seat leon engine conversion to a cupra engine or adding turbo, HELP

[BCM]

I don't see the point either, one of my mates done the same as you(nearly)
He had a X plate civic and it was a 1.4, he done all this work to it, brakes suspension, teg seats, exhaust bla bla bla, he then wanted to go faster so he put a VTI engine in it! now looking back he totaly regrets it, was a pain to sell and never got much money back, he would have been far better off puttin all his mods on a VTI.

 

[Jay20VT]

yep, think all agree it is better to sell your car and buy a cupra. I reckon if you bring the leon SE back to standard and sell any mods and things you take off you could raise some extra cash towards your new motor. An early cupra is not expensive and think of all the things you would get as standard on a cupra, like 17" alloys, turbo, ABS, Cupra trim, TCS, the list goes on. These extra's will cost alot of money when bought individually, seriously mate it dont matter what resources you have and what you do, a converted SE will never be as good as a stock cupra, and what about all the problems you have along the way.

I mean, their are guys on this site that have had no end of problems from just chipping there cars, and now they wish they had not done it in the first place. That is nothing compared to the issues you could potentially have.

Another thing, how much mileage does your SE have? If its higher than say 60,00miles the engine will not cope with the pressure a turbo will introduce to the engine.

Dont take this the wrong way, but my words are only for the best and is exactly what I would consider if I was you.

 

[Leon.SJ]

Hi mate, thought I'd drop my 2p's worth into this as a fellow 1.8 SE owner!

Firstly, what year is your car? Mine is a 2004 and it has exactly the same interior spec as the FR/Cupras of that time (climate control, sports seats etc) so that may not be an issue, but it depends which year your car is.
I've thought about various engine options, I disregarded the turbo option on the basis that the Cupra exists, and I could never jusitfy the cost due to that. If you want to do the turbo conversion I'd suggest doing something very different, rather than a transplant. You might want to find a 6-speed 'box too to replace the standard 5 in the SE.
Also, if you start with a Cupra, with a remap, CAI etc you'll be lookng at some serious power for not too much money. Add the cost of the conversion on to that though and you'll be talking serious money!
I'd be more inclined to go for the V6 swap; if your plan is to make a special, one-off car then that would definitely be better than just a turbo (although you could even turbo the V6 later, as someone suggested!). Just remember it'll still be front-wheel drive, and won't have the R32's traction. Not sure if the full 4WD transplant has been done...?
After some thought though, I decided just to keep my car as it is for now, save up for a year or two and buy something quicker then. I can't see that you'd ever make the money back on such major work.

 

[untouchable]

hi guys thanks for all the info and is all appreciated
firstly bcm i have a civic vti and was thinking about the type r but becuase the leon is 5 door i thought it would be better
and i am happy with all the exterior and interior mods on the leon and i just want it to have some speed and thought it would be completed with the engine conversion
n thanks for the v6 suggestion but i am only getting hold of the lcr donour car and a r32 is very rare
leon sj did you do any research on the transplant if you did can you give me any tips on it
thanks

 

[chriswilks]

you have a vti civic with 160 bhp???if so just strip it down make it as light and fast as possibble without spending a fortune and theres your fast(ish) car!!!!!????
a std cupra 180 wont be that much faster due to the weight especially off the line.
why not use the vti as your thrash about car and keep your leon as your sensible five door run around???
even something like dropping people off or going somewhere with family in a std car is more than acceptable!!my parents hate the d/v!! surely this is the sensible choice.im not trying to be awkward just trying to be honest.

 

[BCM]

Exactly, keep the vti as your toy and the leon as your sensible car!
Makes perfect sense!
And the vti's with an exhaust and filter sound the nuts!

 

[untouchable]

hi
yeh i would but can only get insured on one at a time as havnt got the money to keep and run both, so was thinking about selling the civic and leon and buying a new type r or just converting the leon

i know doing the conversion sounds very stupid to alot of people on here but its just a personal thing why i want to do it,

but the reason mainly why i was thinking leon over new civic becuase its five door and its a turbo and dont know about the maintenance cost but i checked online and it said that the leon was more economical

so its either fast three door civic type r

or ok speed 1.8 seat leon five door

taking in that i want speed decent on fuel and maintenance and also good room inside
thanks guys for all advice so far

 

[Leon.SJ]

hi
yeh i would but can only get insured on one at a time as havnt got the money to keep and run both, so was thinking about selling the civic and leon and buying a new type r or just converting the leon

If you sold both would you have enough to buy a Cupra? If you could get a post-facelift model you'd have the looks to go with the power, and it would be a better starting point to get more power in the future!

