Mk1 Leon Cupra R 225 Garrett GTX2867R Build

LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Hi all, sorry for the huge post but there's 4 years of overdue unrecorded history in one post, so here goes the Long overdue build thread.....


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This is my second Cupra R, the first one had been tampered with and kept destroying turbos (3 in 3 months) so was given back to the dealer after much warm discussion between me and them and at least 6 attempts at repair.



My second and current Cupra R was bought in May 2012 and has been a very, very slow project.



The car was bought entirely standard (boo) but I wanted a fresh slate to start with.



Since then the car has picked up the following mods:-



KW Coils and Dampers



Boost and Oil Pressure Pod

3” Cobrasports Turboback



Toyosports (Wellycooler) 600*300 FMIC



550cc Injectors

Full Custom Silicon Boost and Vacuum Pipe Routing



PCV/Breather System Delete in Place of Catch Can

N249 Delete

Projector Headlights, Headlight Washer System and HID Conversion



Gunmetal Grey Sprayed Alloys (before brembo decals re-added)



Walbro 225 inline fuel pump

R-Tech Custom Stage2+ Map



Forge 008 DV.

New water pump

Jetex Filter







(I'll try and remember the rest of what's happened in the last 4 years and how I’ve got to this point but I think the Big Turbo build is probably a good point to jump too and I’ll add the earlier stuff later)



Having always wanting a real sleeper car but never having:-



•The B*llocks to do it

•A reliable enough car to dare (read the missus said it would just break if I tinkered with it - see first bullet)

•The Money to do it (read the missus wouldn't let me - see first bullet)





Back in 2012 I emailed a local company ((Autotechnika) –Hope I can mention their name? who over the years have continued to be a real gem of a garage always being reasonably priced, very helpful and good quality work)) to enquire about a Garrett build. The basic costs of parts were affordable(ish) but all the supporting parts, labour and unknown extras I expected over a hybrid set-up led me to think I’d never grow a pair and go for it over the hybrid



But after the problems a pal had with his Astra after going hybrid (Vauxhall…reliability  ) and after much peer pressure when I got a bonus in March I decided (after a few tinnies) to go all out and buy an ATP turbo kit that (Quote) “Fits all 1.8T cars”.



I also enquired on the Facebook group about LHD/RHD issues and was reassured that fitting wouldn't be an issue. (Thanks t0s**rs (lesson learned, don’t trust people on the internet ) I also shelled out for a few engine goodies from IE.



So I planned to have…



GTX2867R



Cast T25 manifold (hoping for a bit of reliability and not worrying about cracking)

3” Turboback, I already had a Cobra System fitted so only required a new downpipe.

DM Forge Rods (AKS Tuning)



New big end bearings

Supertech inlet and outlet valves

New Piston rings

Valve stem seals

IE valve springs and retainers

Liquid Gauge (to keep an eye on everything).

ARP bolts

Manual belt tensioner.



And I’m sure loads more I've forgotten…



It pretty much goes downhill from here….



The build was planned to be done in a week at Autotechnika in Hull back in February 2015.



However… a few parts from IE weren't in stock and it was mid March before I had all the bits ready to go and could get a clear slot in Autotechnika.



So I borrowed my Nana's Clio (cheers Nana ) and waved goodbye to the Cupra for a week.



Multiple Depressing Phone calls from Autotechnika….

•“you've ordered the wrong Piston rings, they’re designed for another brand of standard bore piston”. Bllcks! £100 down the pan. – second set of rings ordered.

•No Torque values available for ARP bolts for rods. Alex from AKS on holiday for a fortnight and cant source the value anywhere.

•The turbo wont fit behind the block with the ATP rear mount manifold. Top-mount Tijpower Manifold ordered £400 down the pan

oThe Aircon pipes wont fit there either with a 3” DP down the back.

•Top-mount manifold means the turbo DP now fouls

oThe Brake master cylinder

oAircon pipes

oReally close to fuel lines and brake lines

oTurbo actuator fouls outlet or Turbo outlet now fouls rocker cover



oTurbo oil and water lines now wont reach (£200 down the pan)

oEtc. etc..



