Just weighing up my options really
400bhp would be nice
The only reason i'm going 2.1 is because my crank has been badly damaged and bore has been too so what the hell i might as well seeing i need new pistons and crank
I just want it to be a nice drive with lots of torque and power?
Can see your point and if you have the budget then go for it. I did debate on going stroker before getting a bigger turbo but the expense seemed a little too much bang for buck wise... I know someone with a stroked Leon running a GT2871 and he has spent loads and done loads on his and produces around 370bhp as a result (bit more now with the water/meth kit he has) but I essentially produce more with more or less bolting a GT30 on...
Bill reckons the GT28 is a little short of flow for a 2ltr anyway which is one of the reasons he suggested I go for the GT30 as I was going down that route... tbh I doubt I will do that now as I won't benefit that much from it and have better things to spend my money on.
If I was doing it again, I would have gone 1.9 ish (82.5mm or 83mm overbore) and rebuild the head with supertech valve gear. That would be more than enough to give me the reliability, drivability and power that I was after. Bill manages 600bhp on a similar base although granted he does have a large port head
You say 400bhp would be nice but I don't see why you are going to the effort of building the engine you are if you are not after big numbers. The TDi crank route is the most difficult and complicated one and one that you will struggle to get decent advice about I suspect.
If you really want to go down the stroker route, get a TFSi crank based kit... its tried and tested, fits in a 1.8t and you will have less hassle with getting bits, advice and it working.
Use the spare cash to sort the head out, small port will be fine especially if using as a daily driver. If you want to chase numbers then you are looking at large port head, supertech valve gear (as the power band will move and you need to up the rev limit to make any use out of it) large throttle body (75/80mm) and SEM inlet (or equiv) and then even with a GT30 you may only be making 50 bhp more than me?
Do you have the chassis and brakes sorted on your car yet? What is your budget?
<tuffty/>