ALH stock upgrade

[Laylamcj]

I have an 02 ALH which currently only has a stock turbo, an egr delete and is straight piped. I'm looking at just doing a stage 1 tune, what are you recommendations as far as injectors go, and other small performance things. Ultimately I just want to roll some coal and gain a bit more power.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

If your main goal is to roll coal, this is not the website for you.
I will answer your question in a responsible manner, using your stock turbo, get .205 nozzles installed and an Stage 3 tune. Nozzles and setup $400.00 or so and a proper tune somewhere in the $300.00 range.

 

[Diesel Fumes]

Rolling coal will just make everyone hate you. No one thinks it's cool other than the driver, sorry.

If your stock injectors are fine, you can do a stage 1 tune without replacing anything else. Eventually your injectors will wear out, but in the meantime you can increase the power and not do any more engine mods. This is what I did with my last alh tdi. Except I had everything stock except for a catless downpipe. Was a fun car. I was never wanting more from it

 

[UhOh]

Nothing says "Look at me, I'm wasting fuel!" more than "rolling coal." Nevada said it all above, but I'll add just a smidgen... It is far more impressive to actually HAVE performance than to LOOK like you do. "Rolling coal" is too much fueling, not enough air. It says that one isn't optimized: or one is fueling for the racetrack (hardly with a stage 1 tune!; and, really, what the heck are you doing on the road?

Stage 2 with DLC520s is the optimal performance and fuel economy (preservation- though I'm getting killer mileage with my perf mods) setup. If you've got a manual trans you're going to have to install a better-than-stock clutch.

I can puff black smoke if I drive easy for a lot of miles and then cram the GO pedal. Most of the "black" is from carbon buildup. Meanwhile I'm still racking up killer FE and have far better performance than a stage 1 tune that's over-fueling (you can get a bit of this by dropping the IQ down, but doing so also results in a stumbling engine- a two-fer-as-dufer, as you get both a smoker and a stumbling engine!

If you insist on a trail of black smoke then perhaps this:
https://www.plowhearth.com/p/64133

Or, you can trade your TDI for an old Cummins (I've got one- performance bumped, but not for coal [can you say $2,500 for an appropriate clutch?].)

 

[Rickstah]

I have an 02 ALH which currently only has a stock turbo, an egr delete and is straight piped. I'm looking at just doing a stage 1 tune, what are you recommendations as far as injectors go, and other small performance things. Ultimately I just want to roll some coal and gain a bit more power.

I have a Stage 1 on my 02 NB, I think the guy who did it estimated it went from 90hp to maybe 100-110, it was definitely peppier. I think I also had him do a dynamic egr change to lessen the soot buildup. I actually got better mileage and it seemed to smoke less, too, and on cruise it would just go up mountain grades without much of a delta. I went higher stages on an older 98 Jetta several years ago and it was also fun but fueled more and you could let people know what you thought about tailgating, lol, but ultimately I detuned it and let my son use it as a driver. As stage numbers go up so does spending. I lucked out on Stage 3 because my AHU had a stouter clutch so it was able to handle the bigger nozzles and tune...but nothing was more satisfying than being able to talk about 720+ miles on my Bug's tank when car stories time came around at work, lol. That isn't stupendous based on several posts of mileage on here but for a Bug (read lousy CD) it gave a feeling of satisfaction . I could have done without the green paint but still...

 

[oilhammer]

The best running ALHs don't smoke at all. Actually WANTING smoke is dumb. And displays the driver as dumb. It is in the same category as not using your turn signals, driving around with your fog lights on when it is not foggy, and left lane camping.

 

[Rickstah]

The best running ALHs don't smoke at all. Actually WANTING smoke is dumb. And displays the driver as dumb. It is in the same category as not using your turn signals, driving around with your fog lights on when it is not foggy, and left lane camping.

Or possibly young and lacking perspective, lol...needing guidance by more mature curmu...I mean mentors

 

[Rickstah]

The best running ALHs don't smoke at all. Actually WANTING smoke is dumb. And displays the driver as dumb. It is in the same category as not using your turn signals, driving around with your fog lights on when it is not foggy, and left lane camping.

BTW, You may not remember but several years ago I came to your house to get a hood and trunk lid for my A3 Jetta ...I traded it for a pickup and it was used around Joplin and Springfield and even now is running around a little town called Sarcoxie right off I44, still mostly dent-free except for the top, which you wouldn't sell me, lol.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Years ago, I had a timing belt event at a little past 100k miles, and sent the head to Franko6 to get rebuilt; while he had it I had him install .205 nozzles. When I got it back, I put a Stage 3 18PSI tune in and damn, what a huge difference! Lot of power when needed and 52 MPG at 75 MPH with a car full of people.
My Jetta is currently running a Stage 4 tune and .216 nozzles and outruns Power Jokes from stoplight to stoplight.