Anyone have some low budget mod ideas for a 03 MkIV Golf TDI

GoontherTheGolf · May 28, 2019

Pretty much as the title says

I’m tired of being in a car that doesn’t pass 100hp, so I figured this would be the best place to see what ideas people have. I just put on an EGR delete and now I’m wondering what else can I do to this thing?

Nero Morg · May 28, 2019

How cheap is cheap? Also, is yours auto or manual? You could try the evry mod, but that's a limited mod and can lead to destroyed parts if done wrong.

GoontherTheGolf · May 28, 2019

Sorry, should’ve added a bit more info. It’s an automatic and cheap for me is between $100-$200. I’m a bit new to this and I wanna know what I can do.

Owain@malonetuning · May 28, 2019

Slap a set of nozzles in and call it good, any of the name brand stuff from Europe will work fine, avoid no name ebay/amazon nozzles and make sure to at least do basic pop testing. I'd steer clear of tuning boxes or unknown flashes, there's cheap tunes floating around online but they could cause more harm than good. If you plan to play around with it and tune it yourself/cheaply, I'd start by picking up a VCDS cable to make sure you can diagnose things to make sure it remains reliable, or at least a boost gauge. VNT15 should be around 18psi at sea level, with spikes no more than low 20s.

since it's an automatic your injection pump flows more and you have smaller nozzles to compensate. A set of DLC520s would be sufficient.

Mongler98 · May 28, 2019

go get a set of soft summer tires 350 or lower rating, and go autocross with it.
Nozzles, tune, and a clutch if you want more power but cant afford head work or a $$$ turbo

autocross is NOT about fast cars, its about good drivers, good meaning skills.

GoontherTheGolf · May 28, 2019

Thanks for these couple ideas and one more question. This is more of a long term thing but what would be a next step turbo instead of the stock one?

flee · May 28, 2019

Tune after the nozzles.
I have The DLC520's with a tune and an auto. You'll like it.

Mongler98 · May 28, 2019

swap the n75 bits for the ALH parts, and get a vtn 17/22 hybrid.
you WILL need a clutch if you do anything more than just a light tune
Sachs stage 2 endurance clutch and 14lbs flywheel kit, 502's or 764's, 17/22 turbo with manifold, EGT gauge, tune, PD150 intake, colt cam, and 11mm IP with a few supporting upgrades is about as beefy as you can go with out custom fab. take this combo as your base line for MAX modding with little issue.

flee · May 28, 2019

Sheesh Mongler, read. It's an 03 with an auto.

Mongler98 · May 28, 2019

flee said:
Sheesh Mongler, read. It's an 03 with an auto.

well then your half way there with the IP and the vtn!
opps
facepalm

Votblindub · Jun 7, 2019

Look at my white car(in signature), it's around 100hp or so. Shoot me a PM if you have any questions. I've been dailying it and no issues so far.

crazyrunner33 · Jun 7, 2019

GoontherTheGolf said:
Thanks for these couple ideas and one more question. This is more of a long term thing but what would be a next step turbo instead of the stock one?

If you're going to keep the car for a long period and plan on upgrading, then this thread is something you'll want to tackle after a certain point.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=151516&highlight=kill+da+auto+wabbit

I'm not sure if he still sells it or not, but Fran has the kit(no clutch) listed for 975:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=434593

Some of the vendors on the site were quoting around 900 for labor.

Mongler98 · Jun 7, 2019

Votblindub said:
Look at my white car(in signature), it's around 100hp or so. Shoot me a PM if you have any questions. I've been dailying it and no issues so far.

stock is 90HP, 100? what you do, tighten the turbos waste gate? lol

Lightflyer1 · Jun 7, 2019

Unless you do your own work $100 to $200 won't actually get you anything. You need a bigger budget or leave it alone.

ToxicDoc · Jun 7, 2019

a simple tune would be the best bang for the lowest money, but there's a chance your stock clutch won't handle a basic stage 1

Yourbuddysatin · Jun 7, 2019

Blow off valve

[486] · Jun 7, 2019

20 dollar ebay reflash cable

GoontherTheGolf · Jun 17, 2019

Lightflyer1 said:
Unless you do your own work $100 to $200 won't actually get you anything. You need a bigger budget or leave it alone.

I’m actually increasing my budget as the other one was based on my previous job, but now I’m in line to get a better paying job. Now we’ll see how much I’m able to spend without going into debt

GoontherTheGolf · Jun 17, 2019

Yourbuddysatin said:
Blow off valve

I was actually thinking bout that today, but I was wondering if the stock turbo is too small for those? If not then I might just get one for the hell of it

Jetta_Pilot · Jun 17, 2019

crazyrunner33 said:
If you're going to keep the car for a long period and plan on upgrading, then this thread is something you'll want to tackle after a certain point.

