Golf TDI 4: Buying Guide & Engine Info

Hello,

Currently, I'm still (relatively) an enthusiastic Corrado G60 driver, but people get older and more sensible, and fuel prices are constantly increasing. Therefore, I'm planning to get a car soon that has a normal suspension , looks good, has low fuel consumption, but, even more importantly, has a real torque boost. I'm used to the G60 with its slightly over 1100kg weight and (with modifications) approximately 270Nm of torque, so for me, only a powerful 4-door Golf TDI is an option. However, the 150hp TDI-PD engines are honestly still too expensive for me. I'd rather be in the price range of around 10,000 euros.
Therefore, the questions are:

Which engine would you recommend for adding some extra power later on, with modifications like chip tuning, a different turbocharger, different injectors, etc.?

Sure, you could upgrade a 90 horsepower engine to 200 horsepower, but that would probably be too expensive. I'm thinking more along the lines of 500 to 1000 euros, excluding the cost of the chip tuning itself. If it's really worth it in terms of power and torque, maybe a little more.

Okay, I'm just throwing out some numbers here. '160-180 horsepower and 350-400 Nm of torque?'

It would also be great if you could mention some well-known and reputable solutions directly. Or even provide links to tuners.

Thank you in advance, and I hope you can help me with your experience in the diesel field.


Regards,
Stephan.

Steff wrote:

I've gotten so used to the G60 with its weight of just over 1100kg and (with modifications) approximately 270Nm of torque, that for me, only a powerful 4-door Golf TDI is an option. However, the 150PS TDI-PD engines are honestly still too expensive for me... Which engine would you recommend to improve its performance with modifications like chip tuning, a different turbocharger, different injectors, etc.?

Well, what's left then?
-> The next smaller option is the ASZ engine with 130 hp / 310 Nm of torque.
It already has the same PDEs (partial differential equations) as the 150 hp engine, and is otherwise almost identical in construction – except for the turbocharger, intercooler, and, of course, the software.

But you'll only achieve the G60's power-to-weight ratio with a TDI engine after some serious tuning... for example.
http://www.all4tdi.de/de/hauptseite.html

Hm, Ulf, don't you think that the absorption heat pump (ASZ) is already almost fully thermally optimized as a basis?

I have had good experiences within my circle of friends with the 115 hp AJM engine and my previous ALH with 90 hp. With a chip tuning, they achieved 140 hp/408 Nm and 125 hp/325 Nm respectively, and those performance levels were maintained for over 150,000 km. www.wkr-chiptuning.de

The ALH engine can still be tuned relatively cheaply using injectors from the 110hp engine, among other things.

@ulf
Sure, you can't really compare it to the G60, but also not in terms of fuel consumption .

How about an 81 kW engine from the 99/00 model year? I don't know the chassis code right now, but the engine isn't a PD engine, so there shouldn't be any problems with the PDE injectors. What's the power output like?

Thank you for the answers so far.

Steff.

Julian wrote:

Hm Ulf, don't you think that the ASZ, as a foundation, is already almost fully utilized in terms of thermal energy? I have had good experiences with the 115 hp AJM engine within my circle of friends...

With a chip tuning, it can achieve 140 hp/408 Nm.
If you are referring to the intercooler -> it can be improved .

Otherwise, I don't quite understand your logic: why should an ASZ produce more emissions at the same final power output compared to a 115PS PD ?

Steff wrote:

How about an 81 kW engine from 99/00? I don't know the chassis code right now, but the engine isn't a PD, so there shouldn't be any problems with the PDE injectors. What's the power output like?

It depends on the effort involved... with a good (and expensive) complete tuning, it will certainly put more strain on the 5-speed transmission than it can handle in the long run, especially if you often accelerate quickly .

"Blätter" once browsed the websites of tuners that offer hardware modifications in addition to chip tuning (CT).

Sorry for butting in now.

@steff

Do you have Google at home? Then, try searching for 'TDI tuning' and get an overview of the performance that various tuners offer. I don't think it makes sense to give tuning recommendations here, especially with instructions or guidelines for extreme tuning. If 150 horsepower isn't enough for you, then be prepared to spend at least 3,000 to 10,000 euros and go to an extreme tuner to have the entire car rebuilt from top to bottom.

