So I've got the last set of mods booked in for my vRS that I planned when I brought the car and my thinking has now moved to what I'm going to do later this year and early next year.

With the mileage I put on the vRS it'll have done ~120k by Christmas so I think its prudent to have the engine rebuilt and at the same time take advantage of the work to uprate what I can. My principle aim will be to make the engine stronger, but if I can get more power as well then I will.

I'm looking as a minimum:

Uprated injectors

Stronger head bolts

Pistons/Push Rods?

Head Gasket?

Larger Valves?

Wilder Cam?

But I'm clueless as to what I could/should be fitting and what else I can do. Part/supplier suggestions would be most welcome!

I'm not looking to upgrade the Turbo past my Stage 2 PD150 Hybrid in this period, that'll be the next thing, hence why I want stronger internals...

Just bumping this thread as I'll be in a similar situation soon and there doesn't seem to be much talk on the forums of engines being rebuilt. Power increases tend to just be from "bolt on" modifications. I guess these engines must just be pretty strong. btw, I've only just started searching about rebuilds, so if there are loads of posts about it I apologise in advance.

Unless you are seriously looking at some power, mabie talking to jabba to develop a stage 5 then no point in rebuilding the engine. Just bigger turbo, better ic, better clutch, a good map and mabie some meths. Should be fine

Best to speak to an engine re-builder, as the process is extremely involved, and well beyond the scope of 'reliable' Internet information.

The Tdi 1.9 lump is almost bullet proof, although the top end can be a bit problematic (camshaft and bucket tappet wear).

For that sort of info you could have a look on Tdiclub.com.

Thanks. Sounds like it is a strong engine then. I'll have a look around that site for some more info.

So I've got the last set of mods booked in for my vRS that I planned when I brought the car and my thinking has now moved to what I'm going to do later this year and early next year.

With the mileage I put on the vRS it'll have done ~120k by Christmas so I think its prudent to have the engine rebuilt and at the same time take advantage of the work to uprate what I can. My principle aim will be to make the engine stronger, but if I can get more power as well then I will.

I'm looking as a minimum:

Uprated injectors

Stronger head bolts

Pistons/Push Rods?

Head Gasket?

Larger Valves?

Wilder Cam?

But I'm clueless as to what I could/should be fitting and what else I can do. Part/supplier suggestions would be most welcome!

I'm not looking to upgrade the Turbo past my Stage 2 PD150 Hybrid in this period, that'll be the next thing, hence why I want stronger internals...

Oh boy, this list reads a lot like the sort of things that turbo PETROL engine tuners would do, you on the other hand have a turbo DIESEL which really doesn't work the same way and doesn't have pushrods either!

You need to get some professional help and advice from someone who actually knows what they're doing, there are a handful of contributors on this forum who qualify, see if you can work out who you should be listening to.

Oh boy, this list reads a lot like the sort of things that turbo PETROL engine tuners would do, you on the other hand have a turbo DIESEL which really doesn't work the same way and doesn't have pushrods either!

You need to get some professional help and advice from someone who actually knows what they're doing, there are a handful of contributors on this forum who qualify, see if you can work out who you should be listening to.

I would think he means the conrods.

Ian

With an engine build it entirly depends upon what your budget is, you can't build a powerful engine on a budget as you sacrifice reliability on it due to using inferior components.

The work being carried out on the engine also depends on what the current condition your engine is in. Once stripped down your crankshaft may require a regrind due to being low on the limits of the size, at a bare minimum I would recommend a micropolish and refitted with a new set of decent quality Main's and big ends.

Again the block will have to be checked for size as did the crank to make sure it's within tolerance. Piston wise it depends on what you'r going to be using the car for, fast road use I would suggest a decent quality Cast piston from a company like Mahle, if it's being intended for track use I would suggest the forged route. The block will therefore requre a glaze bust to allow oil to lubricate the ring's properlly to allow them to bed in correctly.

For headbolt's I would look for an uprated item from the like's of ARP, I wouldn't bother with uprated con rod bolt's as unlike an NA engine it won't be seeing high RPM figures.

I'm not sure what the STD fitment is for HG on the vRS is it a Multi Layered Steel one (MLS), if not Cometic are a big aftermarket producer for MLS gaskets available in varying thicknesses to rasie/lower compression ratios,

I would look to fit larger Exhaust valve's aswell as smoothing and opening the throat up on the exhaust port's to allow the gases to escape quicker and easier. I would suggest 3 angle valve seat's aswell as matching the inlet to the head.

I'm unsure what aftermarket cams are available, I know that there are none present in the Kent and Piper books which I have to hand, but should you source one I would suggest fitting uprated springs aswell as stronger top cap's so take the extra poundage of the springs and extra lift. Solid buckets would also be a worth while mod.

I would also highly recommend fitting a new oil pump at the same time as building the engine for peace of mind.

