Where to buy performance turbo for ALH?

Honestly I've been scratching my head on this for a while. I've checked my usual places; i.e. idparts, kerma, fixmyvw etc. Only turbo I can find is a vnt 17. Looks for turbo options that can support 200hp from a reputable vendor.

Dutch auto parts makes an 18/56 hybrid for ~$1300. rebuilt/machined from a VNT17 i presume.

You mean like this one from Cascade? (formerly known as Bora Parts) http://www.cascadegerman.com/product/1700250038/

Check out www.turbo-upgrade.com, search for gtd1752vrk & ALH.

Thank you everyone! I'll start digging in.

Totally forgot boraparts change their name!

Side note: I thought the 17/22 turbo was dead and gone. They ARE still being produced apparently?

Aaron picked up some stock out of Europe recently. The 1756 would also be a solid option, but you're looking more towards 2 bar of boost at that point, so rods would be a good idea and a differential would be nice. If you're keen with fabricating, we're all dying to see more 1752VRK builds state side.

I will be installing a state side GTD1752VRK into my ALH Daily Driver when changing my Timing Belt. Challenges will be the Down Pipe and Inter Cooler connections. Suggestions are welcome.

I'm curious, does anyone know what Kerma's 17plus Doka turbo is? Sound like a rebranded 17/52?

02PSDV8 said:

I'm curious, does anyone know what Kerma's 17plus Doka turbo is? Sound like a rebranded 17/52?

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I've got that turbo. It's supposed to be their replacement for the 17/22. Made from a VNT17 but has a 52mm billet wheel and some machine work done to it. I have not had mine on the dyno quite yet, but it spools very nicely. My tune is around 27lbs or so. DLC1019s's and i would assume around 180-190 to the wheels. Then again, that's just my butt dyno.

vdubwannab thanks for the info. Any idea what hp the turbo tops out at? 220ish?

If Kerma's Doka is a vnt-17 cartridge with a 52mm compressor wheel, I don't know how secure I would be about running 27 pounds of boost... I will plead ignorance here, but the only difference between the original VNT-17 and the VNT-15 was the housing and compressor wheel: they both used the same stepped shaft that has had a long history of snapping when pushed. If there is a "new" VNT-17 with a better/stronger designed shaft, I would like to know about it to possibly build myself another hybrid turbo that would be happy at higher boost levels than I can run run currently.

I've got the necked shaft in my HP, out of a saab gt1752s
running pr of 2ish, 40 psi in the intake manifold

to the OP? Buy you a welder. Smush together something interesting for cheap.

I don't think you'll get much over 200 HP out of a 17/22. My car made 185 with one (conservative dyno) with appropriate supporting breathing and fueling mods, running 26 PSI. I also eventually bent all 4 rods.

If you're going to run more than about 22 PSI in an ALH and plan to use the power, upgrading rods is a good idea. Head studs are, too.

I will agree with Peter here below but I find a lot of people like to race dyno sheets here. Mys bigger then your and so on!!
I have been street and Lemon/Chump roadracing the Beetle across the North East for 4 years. When Roadracing we run 7-12 hr a day peddle to the metal.
Peter is my first call on 90% of my hard parts.
We ran a 1722 for many years and it worked great sometimes running 29 LB of Boost all day.
here is list of what we ran for parts
we got rods and pistons from Peter a most
decked the block and o-ringed it
stud kit
A good head we got a new one from Peter was a cheaper way to go
Intake a P150 or N24 or a snail we found the D24 worked the best
11 MM pump and lift pump, injectors too
bigger inter cooler ( we stepped up to a water to air one, night and day for power)
2.5 " ex
Now for a tune I have used three here for my car and my customer. With the Beetle in the 4 years of racing it and dynoed and raced I have tested over 40+ tunes .

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I don't think you'll get much over 200 HP out of a 17/22. My car made 185 with one (conservative dyno) with appropriate supporting breathing and fueling mods, running 26 PSI. I also eventually bent all 4 rods.
If you're going to run more than about 22 PSI in an ALH and plan to use the power, upgrading rods is a good idea. Head studs are, too.

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Indigobluewagon Do you carry any other upgrading turbo's for the alh other than the vnt 17?

Not anymore. We only stock new turbos so we can offer a warranty, and there aren't any new upgrade turbos beyond the VNT-17 for the ALH that I'm aware of.

You might want to contact Ryan Parkin at Darkside Developments in the UK. I bought a 1756 from him a few years ago. Not sure what he has available now.

02PSDV8 said:

vdubwannab thanks for the info. Any idea what hp the turbo tops out at? 220ish?

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Their R&D ALH has one with Colt stage 3 cam and was like 210hp. I would personally say that is pushing the limits and asking for some carnage if you push it that far. You're going to need some decent work done to get above 190-200hp to the wheels. If you are serious about getting above 200hp I would say choose a different turbo. I don't track mine, and am not "hard" on my vehicles.

I've got a 3 bar MAP sensor, Eurojet SMIC, Darkside TIP and 51mm charge piping, ARP head studs, EGR/ASV deleted, DLC1019's, and Kerma tune just for comparison.