Why would an ASZ engine produce more problems than a 115PS PD engine, given the same final power output?

'Good question. All the tuned Golf 4 ASZ engines I've encountered have had their turbochargers fail somewhere between 10,000 and 50,000 kilometers after the tuning. This was independent of the tuner.'

The AJM engine, somehow - when it's running - is incredibly durable. A friend has one with 190 horsepower and 563 Nm of torque. However, he had to replace the turbocharger and clutch, as the old clutch only lasted for 4000 km.

Julian wrote:

All the tuned Golf 4 ASZ engines that I've encountered, they all had the turbocharger fail sometime between 1000 and 50,000 km later. This was independent of the tuner. The AJM engine, somehow - when it's running - is incredibly durable. A friend has one with 190 horsepower and 563 Nm of torque. However, he had to replace the turbocharger and clutch, as the old clutch only lasted 4000 km.

Does the older AJM model have a larger turbocharger than the younger ASZ model?
Could I even imagine something like that in this age of widespread downsizing...? Another reason for me to stop at tuning with a box -> boost pressure remains the same .

@joergs

Please try searching for that on Google! When I do, it only shows me pages from various 'tuners' that can copy a file from your computer to a control unit using a simple drag-and-drop interface, and nothing more.

But if you're questioning the purpose of a forum, I can tell you that this is exactly the kind of communication I expect from a forum. If someone doesn't feel like answering (like you), then they simply don't. I'm glad you've been around for a while and are putting up with all the silly questions from users like me.
Perhaps there are other people out there who have some knowledge about cars and wouldn't immediately go to a tuner and spend thousands of euros. Unfortunately, it's not so common in the TDI area.

It doesn't matter anyway.

@all

So, am I understanding correctly that you would be more likely to lean towards a PD (personality disorder)?

Do you perhaps know of any other websites similar to all4tdi? That one is exactly what I'm looking for.

Thank you.
Stephan.

@steff

Okay, slow down. I've used Google, and I've found some quite sensible options among the many offers. I don't think your question is stupid, and I'm not struggling here. Furthermore, I won't let you imply that I don't know anything. So, let's take it really, really slow with the young horses.

I appreciate such reactions to subtle hints!

edit: Also, nobody has questioned the purpose of this forum either.

@joergs

You seem to have misunderstood something.
I didn't imply that you have no idea what you're talking about, but rather I wanted to point out that there are other people besides you who have some knowledge. This was directed at me, and I simply wanted to say that I won't be running to a tuner with a wad of cash, but rather I want to learn about it myself. If I offended you, I apologize.

Regarding Google, yes, I believe there's some information there that might be useful to me, but you also know better where to look.

I would appreciate it if you could help me in my search for information about TDI engines and tuners for them.

PS. Ich bin ebenfalls ein langjähriges Mitglied in einem Forum, nur halt nicht in diesem. Ich weiß deinen Hinweis sehr wohl einzuschätzen. NiPlease provide the text you would like me to translate from German to English.

Regards,
Stephan.

@julian

....I'm trying, but I still can't quite believe it. The engine produces 563 Nm of torque... not bad. But what I can't understand is, what makes the AJM engine so much more durable than the ASZ engine?
I'm amazed that something like this exists; it's practically 170% of the original torque. I find that incredible. What exactly has been changed to achieve that?

Matthias.

Well, the AJM has the same turbocharger as the ALH, and last summer, there were increasing reports in some forums about cracked cylinder heads and defective turbochargers on production AJMs.

190 horsepower and 563 Nm of torque? Amazing. But there are also some 2.5L Athlon engines that actually run at 2,800 MHz... just a few.

Roger wrote:

190 horses and 563 Nm? A miracle. .

. . . which can, to some extent, be "made by" a test bench, because almost any kind of nonsense can be calculated there - especially easily when it comes to torque, if an incorrect gear is assumed .

Why not 190 horses? It really depends on what modifications have been made. I know of tractors with 130 horsepower that actually have a real output of 200-205 horsepower, achieved solely through chip tuning. Whether that makes sense in the long run is a different matter!