# build thread: 16v + cbr900 carbs + high compression



## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

= a fun time 












Its a 1.8 16v, decked head & 3 angle valve job to bring compression to 11:1, cams, eurosport header, TT exhaust with borla. Ignition is stock 1989 knock box ignition, distributor cranked all the way advanced. 

It has been sitting on jackstands since january, and I just put tags on it the tuesday before H20. It missed the show last year, it wasn't going to miss it again.


I still have a lot of things to clean up in the engine bay, and need to get some new trumpets to replace the cut ones I currently have (if anyone has a spare set LMK)


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## handyalbert11 (Nov 22, 2007)

:thumbup: watching


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I had started with a long tube intake manifold, however the idle sucked because it was too long and the carb angle was too low.










To make them fit I ran a honda Civic radiator. I hated it.


















and the number one reason why you dont run the keihins flat



the fact that it didn't burn down right then and there was lucky in itself. admittedly, this was a combination of a fuel pressure issue and the carb angle issue. the pressure was too high, and the floats could not close in the carbs. 


thats all for tonight, more pics/vids/info/insight to come


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## steveo27 (Aug 2, 2005)

in for moar


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## 206929rr (Oct 5, 2009)

steveo27 said:


> in for moar


this


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Round two for the car involved cutting down the runners before the bend so the carbs would be angled upwards

Before










After







However, just cutting down the runners screwed up the alignment of cylinders 1 and 4 with the carbs. 




















The car ran ok on this setup..... the part throttle at low rpms had a stumble and it would lean out at high rpms above 2nd gear












Edit: If you look in the last pic, you see that the power steering pump is ziptied to the coolant bottle support. That will come in later


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

So i wanted to make sure this car has all the accessories it had when it was stock. First on the list was power steering.

I originally was running the mk4 tdi pulley. I was told by many that it would make my serpentine belt line right up.

it doesnt.










I was going to try to run everything off of one belt. Had I realized the crank pulley alignment was the reason my belts were jumping offf all the time, I may have tried harder to make this setup work


















Admittedly, running a vr ac compressor would have been ideal, since the vr ac compressor is designed to turn the opposite direction, which would have given me better belt contact on the alternator, ac compressor and power steering pump. the additional tensioner was a pulley off of a ford focus, it was the smallest serpentine tensioner i could find.


So I went the tried and true method of the shaved down ABA pulley. that way i could run the vbelt crank pulley.


























however it was still a hefty lil pulley. so i threw it back on the lathe and went as far as i could go with it


























It is a bit lighter now  the only thing i wish i had done differently is adding a centering ring to the hub of the pulley so that it would be hubcentric to the crank gear.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

some junk I posted in another thread, but felt should be mentioned here 



> I am running the stock 1989 ignition. I had to advance the distributor all the way to get proper throttle response and power. If your car feels like it is putting out an extreme amount of air out of the exhaust at idle, and your headers get red hot at idle, chances are you aren't running enough ignition advance. ask me how i know.....
> 
> For the fueling, I am only running the stock in tank fuel pump. It supplies more than enough fuel to keep my car running rich at 9000 rpms. the regulator is a MR. Gasket one. its adjustable without any tools. jets drilled out to something like .178"
> 
> ...


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## badazzgti88 (May 2, 2006)

I have drivin this car and it's pretty quik. With a bad clutch he jumped a 1/2 car on me when i was in my vr from a dig.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

badazzgti88 said:


> I have drivin this car and it's pretty quik. With a bad clutch he jumped a 1/2 car on me when i was in my vr from a dig.


and that was with me only getting this much throttle opening with the pedal to the floor









reason was one of my coupler clamps was hitting my throttle linkage









once it was all fixed up she was running much happier at WOT 











heres a shot of the new manifold. I am going to go out this afternoon and take a few new photos of it since its pretty clean right now


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## 78srx440 (Dec 16, 2008)

[No message]


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## steveo27 (Aug 2, 2005)

:thumbup::thumbup::beer:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

took a ton of pictures this weekend, heres one and a video of some 8k rpm sounds


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## Rocambolesque (Apr 18, 2010)

Very nice. What kind of setup do you have for fuel delivery?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Rocambolesque said:


> Very nice. What kind of setup do you have for fuel delivery?


