To supercharge or not to supercharge..

miniyazz

miniyazz

miniyazz

Soldato
Joined
25 Dec 2008
Posts
5,976
Location
Sheffield/Norwich
That's the dilemma :D

Currently driving a stock na 2.8L V6 4motion Golf, for those without sigs enabled, producing about 204bhp, 200ft-lb torque, and about 7sec 0-62.

A stage 1 VF supercharger kit would bring that up to around 280bhp, 240ft-lb and maybe 5.5sec 0-62 (rough estimate).

Trouble is, it'll set me back over £3k just to get the kit, which I may or may not be able to fit myself depending on just how complex it is (or over £4k fitted).
There's also the question of what other expenses I'll incur.. e.g. will it need a remap after fitting? And do any other parts need upgrading to cope with the extra power? (probably not)

So.. is it worth it? And.. spec me a practical (e.g. Golf boot space and rear seats) but fun car achieving around 5.5s 0-62 for under 5k (that's not going to cost the earth in repairs) - and let's say <10yrs old.

Go :cool:
 
Why not chops your in and get an r32 if you want to keep the golf platform but have more power?
 
I guess you could bring the parts cost down to around £2k if you look for used parts. I doubt you'd need to uprate much else as the engines are pretty strong and it's not a huge increase.

Don't forget that another 5.5s may not have 4wd. That's the beauty of of the 4Mo. So it will sound mental (got to love a SC whine) and also be able to put the power down.

To get the best gains then yes you'd need to remap it.

And also consider the increase in insurance costs.

But you'll have a very quick car which is able to put the power down effectively.

EDIT: Oh and it will be faster than an R32.
 
It is, of course, a massive waste of money and it's not as if the Golf 4Motion is a particularly capable car to begin with. The smart money is on simply not bothering and instead buying something better.

But if you've had the car a while and particularly like it or its of sentimental value then I guess its a semi interesting idea. If it's not, though, then its a ridiculous idea.
 
Princey said:
£4000 for 80bhp? Not worth it.
Click to expand...

It is quite a lot of money.. more than double the worth of the car.. which should probably mean it's a silly idea!

Muffin` said:
Don't bother imo.



So it will supercharge?
Click to expand...

Yup, and to much more than 280bhp. Stage 2 is a further £1500 and takes it to 320-350bhp, and using a rotrex rather than vortech supercharger you can go further still (think 400+bhp).


Morba said:
Why not chops your in and get an r32 if you want to keep the golf platform but have more power?
Click to expand...

R32s are expensive.. they only made a few hundred in the MkIV platform and have quite a premium. Plus they only make 240bhp which definitely makes the upgrade not worth it based on a bhp/£ ratio. And MkV R32s are too pricey - cheapest on Autotrader is £6,500, and again not much faster (6.3s in the manual).
The other option there could be swap in an R32 engine which shouldn't be too labour-intensive for a garage as most of the parts are interchangeable but that wouldn't be cheap either.
 
I say do it. A V6 burble overlaid with a supercharger whine... in a 4WD package and a car that people don't expect will be quick. Fettle the suspension to address the boatyness. Then modify Haldex controller.

Want :)
 
Hades said:
I guess you could bring the parts cost down to around £2k if you look for used parts. I doubt you'd need to uprate much else as the engines are pretty strong and it's not a huge increase.

Don't forget that another 5.5s may not have 4wd. That's the beauty of of the 4Mo. So it will sound mental (got to love a SC whine) and also be able to put the power down.

To get the best gains then yes you'd need to remap it.

And also consider the increase in insurance costs.

But you'll have a very quick car which is able to put the power down effectively.

EDIT: Oh and it will be faster than an R32.
Click to expand...

These are a lot of the reasons I'm tempted to do it - it's a good car to do it on. And then debadge it for the sleeper effect.
Used parts could be doable but I'd need to look into it in a lot more depth as the kits come with some form of instruction, and let's be honest currently I'd just be following those with the aid of a Haynes/Bentley manual and an enthusiastic mate :p

[TW]Fox;21894876 said:
It is, of course, a massive waste of money and it's not as if the Golf 4Motion is a particularly capable car to begin with. The smart money is on simply not bothering and instead buying something better.

But if you've had the car a while and particularly like it or its of sentimental value then I guess its a semi interesting idea. If it's not, though, then its a ridiculous idea.
Click to expand...

I've had the car about a month ;)

What would you suggest then, as a better car to buy instead? Given the ~5k budget that I've imagined up (roughly the money from selling the Golf and not getting the supercharger.
 
Hades said:
I say do it. A V6 burble overlaid with a supercharger whine... in a 4WD package and a car that people don't expect will be quick. Fettle the suspension to address the boatyness. Then modify Haldex controller.

Want :)
Click to expand...

Modify the Haldex controller how? Out of interest :)

The other thing that might be of note is that the ESP traction control system tries to pretend to be an LSD by braking each wheel when it slips.. that could get very heavy on the brakes despite the 4WD with that much power. Is there any way around this (e.g. would an LSD completely solve this problem?)
 
How about:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3886065.htm


Or buy a Corrado VR6 and supercharge that :D

You also might want to consider a VF3 as they are pretty much bolt on kits and don't even need a separate oil feed from the sump.

I don't know a huge amount modifying the Haldex controller but a fair number of people do it to their TT's by swapping the controller for an aftermarket one. The Haldex normally feeds power for the front and then only switches it towards the rear when it needs to. The modified controllers are more aggressive in their switch of power so it goes to 4wd earlier.

There are also a lot of suspension mods that can be done by using R32 ARBs etc. My 4Mo is totally standard but it's something I've seen discussed quite a bit.
 
Last edited:
miniyazz said:
Modify the Haldex controller how? Out of interest :)
Click to expand...

Basically you buy a controller with different software that tells the haldex coupling to be more locked up more of the time, so it behaves a little bit less like it's only a FWD pretending to be 4WD :p

Personally I wouldn't - for the price of that kit fitted alone you could get, for example a very nice E39 540 with a 286 bhp V8. I would say that, though, cos I like barges. You might not, but my point is there is so much more exciting stuff you could end up with for that money than a quick Golf.
 
Tempting though that M3 is, I think it's a little old for my tastes (while I'm not averse to buying a '95 car, I wouldn't expect to be paying over £3k - and would be happier with less than £1.5k).

I can't find a lot of info about the VF3. I'll carry on looking but if you have a link that would be great :p

Cheers
 
Cheers re the Haldex info. I agree that there is probably better stuff out there, I just have to figure out what - and a 5 series is probably a bit too "in your face" (there's a lot to be said for having a non-desirable brand that's kitted out with creature comforts and with lots of power under the hood). Trouble is things like hot hatches just aren't made to be very powerful. Newer ones achieve pretty fast times but the older ones just don't go faster than around 6 secs, and the 4WD system on the Golf is fairly unique but really rather good for grip.
 
It'll be a massive waste if you don't diy and I think you'll be hugely disappointed putting that much power in a mk4 without shelling out loads on handling which ruins what the car is really about. Get a proper gti or just something faster
 
I remember the days when 6 secs was considered very fast :)

The 4Mo is definitely a unique car. A bit walloy and not that fast when standard. But a lot of the R32 parts fit on it and it can be improved. The question, though, is whether it's worth spending the money on an older car.

Also bear in mind that a newer performanec car may be in a higher tax bracket.

How about an S3? Faster than the 4Mo, chippable, with Haldex too.

Or a mk1 TT 1.8T 225 for £4k and then spend £1k on suspension mods and chipping it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom