any guesses why my friend's GTI keeps blowing head gaskets?

[PlasmaBomb]

wbhp? Errr. "Wheel brake horsepower"? That's meaningless.

Yes, whp, I got the acronym wrong.

But since rolling roads measure the power at the wheels and back calculate for drivetrain losses to get "bhp"...

 

[manimal]

his build threads:

http://golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20959

http://golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31742

He just told me his mechanic thinks his tune has his timing set too aggressively leading to hot cylinder temps.

Really nice car! Love the neuspeeds he has on them in the last pictures. Its a shame hes bailing on it just when he has it setup so well. Hell based on what he spent he should keep it with a mild detune and use it as his DD. Love the hood too! Really nice setup.

I think he's moving on from his toy. He told me he's trying to get a b8 s4 or m3

Did he keep his stock parts to part it back to stock?

 

[phucheneh]

I just looked at his second build thread.

...Flat top pistons? No 'quench' area (they seem to come all the way to the top of the bore)? Possibly milled head and block?

Did he even try and figure out how much compression he's running? Turbos aren't great on, like, friggin' 12:1 motors.

I'd also ask him how the machine shop did things. Hopefully his head didn't get thrown on an old 'belt sander' machine.

edit: he says his compression is stock. I don't believe that. AND he says stock is 9.6:1.

21psi on 9.6:1? Hope he's running race gas.

 

[manimal]

I just looked at his second build thread.

...Flat top pistons? No 'quench' area (they seem to come all the way to the top of the bore)? Possibly milled head and block?

Did he even try and figure out how much compression he's running? Turbos aren't great on, like, friggin' 12:1 motors.

I'd also ask him how the machine shop did things. Hopefully his head didn't get thrown on an old 'belt sander' machine.

edit: he says his compression is stock. I don't believe that. AND he says stock is 9.6:1.

21psi on 9.6:1? Hope he's running race gas.

http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/gti/2011/road-test-specs.html


Front-wheel drive
Engine type Turbocharged direct-injected Inline-4 gasoline
Displacement (cc/cu-in) 1,984cc (121cu-in)
Block/head material Cast iron/aluminum
Valvetrain Double overhead camshaft
Compression ratio (x:1) 9.6
Redline (rpm) 6,200
Horsepower (hp @ rpm) 200 @ 5,100
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm) 207 @ 1,800
Transmission type Six-speed manual


stock specs

 

[AMCRambler]

http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/gti/2011/road-test-specs.html


Front-wheel drive
Engine type Turbocharged direct-injected Inline-4 gasoline
Displacement (cc/cu-in) 1,984cc (121cu-in)
Block/head material Cast iron/aluminum
Valvetrain Double overhead camshaft
Compression ratio (x:1) 9.6
Redline (rpm) 6,200
Horsepower (hp @ rpm) 200 @ 5,100
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm) 207 @ 1,800
Transmission type Six-speed manual


stock specs

I smell something burning. Sick burn.

 

[phucheneh]

...his engine isn't stock.

I'm not up on current VW engines, so I can't tell you what it's SUPPOSED to look like. But just looking around, I can't find anyone advertising aftermarket 9.6:1 pistons for a 2.0T TSI. They're all in the relatively standard intervals, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5...

...9.5 pictures are showing a dished top. Not a flat top with two small fly cuts.

His block and head are too clean to have not at least had a 'clean-up' cut done. If they were just tanked, they would not look like that.

I somehow doubt he bothered using head studs but bought a stock VW head gasket from the dealer.

IMO, this dude and/or his mechanic are severely lacking in attention to detail. To spend that much money on an engine and just say 'yeah, I'm sure the CR is stockish, it'll be fine with extra boost' is silly as hell.

 

[cbrsurfr]

21psi on 9.6:1? Hope he's running race gas.

Premium + water-meth.

Man I thought I've spent a lot of money making my GTI track ready. Build looked pretty good and he used a lot of high quality parts. I would have just stuck with APR K04 (or even stage 3) and not done water-meth. APR may make less power with their tunes but they are safer as well.

I also would have done an LSD upgrade.

Beautiful car...too bad he's giving up on it. LMK if he's looking to sell any parts!

 

[phucheneh]

Premium + water-meth.

Man I thought I've spent a lot of money making my GTI track ready. Build looked pretty good and he used a lot of high quality parts. I would have just stuck with APR K04 (or even stage 3) and not done water-meth. APR may make less power with their tunes but they are safer as well.

I also would have done an LSD upgrade.

Beautiful car...too bad he's giving up on it. LMK if he's looking to sell any parts!

So does his stuff look factory? I can't find any pics of stock engine with the head off. I'm really curious about those pistons.

Seems like a lot of work for the power level. Water and meth injection for 350hp? I dunno why he wouldn't have wanted to dial the CR back to give him more options.

 

[cbrsurfr]

So does his stuff look factory? I can't find any pics of stock engine with the head off. I'm really curious about those pistons.

Seems like a lot of work for the power level. Water and meth injection for 350hp? I dunno why he wouldn't have wanted to dial the CR back to give him more options.

He says in another thread that they're custom "stock" spec JE. Hard to tell from the photo but they are dished with valve reliefs. Would need to see the spec sheet from JE to know the CR for sure.

Stock should be 9.6:1 on the TSI. 10.5:1 for the older FSI.

 

[AMCRambler]

So does his stuff look factory? I can't find any pics of stock engine with the head off. I'm really curious about those pistons.

Seems like a lot of work for the power level. Water and meth injection for 350hp? I dunno why he wouldn't have wanted to dial the CR back to give him more options.

You may be right about the pistons. Looking at the JE Pistons site the 9.5 to 1 pistons list a dome of a couple of cc's. 10.5 to 1 are only -.5cc dome. I think that's what he's got there.

http://www.jepistons.com/Catalogs/Sport-Compact/VW-Audi/20t.aspx

If so he's somewhere north of 10.5 to 1 if the head and block were both decked.

 

[Atty]

Came here to ask about catch can. Didn't APR just release a press release on their new catch can system? Apparently the 2.0TSI has a problem with this on track days causing all sorts of headaches.

 

[brainhulk]

Did he keep his stock parts to part it back to stock?

he still has car, but is actively shopping and exploring options. Me and my friends are telling him to part out, cut his losses, and get into something more reliable (rwd, manual, NA). But i'm sure he's also thinking to stick with it because he went all in on the build

Premium + water-meth.

Man I thought I've spent a lot of money making my GTI track ready. Build looked pretty good and he used a lot of high quality parts. I would have just stuck with APR K04 (or even stage 3) and not done water-meth. APR may make less power with their tunes but they are safer as well.

I also would have done an LSD upgrade.

Beautiful car...too bad he's giving up on it. LMK if he's looking to sell any parts!

I agree that if he went with APR tune instead, he may have not had such issues.

 

[Arkaign]

he still has car, but is actively shopping and exploring options. Me and my friends are telling him to part out, cut his losses, and get into something more reliable (rwd, manual, NA). But i'm sure he's also thinking to stick with it because he went all in on the build



I agree that if he went with APR tune instead, he may have not had such issues.

Man, going from a FF build, even a pretty nice one, to a proper RWD is a mind blowing experience. Has he tracked a built MX-5 before? I have almost no understanding why people spend money on FF setups under any kind of performance scrutiny. FF to me is a daily grind commutemobile.

No offense to anyone who likes them though. I actually built out a 5G Prelude with a Jackson SC and a bunch of suspension work when I was younger, but in retrospect it was a huge waste of money, and only resulted in a twitchy vehicle with horrendous fuel economy.