Stock intank fuel pump, i removed the factory high pressure pump and fuel accumulator thing under the car and replaced it all with just a fuel filter. under the hood i have the mr. gasket adjustable fuel pressure regulator. the main jets are drilled out to what should be close to a stage 3 jet setup. As you will see in the dyno video, i have plenty of fuel up top (atomizing into the atmosphere) so bigger cams are likely to be ordered soon


I dynoed the car recently, put out 138whp and 120 wtq. hopefully some fine tuning of the carbs and a tune up can get me into the 150whp range. hopefully a new fuel filter, plugs, and a stock temp thermostat will get things running tip top.

i took my stock dyno and my current dyno and put the figures into one graph for easy comparison. a big chunk of power gained up top, and the peak hp occurs about 1k later, which is fun 











heres a video of my second pull, 3rd being the one where i hit 138.


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## kinkerstinker (May 9, 2008)

seen it at h2o but i didn't say hi because you were busy. anyway the build looks good. :thumbup: i'm hoping to have my 16v carbd by this summer. :beer::beer:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

kinkerstinker said:


> seen it at h2o but i didn't say hi because you were busy. anyway the build looks good. :thumbup: i'm hoping to have my 16v carbd by this summer. :beer::beer:


Ah you should have said somethin, im sure whatever i was doing was dumb anyways. hopefully by the end of winter this engine will be somewhere in the 160whp range.


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## pnavarro (May 17, 2009)

Awesome dude... just... awesome! :thumbup:


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## badazzgti88 (May 2, 2006)

quit farting around and lets put a 2L in it :banghead:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

badazzgti88 said:


> quit farting around and lets put a 2L in it :banghead:


maybe if i find a 9a in the junkyard. maybe get an aba block or something and get wild with it. right now the 1.8 is staying.


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## microdub98 (May 12, 2007)

So where did ya score that nifty pipe your using in conjunction w/ the factory coolant hose bends???


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

microdub98 said:


> So where did ya score that nifty pipe your using in conjunction w/ the factory coolant hose bends???


which one, the abf waterneck? I got mine off ebay, but Black forest sells them. If you are talking about the upper radiator hose, it is just a stock one with a cut right after the radiator outlet, and then I flipped the longer section of hose and it lined up perfect.


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## nwvwgli (Aug 18, 2007)

are you running a wideband or are you the carb master i wonder how close you jetting specs would be to mine its a aba/jh 292 cam decked .080


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## microdub98 (May 12, 2007)

yeayeayea said:


> which one, the abf waterneck? I got mine off ebay, but Black forest sells them. If you are talking about the upper radiator hose, it is just a stock one with a cut right after the radiator outlet, and then I flipped the longer section of hose and it lined up perfect.


Actually I'm talking about the metal pipe, not the rubber hose bends. Like what is obviously visible as your upper rad hose.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

are you talking about this picture?










because if so that was just some steel pipe i cut to length in order to make custom lines for the honda radiator. I have since switched back to the stock radiator.



nwvwgli said:


> are you running a wideband or are you the carb master i wonder how close you jetting specs would be to mine its a aba/jh 292 cam decked .080


I only have a narrowband, and i would not call myself a carb master, but the car seems pretty decent for the little tuning that i have done.


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## microdub98 (May 12, 2007)

Cool, thanx for the info on the pipe. Last question.....it looks like you have one of those cheaper Mr. Gasket FPR's ya get at pep boys/advanced auto, how's that workin for ya??? My set up came w/ one from the PO & a friend told me not to use it cuz they're "unreliable". I figured it came w/ the set up outta a running car so it can't be to unreliable.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

It works, i haven't had any problems with it but im not going to say its the best thing out there. Since I could never get my gauge to read above 0psi i dont know how consistent it is at regulating the flow with changes in rpm/engine load but i dont plan on changing it anytime soon.


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## curtis_mk3 (Oct 5, 2009)

I'm actually buying my 16v and cbr 900 carbs tomorrow to start a similar build, but im shooting for 13:1 compression ratio.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

curtis_mk3 said:


> I'm actually buying my 16v and cbr 900 carbs tomorrow to start a similar build, but im shooting for 13:1 compression ratio.