Build now 4+ weeks into the 1 week forecast.. Nana's Clio loan extended (cheers Nana )



After multiple attempts to get a local company to modify the supplied downpipe none were willing to have a come to the car or confirm definitely they would be able do the work, they all wanted it towing “to assess” which isn't cheap at all it turns out.



Eventually I was put in contact with a guy who came and had a look at the car and said he’d be able to do it but it’d need to come over the top of the block…not ideal but by this point I just wanted it finishing. Cue a 6-8 week wait for him to have spare time to do it. Followed by a phone call saying he was no longer going to be able to do the work (insert expletives).



At this point I felt it unfair to keep borrowing my Nana's car so needed to start looking for alternatives – not knowing how much longer the build was going to take.



One of my pals had an old (Clio again) car basically rotting under a tree (no MOT etc. and full of mould inside ) in the forecourt of his flat which was mine for £100 if we could get going. A saga in it’s self as Renault electronics which in my experience are cr*p anyway definitely don’t like being damp for 2+ years. Nothing worked. Entire dash stripped and multi metered to see where the problems were. Every relay/fuse was rusted to hell and none of the relays (bar 1) were actually still working. Once that was sorted and the battery had a good charge in it it sprung to life. £300 ish to get it up to scratch and through MOT.

After much sprucing up:-



Had to now cancel R-Tech custom mapping as the car was never going to be ready by July.



After much searching I found an (unnamed) local ish company, (I wont mention their name as the experience wasn't the best, I don’t want the hassle or slander legal case…they’re also now liquidated) I explained the situation and they said they could definitely sort it out but may need to ceramic coat the downpipe etc. to protect the components on the left side of the block “if it needs to fit we’ll make it fit”…(more expense) but fair enough, I’d have paid anything for it to be sorted by this point.



Multiple Depressing Phone calls from (local company)….



No progress



No progress



No progress



(6 or so weeks later) We’re not happy about running the pipe down the left side of the block, you need a new manifold (FFS!)



Multiple Depressing visits to (local company)….



Eventually it was agreed a new manifold wasn’t needed but the turbo would need to be rotated 180 degrees to allow the downpipe to run near the old turbo position, raised slightly and angled forward off the manifold to gain clearance.



Many a phone call and 3 weeks pass still with no progress. Due to not having flanges/material etc. I eventually started actually buying the parts for them and delivering them by hand to remove any reasons for the job not being progressed.



Last week FINALLY! The (most expensive ever) adaptor and Downpipe was completed (Minus EGT bung) and the car was recovered. Red Arrow Recovery can be highly recommended BTW.



The position today….



Car is back at Autotechnika for assembly and (hopefully) no more hiccups on rebuild.

I've ordered a truck load of silicon pipework and joiners to try and make up a custom TIP which will need to run down the left of the bay and coolant/washer/power steering reservoirs need to be relocated somewhere.
 
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RDS

OEM+
Aug 11, 2010
2,276
11
Newcastle upon Tyne
Wow, what an utter PITA. I've had issues with mine but nothing compared to this. At least (touch wood) it's now back where it needs to be with all the parts. Fingers crossed for you mate, looking forward to hearing how this is once completed.
 

jamie 225

Active Member
Nov 5, 2015
100
0
On a mission there dude fair play will be fast as f*** when it's all done I own a LCR and a zaf gsi for some reason the zaf just leave the Leon lol both on standard maps as well leon 225 and zaf 200 think it's time for a remap


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LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
The manifold that I tried retuning to ATP in July and due to not being able to sort paying the customs charges (that shouldn't have been applied) never got delivered finally arrived back with me on Thursday...
 

LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Wow, what an utter PITA. I've had issues with mine but nothing compared to this. At least (touch wood) it's now back where it needs to be with all the parts. Fingers crossed for you mate, looking forward to hearing how this is once completed.

Yeah, there's definitely been a few points where I could have just put a match and petrol to it!

