View Full Version : Ibiza 2.0 GTI 16v Cupra 2 - Tuning for dummies?
Hey everyone!
I recently bought a -99 Ibiza 2.0 GTI 16v Cupra 2 (150bhp), all standard, and i'm eager to tune it for some more bhp. I've tried searching the forums but couldn't really find any thread that concerned my questions, sorry if I've missed that thread.
Anyways, I've never tuned a car before, and I don't have alot of experience with cars (engines) in general, this is the first time I've owned a car worth more then €500.
My question is, what should I do with my beeza to get some more bhp? I'm thinking (dreaming) of around 180-200bhp.
On a sidenote, I only want to make mods that won't cause alot of damage to the engine.
I love cars and I want to get more knowledge on how to tune etc, but for now I don't have that expertise so the mods cannot be too advanced. I'm technical though, and I do rtfm. :rolleyes:
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
David
Well, I've talked to a friend that has a bit more knowledge then me.
I've decided to get a new induction kit, but I have no idea which ones that are the best for my car.
I will probably also chiptune it, but I haven't been able to get a hold of ACE Competition yet, so I don't know how much bhp it will give, nor the price of such an installation.
If anyone of you have advice on induction kits for my beeza, please post here. :funk:
to be honest, hold onto your money, for now
to get proper power out of the 16v you require engine work, a chiptune may give you 10bhp/lbft for £300 or so
to get more power, you need to change the camshafts, modify the ports of the head etc, big bucks comapred to turbo tuning, for cams and headwork incl fitting you are probably looking at £1500, plus then the cost of remapping the car to suit the profiles of the new cams and improved gas speed through the head
think long and hard before you spend your cash
to be honest, hold onto your money, for now
to get proper power out of the 16v you require engine work, a chiptune may give you 10bhp/lbft for £300 or so
to get more power, you need to change the camshafts, modify the ports of the head etc, big bucks comapred to turbo tuning, for cams and headwork incl fitting you are probably looking at £1500, plus then the cost of remapping the car to suit the profiles of the new cams and improved gas speed through the head
think long and hard before you spend your cash
Thanks alot for that advice, but what about the induction kit? And isn't there anything else you can do to get some more bhp, a better sound and improved torque? (That isn't £1500) :headhurt:
Dinky Dave
03-04-2007, 19:03
Sort your air filter out.... some say drill you standard air box and use a panel filter, if you don’t wanna do that then pipercross or green cotton, people say that K&N are too oily.
Cat back Exhaust system would be a good idea, along with a 4-1 manifold but they hard to find (TSR use to make them but now they closed). I would say a decat but you will lose some bottom end torque but the need to rev the 16v engine to get anywhere plus it will rev more freely.
After that it'll be big bucks as I have already found out! You will need a ported and polished head, uprated cams (260 or 268) 268 are right on the limit of the stock ecu and the car idle very lumpy.
Along with the head and cams you will need a remap to get the car running right.
After that you will be looking at throttle bodies, if you wanna rev the car more then the bottom end will need doing to. See the Cordoba section and look for F2 Stu’s thread.
to be honest, hold onto your money, for now
to get proper power out of the 16v you require engine work, a chiptune may give you 10bhp/lbft for £300 or so
to get more power, you need to change the camshafts, modify the ports of the head etc, big bucks comapred to turbo tuning, for cams and headwork incl fitting you are probably looking at £1500, plus then the cost of remapping the car to suit the profiles of the new cams and improved gas speed through the head
think long and hard before you spend your cash
Agreed - whoops where did that £7k go?:doh: :funk: :whistle:
Sort your air filter out.... some say drill you standard air box and use a panel filter, if you don’t wanna do that then pipercross or green cotton, people say that K&N are too oily.
Cat back Exhaust system would be a good idea, along with a 4-1 manifold but they hard to find (TSR use to make them but now they closed). I would say a decat but you will lose some bottom end torque but the need to rev the 16v engine to get anywhere plus it will rev more freely.
After that it'll be big bucks as I have already found out! You will need a ported and polished head, uprated cams (260 or 268) 268 are right on the limit of the stock ecu and the car idle very lumpy.
Along with the head and cams you will need a remap to get the car running right.
After that you will be looking at throttle bodies, if you wanna rev the car more then the bottom end will need doing to. See the Cordoba section and look for F2 Stu’s thread.
Man, that's great information. I don't want to drill my air box, so I will probably go with a green cotton. I'll check decat out, and maybe I can find someone who is willing to sell the 4-1 manifold. :rolleyes:
I also read somewhere that TSR opened up again, I'll have to go look again.
This will be the first things I'll waste money on, but I'll read up some more on cams and head.
Thank you so much for the info.
The best, David.
the 'TSR' 4-1 manifold wasn't made by or for TSR, you can get the same manifold from http://www.topgear.co.uk/acatalog/Topgear_Manifolds.php , listed under golf mk3 fitment.
Its nicely made but poor design.
thewiizard
04-04-2007, 00:56
Stu, does that manifold really fit the 16V? Might have to make an impulse buy tomorrow if it does :)
if your primary use is a road car, I would leave the engine fairly stock, make sure its well serviced - if you must then a 100 or 200 cell metal matrix cat, a 2.25" system from someone like milltec. I would not fit a tubular manifold - the ones that fit with a cat in place are crap design. As has been said already, keep the std airbox and perhaps modify it to get more COLD airflow, K+N would be my choice of panel filter, the 16V does not use a hot wire airflow sensor so a bit of oil will do precisely nothing....pipercross filters are crap IMO, not very long lasting. I would not install any 'chip', most are crap.
