More power out of a 1.6 TD

Upgrades to the 1.5, 1.6 and 1.9 engines that make them go farther or faster
Post Reply
James_bond82
Glow Plug
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2017 11:46 am

More power out of a 1.6 TD

Post by James_bond82 »

Hello Everyone,
I am new to this forum and have a few questions about performance upgrades to the 1.6 TD that will not effect reliably or mpg. About a year ago I picked up an 81 caddy with the stock 1.6 NA diesel and 5 speed tranny with factory AC in it. Earlier this week I bought a 1.6 turbo diesel that I will be sending off to a machine shop to be looked over and machined, if needed. This is going to be my daily driver and would like to set it up right while I’m doing all of this work. I’m needing everyone’s opinion on what I can/should do to squeeze as many ponies as I can out of this setup without compromising reliability or MPG. Also, can anyone recommend a good machine shop within a reasonable distance of metro Atlanta to work on my motor?
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: More power out of a 1.6 TD

Post by Fatmobile »

Big exhaust; 2.25 should do and an intercooler are the spendy parts.
A governor mod will help with power in the midrange.
Where do you want that power.
The stock turbo doesn't kick in until around 2000rpm.
A VNt 15 will kick in right away, plus doesn't have as much back pressure if set up right.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
Post Reply