]

fast compared to what though Kev? What are you comparing to? a done up AAZ? I don't claim it to be "OMFG this car is fast", just substantially quicker than stock. That substantial increase allows me to keep up with a 1.8 digi? I'm satisfied for now. lol

[Rabbit on Roids]

a fast n/a, in my opinion, should keep up with my GTI (or something equivalent). it only goes about 120 on a straight stretch. my TD used to go 140 on a decent straight stretch.

[8v-of-fury]

Why do I need to go 200-240 km/h? I dunno bout you, but here 50 over is the end of your life.. This N/a can hum along at 140 km/h easily, that is as fast as I will ever need to go. Lets stop the wiener battle. Your cars faster. mine is slow. sweet.

[Rabbit on Roids]

no dude, thats not even what its about. not about whos car is faster. fast to me is, well, fast.. if a stock vw speedo can read it, then your not going fast. my buddies old 89 pontiac lemans would go 163 mph. and it was completely stock minus the hacked together exhaust system. im simply stating that i have never seen a fast n/a. or a quick one for that matter. i would honestly rather be quick than fast. thats where you win drag races, being quick.

[clbanman]

The thread is titled "a faster car".  As the sometimes not so proud owner of a N/A, I am aware that they are not fast.  However, with nothing more than the exhaust change I mentioned, I have made my car substantially faster.   I still have one of the slowest cars on the road, and no, it's not much quicker than my mountain bike, but I can finally keep up with traffic and actually pass a car or two.   For those in southern Ontario, I can now maintain the speed limit coming up the "mountain" out of Hamilton on Hwy. 6. without downshifting.   Previously I had to drop to 4th and was still down to about 60 km/h by the time I hit the top.   That is what I consider a major improvement, although I admit that's close to saying that I picked up $.50 and improved my net worth by half.

[rabbitman]

The thread is titled "a faster car".  As the sometimes not so proud owner of a N/A, I am aware that they are not fast.  However, with nothing more than the exhaust change I mentioned, I have made my car substantially faster.   I still have one of the slowest cars on the road, and no, it's not much quicker than my mountain bike, but I can finally keep up with traffic and actually pass a car or two.   For those in southern Ontario, I can now maintain the speed limit coming up the "mountain" out of Hamilton on Hwy. 6. without downshifting.   Previously I had to drop to 4th and was still down to about 60 km/h by the time I hit the top.   That is what I consider a major improvement, although I admit that's close to saying that I picked up $.50 and improved my net worth by half.

Right on, there's no such thing as a "fast" 1.6NA, but there are some that are faster than others and I think that's what this thread is about.

If you have a NA that can keep up with a stock TD or GTI then either you're a genius or the other car is junk or isn't being drove to it's max potential.

I can keep up with most traffic easy but just a few weeks ago I lost to my Dad is his '86 golf 1.8 CIS-E, I could beat him anyday in the twisties though .

[Rabbit on Roids]

my GTI almost keeps up with my TD.

and im getting a new diesel rabbit, im going to see just how much improvement you can do with one. already have a header lined up, along with a 2.5 exhaust and a custom intake manifold. im also going to be turning up the fuel substantially. i know its not going to be a rocket, and im going to get bored and eventually turbo it, but i want to see what i can do with it. besides, i miss having a loud car.. my old blue n/a was the loudest thing ive ever driven.

[8v-of-fury]

I have made my car substantially faster.

Same here, and that's what this thread is about. My N/a is QUICK. I can easily out do in town and highway traffic without struggling.. Has to amount for something, no?

[theman53]

FWIW My flat red rabbit would have eaten my 83GTI after the gov mod, intake, exhaust and everything else. The GTI maybe a little quicker on take off, but it has the close ratio and the flat red rabbit had the 4 speed.