please help stupid kat

katwalk

katwalk

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Car(s)
2003 VW Beetle, 2017 Abarth Fiat 500c
Ok, I have a 2003 2.0 lt automatic new beetle convertible.
*waits for laugher to stop*

It is laggy and slow, and I would like to know how to remedy this best, keeping in mind that just slapping a turbo on it tends to end in disaster which is why the VW 2.0 turbo is totally reworked for having a turbo, and just chipping the engine as is now does next to nothing.
What I'm left with is a neuspeed supercharger, and probably a transmission swap for a manual, anything else that can be done to give me better performance no matter how tiny it may be?

No I will not sell it and get a new one I like my stupid car.
 
Throw all the Seats, trim, aircon out.
 
Is it badly too slow, or would a bit more grunt be enough? If so, working on the intake, the exhaust and then having it chipped accordingly might do the job.
 
Lilleput said:
Throw all the Seats, trim, aircon out.
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the seats don't weigh to much unfortunatly
I like my car better than people so they are of no use to me
 
For model specific advice, fanboy/fangirl forums have plenty of info:

http://www.newbeetle.org/forums/index.php

Such motors are not geared towards performance and so unless extensive modifications are done, I'm not sure if the usual I/H/E/ECU/etc mods are worth the money as it's unlikely they will provide a 'noticeable' difference scientifically speaking. But the mind is a powerful thing and succumb to the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Take it to a drag race track and run some hard numbers. Then put whatever mods you want and run it again at the track to see the improvement. Make sure fuel and temp are relatively similar on both days.
 
nist7 said:
For model specific advice, fanboy/fangirl forums have plenty of info:

http://www.newbeetle.org/forums/index.php

Such motors are not geared towards performance and so unless extensive modifications are done, I'm not sure if the usual I/H/E/ECU/etc mods are worth the money as it's unlikely they will provide a 'noticeable' difference scientifically speaking. But the mind is a powerful thing and succumb to the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Take it to a drag race track and run some hard numbers. Then put whatever mods you want and run it again at the track to see the improvement. Make sure fuel and temp are relatively similar on both days.
Click to expand...

the org is sick of my questions :lol:
 
They dont call it the 2.slow for no reason at all..
As for power upgrades, you are better off just getting a different car or going for the 1.8T beetle. Because what your trying to do is get blood from a stone. VW had issues with the 1.8T in the beetle with coolings, so god knows if you supercharge your engine how the cooling situation will be. neuspeed sells the kit for any MKIV 2.0 so I dont know if they have tested it for a Beetle but it might be been done by some nutter in the past. But unless you want your car to be one large project, its better to move on. And slapping a SC to an engine is not any more reliable then doing turbo setup, both will make your engine go kaboom down the road.

Best option, sell your car and pickup a 1.8T Convertible and chip it. Actually better option, sell the car and get a GTI, as that is the proper performance VW.
 
the Interceptor said:
Oh, changing the camshaft together with my above posted changes will do the trick as well, but all of this will "only" give you a better N/A engine, rather than the boost of a super- or turbocharger.

I found a kit for the 2.0 of a german tuner that gets out 140 hp.

http://www.bb-automobiltechnik.de/b...hp?src=diagramme/diagramm_20_115ps_stufe2.jpg
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http://www.neuspeed.com/products/product_details.asp?app=51|NB&type=11&ltype=ns_euro&p_id=619 here;s the supercharger that fits my car
*goes to look up camshafts*
 
the Interceptor said:
Is it badly too slow, or would a bit more grunt be enough? If so, working on the intake, the exhaust and then having it chipped accordingly might do the job.
Click to expand...

According to the internet, the Beetle Convertible 2.0 has 115hp and 125lb/ft of torque and does 0-60mph in 12 seconds at best. For reference, the convertible with the 1.8T engine had 150hp and 162lb/ft of torque and did 0-60mph in about 9 seconds. Even the newest Beetle Convertible sold in the US only has the 2.5L 5-cyl available, and that has similar power/accleration as the previously mentioned 1.8T.

