A&Q about 350Z
Q:
i have a mk3 1.4 spi, and since i bought it i wanted to swap the engine to a vr or 1.8t but as i went along to find out @what costs i was going in i discovered that they were triple my budget.. i mean i luv to work on my car espacialy i would luv to do a swap & get my self working on it but i dont have the gran for it. So im thinking of how to get some other 60 bhp out of my already 60bhp 1.4l any ideas ..... cams,port&polish,decat,lightend flywheel biger injector maybe from another vw engine....
A:
to be honest (and no offence intended) but youll be basically chasing your tail if you tune a 1.4
just save up and buy a fast car when money allows
A:
As Matt says, it's very hard to get a lot of power from a small engine. It's possible but it will end up costing you more then it would to do an engine swap.
A:
as matt82 says save up and get something faster. loads of poeple start off with the 1.4 mk3, spends loads of time and money on making it look good, performance air filter, suspension, exhaust then upgrade when insurance price becomes more affordable. This is the route I went down anyway.
i'd recommend changing things that can later be transferred to a mk3 with a larger engine, so performance panel filter, head unit, head lights, grill, rear lights...
A:
i tghout so 2 that it wasnt a good deal to ugrade it ..... had a querry would the engine subframe be strong enough if one day in the future i would put a 1.8t ?and i mean ur thinking that im crazy but i just got bonded with this car and just dont feel like selling it.
this weekend i was at the strip and a mk3 1.8t came up which they are still maping & tunning its running on DTA engine manegment which its the basic bigest sum of cash to buy ...it's 3/4 the cost sum of the engine... is there a cheaper ecu to buy
A:
stick with the standard ecu while you save up for a fancy one?
A:
i was told that the TT's ecu would not work on the mk3 conversion as if i would go for a 1.8t i wil bring a tt one
A:
cant you just transfer the entire lot into the mk3? surely mk3 1.4 doesnt even have an ecu to keep etc?
it must be do able on the cheap (most things are). cant comment on the sub frame thing though. id doubt you want 180bhp on a 1.4 subframe tho
dont cut corners but dont pay OTT either lol
A:
i appreciate all ur help ... what did u mean by OTT matt.... really appriacite ur patience mates im a newbei to v-dub modding just started to taking it seriously now.
A:
i ve been bitten by d v-dub fever also lol
A:
OTT= over the top
A:
It's not impossible to upgrade a mk3 1.4 to a 1.8T, but unless your'e doing it yourself labour costs will be very high, and even if you do it yourself it will be harder than say converting a GTI 16V to 1.8T.
You will have to change not only the engine, ecu, loom, dash, but all mounts, suspension, brakes, fuelling system, gearbox exhaust. Basically everything except the shell, windows, trim, interior, although I'd expect you'd want something more than the standard CL interior. So all in all, a lot of work. At least with a mk3 16V, the suspension, exhaust and brakes, gearbox can stay.
A:
The only thing i would do to a 1.4 is to have it looking nice (wheels, suspension, etc etc)
I would do nothing to the engine at all.