Final drive on a 1.8 16V??!

Hi, I have a Mk1 Gti and a Mk2 GTi 1.8 16v engine, it was a project i bought that needs rebuilding, you may see from other threads i was going to sell the 16v and put another engine in, but after peoples advice on here and talking to others i have decided to put the 16v back in…

The gear box on it is a 020 (if i assume this is the orginal box what year would the engine be from), can anyone tell me what final drive this would run in original form and what do people change this for, i have a 205GTi which i sprint and we changed the final drive for a shorter one from a 3.7  to a 4.4 the difference is amazing, i also want the golf to be geared for acceleration not top speed the pug runs out at about 120 which is about right!!!!  The car is to be a track / fast road car…

My other question is which manifold to use the one i have is rotten, i guess i need a manifold to fit the 16v engine but also fit the mk1 engine bay, do you then fit a mk1 exhaust to the manifold or need a special one making up???
 :dontknow:   

Thanx
Aidy

hi mate, the gearbox on your mk1 engine will be closer geared than the mk2, the mk2 16 valve is a little longer leged than an 8 valve gearbox, im not sure about ratios as its a little late and im a little jaded but can check for you if you are stuck when sober.  if u want a sprint gearbox to fit on the 16valve try and get a gts (5 speed) they are rare but very close geared will top out earlier than 120 tho nearer 100. the 16 v manifold will fit in the mk1 bay but u may need to dabble with exhausts, theres a fella on here called george who may be able to help u out a lot more as i have never had a mk1 16 valve but he has helped me in past,
good luck,
paul

You have a choice of manifolds to fit 16v into mk1 .ashley manifold  mild steel thats what i have fitted ok quality try rally design .
    supersprint  stainless   top quality  top price.
    the other option is to get a 16v scirocco cast manifold  ebay usa or gemany   then you can buy a downpipe for 16v scirocco.
   I ended up fitting 8v gearbox ratios were nearly identical.If you want a lower ratio gearbox i would go for a 1600 gti box.
          hope this  helps        mark

There is a site somewhere that has all the gear ratios for all box codes.  Not sure where it is though.

The final drive for the 16v 020 box (code 2y) is 3.67. Higher final drives for this box are very expensive. The cheapest way is to buy a 1600 5-speed gti mk1 box (code FD, FH, FM to name a few). The ratio's are identicle to the 16v 2Y box but it has a final drive of 3.89 or 3.94 depending on which one you get. To fit the 1600 8v box to the 16v engine you need the 16v pressure plate & flywheel and a mk2 8v clutch friction plate. Bolt it all together and you can retain the original mk1 drive shafts and cv joints. If you want to up the final drive further you can purchase the AVX code box final driv from VW brand new for ?200 and have that fitted to the 1600 box. This will give you a top end of about 120mph (dependant on wheel size and tyre profile) on the limiter when powered by a 16v engine. This is the cheapest and shortest box you will build for cheap. Here is a site with a listing of box codes and ratios. www.scirocco.org/gears

Chears
Gurds

A couple more useful gear ratio sites…

http://www.nwlink.com/~vdb/vw/Transmission/speed-ratio.html

VW 020 5-Speed Transaxle Ratio Chart

I have a 9A box as fitted to Campaign Mk1's.
With my reduced tyre size, the theoretical top speed is about 116MPH (Think that was at 6000RPM in 5th - You can use the calculator in the first link to work these things out). In reality, I dont think it would pull that high in fifth gear. I have had my speedo reading 97.4MPH (digital :wink: ) and the car felt like it was flying - probably due to it being so low and stiff!

I have run a 16.5 second quarter mile and passed the line at about 84MPH I think, so there is plenty of scope to get a quick time, if you can get the engine to pull all the way in fifth!

HTH
AL.

A standard 1800 16v in a mk1 with short gearing should be good for 14 sec 1/4s. I manage 14.3sec but have a few other mods. A good 16v will hit the limiter in 5th when using shorter gears.

Hmmm..  Might have to use my FD box with a 1900 G60 lump on my next project (IF I get it!)

Hi
Thanx for your help, i need to get thinking about which way to lower the final drive, guess it will depend on what bits i can source, but it looks like the best way is to find a 1600 Gti gear box then, i have the 16v bits needed so would just need the clutch plate!!!???  Are the companies that sell reconditioned gear boxes etc or is it a search the classifieds / ebay job!!! sorry about the questions but i am new to the VW scene….

blkmk1 said

sorry about the questions but i am new to the VW scene….

I'm new to the scene to… only owned my Mk1 for 8 months and not driven one yet! so keen to though, you'll pretty much find out everything you need to know from the guys here! Very helpful

might be worth putting a post in the wanted section, someone might have a 1600 gearbox they're willing to part with

No problems. I'm not on this forum much but happy to help when i can. Just for your info, i have never paid more than ?50 for a 1600 5 speed gti box. Its also worth mentioning that during a box rebuild, get the rivets on the crown wheel removed and replaced with the replacement upgraded bolt set. This will stop your crown wheel working loose and destroying the box (weak spot). Also worth changing are the 1st & 2nd gear syncros. As the 16v will be putting a little more stress on the box, its worth doing. Yea, only the friction plate will be needed if the rest of your clutch is in good nick. I used a Helix organic plate clutch (motorsport clutch) but is costly at ?150 but wont ever slip. It does however have a very sharp biting point and a narrow operating range. Great for spirited driving but needs getting used to. Also not any harder to press than the factory clutch.