I'm not sure if he still sells it or not, but Fran has the kit(no clutch) listed for 975:

His car is an AUTOMATIC !!!

1854sailor · Jun 17, 2019

We have an '01 Golf with the 01M automatic and a mild RocketChip Stage 1.5 tune. The transmission has been drained and refilled every 40K miles or so and it still shifts as crisply as when the car was new. I can light up the tires if I want to and I have surprised a lot of BMW drivers. It is just FUN to drive.

PB_NB · Jun 17, 2019

Evry Mod!

Super cheap and should deliver at least 10 extra hp.

Find some manual car injectors or nozzles (if you were closer, you could have my old ones) super cheap!

Not sure what the increase in power will do to that auto tranny. If it breaks, NOT super cheap to fix.

Probably best to formulate your plan with a long term outlook if you plan to keep the car. Then work towards the goal. I say this because I did a bunch of upgrades and then took them out and did more upgrades. Sort of like burning money! If I had planned it better I could have saved money and been happier with the outcome.

Mongler98 · Jun 17, 2019

Jetta_Pilot said:
crazyrunner33 said:

If you're going to keep the car for a long period and plan on upgrading, then this thread is something you'll want to tackle after a certain point.
I'm not sure if he still sells it or not, but Fran has the kit(no clutch) listed for 975:
His car is an AUTOMATIC !!!

Click to expand...

you keep saying that, like some how automatics DONT HAVE CLUTCHES, they do. how do you not know this. Auto's are impossible to upgrade but the clutch can still fail. Torque converter only helps out at low revs untill it locks up. the hoop clutch will still fail and the trans is trash.
I was wrong about upgrading the clutch but it will still fail.

Mongler98 · Jun 17, 2019

the cheapest mod you will do is to push the car to the limits as it is now with soft tires. otherwise at least $1,000 will get you to a reliable area.
just sell the car or buy a boxter

Votblindub · Jun 18, 2019

Mongler98 said:
stock is 90HP, 100? what you do, tighten the turbos waste gate? lol

Stock they're around 90, with a few mods, it's probably 100 wheel hp or so. Realistically speaking.

Mongler98 · Jun 18, 2019

10 hp jump is like? do you even notice? What mod and how much to get that little? How is MPG?
Along my way of tuning and modding, i found that every upgrade you do to gain power gains MPG because you are burning the fuel better without changing the fuel injection. even larger injectors have better spray characteristics.
So your 10HP boost, hows your MPG or was that the point because 10hp is kinda pointless IMO if its not making better mileage.

Yourbuddysatin · Jun 18, 2019

GoontherTheGolf said:
I was actually thinking bout that today, but I was wondering if the stock turbo is too small for those? If not then I might just get one for the hell of it

Was a joke my friend. Look at their threads about BOV and I’m sure you will change your mind.

PB_NB · Jun 18, 2019

Mongler98 said:
10 hp jump is like?

Previously (before my last round of upgrades):
I had my stage 3 Malone tune.
DLC 1019 injectors
EGR Delete

With this I was able to get about 120 hp which is not a huge increase from 90, but the torque went up to 220 ft-lbs which was noticeable. My G60/VR6 upgraded clutch had a hard time holding this so I put a Southbend 2 Endurance. This is what was dyno'd just before the latest big upgrades.

That seat of the pants increase was really something. I also noticed much better acceleration. When we first got the ALH, it was like driving a generator. It just had one speed.

[486] · Jun 18, 2019

strip the interior of all the junk you don't need or want
there's about 200lbs worth of junk in there that's totally unnecessary, if not more than that

Mongler98 said:
10 hp jump is like? do you even notice?

when you've only got 90 to start with, 10hp is plenty to notice

aww **** I replied to a mongler post, will I ever learn?

Votblindub · Jun 20, 2019

Mongler98 said:
10 hp jump is like? do you even notice? What mod and how much to get that little? How is MPG?
Along my way of tuning and modding, i found that every upgrade you do to gain power gains MPG because you are burning the fuel better without changing the fuel injection. even larger injectors have better spray characteristics.
So your 10HP boost, hows your MPG or was that the point because 10hp is kinda pointless IMO if its not making better mileage.

Well, it's likely more than 10 tbh. People have told me it's faster with the mods, so it's probably more like 35-40 more. Mileage is the same, so no issues there.

Anyone have some low budget mod ideas for a 03 MkIV Golf TDI

Member

Top Post Dawg

Member

Associate Vendor , w/Business number

Top Post Dawg

Member

Veteran Member

Top Post Dawg

Veteran Member

Top Post Dawg

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Top Post Dawg

Top Post Dawg

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Top Post Dawg

Member

Member

Top Post Dawg

Resident Curmudgeon

Veteran Member

Top Post Dawg

Top Post Dawg

Veteran Member

Top Post Dawg

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Top Post Dawg

Veteran Member