What I would spend my money on is a pukka gearbox - get yours rebuilt with a quaife diff and a 3.9 final drive, you will think you have gained 40hp. While its off, get your flywheel lightened to about 10kg and fit an oem (sachs) mk3 golf VR6 clutch.
If you still have money burning a hole in your pocket, then better brakes and standard height uprated suspension - Bilstain do a set now thats more sporting but std height, dyeing to try it. 25mm rear arb and 21mm front arb are also useful additions.
Get some good tyres.
If you still have money, I would consider engine work but once you start this, its going to cost a lot to do anything really worthwhile - upwards of £1500 - and on a road car that didn't have the above done, I wouldn't bother. The very best tuned abf I have seen with head/cams/remap that was still running std engine management just about made 200hp, and this was exceptional rather than the rule which is usually more like 180hp, this was probably 2K to do. You would be faster with the gearbox mods.
Rob
thewiizard
04-04-2007, 10:17
Rob, do you fancy rebuilding a gearbox for me? i think mines getting shakey and a shit hot replacement would make my pants tight!
If your not able do you know anyone that would? :D
if your primary use is a road car, I would leave the engine fairly stock, make sure its well serviced - if you must then a 100 or 200 cell metal matrix cat, a 2.25" system from someone like milltec. I would not fit a tubular manifold - the ones that fit with a cat in place are crap design. As has been said already, keep the std airbox and perhaps modify it to get more COLD airflow, K+N would be my choice of panel filter, the 16V does not use a hot wire airflow sensor so a bit of oil will do precisely nothing....pipercross filters are crap IMO, not very long lasting. I would not install any 'chip', most are crap.
What I would spend my money on is a pukka gearbox - get yours rebuilt with a quaife diff and a 3.9 final drive, you will think you have gained 40hp. While its off, get your flywheel lightened to about 10kg and fit an oem (sachs) mk3 golf VR6 clutch.
If you still have money burning a hole in your pocket, then better brakes and standard height uprated suspension - Bilstain do a set now thats more sporting but std height, dyeing to try it. 25mm rear arb and 21mm front arb are also useful additions.
Get some good tyres.
If you still have money, I would consider engine work but once you start this, its going to cost a lot to do anything really worthwhile - upwards of £1500 - and on a road car that didn't have the above done, I wouldn't bother. The very best tuned abf I have seen with head/cams/remap that was still running std engine management just about made 200hp, and this was exceptional rather than the rule which is usually more like 180hp, this was probably 2K to do. You would be faster with the gearbox mods.
Rob
Woha! More knowledge! :funk:
I've talked alot with F2 Stu, "we've" decided to get a green cotton panel filter and modify the airbox like http://www.seatcupra.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=6.
There is bigger brakes installed already with red coilovers, not sure about the mm but I'll check that out. (Previous owner just had them installed before he sold the car to me.)
I would like to lower the car, no more then 30-40mm but I have no clue what kind of suspension I should get. Any ideas?
Also, the tyres that are fitted on my white multispoke alloys are shit and I've already planned on getting new ones within 2 weeks.
After that, I haven't decided, people has told me to get a cat back exhaust system (I was thinking Milltec) and the 'TSR' 4-1 Manifold - but now I hear about this pukka gearbox and vr6 clutch which might be something for me instead.
Worth saying is that I won't be doing this in the next 2-3 months, because I have a £4000 loan to pay on the car. I still live at home and have almost no expenses though, so in 2-3 months I should be ready to spend more money on tuning. The reason I'm asking now is because I want to get alot of knowledge before I start trashing the best thing I've ever owned..
Anyways, this is invaluable information for a newbie like me. Thank you, everyone! :cartman:
Man, that's great information. I don't want to drill my air box, so I will probably go with a green cotton. I'll check decat out, and maybe I can find someone who is willing to sell the 4-1 manifold. :rolleyes:
I also read somewhere that TSR opened up again, I'll have to go look again.
This will be the first things I'll waste money on, but I'll read up some more on cams and head.
Thank you so much for the info.
The best, David.
It occured to me this morning that since you have a LHD car, you can get on supersprint which will be a better design and will not involve bashing the bulkhead
Unfortunetly supersprint doesnt do a RHD fitment:(
Stu, does that manifold really fit the 16V? Might have to make an impulse buy tomorrow if it does :)
It can be 'made' to fit - but you'll need £300worth of uprated engine mounts to stop it shaking to bits - then there's the bulkhead alteration and work out how to couple the cat to the manifold
thewiizard
12-04-2007, 16:03
It can be 'made' to fit - but you'll need £300worth of uprated engine mounts to stop it shaking to bits - then there's the bulkhead alteration and work out how to couple the cat to the manifold
*watches 4 branch idea float down the swanny*
I'm more interested in this suggestion by RobT now-
What I would spend my money on is a pukka gearbox - get yours rebuilt with a quaife diff and a 3.9 final drive, you will think you have gained 40hp. While its off, get your flywheel lightened to about 10kg and fit an oem (sachs) mk3 golf VR6 clutch.
--
Any ideas where i can get a gearbox rebuilt with the above trimmings? If i can find somwhere ill go buy a spare box and rebuild the sucker.
gregclarks
04-05-2007, 09:57
I too am highly interested in the above mods, i have the stamdard front arb and i am desperately trying to source the rear and gearbox mods suggested by RobT. let us know, as ihave not heard ofthis done before, any indication of approximate costs?
This gearbox sounds great as i really feel the standard unit is lacking!