 

[untouchable]

hmm tru but im not to keen on selling my current leon

but will just have to see how it goes

thanks

 

[speedsix]

Turbo conversion/engine transplant is a really, really, really, really, really terrible idea for so many reasons. I shudder to think how much it would cost

Sorry but you really don't want to be going down that route, especially when what you're after is already available relatively cheaply. I know people get really attached to their cars but what mods are so hard to remove from your current car?

 

[untouchable]

yeh i know and i jus wanted to complete the project really and wanted it to be a bit faster
well firstly i had full respray
alloys which i know can be changed but really suit the car at the current state
fully dehandeld and flush so doors are opend with fob
lowered
full cat 1 alarm and remote start
boot build
custom interior
other bits and bobs

well if everyone doesnt recommend the conversion
since its a petrol i know i could just modify the engine but dont think i would get much of a more gain in bhp, can anyone recomend anything and how much the bhp would increase, e.g remap etc
thanks

 

[untouchable]

ok well guys after all the advice guess i should come clean

the best quote for insurance on a lcr was 3k and id am not stupid enough to pay that no matter how much i love them

so i thought id use the money and do an engine conversion and not record it until i get my years no claim which would drop ma insurance down quite a bit
and make it reasonable

so thats the reason why i dont want to buy a straight cupra and why i was asking about the conversion, i knw its a very bad idea and very risky but just love cupra's so much and this would seriously complete things

but everyone seems put off by it becuase of the amount of work

 

[chriswilks]

risky enough not declaring such things as an air filter or an exhaust.....and maybe a remap especially if you have a bit of a bump.ive been guilty of that myself in the past on my ibiza back in the day!!!nearly got screwed over big time!!!
how old are you??im 21 and got quoted bout a grand on an my lc (std) with no no claims and 3 pts.....3k seems ridiculous!!
ur car must look pretty sweet as it is, and when they look great dont worry bout goin fast!!!although it is hard!!!!!

 

[untouchable]

hi
thanks mate, yeh i am really happy with the looks and wanted the power to go with it, im currently 18 and cant touch a lcr under 3k.
i guess i should do another thread, illegal but i want to do it lol
but could you suggest anything on improving the power without doing the conversion, even if it was about 170 odd i would be satisfied but becuase it isnt a turbo there are alot of less ways to improve it

the most annoying thing is people ram there cars up my arse n expect me to race thinking its a lcr but cant do nothing of the sort becuase its only 130 bhp lol not saying im just looking for power to race but even my vti satisfies me more when i drive it then the leon

i understand the risk and know i will probly get screwed silly if i have a bump but its a risk i will take personally

i think i should have told my confession alot sooner lol

 

[fozzybear]

you,re on about getting a donour leon cup/r to do this conversion,well i,d like to see you find a decent one for a couple of grand,then you need a couple of grand for fitting then you,ll have to have all braking system transfered from donour car,say another grand.then you,ll have to completely rewire ,say another grand.........just save your money,buy a leon cupra ,get a remap to 210bhp and you won,t have to change a thing,or as above but uprate turbo change front discs and fit brembo calipers ,either way you,ll have what you want cheaper than a conversion,ohh i missed out con conversion you,ll have all suspension to change too,,,,,,,,,,,,,check out autotrader or this website http://www.vcars.co.uk/used-cars/used-seat.php you should be able to find a cupra for around 5 grand

 

[chriswilks]

the only way i can suggest to get extra power out of your 1.8 is go nitrous!!!!wont be useable all the time but will give you some extra umph when some chav is behind you in a saxo!!!!!.......not sure on how much difference it will make but should be an improvement.get it done proffesionally tho will cost around a grand.obviously for track day use tho!!!!!!

 

[fozzybear]

a small hint ,if you go nitrous route 25% boost ok ,50% boost may need uprating engine parts, if you go for either you want a boost graduator,this adds boost at a gentler rate ,or as you increase power boost increases saving major stress to engine,,,,this means you have to fit what is called a wet kit ,this adds gas with fuel .......but you must have this fitted by a registered fitter,and you,ll have to tell insurance company too,or if you are pulled and police check over car your insurance will be void and car will be taken off you at roadside,so be very carefull on your decision

 

[untouchable]

hi
i actually got it wrong my insurance is 3k on the 180 leon and until i get a few years of no claims is it going to be in my price range really

but if you see i cant add much more power to my current 1.8 and everyone is saying big NO to the conversion and cant get insured for a sensible price on a registred cupra at the moment and i want to keep my car

 

[Skorchio]

U cant put a R32 engine in a Leon.. Well u can. But u "can" do anything.

 

[chriswilks]

what about a 6.0 w12?????