Boosting Golf GTI Performance | Fifth Gear

Jimmy shows how boost performance in a Loft GTI. First broadcast in 2018, as part of Series 27 of Fifth Gear. All modifications mentioned in this clip are taken at the owners own risk. For access to exclusive Fifth Gear content and all FULL episodes, join our channel / @fifthgearuk
#FifthGear #GolfGTI #Mods
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[@spythers]

Now we have a Golf GTC...

[@A_Honcho]

For the sake of an extra £200 you can get the cylinder head from a 2001 2.0 crossflow 8v beetle for the carbs will be at the front of the engine bay pointing towards the grille rather than the back above the hot exhaust 🤟

[@NeverMetTheGuy]

The more comments that come in, the more it's looking like VWVortex is here. Lol

[@drewwagar]

This video is daft. That's a digifant Golf GTI 8v (electronic fuel injection). Ripping out the injection system and replacing it with carbs not only completely misses the point (It's a GTI, not a GTC) and will do nothing for performance at all and make the car far less reliable, far less likely to start in the cold and halve the fuel economy. Best bet on these cars (assuming it was standard in the first place and you want to keep it close to original) is a good service, 4 branch exhaust manifold, performance air filter and a 268 or 272 cam. I didn't even see an air filter for those webers being put on, so that's an engine waiting to go bang.

[@jakewelborn7842]

cis systems suck and are unreliable, just tune your carb for the summer and winter and it’ll be just fine. and it does increase hp with a carb on the old gtis

[@carlosoruna7174]

Earlier mechanical pump was better

[@RickGTI2019]

You remind me of myself, many year’s ago. Wish I had that carb sync tool back then. Great enthusiasm, keep it up 👍 !

[@TheFranpito]

A decent programable ECU costs around 500dls used, add to that a set of new injectors, some cables, and 2 or 3 days of work and you could get much more power out of it.

[@csonkaperdido]

I think the fuel injection system is mechanical - the ECU has absolutely no control over the injectors on a mechanical fuel injection system. I could be wrong, if it is electric fuel injection than yes this is the way to go... But I think it's mechanical. ECU is a waste of $ and will only be able to control timing of the ignition - when the spark plugs actually fire. Again I might be wrong but I don't think the early gti was electronic fuel injection.

[@calin97100]

@@csonkaperdido The model on the video actually has electronic injection (PB engine code). The problem is that the ECU is a bit prehistoric for tuning purposes, and reprogramming one accordingly could be quite a challenge. Not to say that the power improvement wouldn't be as high as putting the carburettors.

[@brianvieane3907]

It would only be worth to change it to standalone and put cams in it if u want to put that in. A aba mk3 bottom end fits right in those cylinder heads and that would be about $300-500 probably. Have had these 8v engines and I'd say cams are what makes the most of it. Digifant is kinda wonkie. Forced induction is the way to go if u want something out of it. Otherwise need to spend between 3k-6k on a 1.8t or vr6 if u want better. Depending on if u don't yourself, pay someone to do it, or put more goodies/rebuild the new engine you put it in.

[@sparrowlt]

@@calin97100 You can change the map chip in the Digifant 2 ECU.. but yes if you would be serious about tuning a PB enngine a standalone is way better to do.. unfortunatelly in Spain that is right now a nightmare to make legal

[@mcmadafranker]

For that money you almost could fit a 20vt in it.. Although these carbs sound sweet

[@brianvieane3907]

Not really I have a mk2 2.0 16v with actually webers on them. Engine is quite tired but still gets me to work 100 miles a day 5 days a week all the time. Looking for a 20vt and engine with transmission is about $2500 from a junkyard(100k-125k miles). Then you probably need a subframe kit or find the rare g60 mounts for them or have a company fabricate the mounts since they are pretty rare. They make a subframe kit for about $1000. But with engine and transmission mounts and other auxillary parts it's running over $4000 total. Without labor.

[@mcmadafranker]

@@brianvieane3907 That’s quiet a lot of money yes.. Worth it tho

[@user-in2en5pv2u]

Couldn't have put this out at a better time!

[@himeshranasinghe9338]

Thanks 👍 . More videos

[@haydnwilliams877]

Great video, I love the MK2 GTI

[@lawrencegatt4515]

love your page from aust.