1,8 or 2.0? and that will be a very mean engine :thumbup: next step for mine is likely a minor teardown to do all the powdercoating i didnt get done this year


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## Dave926 (Mar 30, 2005)

I wish I stuck with my carbs. Trying to make it driveable in a weekend because it was my daily at the time wasnt the smartest thing I could have done. 

Im ready to dump my turbo **** to go back to carbs, nothing like getting to tinker with things with tools.

Yeayeayea, how is the access to work on the carbs or adjust them. My r1's sucked absolutely no chance of removing the main jet without taking the whole rack off.

Post up what you did for a throttle cable too please.


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## nwvwgli (Aug 18, 2007)

i used the stock cable for my carbs and crimped the j hook from my mk2

check these out so cool
http://www.parsonsengineering.com.au/kartparts/clamps86.jpg


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

those cable clamps are sweet. as for a cable, I think it is a bicycle brake cable crimped to the stock cable. not ideal by any means...

for the carbs, yeah i would have to pull the whole rack to change jets. luckily i haven't had to do that.


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## Dave926 (Mar 30, 2005)

nwvwgli said:


> i used the stock cable for my carbs and crimped the j hook from my mk2
> 
> check these out so cool
> http://www.parsonsengineering.com.au/kartparts/clamps86.jpg





yeayeayea said:


> those cable clamps are sweet. as for a cable, I think it is a bicycle brake cable crimped to the stock cable. not ideal by any means...
> 
> for the carbs, yeah i would have to pull the whole rack to change jets. luckily i haven't had to do that.


Of course I see the cable clamps and the steel flange well after I sold my carbs, that would have made life so much easier.

Come to think of it I still have my old mikuni's sitting around, it was my R1's that i sold. yeayeayea what year did your carbs come off of?

My old mikuni;s came from an 80's gixxer and were gravity fed. they only need something like 1 psi and that was why i ditched them and went with the R1's.:banghead:

My next mk2 is going on carbs, regardless if they webers, bike carbs, dells w/e. Im not done with my turbo **** and Ive already had enough.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

my carbs came off a cbr 900 rr :thumbup:


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## mk2fu (May 14, 2007)

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4119198-CBR-900-Carb-Questions

anyone who wants info on a bike carb setup, started the thread, glad someone took it somewhere.


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## Dave926 (Mar 30, 2005)

I looked at your other post in the bike carb write up thread, how did you get your pressure so low?

I had a holley 1-4psi reg and a mr gasket fuel filter, it would not go under 2 psi when i ran the stock intank. The second time i tried my old mikuni's i used a ball valve for ****s and giggle and it still poured fuel down the bowls.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

mk2fu said:


> http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4119198-CBR-900-Carb-Questions
> 
> anyone who wants info on a bike carb setup, started the thread, glad someone took it somewhere.


thank you for linking that here. that thread was pretty valuable in getting my project started :thumbup:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Dave926 said:


> I looked at your other post in the bike carb write up thread, how did you get your pressure so low?
> 
> I had a holley 1-4psi reg and a mr gasket fuel filter, it would not go under 2 psi when i ran the stock intank. The second time i tried my old mikuni's i used a ball valve for ****s and giggle and it still poured fuel down the bowls.


What year is your car? my car was cis so the stock in tank pump was a low pressure pump and it had an external high pressure pump mounted under the car. if your car is EFI stock, your intank pump may be different. I know the mk3's only have one pump, the intank, so it must be a high pressure intank pump.


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## tjcantone (Aug 23, 2010)

what octane are you running for 11:1?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

tjcantone said:


> what octane are you running for 11:1?


 Just 93 with the ignition advanced as far as it will go. 


In other news, I got some plate aluminum and almost finished setting up my new bandsaw so the fabrication is about to get started. going to a more motorsport approach I believe. should be even more fun to drive!