Just hoping I've had my share of bother now and it'll be sorted as an xmas present to myself :D
 

LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
On a mission there dude fair play will be fast as f*** when it's all done I own a LCR and a zaf gsi for some reason the zaf just leave the Leon lol both on standard maps as well leon 225 and zaf 200 think it's time for a remap


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Definitely get it mapped, it transforms the car, if you can get it done at somewhere with a rolling road. Having had both revo and R-tech I'd definitely recommend getting it done live on the car :)

If a Zafira pulls past me after this is done I'll most definitely have a little cry ha ha
 

jamie 225

Active Member
Nov 5, 2015
100
0
I'm thinking about it just got to save some money up to get it done properly on the rr. The zaf is set up to handle 300bhp but iv put the standard map on as its a everyday car school runs ect. Iv Hurd a stage 1 on the Leon will bring it out its shell.


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LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Yeah I couldn't believe the difference from just a map, well worth the £££. Stage 2 was a bit of a disappointment for all the extra cash required for a small gain if I'm honest
 

jamie 225

Active Member
Nov 5, 2015
100
0
Can't wait to see the difference that's I all I'm doing to it stage one map and leave the rest standard.


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IbizaAlex

AKS tuning
May 11, 2008
532
0
Bedford
Just seen this. I've not actually had anything more than 5 days holiday this year, which was in March! The torque for the rod bolts is 50 lbft, cracked three times or stretch to 0.050mm.

We do a full off the shelf turbo kit for the top mount manifolds. So downpipe, decat section, oil and water lines, actuator brackets etc. I cant find a pic to show, but the downpipe goes the normal way.

Alex@AKS
 

LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Just seen this. I've not actually had anything more than 5 days holiday this year, which was in March! The torque for the rod bolts is 50 lbft, cracked three times or stretch to 0.050mm.

We do a full off the shelf turbo kit for the top mount manifolds. So downpipe, decat section, oil and water lines, actuator brackets etc. I cant find a pic to show, but the downpipe goes the normal way.

Alex@AKS

It's orite Alex you replied to me ages ago thanks :) the forged engine was completed around April. It's been getting the ATP kit to fit and getting pipe work to suit that's been a twat!

With hindsight I most certainly wouldn't have done it this way. It's ended up costing double what I thought and taken 67 times longer (and counting) than I thought it would :cry:
 

LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Can't wait to see the difference that's I all I'm doing to it stage one map and leave the rest standard.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe worth getting a supersize tip and open cone filter before mapping if you're going custom. They Seem to be fairly good bang for the buck :)
 

LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Out of interest what's most anyone's got out out of a smallport head, standard bore and and gtx28??? Anyone?
 

jamie 225

Active Member
Nov 5, 2015
100
0
Maybe worth getting a supersize tip and open cone filter before mapping if you're going custom. They Seem to be fairly good bang for the buck :)


Exhaust is standard pretty like the silence as I set off to work early hours had a filter so that's on the car but not impressed because there's no chatter noise when changing gear lol remap soon just need to do a few bushes and mounts first
d9619a92c85b2fd01f4c8c0b736dbdb9.jpg



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LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Exhaust is standard pretty like the silence as I set off to work early hours had a filter so that's on the car but not impressed because there's no chatter noise when changing gear lol remap soon just need to do a few bushes and mounts first
d9619a92c85b2fd01f4c8c0b736dbdb9.jpg



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The supersize tip and cone won't upset the neighbours. Had the badger 5 one on for a few years and you do get a definite dumping noise between gear changes & slight constant whistle/sucking noise at motorway speeds but i liked it
 

LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
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Nice and snug to say the least :/ pipe fitting holding turbo off manifold. Plan b required


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LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
Mk1 Leon Cupra R 225 World Slowest Garrett GTX2867R Build

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The oil drain has had to go slightly uphill which isn't perfect but the hose can be manipulated to sit. Just below the exit of the turbo. After thinking the turbo simply wasn't going to be able to go in its current location I'm happy as Larry we've just got it all in!

Many thanks to Ryan at Pirtek for being very patient and persistent, and to autotechnika for lending us your ramp and tools all afternoon, we got there in the end :)


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LongDave

Active Member
Apr 25, 2011
73
0
Hull
That won't be any good. That'll pool and blow oil past the seals

Even if the pipe is level but lower than the outlet? I think it'll sit in the pipe but not the turbo. The photo is decieving the pipe can be made entirely level. Appreciate this isn't ideal.l but can the seals not take any pressure?

Garrett mentions scavenge pumps? They any good if not?
 
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