[@user-dz6ox2gt2m]

Wow 🤩 Good job 👍

[@ivanknjezevic4840]

lol, for 1000 pounds, you can pay somone to swap a dbc 20vt, it bolts up and even with 150hp it will leave any carbed pos miles behind. if you do it yourself and save 500 pounds, you can spend that on k04 turbo and injectors and make 250hp easy which is far more than the chassis can handle. sorry folks, but technology wins.

[@LS-ti6jo]

He made a point of how important a fuel filter is. Did I miss a similar comment about the importance of an air filter? (I was Googling for pics of Helen Stanley at the time, so I might have missed it)

[@AFExploration]

i've got a RE1900 16v GTIEngineering lump in my mk2

[@montecarlo6569]

Mk 2 GTI 16v was my most loved car, i am now 45 but i Will never forget my red boy.

[@EugVR6]

I Had a Helios Blue 16v, big bumber end model and that car gave me great memories H8TPS😎

[@7spower998]

Jimmy, 1) Bleed the fuel system line first before starting the engine. This also applies when changing a fuel filter. 2) Since the GTI 8V SOHC engine is a non-crossflow head, I'm surprised you didn't design and put a heat shield between the intake and exhaust manifold to prevent the Weber carbs sucking up all the heat from the exhaust manifold? 3) There's no individual air filter or air intake filter system for those lovely Weber 45 carbs?

[@muhammedmotala4688]

I still love the kjet system

[@kristianspencer1978]

Why not go for a set of piper cams.cheaper and similar power increase.? Plus it’s not a gti if you remove the injection system.??

[@proyectogolfmk2]

That HUCO ist the best fuel pump ever

[@MrBones-do2wt]

Man I wish I had money

[@supremecamels7736]

If only removing the inlet manifold was that easy lmao

[@carlosoruna7174]

Umm. Old tune was drilling a small hole in the Bosch mechanical injection and adjusting the hidden screw ..

[@DocumentaryHub]

20hp with those carbs? No way... That's just a flat out lie. At best a few hp. And it will run like crap in the winter. And uses tons of fuel.

[@sim6699]

@Paul Blackman after practice the choke is not an issue and it likely sounds nicer on carbs

[@1881Gordon]

Good video. Nice idea, but to me, but the earlier Bosch Kjet version of this Golf GTI 8v was far more responsive and exciting. It made the later PB digifant feel spongy and bloated in comparison. Performance upgrade = Buy a type 19E Golf Mk2 instead. Prices are becoming outrageous though..

[@Tallandcharming]

Why not fit a supercharger?

[@anesennaidoo5279]

The comments are 😂 The options to modify a golf are endless. I enjoyed watching this because I love Carburettors and some of my favourite cars from the 60’s and 70s all had carbs.

[@iplaysdrums]

I'm a little surprised I haven't seen any comments saying just to LS swap it, but I guess maybe I just haven't read enough of the comments yet.

[@Thenormalguy_real_one]

I hate LS swapped cars but that’s my opinion

[@tiagobelo4965]

I mean at that point you might as well have gotten a 16v non-injected golf

[@protonicstorm7228]

They didn't do 16v carb golf, they did 1.8 8v 89 bhp driver model.

[@painintherc7771]

Jesus how old is this video ffs! Who takes fuel injection of a car and swaps it out for carbs in 2020 lmoa 😄 i thought they were boosting it with a turbo from the title haha

[@JxH]

Are all assistant mechanics in the UK named "Paul" ?

[@buggerlugz6753]

He was just missing a rainbow above his head.

[@NeverMetTheGuy]

8v goes BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[@protonicstorm7228]

k&n's should be on those webbers

[@DoctaPye]

Why not just drop an ABF in if your spending that much money 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@NeverMetTheGuy]

The AAA sounds better though...

[@sv_cheats1970]

If I had a mint GTI and wanted a bit more power I'd rather go eith the carbs (reversable mode so resale value isn't affected) although If I had a lemon I would 100% swap a ABF into it 150hp🤤

[@elhomo6406]

@@sv_cheats1970 plus an ABF swap is a touch more painful

[@sv_cheats1970]

@@elhomo6406 no pain no gain 😁

[@kOSTb19999994]

Ну да, все стараются перевести карбюратор на инжектор, а здесь наоборот))) Могли бы тогда просто перепрошить блок управления двигателем.