Honestly I'd want to be in the 180-200hp range. I'm not looking to go crazy I just wanted to understand the hp spectrum for that particular unit

Take a hard look at what you really want. Is it a high peak horsepower engine that gives up lower end reponse for an extra high peak number? Or are you looking to drive the car on the street every day?
I followed TDIMEISTER's advice a couple of years ago and installed a GTC1749VZ turbo from a 177 HP Audi. My dyno tune got 172 HP and 313lb/ft. At 26 psi boost, stock cam, and stock head,(didn't even do a valve job or refresh the head). At that, I had to detune because of clutch slip.
I paid $900 for that turbo then. Last summer, I purchased another one for way less than 275 on eBay.uk for another car
Best thing for me is how responsive the engine is from below 1500 rpm. Boost is near instant on the street or highway. Pass
doesn't require a downshift. Just a small push on the go peddle.
I have a full ported head fresh head on my shelf waiting to go. The turbo can push 31 psi. But it simple performs great as is.

One more thing for your consideration:. Two+ years ago, the GTC1549VZ was TDIMEISTER'S favorite replacement turbo. This year, his latest suggestion is the GTD1752vk found on the 190 HP 2 litre BMW's. I found the price and availability just too high for me to justify on the Jeep project. More than an extra $1000 to buy and install. So I went with the GTC1549VZ again and a bigger Jeep clutch, a refreshed cylinder head, stronger 12.9 head bolts. Now I can try 31 psi boost for 190 HP and 340 lb/ ft torque with a stock intercooler.
With the ported head, a stage II cam, and a retune - 200hp and 350 lbs/ft should be realistic, but the rods will not take it very long.l

You can get 170+ HP with a VNT-17, 11mm pump, PP502s or 1019s, exhaust, and a larger intercooler. No internal work needed. Plug and play.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

You can get 170+ HP with a VNT-17, 11mm pump, PP502s or 1019s, exhaust, and a larger intercooler. No internal work needed. Plug and play.

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Thats what I did and I am very happy. VNT17/11mm pump/PP520s/straight piped/Malone Stage 4/SouthBend Stage 3 Daily I still have a stock IC for now with cold temps in the NE I should be okay till it warms up. Any suggestions on a intercooler?

There are a few upgraded side mounts available. We have one from Darkside Developments, there are others out there. I've run a Tyrolsport one on my wagon for longer than I care to mention.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

You can get 170+ HP with a VNT-17, 11mm pump, PP502s or 1019s, exhaust, and a larger intercooler. No internal work needed. Plug and play.

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I recently reworked a 2001 Golf. After reading lots of post, I decided to keep the boost just under (at least I hope it is) rod bending territory. As Peter says external mods and a VNT-17 (only I went with DLC764's) will produce a very nice driving car. I've never dynoed my car, but my Malone dealer told me with my setup I should get "165-175 horsepower, with torque in the low 300". Sure I want 200 or more horsepower, but the car is really fun and a great daily driver. I would suggest going with the VNT17 and spend the extra on a limited slip and some suspension work. If you are not happy, build up a good bottom end, add a GTB turbo and 250-300 HP is obtainable. I'm contemplating doing just that, but have too many other projects at the moment.

This is a few years back but with the snail intakes and DLC764 and no lift pump
and light on the tune to save fuel for the long runs

On our last race we installed Peters 1756 with a stainless steel log ex manifold and Race 520 and tested some tunes from Malon and TDTUNING back to back on the track. I will say we loved the setup all my pro drivers when you can pull any BMW or Porsche and small block camaro of any turn by 2 car lengths you got the right setup. At one point we tested TDTUNING big tune 28 LB and more mid range fueling it add a full car to the turn exit and hurt your ribs in the seat.
Sad to say we did totaled it that race and are parting it out

So I was thinking of the following set up:

vnt-17
OMI
upgraded side mount inter-cooler
upgraded upper inter-cooler pipe
sbc stage 2 endurance clutch
pp764 nozzles
bigger turbo to inter-cooler hose
3 bar map
2.5" turbo back exhaust
rc tuned for above

With a good tune where could I expect to be? 180ish and good daily driver? Opinions?

02PSDV8 said:

So I was thinking of the following set up:
vnt-17
OMI
upgraded side mount inter-cooler
upgraded upper inter-cooler pipe
sbc stage 2 endurance clutch
pp764 nozzles
bigger turbo to inter-cooler hose
3 bar map
2.5" turbo back exhaust
rc tuned for above
With a good tune where could I expect to be? 180ish and good daily driver? Opinions?

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I'd say closer to 170 but yes, pretty tried and true setup. Personally I recommend the SB Daily clutch. I also can say that the Darkside SMIC kit is worth the money.

02PSDV8 said:

So I was thinking of the following set up:
vnt-17
OMI

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You might want to consider a PD150 TIP along with the larger PD150 MAF sensor, although any air filter to turbo pipe will probably only produce minor improvements. If you are changing the TIP the R32 snorkel may help as well.

upgraded side mount inter-cooler
upgraded upper inter-cooler pipe
bigger turbo to inter-cooler hose

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That all comes in a kit, although I like the stock upper pipe (IC to intake). It fits better and doesn't seem to make much difference to the aluminum one.

pp764 nozzles
3 bar map
2.5" turbo back exhaust
rc tuned for above

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Sounds good

sbc stage 2 endurance clutch

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I can't speak to that clutch, but if you have the funds an 02M with a stock PD150 DMF and clutch works well and is very smooth. May as well toss in a limited slip while it's out!

With a good tune where could I expect to be? 180ish and good daily driver? Opinions?

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As stated, I think that HP number may be slightly optimistic. But you will have fun with it. You are pretty close to my Golf and I really like it. Decent power when you need it, good fuel economy and no real vices. Keeping the boost under rod bending amounts should deliver good reliability. You might want to consider a set of ARP head studs for peace of mind.


As with any engine modifications, you start reaching a point of diminishing returns. Things like a better flowing intake, EGR delete and a BEW lift pump may help, but you probably won't notice a huge improvement.