When building an engine, it is vital to clean every single component, even if it is freshly machined and look's clean. The slightest bit of dirt in an engine, specially on the shell's will soon see the crank pick up and cause the shell to wear quickly thus causing fluctuations in oil pressure.

Knocking for 160,000 miles now, running what your planning, still runs sweet as a nut, no need for a rebuild IMO

Matt

Knocking for 160,000 miles now, running what your planning, still runs sweet as a nut, no need for a rebuild IMO

Matt

he's currently running a hybrid turbo, FMIC etc - the rebuild is in preparation of future upgrades

I would look to fit larger Exhaust valve's aswell as smoothing and opening the throat up on the exhaust port's to allow the gases to escape quicker and easier.

It's a turbodiesel, and that's a waste of money and effort for no gain whatsoever.

I'm definitely going to need to see some numbers as to why you say it's a good idea.

Worth changing the rods if mega-power, but my "Lots of miles 260bhp" rods came out straight as an arrow when I fitted forged rods. I kept stock pistons too. (just cleaned them up a bit)

I would plan some headwork if you want serious power, but I believe you can leave the bottom end stock. Stock headgasket is fine too. Wild cams are around but fairly unproven in general. Mine came from Dbilas in Germany but not sure if its doing the right stuff.

he's currently running a hybrid turbo, FMIC etc - the rebuild is in preparation of future upgrades

Oh ****, read it wrong. Lol sorry!

Matt

It's a turbodiesel, and that's a waste of money and effort for no gain whatsoever.

I'm definitely going to need to see some numbers as to why you say it's a good idea.

It's a turbodiesel well done for noticing that, it's turbo'd running a turbo creates more heat in the combustion chambers, running a larger valve (maybe even a sodium filled exhaust valve to disipate the heat better in the valve also) along with some throat work will allow the HOTTER exhaust gases to escape quicker and easier meaning it runs cooler allowing to run more boost.

It's a turbodiesel well done for noticing that, it's turbo'd running a turbo creates more heat in the combustion chambers, running a larger valve (maybe even a sodium filled exhaust valve to disipate the heat better in the valve also) along with some throat work will allow the HOTTER exhaust gases to escape quicker and easier meaning it runs cooler allowing to run more boost.

Oooh, unnecessary hostility.

Larger exhaust valves and ports will actually SLOW mean gas speed and you will gain little or nothing from all that extra expense.

A very small handful of engines in a really high state of tune will benefit from larger exhaust valves because they come with really small ones as standard, this engine ain't one of 'em.

In fact inlet valve area is so important that some cunning race tuners will actually fit slightly SMALLER exhaust valves in order to make room to fit even larger inlets.

Headshops often offer larger exhaust valves since they can double their money for the job, they know it won't make any difference to the power output either way.

Mine came from Dbilas in Germany but not sure if its doing the right stuff.

Hmmm,

Try Matt at Catcams UK on 0845 5195720 if you're not happy with your current cams, he may well be able to help you out.

your current cams.

There is only one in there Just in case you try and buy two in advance.

Oh, and you need the porting as the head cannot "chew" in stock form at a certain level of power. Porting frees up room for air and fuelling, which can be in turn aided by better cam, bigger exhaust side valves, ported intake, etc etc.

Nope, I just looked, mine would definitely need a pair.

Nope, I just looked, mine would definitely need a pair.

yeah, but the discussion is about rebuilding the engine in a mk1 Fabia vRS, which has just the one cam. not something I've looked into all that much, but people seem to go for a newman or dbilas cam this side of the pond

I have no idea why they would do that, Devon inferred that he wasn't necessarily very impressed with his Dbilas cam and I simply suggested he speak to someone I know and trust about his particular requirement since Catcams might be able to come up with a profile suitable for his application. They're not a catalogue supplier so don't bother looking in Argos, Kays or Freemans.

Take it or leave it, it was freely offered.

Larger exhaust valves are a waste of money, I'm too late if you've already wasted it, but hey, it's yours, do what you like with it.

I have no idea why they would do that, Devon inferred that he wasn't necessarily very impressed with his Dbilas cam and I simply suggested he speak to someone I know and trust about his particular requirement since Catcams might be able to come up with a profile suitable for his application. They're not a catalogue supplier so don't bother looking in Argos, Kays or Freemans.

Take it or leave it, it was freely offered.

Larger exhaust valves are a waste of money, I'm too late if you've already wasted it, but hey, it's yours, do what you like with it.

I would say larger exhaust valves on their own are a waste, presuming a standard frame turbo is used. Reading between the boards, the "17" size turbines tend to choke at higher revs/boosts, leading to high EMPs and EGTs. Once you remove the restriction of a small turbine housing and by inferrence, move to a more accessible exhaust manifold, the game changes.

I would however, like to see impirical data/evidence that porting is or is not necessary, and/or larger exhaust valves. There seems to be very little information around, considering the number of 1.9TDIs on the planet.

Looking around the web, only flow and discussion data I can see that's kind-of reliable is from a guy called Marko P... something Finnish.

J.