[@csonkaperdido]

I love carbs... However putting 2 carbs on such a tiny engine is completely unnecessary. You'll also most likely need to use different spark plugs, and replace those plugs more often. Plus let's not forget how fekkin horrible carbureted cars are in the cold. Once they get running, they LOVE the cold air. Getting it to start is not so easy. I would always suggest anyone who lives where it snows to either fit a larger battery, or a secondary battery. Now as far as using 2 carbs - If you're going with 2, might as well go for 4... One carb per cylinder. Yes, it's more expensive. Yes, it's harder to tune. Yes, you have to tune them every 6 months or so. But you get more power, better throttle response, more torque and it looks fekkin awesome. If you wanna save money and still boost performance - you only need 1 carb for a tiny little 4 cylinder like this. Not even a 4 barrel - a small 2 barrel carb will be fine. Half the price, half the labor, half as much tuning and the same result. You may gain like 2-3hp from twin carbs and MAYBE up to 10hp extra from individual carbs. Most likely 5hp. You can't feel 5hp. Plus in a car that handles well and can take corners at high speed, you can actually make the engine run very lean because the fuel in the carb bowl is pushed to one side during a long corner. If the main jet is on the other side of the carb, it's sucking air and not fuel. That's a very easy way to burn holes in your pistons and generally destroy your engine. Good advice fitting a carb - but it's not all positives and anyone using it for track days should get a special racing style carb that eliminates the problem of fuel starvation. Carbs also lower the temperature of the air/fuel mix entering the engine, so you will probably want to run different spark plugs.

[@buggerlugz6753]

Absolutely. ITB's is the way to go in 2020, not 1960's tech with a watering can basically glugging petrol into an intake.

[@charliebesley1543]

A grand for an extra 20bhp? Sounds like a complete waste of money. You could get a custom tune for less than half of that with better results!

[@csonkaperdido]

I think the early gti had mechanical fuel injection - you can't tune mechanical fuel injection systems.

[@xavierq.6658]

@@csonkaperdido This one is a Digifant II electronical injection system, you can only change the Eprom and gain +/- 8bhp

[@csonkaperdido]

@@xavierq.6658 exactly my point lol

[@lucacavallini561]

Its no dangerus put the carburator, nearly over the Heater out?...its normal that in the year can verifing a fuel leakage from the carburator gasket

[@howiegreen1646]

👌 Mk2 golf gti and 16 v never had full throttle from the factory that's why they neaver felt that quick

[@jt-bg6ey]

Nice I used to have a mk2 gti was a fun car until it caught fire and completely burnt out

[@aaronroberts3329]

Worked for a company that sold this guy a vehicle in kit form (pretty sure he's got a you tube series of him building it) that year we sold maybe 5 or 6 kits to customers, one was a crane operator one was a electrician and the others where whatever they were. Point is though this guy phoned up the most for help than anybody else.... Was a bit of a pain tbh, for someone who is apparently a guru of engines he certainly struggled with everything else

[@joebaker2324]

All that he's done there is slightly improve the sound of the engine and increase fuel consumption by about 50%. The 8v GTi engine can sound awesome with a few mods... Trust me I have had a few mk2s over the years.

[@hybridAbsol]

This clip is a joke, its more like a maintenence service

[@sparrowlt]

So he basically removed the I from GTI

[@ariffhoosen6926]

Vw golf 2,3... Gti fan... Yes changing from fuel injections to carburetor. gives more power...... But IT KILLS THE ORIGINAL. GTI... ( GRAND TOURING INJECTION)... 😜.. characteristics n features.

[@thiscocks]

This guy really wants to be Jeremy Clarkson

[@bobbym9405]

Don't you guys have ABFs over seas? Prob would of been better to swap an ABF and then Turbo.

[@bear1245]

Why!

[@KRAMPUS_G60_16V]

MKII 4LIFE, and over

[@hybridAbsol]

I can think of a few things for it 1. Max staged ECU tuning 2. Take a 911 Turbo's turbos and coolants and its gearbox, done 3. Swap out that poor 1.6 for a 2.0 TFSI

[@mk2nathan]

Cant tell if this comment is a joke there's that many things wrong with it.

