Audi Coupe80 2.2e(89) want a little more power

[Fandango80]

Hi there.
I have owned my Audi 80 Coupe 2.2e for a few months now. What great cars they are! It has done 94k genuine miles so the engine is good and strong.
It runs flawlessly but im finding myself wanting a little more power. Im not looking for huge turbo upgrades or Nitrous etc... Im ok working with engines so please- any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh and i already have a K&N Panel filter in the original airbox.
I was advised to keep the original induction system as audi aparently concentrate alot of development time on them.
Oh- one other thing (sorry) Do these engines have 10 or 20 valves(its a 5cylinder)? It is a single cam so im guessing 10?
javascript:void(0)
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gifCheers Chaps and Chappettes!

Dave. javascript:void(0)
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh_roll.gif

 

[cornishjim13]

Hi,
I'm breaking a 2309cc 20v coupe quattro, engine is in great condition, has 165K, was audi demo then owned by two people before me, service history is available, there is a period of two years missing where the previous owners company had an ex-works Porsche mechanic working for them, I have a signed statement to show this. This engine gives out 170bhp stock.
The red line is at 7000 and in the year I've owned it I haven't taken it over 5000 on more than 10 occasions and everytime I've changed up by 6000, so it hasn't been thrashed by me, the power up to 5000 is more than enough, just wanted to hang in there a couple of times to see what she went like.
I've got other parts available too.

Jim

 

[imported_dumpvalve]

Fandango, I used to have exactly the same car as yours. Makes a lovely noise don't you think?

The 2.2E (KV) is a 10 valve single cam. Although it can feel a bit breathless at high revs, I'm sure you'd agree that the low and mid-range is lovely and torquey. The 20v twin cam 2.3 is a whole different engine; very revvy in comparison but not much in the way of low-down grunt. It was one of the first Audi engines to utilise multivalve technology, and as you can imagine, the technology back in the late eighties was nowhere near as advanced as it is now. The engineers had trouble in getting the engine to perform low down, but in the higher revs it flies.

Depending on how much cash you're planning on spending, I think you should consider getting a big-valve head fitted. If your car's only done 94k, then there's potentially another 100k on the bottom end if you look after it. The KV is bombproof. Basically, the valves used in the KV are pretty small, and the cam is also quite tame. This is why it doesn't seem happy revving past 5000rpm, but on the same hand has bags of torque lower down. Fitting larger valves (as used in the old Golf 16V) and a higher lift cam would give much better breathing at higher revs, and improve still on the mid-range. Fitting a ported head also aids flow. You'd gain about 30-40bhp over your current 136, and the torque would be even better.

If you can be ***** with swapping engines then you might as well go for an old 10v turbo engine, as this would be no more hard work or money than swapping with a 20V N/A. Those engines are good for around 170-180BHP, and the later 20V turbos much more. But believe me, things can get rather complicated when you're swapping engines.

Good luck!

Drew.

 

[imported_dumpvalve]

Hi mate,

Sorry I've taken so long getting back to you. If I'm not mistaken, the manifold of a 20v will be completely different to a 10v, and won't fit. Unless you're really putting big juice through the engine then the standard exhaust and manifold, like the airbox, won't be very restictive at all, and gains would be minimal; 0.5-2% at the most.

The best way of tuning any normally-aspirated engine is to pinpoint the restrictions, and work on them in order to unleash what could be described as 'hidden power'. In the case of your KV, the bottlenecks are definately the valves and cam. Granted, exhaust, manifold and filter upgrades have always proved very popular with tuners, as the vast majority of engines are restricted with the standard parts, and it's almost become a 'done thing' when tuning any car. But it's no good to generalise when tuning. You have to look specifically at the engine and see what works, and what doesn't. In the case of the KV, and many other Audi engines for that matter, the exhaust and airbox simply are not restrictive.

Do the big-valve head, and stick at that for the engine. If you want it to sound a bit louder (I wouldn't blame you - that warble p*sses on any four-pot) then fit a Remus/Milltek backbox. Just don't expect any extra power from it. Then turn your attention to the suspension - Bilstein shocks, H&R springs, anti roll bars and poly bushes. Fit some good tyres, and don't be afraid of shelling out: If you think logically, they're the only part of the car touching the road, and if they don't come up to scratch, you might as well keep everything standard.

Once that's all done, get the geometry laser-aligned. If you really want to go for it, buy yourself an S2 bumper and some 18" RS4 replicas to finish the job. Then take it out on the road and you'll appreciate the car as a whole much more than just the power.

Drew.

 

[imported_dumpvalve]

[ QUOTE ]
Fandango80 said:
So what car do you drive now then?

[/ QUOTE ]
I've got a B5 A4 1.8T Sport. Soon to be 200BHP+ when I get the K04 fitted. In comparison to the Coupe, it's got good points and bad points, but generally speaking it's a better car. It's not as good-looking as the coupe, by a long long way, but has much more tuning potential due to the turbo. And I'll be getting some body bits fitted soon, so it won't look so 'family saloon'. I'll post some pics as soon as it's done.

Drew.

 

[Fandango80]

Hey Drew.

Sounds like a nice car you have there. Got a mate who has the a w reg a4. Its the 2.4 v6 i think but its got the auto transmission. still, goes well for an auto and looks great. Guess id better start saving some pennies for the head then. Think i might go for the back box at some point- The tail pipe is a bit weedy lookingat the moment. Must admit though- id love to get a turbo installed under the bonnet- always been a fan of turbo charged engines but the insurance has always put an end to that. Dont think its worth doing such a large mod to this age car. Would like to maybe go for an a3 or a4 in a couple of years time. Im,running on 245 45 17 audi tt replica rims at the moment. They have Bridgestones on them at the moment. Front ones will need replacing in a couple of months so mite try something a bit different.
Well thanks for the help and il keep you posted when i manage to get somewhere with the engine.

Cheers.
Dave.

 

[imported_dumpvalve]

No problem mate, glad to help.

Drew.