For Those in the know - AUQ Power Increase

[Klone]

Hi guys,

im thinking of joining the BT crew, or at least push for more power. I have sent various amounts of emails out for info, so i thought i might aswel post and ask too.

Before i start, im self taught here... only knowing what i read, so if im wrong please, correct me

Right:

I would like to take my AUQ up to 300bhp.. i think anymore than that is wasted on meunless i throw serious money into LSD and stuff.

Been reading websites for weeks about this, and some of the golf boys say 300bhp is doable on stock internals if you treat the car with respect and no "launches" (not my scene anyway)

Im thinkign 300bhp on stock rods is mental right? i would have thought the torque that comes with 300bhp would bend them pretty quick.

Im just looking for a guideline to work on, so i can take it to the couple of tuners i have emailed and say for sure this is the outlined spec or route to take.

From what i can see... the AUQ needs the following for 300bhp:

FMIC
Larger turbo
Manifold for larger turbo?
DP + decat - 3" ideally for best flow
Rods
injectors?

as the list above shows, im not entirely clued up on this

the engine is on 105k at the moment with full Seat and tuner service history, so assuming the lump is healthy... is this viable?

im hearing alot of "pointless on the AUQ, by a quicker car"

 

[traumapat]

My set up is stock rods and its been fine... it depends on what turbo you go with. You need to talk to whomevers doing the mapping

 

[Klone]

This is what i thought, if you curb the delivery of torque using the map you should be ok right?

do you mind me asking how much your setup cost? can PM if you want to keep it private (providing youll even divulge!)

i was thinking of getting AMD to do the mapping as the car is on their books for the stage 1.

just another spanner... the reason ive thought about doing this is the clutch is dying so i could just go SMF and upgrade the running gear at the same time.

 

[traumapat]

Its not the torque, i think its heat. My turbo makes the 320 without heating up the air dangerously. whereas hybrids seem to create more heat so can bend rods at lower power.
Thats guesswork... best off asking Bill. Mines hitting 1.5bar Im not sure how hard the hybrids are pushed.

My costs were 4k and thats in and drive out. Jabba also included a dial that reduces torque in real time so it can be calmed down in bad weather.. think drivability.

 

[Klone]

thanks for that... 4k isnt as bad as i'd imagined.

with your current setup then, i assume the rods are your limiting factor? im assuming your running all the supporting mods like 3" DP and the like... how is the car for reliability?

im most worried about the engine being on 105k, and have even considered rebuilding...

 

[traumapat]

the choice at the time was a vf23 which maxed out at 320 or vf34 which jabba wouldnt turn up past 320 due to rods but could hit 350 odd.
Vf23 was quicker spooling so ended up with that.

Ive had less issues at stage 3 than stage 2 so if its a good set up well mapped their reliable.

But, prior to the conversion I had a small puff of smoke on warm starts due to valve stem seals and the BT made it much worse so the engine needs to be tight and healthy. Worth doing a compression test to rule out issues.

I would still try to factor rods into your overall costs. Ive been very fortunate but if i do anything else mechanical it will be that. Its huge levels of hassle if one lets go.

 

[Klone]

well frankly, if im going to run the risk of bending rods after i have just forked out serious money for parts and labour i will just put rods in too.. thats another what £800?

i didnt think about a compression test... not a bad idea.

Im waiting to hear back from Bill, but know he is busy.. im going to ask awesome aswel see what they think...

could you summarise what you needed for the AUQ? as most "lists" i have read were just the generic ones that were all that helpful

 

[grahams81]

Just to confirm your thoughts on changing your rods, My engine snapped a rod a ruined the block on a standard AUQ at 150,000 miles.
Turbo & Map were standard, regularly serviced but drive quite hard, think it just suffered from fatigue.

 

[Klone]

Yeah I keep thinking that if I'm going to do this I might aswel get new rods.

I was thinking at 3am this morning: with the clutch and DMF I'm looking at 5k as a rough guesstimate??

 

[westallc]

how about get your car to stage 2 running 235 to 240 and then see what you wanna do as its a big jump fron your stage 1 setup to stage 2.

try not to chase figures

 

[Ronin225]

Since you havent got the turbo yet why not concentrate on the mods you'll need
You could have the rods fitted and worn in on a nice safe map, FMIC as this will shouldnt need changing to go BT if you get a decent one
Then maybe do clutch and flywheel, after this you'd be ready to buy, install and map

 

[Klone]

I have had so many different views now lol. The one that comes up most it stage 2, as I will need and fmic and clutch for that. Then if that's not enough then consider rods and a bigger turbo.

It's so hard lol I nearly bid on a turbo last night too!

 

[DaNnY_LaD]

Do the engine first....the 20v are getting on abit now and fatique is prone to the ones i have seen....just a set of rods can runs 400bhp safely......the oe pistons are fine ...for the time it takes id defo do the rods...

You'd would be a fool not too....for the money that it costs todo....

You can pratcically through anything at a 20vt with rods in......as much abuse as you can provide...

 

[joehirth]

Rods can bend due to spike in the map, a sudden burst of power is enough to bend OE rods at 250bhp, if mapped poorly.

3" exhaust is ideal although you'll get away with 2.5 & 3" DP (chances are that will be custom made anyway) 2.5" is good for 350bhp before it becomes a restriction.

Lose the DMF and go single mass lightened and balanced with a well suited clutch - something like Spec stage 3 or Helix 6 paddle will do nicely.

With something like this it's probably worth spending a little more money and getting a big turbo kit from BDM.

If I were you I would also want to get some gauges to see what's going on, EGT, oil pressure, oil temp, boost if you haven't already, AFR.

A few vitals IMO.

 

[Klone]

well for now i have put it on hold as i have a sneaky feeling something is up with the car... and i dont want to be putting money into it for it to go bang before i use the bloody thing!

before i consider the BT it needs a clutch too, and im considering SMF anyway... for the long run.

 

[seatcupramad23]

interesting read i've never owned a front wheel drive car with more than 280bhp but have driven mates 1.8t big turbo set ups, that where running 340bhp and while there where fun struggle badly to put the power down traction is major issue , if your going for 300 hp maybe more driveability will be compromised.

speaking to jabbasprt , they have have done quite a few bt setups with stock internals that gone pass 300bhp and stayed reliable for years , they said hybrids ten to put the rods under more strain , i think thats why in the end i went for stock k04 set up instead of k03s hybrid