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## markaviles (Jan 30, 2008)

*ignition*



yeayeayea said:


> Just 93 with the ignition advanced as far as it will go.
> 
> 
> In other news, I got some plate aluminum and almost finished setting up my new bandsaw so the fabrication is about to get started. going to a more motorsport approach I believe. should be even more fun to drive!


what type of ignition set up you are runnig. I'm installing a 16v. 1.8 on a mk1 jetta here in Germany which it actually came original with a 1.3 carb engine. any ideas on how to run an ignition sys tem for this. Please advice
thanks


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I am running the factory 1989 1.8 16v ignition. everything about my ignition is completely stock except for the wires. I believe it is referred to as the knock box ignition.


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## Tarmac Terrorist (Oct 21, 2009)

Hey buddy, I'm currently sourcing parts for the same build over here in the UK. But mine will be an ABF lump but not sure what carbs I'll be running. 
Have you lightened the flywheel or added cams yet?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Tarmac Terrorist said:


> Hey buddy, I'm currently sourcing parts for the same build over here in the UK. But mine will be an ABF lump but not sure what carbs I'll be running.
> Have you lightened the flywheel or added cams yet?


I have autotech cams installed, and I have a LW flywheel to install, but that hasnt been done yet. 

I may be getting another 16v car, and another set of cbr carbs. its going to be madness if i have 2 carbed vw's


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

yeayeayea, WHAT UP HOMIE!!!????  

Glad to see this is still alive! I've got a rats nest of wiring to sort out under the hood of my mk1 and then I should be good to go on mine. 

So drilling the main jet out a little was enough to make it run right?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

OrangeDUB said:


> yeayeayea, WHAT UP HOMIE!!!????
> 
> Glad to see this is still alive! I've got a rats nest of wiring to sort out under the hood of my mk1 and then I should be good to go on mine.
> 
> So drilling the main jet out a little was enough to make it run right?


 sure was! however i wish i had gone with a little smaller drill bit and worked my way up. Also I wish I had done so with air filters installed. installing the air filters makes the car run too rich now so im running open intake.


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> sure was! however i wish i had gone with a little smaller drill bit and worked my way up. Also I wish I had done so with air filters installed. installing the air filters makes the car run too rich now so im running open intake.


 Talk to Bill @ http://www.bills-b-racing.com/ and tell him I sent you (name is Casey Hoyt). Ask for a duplicate set of my covers, and you can get whatever color you like! They flow freely and filter down to the size of a human hair. Remember mine from the old thread we all had?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

OrangeDUB said:


> Talk to Bill @ http://www.bills-b-racing.com/ and tell him I sent you (name is Casey Hoyt). Ask for a duplicate set of my covers, and you can get whatever color you like! They flow freely and filter down to the size of a human hair. Remember mine from the old thread we all had?


 are those the stock stacks? if so im ordering a set asap. I remember those but I have another set of filters and they didnt work so i just kinda stopped trying. however these look a lot better than the regular cone filters i have and will clear the hood better too. how much did you pay for them?


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> are those the stock stacks? if so im ordering a set asap. I remember those but I have another set of filters and they didnt work so i just kinda stopped trying. however these look a lot better than the regular cone filters i have and will clear the hood better too. how much did you pay for them?


 Yep they are the stock stacks, just polished. I couldn't find filters in the right size anywhere til I found this guy! These were $35/pair + $7 shipping when I bought mine. Not sure if the prices are exactly the same, but I thought for custom sizes that's a steal. Cheaper than pod filters at least!!


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## woodrowstar (Jun 17, 2005)

Ross got some new attitude for ya....still lacking the power to weight ratio, though. lol 

New found info- #1 carb had some "mods" previously done to it, that i never noticed to the other day. Modded the other to match ...whoasssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. 4-6k butt dyno reads broader power band. i can lock the rpms at 1800 in forth, stomp the gas and it'll pull like a e55 amg all the way to 6200.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

so what youre saying is that you want to run again?  Im game


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

Hey what did you end up doing for a throttle cable?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

OrangeDUB said:


> Hey what did you end up doing for a throttle cable?


i made a bracket that bolts to the old intake manifold brace bolt holes in the head. this was the holder for the stock half of the throttle cable, then i used a cable coupler to attach another length of cable with the right end piece on it, which i believe came from a bicycle brake cable. cant remember 100%. however its eventually going to be a better setup.


