performance ?

Chat about your MKIII (86C) inc GT/G40 Polo
Post Reply
liamdrat1
New
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:05 pm
Location: neath
Contact:

performance ?

Post by liamdrat1 »

hi ive got a 1 litre polo i was wonderin if there is anyway to make it go a bit better not spendin mega money just to make it shift a bit better thanks
liam :D
JPR_polo_gti
Silver Member
Posts: 307
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:53 pm
Location: Cardiff Drives: 6n2 Polo GTi + Mk3 Polo Fox
Contact:

Post by JPR_polo_gti »

noz?
Jonny_tinslecat
New
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:52 am

Post by Jonny_tinslecat »

take the doors off? roll it down hill? take the handbreak off?
COUPE92
New
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:58 pm
Location: Darlington, Co Durham

polo 1ltr performance

Post by COUPE92 »

Hello

I have just got a J reg (hence coupe92) polo 1ltr and was wondering the same thing. I am not stupid and realise that it's not ever going to be quick but you might as well get the best you can from what you have.
Perhaps not even performance but fuel economy etc etc.
Is there anything obvious that a new owner should do with a standard polo engine that improves on what VW designed?

I'll post some pics of mine later, it's rather nice i think!
JPR_polo_gti
Silver Member
Posts: 307
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:53 pm
Location: Cardiff Drives: 6n2 Polo GTi + Mk3 Polo Fox
Contact:

Post by JPR_polo_gti »

Reducing weight will probably do more for your handling and performance than anything else on a 1ltr, on the value for money charts it ranks the highest too :wink:
I've taken the spare out of my little fox and keep a can of Holt's Tyre weld emergency puncture repair in the boot.
bread van
New
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:18 am
Location: wigan

Re: performance ?

Post by bread van »

liamdrat1 wrote:hi ive got a 1 litre polo i was wonderin if there is anyway to make it go a bit better not spendin mega money just to make it shift a bit better thanks
liam :D
hia i beleve you can fit a gt cam and 1.3 throttle body and like people say loose as much weight as poss. iam in same boat. i have just had my cat removed and stainless zorst made it a bit more responsive. its all fun in it
randerson
New
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:31 pm

Re: performance ?

Post by randerson »

Hi, i have a 1.0 fox to and i have to say they are rather slow, i took my cat off and put a replacement pipe in to replace cat(just remember to take it off and put the cat back on fot MOT) i also changed the the airfilter and chiped it. lowering the car is a good way to go but as you are after a cheap mod i would go with losing the extra weight spair tyre and seat. finaly i bought a electric supercharger of ebay its made a little bit of difference but not alot(1bhp-2bhp) GOOD LUCK cheers
Tahrey1043
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5184
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:15 am
Location: Birmingham! Enjoys: The pseudo-G-Smiles provided by a 1.6 Megane Sport valver...
Contact:

Re: performance ?

Post by Tahrey1043 »

Insert a better engine.

Seriously, this question has been asked down the years many times, I've been the asker myself, and there's not really much you can do to it that will be better in terms of pound-per-horsepower than just dropping in a whole 1.3GT lump.

If this is to make it go quick whilst avoiding the insurance bump, chop it in for a 1.0, 60hp, group 1 Corsa. Otherwise, you stack it, they notice the undeclared switch, your policy is void and you're in a whole barrel of legal and financial pain.

One thing that improved the nature of the engine if not the power was one of ........ oh man, it's been so long, I forget his name! There is or was a fine upstanding chappy on here who does custom ECU chips. I might have got one or two HP bump out of it and a little extra torque (enough to shave half a second off the (20-ish second) 0-60 and maybe do 91-92mph instead of 90 - nothing significant), maybe some better MPG, but it definitely got rid of a couple of noticable flatspots in the lower-mid rev range. Drivability is more valuable in a slow car than absolute power - if you can hold the gear without having to continually change, it makes zapping down the B-roads at 50-60 a much smoother experience.

You could put in different cams, manifolds, throttle bodies/injectors and the like, at random cost and a fair bit of work, and end up with a frankenstein engine that will baffle the average garage and put out maybe 60 horse on a good day (I did do the maths once - I think you could get 90hp from a 1043cc G40, assuming you could source a suitable head gasket?).... or do a few hours overtime and get a 1.3 MPi from a breakers. Maybe with a 5 speed thrown in if yours is currently a 4. Either a wide ratio one for better motorway manners, or a close shift GT spec one to make the best of what is, these days, sufficient but still not a great bundle of power (75hp). Plus, apart from not matching up with the numberplate, it'll be a stock setup and easily supported and diagnosed.

Or a 1.3 genny engine on the cheap, that's still an extra 10hp and almost as much torque as the GT below 3500rpm.

Otherwise... ditch the weight, get as wide a tyre/rim as will sensibly fit, and drop the suspension. Make up for top end speed with better acceleration (maybe even as good as the 1.3 if you chuck out the back seats) and improved speed through the corners.
And yes - NOS! NOS! NOOOOSSSS!!! :D I want to see someone do this at last!

EDIT: Jesus, the last post here was last March? What happened to the place? Normally a thread this far down the first page would be but a couple days old :cry:
User avatar
alexperkins
Site Admin
Posts: 14866
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:29 pm
Drives: 91 Golf GTI, 01 TT 225, 54 T5 174
Location: Poole, Dorset, UK.
Contact:

Re: performance ?

Post by alexperkins »

Tahrey1043 wrote: EDIT: Jesus, the last post here was last March? What happened to the place? Normally a thread this far down the first page would be but a couple days old :cry:
Few people care about the Mk3s on here anymore. There arent many of us left on the forum with Mk3s now. Most have moved over to Polo3 lol!
Post Reply