1.6 Gsi Turbo

[luke langton]

Hi, I have a gsi with a standard engine except for a full system exhaust,
I have just been on the phone to courtenay looking at their turbo convertions.
Just wanted to get some information from anyone who has had them done.
Is the convertion worth it, what is the performance like.
What else should i change to the engine to get the most out for the convertion.

[Jules]

For what Courtneys will charge you can probably get a 2.0L 16v XE lump or a 2.0 16v LET (turbo) lump put in your Nova and still have money left over.

[ncole]

have a look at davs 1.6 turbo thats knocking out nearly 200bhp

http://www.novaload.net/features/viewfeature.php?ref=874

[geordie_racer]

not the most difficult job to do yourself just very time consuming. dont go to courtenay whatever you do as most people admit the way they do them is just a bodge and for half what they charge ou can have a proper set-up. firstly you need to think of a bhp figure your looking for as this will affect your choice of turbo

chris

[luke langton]

I have thought about the idea of a 2.0L 16v or 2.0L turbo lump but i dont want to do that because the insurance will be too much(not that a 1.6 turbo will be cheap).
Why is the courtenay convertion a bodge? I want to get about 150+bhp
you said i can get a proper set up for less money is that from somewhere else? or is that if i do it my self?

thanks Luke

[geordie_racer]

1stly, the courtenay conversion uses a 5th injector and the controllers are known to brake quite often meaning big costs to fix. if you dont fancy doing it yourself then a few people on here will probably offer or my company could do it but you'll have to wait till the new year now.

as for cost it will be cheapest if you do it yourself but if my company do it it'll only be around the 2k mark max probably less.

is 150bhp the most you want? im building a C16XE turbo which im wanting to run at 170bhp and im using this setup,

low. comp pistons
thicker headgasket
escort rs turbo t3 turbo
escort rs turbo intercooler
escort rs turbo oil cooler
mappable ecu.

basically you can get the ecu and loom for ?800ish then its just the cost of the other parts which id say you could get the turbo parts for ?300ish then low comp pistons will vary alot in price but i think ur lookin around the ?500 mark

so that would add up to ?1500ish or so which is quite cheap really then u just need to make custom manifold mounts, exhaust, and plumb it all it and get it mapped up.

thats a very rough guide to it theres also a post in the how to section on here about building a carb turbo gsi so read that as most of the principles apply but i would recommend keeping it injection as generally its more reliable

hope this helps any more questions just ask
chris

[NovaNeil]

Unless you know what your doing mate I wouldn't attempt it. Buy a Valver for ?400 and stick that in. The insurance is the same for my 1.6 Turbo as it is for my Mates Valver.

Courtenay only used a 5th injectors for a few of there last Turbo Conversion 1.6's. The majority used that Crappy Vacuum switch to up fueling. AVOID!! :crazyeye:

[luke langton]

Well I don?t want to do the conversion my self because I don?t know the in's and outs of a turbo conversion.
If Courtenay use a 5th injector and its a bit bodge, what do you use?

As for bhp I would like a little more than 150 bhp, if possible, but I also want it to be reliable.
I don?t mind spending the money for a decent conversion, because I don?t want it to blow up in the first week.

Whats your company called?
Have you got a telephone number for it, what conversions have you done and have you done a 1.6 gsi turbo before.

Thanks for all your help! Luke.

[luke langton]

Unless you know what your doing mate I wouldn't attempt it. Buy a Valver for ?400 and stick that in. The insurance is the same for my 1.6 Turbo as it is for my Mates Valver.

Courtenay only used a 5th injectors for a few of there last Turbo Conversion 1.6's. The majority used that Crappy Vacuum switch to up fueling. AVOID!! :crazyeye:

Alright NovaNeil, I left a comment on your nova its well nice, so the insurance is the same as a valver well I would prefer a 1.6 turbo than a valver. (Just personally choice).

A lot of people have said that the courtenay conversion is a bit bodged, so is the 5th injectors better than the vacuum switch? Which one have you got on your car? What do you suggest I do because I really want to do the conversion but I don?t know the best option? Luke

[geordie_racer]

well every decent turbo conversion ive seen or done has used a mappable ecu and larger injectors. the ecu and loom costs about ?800 then it will just need mapping this is far more reliable as it uses a lookup table which cant really go wrong unless you change it.

as i said you need to decide a rough power figure as for 150bhp ud use a t2 turbo whereas for 170-200bhp ud use a t25 ot t3 so it helps to know what your trying to achieve. all turbo engines are reliable its just down to how its built and how much car is taken.

havent got a phone number for my company yet its on my list of things to do as its still a new company but my website should be up in the next week or so.
this post should help you find a bit more info on my company,

http://213.239.45.197/~nostalgicpuk/forums/index.php?showtopic=325&hl=
or
http://www.novaload.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=79308&highlight=

hope this helps
chris

[NovaNeil]

I use DTA Engine management to control mine, but original it was a Courtenay Conversion.

My Courtenay conversion was the one with a Little Vacuum operated switch, that broke and caused me 2 rebuilds. I've been told that Courtenay did start to useing a 5th Injector which I can imagine would control the extra fueling quite acurately, But I wanted to get rid of the "Restrictive" airflow meter so I opted for DTA instead. Courtenay use an MF2 ECU for there 5th injector, From what I remember it was about ?350-?400 for it to be added to my car when I asked them about doing it.

So the answer is Yes, you can have a reliable Turbo Conversion, But its going to cost you........
?3000 if you get Courtenay to do it, But you can be done for a lot less...........as I've said before....If you know what your doing.

Mine used to run 161bhp on the Courtenay set up at 9PSi with a CS15 gas flowed head. It did about 8000 miles quite happily before I decided I needed more power and a better way to control the engines air fuel mixture.

[geordie_racer]

nova neil how much did ur dta ecu cost you? what injectors did you use? also did you buy the loom for the ecu or did you make it yourself.

as you metion courtenay can do for 3k but there way of doing it with a 5th injector still insnt the best way to do and for the sake of a couple hundred quid more than the 5th injector ecu you may aswell have a mappable ecu and do it the best way. and of course a mappable ecu means your always going to get the most out of any other future modifications as you can remap the engine to suit them

chris

[Dicko]

dta = ?550
loom = ?150+
mapping = ?300

[NovaNeil]

?500 for ECU
?300 for the Loom (from MBE)
?500 to have it fully mapped

As you can see, the prices can vary, but I think mine would have been a bit harder to map than Dicko's. Hence the higher cost. Mine spent 9 hours on the Rolling Road. :shocked!:

[NovaNeil]

I use 2.0 16v XE (Cream Injectors)

And your right Chris, Fully Mappable Engine management is far the best way to control a NA engine which has been converted to Turbo.

[Aragorn]

dont think dicko has had his properly mapped yet?

[cmatty]

Yep dont bother with the boost microswitch. Soon I will be getting some wolf3d management put on my currently bodged courtenay 1.6 turbo.

[geordie_racer]

indeed full engine management is the only way to go as it also gives you so many options for the rest of the engine in the future. ill prob be able to do my engine management for ?550 as dta have sent me the wiring diagram for the loom so ill make my own and the ecu will be ?500ish then i have a deal with my local rr so mapping will be peanuts.

how much do you reckon should be a decent price for a t25 turbo?

cheers
chris