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## smoothAMBER (Apr 6, 2010)

im into this! im doing the same swap right now! i have carbs and motor... where did you buy the 16v intake flange?
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

fcrich said:


> im into this! im doing the same swap right now! i have carbs and motor... where did you buy the 16v intake flange?
> :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


someone in an old cbr carb thread made them and was selling them. the thread is linked in this thread here somewhere. Im not sure he has any left though. Also, someone in this thread was making flanges
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...-a-write-up!&p=70247686&posted=1#post70247686

if nothing else, contact Weir tec for flanges.



Pics from yesterday


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## IRDangerDave (Sep 22, 2010)

Okay, I was slightly torn on doing carbs... but after seeing the dyno and the $$:HP ratio on this, I'm down. 

How large did you say you drilled your jets? And just to make sure I read everything right... 100% stock ignition, correct?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

well i havnt hooked up my WOT switch yet which will give me more ignition advance. so there is still more power in this setup as it sits. But yes, 100 stock ignition except I havnt hooked up the throttle switches yet. 

The jets i will have to get back to you on that, its written down somewhere in another thread


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## steveo27 (Aug 2, 2005)

:wave:


looks good broham:heart:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

steveo27 said:


> :wave:
> 
> 
> looks good broham:heart:


 thanks I cant wait to get rid of these wheels though. If 4x100 > 5x112 adapters weren't so expensive...


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

A bit of an update:

No photos of anything lately as I broke my digital camera. However monday my new one should arrive (kodak z981) so expect some fancy shots of whats new.

Also arriving this week: some gauges so I can keep an eye on things. First one is a VDO Vacuum gauge, in the Vision style. I had the VDO Boost gauge in this style back in my old mk3 2.0t, and I loved it.










I am going to add vacuum ports to cyl's 1-3 so that i get a reading from all 4. 

Next is a Innovate MTX-L Wideband (3844 is the kit number i ordered, 3845 I believe is the same thing except for short wiring for use on powersports vehicles like motorcycles, besure to not order that one)










I will be doing datalogging with the Logworks included with the Wideband, so we can get some real numbers on what the carbs are doing a/f wise. It also works on all fuel types, which may come in handy with some future plans I have 










44.3mm ITB's with mechanical fuel injection, belt driven fuel pump.


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## HiFiLongboards (May 13, 2010)

that's really cool, how does it meter the ammt of fuel?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

HiFiLongboards said:


> that's really cool, how does it meter the ammt of fuel?


The box on the top of the throttle bodies controls fuel flow, in combination with the fuel pump. The Fuel pump flow is directly proportional to engine rpm, and the box on the throttle bodies meters flow directly proportional to throttle position. Its known as Hilborn injection i believe.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

heres an ebay listing for the exact setup I have, and all he has is the throttles themselves, no pump or brackets!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vint...tZVintageQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

he is charging an extra 170 for a pump

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vint...tZVintageQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

From the listing


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## bmwquick (May 17, 2010)

^^^ What do you plan on doing with the mechanical injection stuff? 

Also, did you get 11:1 compression just by decking the head? I thought you needed pistons to get 11.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

bmwquick said:


> ^^^ What do you plan on doing with the mechanical injection stuff?
> 
> Also, did you get 11:1 compression just by decking the head? I thought you needed pistons to get 11.


Well I was told it was decked to 11:1. however I didnt have the work done, I bought the head as it is. If its not 11:1, im not too worried.

as for the mechanical injection stuff, i dont know yet. it would require a lower manifoild to adapt the itbs to the 16v head. or I could get a set of gsxr ITB's and just use the fueling from this setup.


