1.8i 8v Turbo

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Super_Cav
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1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Super_Cav »

Ive been thinking long and hard about this and I think im going to give it a go. The thing is I need to know what is involved in doing such a job I done mechanics for a year so im no expert ha ha :lol: but I do know some stuff. Im just looking for advice and also maybe some companys that could supplie stuff like a turbo and so on. The reason behind me wanting to do it is , you dont see many people doing it and i wont have to change much like the brakes and so on

Any advice is good even if its bad advice ha ha

Cheers Danny 8-) .

ps; if you think im crazy ..... I am lol :twisted:
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Gaz
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Gaz »

talking
pistons - lower compression
extra fuel - suitable turbo reg
Oil feed for the turbo
turbo
Pipework

And some setting up
in principal its not that bad but unless you do it right it will go bang

tbh is it worth the graft? Im sure you can get a turbo kit for one of the 2.0 8v (ne seh) that might be suitable
its gonna cost you a few hundred in parts and your heading towards the price of a xe 150bhp out of the box
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Super_Cav
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Super_Cav »

thats so true gaz and I know where you are coming from BUT its diffrent lol and according to a book i read a while back the 1.8i engine thats in mine is 115bhp standard ( dont know if thats true lol ) so adding all the extra stuff could get about 150-200bhp out of it if done right . I will think about it all lol :lol:

Cheers Danny
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Super_Cav
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Super_Cav »

whooooops lol found the book now its 115 PS lol :roll: the book says so its 109 HP at 5800 rev/min it says lol :lol:

Cheers Danny
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Squig
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Squig »

its a good project... original. there was an article in an old total vauxhall where some chap went a bit tit's doing something similar...

Essentially gaz has covered the basics...

Low comp pistons (MVaux do these but I've heard some bad things about them, I'm sure there is a company advertised in TV that does these too thou)
Steel/copper head gasket (lower comp a smidge)
relevant turbo (don't discount the supercharger route at this point, Eaton M62 off a mini will probably provide suitable boost and they are cheap, but then complications with mounting and fabrication*)
oil rerouting if you turbo (thinkauto)
uprated oil cooler if turbo is used (thinkauto for one of these too)
if you go for big power gains surely at least a remap will be required.
ARP head bolts
set of LET injectors
LET pressure regulator (not sure on the last two as I prefer NA to FI, but watch this space :twisted: )
uprated cam would do a world of good too, I reckon (fast road)


*once you mount the 'charger (front of block will have best room on yours) you can simply run the blower straight to the throttle body (a la turbo setup) but an intercooler will improve power AFTER the charger. The main concerns will be fabbing a mount as the Eaton range use internal oil resivoirs so no need to run seperate oil feeds, the later generations of m62 have better specs if you do decide to go down this route get the latest generation possible (should have teflon coated "screws")

At the end of the day converting an NA to FI isn't easy, the hardest part being lowering the CR to less than 8.7:1, bear in mind most NA engines develop power because of a high CR (usually 10:1 and higher) so aguably the most reliable way of reducing the CR is too change the crank changing the engine away from being high comp by reducing the stroke distance.
This will be the same however you decide to force fuel/air into the engine.

Another way of doing this is to reduce the CR to around 9:1 and run low boost, you'll still get a power hike over stock with/without NA tuning but it won't be as barmy :D and lots less effort. if you can post your stroke, bore and CR specs I can calculate the approx change in head gasket thickness to reduce CR
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Envoy CDX »

Super_Cav wrote:whooooops lol found the book now its 115 PS lol :roll: the book says so its 109 HP at 5800 rev/min it says lol :lol:

Cheers Danny
1.8v spi lump is between 90 and 95bhp out of the factory.
1.8 MPi lump is either 112bhp or 115 depending on the model. (available in the older MK2's)

Interesting project and have considered it a few times, but never had the guts to try it to be honest.
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Super_Cav
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Super_Cav »

thank you squig for the info there, well the only reason im thinking long and hard about doing it is , the engine itself will prob be cheap and once I start to buy the rest of the bits it will all seem cheap enough lol easily do it for less than 1k and dont realy need to mess about with brakes and so on lol untill i get silly i would be happy with 150- 200 bhp lol

on another note anyone got a 1.8i Engine forsale ha ha :lol:

Cheers Danny 8-)
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Squig »

Super_Cav wrote:thank you squig for the info there, well the only reason im thinking long and hard about doing it is , the engine itself will prob be cheap and once I start to buy the rest of the bits it will all seem cheap enough lol easily do it for less than 1k and dont realy need to mess about with brakes and so on lol untill i get silly i would be happy with 150- 200 bhp lol

on another note anyone got a 1.8i Engine forsale ha ha :lol:

Cheers Danny 8-)
No worries mate, I looked into this with the X30XE so it's much the same... just wondering how different your crank will be to a 2 litre crank, because if its basically the same you could swop yours for a LET crank which, with dished pistons, should sort the CR... don't hold me to that thou ;)
engine internals will cost you about half your buget I'm afraid... I'd go with a £1500 budget at least. These things tend to spiral totally out of control :D

Good fun thou :lol:
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djgritt
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by djgritt »

You may well be able to get around buying a new set of pistons by having a Decompression Plate machined to wham between the Block and the Head - this is fairly common when converting an NA to FI...

