Is it possible to run a 1.9 tdi without a turbo, and what would you need to do to achieve this

Take the turbo out!  but it would do 0-60 in 2 days!

Edited 31 March, 201412 yr by NigelB

I would think you are going to need a fair amount of plumbing and a remap. That and the fact you'll probably end up with about 60bhp.

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That'll be a 'No' then! 

And almost certain worst fuel consumption as you would be trying hard just to try and keep up with traffic let alone overtake anything this side of next year.

back in the day, my 1.8 TD mondeo turbo's collapsed... i managed to get upto 40mph... that was all - i know that was trying to push past a turbo that wasn't blowing, but I wouldn't want to be without it - and on that note, why would you want to be without it...?

 

Al. 

The VW 1.9 SDI (Suction Diesel rather than turbo diesel) engine is very similar to the TDI. Set up correctly it's one of the most fuel efficient engines available - I think volkswagen managed to get one of them to hit 42% thermodynamic efficiency back in the day - impressive given even the very best electrical power stations usually can't pass 40% efficiency. Peak power is hopeless compared to a TDI though.

 

If you change the inlet and outlet manifolds to SDI ones and get a remap, the engine will run. The very low end will be pretty similar or sometimes slightly better than a turbo engine, but everything above 1500 ish rpm will be much better with a turbo. The head or cylinders may need to be changed too as the compression ratio is lower on the TDI than the SDI, so you wouldn't be set up optimally for non-turbo running. This would all cost a lot more to do than getting a new turbo and not half the power of the engine...