[@hybridAbsol]

@@mk2nathan its no laughing matter, this video is just wrong

[@mk2nathan]

@@hybridAbsol I’m not saying that the video is right, it’s just that who the fuck has ever taken 911 turbos and put them on a mk2?😂😂 That and the fact that mk2 golf gtis came with a 1.8.

[@hybridAbsol]

@@mk2nathan becuz VW owns Porsche for while now, and factory original parts works like a charm, i seen many VW cars with Porsche parts

[@mk2nathan]

@@hybridAbsol I don’t think you understand… you can’t put 911 turbos on a mk2 golf😂😂

[@domagojjurendic8768]

Fifth gear logic, buy a mk2 gti, pay for it handsomely, throw out the i. Jesus....

[@snape1464]

As a mk2 owner I can tel you that bringing a more basic model up to GTI spec (brakes, suspension etc) is far more expensive than just buying one. Besides, they're making it better

[@buggerlugz6753]

Logic? I see no logic here........

[@chris425amp7]

He wrecked a Ford Capri Brooklands 280 on another program that lasted minutes. Now a Mk2 golf 8v 😂

[@chylimzbydzi]

@@snape1464 Don't think so... The badge matching the VIN is worth a ton of money. Just finished putting a 16v engine into a mk2 golf not exceeding 1200 pounds including the golf itself:)

[@snape1464]

@@chylimzbydzi yeah, but then there’s brakes, interior and body stuff. Ofcourse markets are different, but here in the netherlands an 8v gti isn’t worth a lot, so swapping is only worth it if you do something more special

[@jshep73]

Big fan of Jimmy but these engines do not gain much at all with twin webers

[@jshep73]

Oh God it’s an 8v aswell!! Carbs suck in hot air. This is a poor decision.

[@stevenharpervw]

Could of just swapped in a r32

[@plakic]

Love the enthusiasm, but it’s still a slug.

[@NeverMetTheGuy]

A slug that tons of people are upset they got rid of at some point.

[@chris425amp7]

The money spent there you could buy a 3.2 VR6 lump on the floor.

[@ghb113]

Why🤷‍♂️

[@divisaoautomotiva5266]

👍🇧🇷

[@bjornmarley5670]

just sell it and get an rs turbo....

[@olixbob]

Doesn't even mention jetting those carbs! But he loves that fuel filter. Idiot stuff

[@JakeRawSon]

I really try not to put negative comments out there. But $1000 for 20hp this is terrible advise.

[@calin97100]

I guess it would be terrible advise for North America. Here in Europe it starts to make sense when MOTs, TUVs and ITVs (yearly technical inspections) take place. When you do an engine swap to a car, say an 180hp 1.8t, you need to "homologate" it, which can get pretty expensive depending on the country and difference of power between the original engine and the new one. Adding the homologation price (1500-2000€) as well as the engine and all the parts needed to make the swap homologation-worthy, including bigger brakes and better suspension (say 2000-3000€), and the consequent rise in the insurance price (passing from say 350€ to 1000€ easily), you are up for a big bill. Putting a better carburettor to an already carburated engine, as it would be with the mk2 1.8 GU engine for example (I know the one on the video is a PB), is an easy job to do, as well as a cheap one, as no homologation would actually be needed and the insurance wouldn't get higher either. Obviously adding only 20hp to the PB engine is not really worth it, but passing from 90hp to 130hp on the GU engine is quite a gain. Hope I could make it a little bit clearer for you. And by the way, keep it up with your channel ;)

[@JakeRawSon]

@@calin97100 Hey I appreciate the info. Yep had no clue that swapping an engine would make it that more expensive. Thanks

[@ghostriderpa31]

Vr6 it

[@saucysimpson259]

Just PD130 it...simple

[@buggerlugz6753]

yes, good for 400bhp then.

[@mc1996]

LOL! A tractor engine on a small, fun car?

[@bikesbeyond3135]

So the 'I' stands for INJECTION - and then we promptly remove that part - weird . Why could he not take a 1800 cc with a shitty Pierburg carb instead - that would have made a step in the right direction. Bet you we lost 30% torque from 1500-3750 rpm and only gained 5 % at 5000 rpm - stupid

[@frednugent8068]

First

[@EugVR6]

Just buy a 16v, much faster, more economical.

[@stephenfoster4255]

Carbs =junk