A1 Caddy TD intercooler install

[935racer]

Seems like your IC is upside down, it would make a lot more sense to have the cooling fins up near the grill so they get all the airflow possible, right now its mostly hidden.

[veeman]

Seems like your IC is upside down, it would make a lot more sense to have the cooling fins up near the grill so they get all the airflow possible, right now its mostly hidden

It's true that the picture was taken at bumper level so it looks that way.  Although a small portion of the IC is covered by the sheet metal separating the grills, the majority of it gets airflow from the two smaller grills behind the bumper.  I figure that the factory put those vents there for a reason...  I think the airflow to the IC is adequate where it is.

That said, mounting the IC upside down may have been possible, but there could have been interference with the core support and hood catch. I didn't investigate that closely.    In addition, we would have had to come up with some brackets to support the IC so the alu return pipe wouldn't take all the weight.

I drove the truck a bit more today, including around 30 miles on the highway.  EGT's are down by about 150 degrees F while cruising (a good thing) and I'm really liking the performance.  Third and fourth gear seem to pull quite a bit more / longer...

[veeman]

>>XD, what size is the stock piping on them? is do you think it's possible at all to use the stock intake top thing? i was hoping to put mine on using radiator hose and pipe

When I measured things before, I believe the turbo outlet OD was just about 2" and the intake spigot was just over 1.75 inches.  

It very well might be possible to use the stock intake spigot with this type of IC piping, although you'll have to figure on making that sharp 90 degree turn just in front of the turbo.  Space might be tight.  I think the red rabbit in the beginning of the thread did it that way.

[veeman]

Here's an update on the results (and a dyno plot)  from the intercooler install...

http://vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=44403

I redyno'd the TD with the intercooler setup and picked up around 16 hp and 20 ft/lbs of torque.  I'm very satisfied with the results in every way.  EGT's are lower and more "consistent" power up top.  I know everyone recommends an IC whenever they start talking about mods, but this is proof that it works well.

[RabbitJockey]

wow 16 hp and 20 foot pounds, that is quite considerable, and more than a noticable difference on these engines.  what is your actualy max power though, hp and torque?

[RabbitJockey]

ok now that i actually looked, almost 100 hp and 140 foot pounds, it's funny that i am getting excited with these numbers, but frankly it is exciting, and quite interesting for our cars to be doing this.  how do you do in the quarter mile?

[veeman]

ok now that i actually looked, almost 100 hp and 140 foot pounds, it's funny that i am getting excited with these numbers, but frankly it is exciting

I was pretty excited as well.  For me at least, it's a thrill to see an engine that was rated at 68 hp at the CRANK and have it put down more than 30 more than that at the WHEELS with minor modifications.  

I know that most 16V's and other gasser swaps can produce more power than me, but around here diesels aren't very common and it makes for a somewhat unique project.  I guess we know all know that or else we wouldn't be on this forum.  

and quite interesting for our cars to be doing this. how do you do in the quarter mile?

Not sure.  I've done other sorts of racing with other cars, but I've never put a car on the drag strip.

The thing about the caddy with the TD is that it's not blazingly quick so much as it is torquey in a fun way.  First and second gears seem a bit short (five speed FF trans), but I get a kick out of the fact that I can roll on it in 3rd / 4th gear when cruising and it starts building boost and pulling solidly.  I have a gasser rabbit and I feel like I have to wring it out to get a similar reaction.  

Would it beat a 16V rabbit or a G60 car in the quarter mile?  Hmmm.. probably not, but they can't burn homemade fuel or get 40 mpg either.

[larry104]

Have you checked mileage before and after the mods?

[veeman]

Have you checked mileage before and after the mods?

Yes... I think that I've dropped 1-2 mpg by upping the fuel to go along with the upped boost (15psi).  Theoretically, the IC should make up a bit for that in efficiency, but I had to switch to winter petro diesel blend from B100 at the same time because of the cold weather, so I can't really tell right now.

More than anything, the mpg depends on whether I'm really driving the car hard or not.  Before at stock levels, I'd cruise at 60-65 mph quite comfortably and get pretty good mileage, but now that I have new tires and a bit more power, I always seem to be pushing it faster than that.  

The power is really "on tap" on the highway and it makes it fun.  It sits at 4-6 psi and when you roll on the pedal, it pins at just over 15 and starts scooting.  I know for a fact my gasser GTI won't pick up like that at 65 mph...

Anyway, I'm sure that if I didn't lead foot it, I'd get better mileage for sure, but at at that point I'd be staying out of the boost and what's the point in that?  Heh-heh...

[larry104]

1 to 2 mi/gal is a minimal hit and well worth it for performance like that.  Good to know. Thank you. When I started down this hot-rodding path with the Jetta, I was concerned about ruining the fuel economy. I used to get mid to high 40s. Can't wait to get it on the road. Just ordered a muffler, and some mandrel bends and straight pipe from Burns Stainless for the rest of the exhaust. It's getting there.

[RabbitJockey]

haha i have the same tranny as well.  i imagine our cars drive very similar, first especially is short.  second is kinda close, it really pulls hard so i like it, when ever i wanna impress a passenger i throw it in second and mash it.  but evne to throw it in 3rd or 4th gear and it's really a nice wham of power.  and i  have same on tap power on the highway(check the smoke tales thread for the dodge i pwned), accept i have a closed wastegate so i go all the way to 25 pounds(you should turn your boost up more to like 20 seriously)  in 5th gear i just mash it and i'm going 100 in no time, whats really nice is putting it in 4th on the highway, man it really blasts off that way, i just have to watch it and not hold 25 psi for too long.  can't wait to intercool my car though, but for real, turn up your boost, don't be a chicken, you have an intercooler and a pyrometer, so you've got nothing to be afraid of, 20psi is pretty safe imo, as long as your turbo is in good shape go for it.

[Hillshy]

really nice neat work there veeman, i like the route taken, i agree about using stainless pipe no rust!

the IC looks really snug there, i still can't decide where to put my IC ,(BUS) application.

a drop of 1/2 mpg is well worth the extra gain,



Trevorbr, you mentioned pyrogauge, in other words a EGT gauge? I'm uk'r different lingo an all, just needta check.

[veeman]

but for real, turn up your boost, don't be a chicken, you have an intercooler and a pyrometer, so you've got nothing to be afraid of, 20psi is pretty safe imo, as long as your turbo is in good shape go for it.

The turbo has about 15k miles on it, so that should be fine.  I'd love to run 20 psi, but I have a stock head gasket and bolts on a mechanical head.  I need to do some research here in the archives to see how high I can go before dooming my headgasket.  I'll play around with it a bit more after I get my pump modded by Giles.  As it is now, if I turn it up, it idles at 1000 and hangs slightly oi the throttle between gears.  Not a big fan on that.

a drop of 1/2 mpg is well worth the extra gain,

Originally I said mileage went down 1-2 mpg, but I've been paying more attention recently and I'd say it's probably closer to 3 mpg with spirited driving.  A bit more when I'm hammering on it.  Doesn't really matter to me since it already gets better mileage than most cars on the road as it is...

[RabbitJockey]

i would say 20 psi is the limit if you're afraid of blowing a headgasket, i have  the same thing, mechanical lifter td, stock everything, i run 25 psi (not all the time) and i haven't had any trouble,  well, i kinda think i might have a blow hg, but i dunno, it liked using coolant very slowly for a bit but it hasn't been doing it here of late...

[AAZJetta]

I was wondering how the stock 020 will handle all these new mods.  How much horsepower can the the box hold without undue wear or premature failure problems?