Mk2 8v engine upgrade G60 or 20v Turbo...

[Idle Duffer]

Hello fellow golf nutz.

I have a dilema.  I currenly have an '86 mk2 and so far have restored the body back to its original condition.  I'm now at the stage where i want to sort the engine and box.  I'm trying to decide between the G60 engine and box or 20v turbo and box. I'm not gonna keep the original unit as it couldnt pull the skin off a rice puddin.

I do realise there's loads of work required to swap either into them in to the mk2, but thats not a problem.  Ive previously built 2 ac cobra replicas last one with a twin turbo v8 in it and the amount of fabrication it took was out of this world. Am a dab hand on looms too.

All i need really is a (wish) list of parts etc for each conversion inc what hubs, brakes etc and of course pro's n con's for each.

Dont ask for much do i?

I read just about all the threads on the forum about both conversions, it would just be handy to see it all on a page or two.


Cheers

Idle Duffer

[Mr Blue]

Im no expert on these engines but i would of thought the G60 engine could use the mk2 8v Digifant wiring loom and is the easiest swap

[Idle Duffer]

Yeah i think g60 would be slightly easier, but there becoming increasingly hard to find in anything resembling ok condition.  My car isnt a digi its k jet.  Also i'm thinking to the future and there is probably more scope for further mods to the 20v. 

[Gambit]

i would go 20vT in your case, and anybody elses! G60's are a bit long in the tooth nowadays and there is plenty of 20vT's to be found in scrapyards plus they are a more reliable engine and easier to maintain

[Volkswagavin]

Definitely the 20v turbo engine - the G60 doesn't have much (if any) advantage over the 16v in 0-60mph terms, but the 20v turbo unit is extremely tuneable.  I've seen league tables in the Golf magazine with a mk2 20v hitting 60mph in just over 3 seconds.  You'd embarass a few Ferrari's with that.

Hell of a conversion job though!

[...joe]

i'd go 20vt. i'm a big fan of the g60 but as the others said you'll be hard pushed to find one that doesn't require re-building, then tuning on top of it all adds up. if your ok with wiring the 20vt should be easy to do. there is a company called QPeng who sell a conversion loom to plug into a digifant that includes an ecu upgrade to 200bh. got to be the easiest way and you've then got a bucket load of tuning potential on top of it.

[Dizzie]

with the turbo you can drive it sensibley and get 36mpg out of it. boot it and the power is always there. with a bigger turbo unit and the fueling to match 350-400bhp has been seen and beyond.

the g60 unit is a awesome engine in it's own right, but you'll never get more than 240bhp from it without a very noisey and thirsty charger. There's as good as no lag with a supercharger, but as you'll find out from 20vt owners the lag isn't worth talking about with a k03 based engine.

[Idle Duffer]

Well i think the general concensus is 20v turbo.  Now i just need to find one and get it down to cornwall !!!  Ooh, not to mention i need to find what hubs/ struts to use etc etc.

Anymore advice would be welcome.

Cheers

[Idle Duffer]

Just had a look at the QPeng site.  Outstanding!!!!  Definately made my mind up now.  Just gotta find a 20v lump oh and some better hubs/brakes, I dont fancy trying to reign in 200 horses with my 8v brakes. Spotted some brembo calipers off a 911 turbo in my local breakers yesterday but probably a nightmare to mount and plumb up.

Anyone got a good recommendation for brake upgrade??

[...joe]

g60 breaks should be fine, 280mm with a set of decent discs and pads should do the trick.