c20xe turbo or c20let?

[NOVA-LE67]

hi
i am currently running a c20xe in my mk2 nova which will be going off the road for the winter shortly (next month) while it is off the road i will be able to add more power. this is where the thinking starts....
looking on the internet i see c20let's going for around 700-800 on average (standerd), as i already have a c20xe (which has been running great for the last year) and have a good T3 turbo sat in my garage i am thinking of putting the 2 together and using the 700-800 (plus a bit more) to forge the block.... so my question is what else is needed or what is different between the XE and the LET i.e cams, loom, throttle body ect ect

im guessing i will need a new ECU and inlet cam at least


thanks for reading.
jamie c

[Martin.p]

yeah you wil need a ECU and cam but putting the EX inlet cam in to a LET is a common mod ( for C20LET owners) but it will need the LET outlet cam. not sure about loom. the LET loom has a amal valve which is the only way the ECU knows what boost the turbo is running at at any given momment. which is why chips are needed to raise boost limmet (telling amal valve to work at higher PSI. this could be got around by useing a MBC (manual boost controler) but will stop the car useing its limp mode if its needed because your withholding info from the ECU.
You will need to drill and tap a hole into the sump for a turbo oil return pipe. Think there is a feed point on the oil pump that has a blanking screw in it already on the XE that you can remove so you can get a feed to the turbo. You will also need some water to run to the turbo and away again. plus a new exhaust.
There is probably more. I'm not sure. I'm no expert

[Connor]

C20let.

[Martin.p]

Best off getting a engine that was made to be a LET than making a XE a LET.
1. get LET
2. sell XE (making some money back)
3. sell standard k16 off LET (making a bit more back)
4. dont come at me when the Let runs like **** and youve sold your sweet running XE
5. Dont change XE to LET and say I've buggerd it all up! help!! coz I'll say I told ya so.

HTH :)

[NOVA-LE67]

yeah it does seem a shame to change a engine that is doing so well. cheers martin :)
any other thoughts still more than welcome :)
jamie c

[mk1nova_rich]

Id stick with the good engine and go from there :thumb:

[ALS-C20LET]

Go for the let because it'll put a smile on your face when driving it...

[_Jake]

Turbo the XE, you know the history of the engine, & since you will be doing the work to the engine you will know whats been done to it. If you buy a LET its a bit of a risk as most 2.0 16v's have had the tits thrashed off of them so you never really know what your buying...

[Mieran]

I would buy a LET, drive it and realise its very quick and unusable, then take it out and put XE back in.

[NOVA-LE67]

cheers for the comments guys and lol at mieran :) still not sure what ill be doing yet. i am also thinking of just keeping the XE and doing some basic engine mods to it to increase the power a little cams and TB's ect. it may cost more money and get less power than a turbo engine but N/A is much cooler in my opinion so it would be worth it. but like i say im not too sure yet lol i plan to start working on it around november so i got time to work stuff out yet.
cheers
jamie c