Obviously, you would need to calculate the thickness required to get the correct Ratios... ;)
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Squig
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Squig »

I work that a X30XE needed a 13mm plate :D
now I'm looking at a 2.8 tubby crank...
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Super_Cav
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Super_Cav »

hmm I dont think this will ever lift off for the fact i havent got 1.5k to waste lol and also if i did im sure u can buy a cheap nova redtop for that :lol:

Cheers Danny 8-)
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Squig »

Super_Cav wrote:hmm I dont think this will ever lift off for the fact i havent got 1.5k to waste lol and also if i did im sure u can buy a cheap nova redtop for that :lol:

Cheers Danny 8-)
look into the decompression plate as it's pretty much just a thicker head gasket and they aren't that expensive... cheap way of doing it and perfectly safe for a low boost engine
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cav_2.0_gli
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by cav_2.0_gli »

Super_Cav wrote:hmm I dont think this will ever lift off for the fact i havent got 1.5k to waste lol and also if i did im sure u can buy a cheap nova redtop for that :lol:

Cheers Danny 8-)
hello pal,

ive got a J-reg cav 2.0i 8v, which im planning on turbocharging myself.

i bought a turbo kit from german ebay, for £300, and it came with:

4 low comp pistons
garrett T3 turbo
intercooler
some pipe work
custom manifold + downpipe

and some other bits, cant think what now.

i also bought a Kent racing camshaft, piper vernier pulley, and a gasflowed + ported 18E head off ebay for £50 for the lot.
ive then ported + polished the C20NE inlet manifold + throttle body myself, to increase the airflow for the turbo. ive also got a K&N induction kit + alloy air pipe from K&N to throttle body, and a custom large bore exhaust system from downpipe to backbox.

so ive spent £350 so far, but i need quite a few bits yet, especially a megasquirt ECU (the universal one that you can map yourself), and the uprated injectors etc.

im hopeing to make atleast 170bhp when im finished. the cam + headwork etc should take the power upto atleast 140bhp alone.

should be interesting to see what our 8V turbo's chuck out when they are finished.

and i was thinking the same as you mate. why be the same as everyone else, and buy a redtop lump? why not be a bit different, and have a 8V tubby instead? so i bought the bits lol.


good luck with ya 8V project mate.
cheers Dave
my driveway's like a 1986 vauxhall forecourt lol (apart from my mk3 cav's!
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Super_Cav
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Super_Cav »

Dave you have just put me in the mood for atually giving it a go now :D 300 thats a bargain :o . The thing is I need to buy an engine cause I need to keep my car on the road you see. Im going to do it all on the engine first so will probable have a full rebuild and so on but i was for giving up the idea but now I want to do it let me know of anythings u buy that could help me out and pm me links to stuff if they are selling in bulk lol

Cheers Danny :D

Oh forgot to add has anyone got a 1.8i engine that I could buy as long as it was a runner when it was took out im not fussed lol I had the chance to get one a while back but didnt have the cash.
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by cav_2.0_gli »

Super_Cav wrote:Dave you have just put me in the mood for atually giving it a go now :D 300 thats a bargain :o . The thing is I need to buy an engine cause I need to keep my car on the road you see. Im going to do it all on the engine first so will probable have a full rebuild and so on but i was for giving up the idea but now I want to do it let me know of anythings u buy that could help me out and pm me links to stuff if they are selling in bulk lol

Cheers Danny :D

Oh forgot to add has anyone got a 1.8i engine that I could buy as long as it was a runner when it was took out im not fussed lol I had the chance to get one a while back but didnt have the cash.

glad to hear that mate. i just wanted to have something abit different to other people.
these are the bits i have for my C20NE turbo engine:

Image

thats the turbo, ported head, kent cam, intercooler and so on. i will upgrading to a larger intercooler for it.
ive also bought an oil cooler, which isnt pictured to keep the oil cool obv lol.

il have a look on ebay, and the german ebay for ya mate, but im not sure whether there are on atm.

good luck pal
Dave
my driveway's like a 1986 vauxhall forecourt lol (apart from my mk3 cav's!
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Super_Cav
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Re: 1.8i 8v Turbo

Post by Super_Cav »

Looking good mate keep up the good work :D like i said if there is anything that might be of use to me just pm me.

Cheers Danny 8-)
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