So if you could manage to squeeze 35hp and 40lb/ft of torque out of the 2.0, it will still be slow by most people's standards.
 
Drop a SBC in that thing. That I would LOVE to see.

VW_Rear.jpg

Or you could put a jet engine in it.
 
katwalk said:
http://www.neuspeed.com/products/product_details.asp?app=51|NB&type=11&ltype=ns_euro&p_id=619 here;s the supercharger that fits my car
*goes to look up camshafts*
Click to expand...
The price certainly is alright, but a bit more data would be nice. If a compression reduction is not included in this kit, the pressure of the SC should be 0.4 bar, 0.5 tops. And an intercooler would be nice, but doesn't seem to be part of the kit.

EDIT: found this on the SC kit: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3866071

EDIT: and this, too: http://www.europeancarweb.com/tuned/0105ec_neuspeed_supercharged_20l_volkswagen_engine/index.html
Unfortunately, we didn't have the car long enough to get any acceleration data, but we did strap it to our Dynojet. Running roughly 5 psi from off idle through the midrange, the Neuspeed supercharger basically moved the stock torque curve upward 25 to 35 lb-ft, across the board, hanging on noticeably better than stock at the top end. Peak torque increased from 112.8 lb-ft at 3720 rpm to 140 lb-ft at 3650 rpm, a gain of 27.2 lb-ft, while peak power increased from 95.9 bhp at 5250 rpm to 132.1 bhp at 5700 rpm for a gain of 36.2 hp. The maximum increase was 42.3 bhp at 6280 rpm.
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the Interceptor said:
The price certainly is alright, but a bit more data would be nice. If a compression reduction is not included in this kit, the pressure of the SC should be 0.4 bar, 0.5 tops. And an intercooler would be nice, but doesn't seem to be part of the kit.

EDIT: found this on the SC kit: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3866071

EDIT: and this, too: http://www.europeancarweb.com/tuned/0105ec_neuspeed_supercharged_20l_volkswagen_engine/index.html
Click to expand...

yeah I'm also getting info off here http://newbeetle.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6083&highlight=supercharger
he'd know being that he's had the SC strapped on for a year
 
I would consider selling yours and getting the 1.8T, add to that an APR stage1 or 1+ upgrade and you will be at either 215/245 or 235/275 with no serious changes to the engine. Cooling might be an issue though.
 
Sell it.
Buy this:
Volkswagen_New_Beetle_RSi.jpg


VW Beetle RSi - 3.2ltr V6, 6.5secs to 60 :D

But seriously, getting it chipped might give you some more BHP and torque, I've never actually driven an auto but they do reduce the 0-60 time so they could be what is making it sluggish. Supercharging sounds complicated and expensive, where as an ECU upgrade can be relatively cheap.
 
A manual trans would help I would think. My Jetta is only a 2.0 with a manual, as you know, and I have no problems with sluggishness, the auto probably takes away any of the grunt that little 4 can manage to put out. I'm assuming though that a manual trans would cost a boat load as well.

Also got to ask, did you ever get that light checked out on the dash? I thought I read if a few places that that's usually a combined problem with the car running even more sluggish than normal, don't know if it's possible that that might be the case with yours.

EDIT: Just quickly checked for manual transmissions and although I don't know exactly which one might fit in Peggy but it's quite a bit cheaper either way than the turbo.
 
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The engine will just blow itself right apart if you use NOS.

But seriously, if you want to make it go faster, stripping out weight is the best way as the engine isn't exactly tuner-friendly, and with yours being a convertible I'd be worried about chassis flex during hard cornering.

I guess some simple intake and exhaust work could be viable, and than rather than go all out on the engine spend some money adding chassis stiffening, reworked suspension, brakes and tyres. NEVER go cheap skate on the suspension, go for a complete replacement kit as the standard components are not designed to work with an aftermarket parts mix (e.g. stock damper + aftermarket springs) .

But yeah, all due respects, its probably a better idea just to save for an RSi if you want to stick to a beetle. Doing up a beetle convertible will be such a money pit for the amount of performance increase you might get.
 
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