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## bmwquick (May 17, 2010)

The Hillborn setup would look awsome installed, but do you think you'll get any gains over the R1's? Its supposed to control fueling by varying fuel pressure, which...... is....... exactly how the stock CIS works, right?:laugh: Looks great and I really want to see where you take this. I've been knocking around the idea of carbs and your thread has been inspirational.:thumbup:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

The only power would come from them being 44mm throttle bodies vs the 38mm throttle bodies on the cbr carbs. These hilborn throttle bodies were designed for a ford pinto 2.0L engine, so the displacement is pretty much the same.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

New camera, it shoots HD video  so assuming the car is back together tonight, I will take some videos of it tomorrow 

Shots for now


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

So I didnt get to take any pictures of the car today, as I forgot my camera at home. However, I did get my recently repaired header back on, and installed my wideband. I am pleased to say that while the old narrowband AF gauge would read very lean at upper rpms, the wideband is showing steady high 13:1, low 14:1 all the way up to 8k. I dont know if the narrowband was getting a bad reading at upper rpms, but the new wideband does not have any problems. lower in the rpm range the a/f was in the 12:1 range, and cruising was in the 15:1 to 17:1 range. 

I will try to take videos and some logs once i have some spare time. The throttle cable broke on the way to a gtg today, so it is pieced together using a choke cable. Once that issue is resolved I will be able to get some videos put up


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## woodrowstar (Jun 17, 2005)

bmwquick said:


> Its supposed to control fueling by varying fuel pressure, which...... is....... exactly how the stock CIS works, right?:laugh:


Who told you that BS??


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## bmwquick (May 17, 2010)

woodrowstar said:


> Who told you that BS??


My Bentley. And OP, which said "The box on the top of the throttle bodies controls fuel flow, in combination with the fuel pump." The Fuel pump flow is directly proportional to engine rpm". Is that not that varying fuel pressure? CIS just varies pressure using the "flap" meter.


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## woodrowstar (Jun 17, 2005)

No. It is not. CIS is Pulse generated. Hilborne is metered by metering jets much like a throttle position switch. the pump is no different then a power steering pump, making reliable PSI versus a block mounted mechanical pump using an eccentric or push rod.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I will say I have very little idea how the hilborn stuff works, and I doubt I will ever run it. But it is cool oldschool race parts that I saved from going in the trash

was going to take some video of the car today but the rigged throttle cable is preventing me from doing so


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

So its time to make a new throttle cable, since my bicycle brake cable finally died. 

I am using a honda hood release cable, as it has the right size barrel end for the cbr900 carbs









It has a barrel on one end and a ball on the other, i cut the ball off









next I cut the J hook off the stock cable, and drilled out the cable that was left crimped inside it









Here is what ends I will have once I determine my length









hopefully tomorrow I will cut it to the right length and crimp and solder the j hook on and have a nice new throttle cable with no cable clamps anywhere


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Also, now that I have my wideband hooked up I was wondering what A/f's i should be shooting for? Im in the 14's right now, but from what ive been reading the optimum a/f is in the high 12's to low 13's range. 

Guess it is time to play with needle jet settings


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

here is a link to a cbr 900 rr parts catalog and a cbr 900 rr manual, both of which should be helpful to anyone using these carbs

http://moto.gazovisistemi.com/


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Over the past week



which managed to leak nearly all of my 2 day old mobil 1 all over the engine bay. which got all over the car. So a trip to the car wash was necessary once the leaking stopped.


































Decided to take a short exhaust sound video. Exhaust is a Eurosport cat delete header, to 2.25" TT exhaust with a borla muffler and 1 resonator. 



I also played with the needle heights, I took plenty of pictures on how to adjust them. I went two notches from stock, and while this made my WOT A/fs a bit better (now in the high 13:1 range), it has made my crusing AF's to be a bit rich and some misfiring if I try to accelerate in 5th gear at low speeds. Going to set it back to stock and redrill my mains to a 1.78mm and go from there with the needle tuning. I will take pics of the whole process and post a DIY of sorts


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## vwbeaner (Jun 4, 2007)

This is fantastic, I have always loved your car and itb's and carbs sound wicked.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Thanks 

I took the car to bugout 69 and did some bracket racing, ran 8 times with a best of 10.02 in the 1/8th mile, clutch slipping the whole time. Still not fast enough, but I had a sparkplug fail on the way home. I dont know if it was broke while racing, but it became problematic on the ride home. The ceramic separated from the steel threads. Swapped an old plug back in, hopefully it will make it to work tomorrow. First time driving it in 24 days.


As for bike carb content, I have picked up 2 bikes since then  A yamaha SECA 1 and a yamaha SECA 2 

Seca 1: 









Seca 2:

















Already rejetted the SECAII, it had stage 3 mains and the only mod was a ****ty custom "exhaust", put some stage 1 mains in and it runs soooo much better.


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## jtablerd (Oct 9, 2004)

What's up wes - long time! Looks like the new project is going well...I'm currently using an 85 4dr as my daily (8v, carb/straight pipe/coils), have been without a german car for awhile.

Let me know if you're ever near north beach with that thing, would love to see it!

-john


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

jtablerd said:


> What's up wes - long time! Looks like the new project is going well...I'm currently using an 85 4dr as my daily (8v, carb/straight pipe/coils), have been without a german car for awhile.
> 
> Let me know if you're ever near north beach with that thing, would love to see it!
> 
> -john


Long time no talk john! I take it you sold your jetta? 
you have an 85 vw? or 85 something else?


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## jtablerd (Oct 9, 2004)

Yea man after a few years away rob & I picked up an 85 golf for autocross duty, but I'm dailying her for now...there's a cruise-in here in north beach every Friday but too many american cars - we should invade one weekend, would love to see your 16v in person.


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## Turbo3 (Sep 15, 2005)

yeayeayea said:


> Also, now that I have my wideband hooked up I was wondering what A/f's i should be shooting for? Im in the 14's right now, but from what ive been reading the optimum a/f is in the high 12's to low 13's range.
> 
> Guess it is time to play with needle jet settings


Alll the guys i know with N/A cars run an AFR in the lower 13 range.



yeayeayea said:


> Thanks
> 
> I took the car to bugout 69 and did some bracket racing, ran 8 times with a best of 10.02 in the 1/8th mile, clutch slipping the whole time. Still not fast enough, but I had a sparkplug fail on the way home. I dont know if it was broke while racing, but it became problematic on the ride home. The ceramic separated from the steel threads. Swapped an old plug back in, hopefully it will make it to work tomorrow. First time driving it in 24 days.


I seen your car at bug out, that really made me want to go carbs. And 10.02 with the clutch slipping is damn quick.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Turbo3 said:


> Alll the guys i know with N/A cars run an AFR in the lower 13 range.
> 
> 
> 
> I seen your car at bug out, that really made me want to go carbs. And 10.02 with the clutch slipping is damn quick.


Thanks man, yeah im in the 13's now with some needle height adjustment. it pulls pretty nicely now, just gotta tackle that clutch and install the LW flywheel. Then its back to the dragstrip


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

jtablerd said:


> Yea man after a few years away rob & I picked up an 85 golf for autocross duty, but I'm dailying her for now...there's a cruise-in here in north beach every Friday but too many american cars - we should invade one weekend, would love to see your 16v in person.


Any pics of said golf? and what is this cruise in you speak of?


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## Turbo3 (Sep 15, 2005)

yeayeayea said:


> Thanks man, yeah im in the 13's now with some needle height adjustment. it pulls pretty nicely now, just gotta tackle that clutch and install the LW flywheel. Then its back to the dragstrip


What's the break down of that 10.02 time slip?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Turbo3 said:


> What's the break down of that 10.02 time slip?


uhhh awful launch and some other numbers haha. i think it was like a 2.2 or 2.3 60ft. at 68 or 69 mph i think


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## Turbo3 (Sep 15, 2005)

Anyone running really high compression 12.x:1 or higher?


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## jtablerd (Oct 9, 2004)

Wes, the north beach farmers mks closes down a couple blocks by the boardwalk and there's a cruise in for it - 40-50 cars, most american, some cool. Rob and his wife just bought a houseup the street too, he's driving a 91 m5 and a 93 s4 these days

Photos of the beast are below


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

i didnt pass you in that thing last wednesday did i? down in st marys county, you would have been heading north on 235 while i was going south through hollywood.


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## mudanddust (Oct 24, 2007)

smoothAMBER said:


> im into this! im doing the same swap right now! i have carbs and motor... where did you buy the 16v intake flange?
> :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


i made the flange and still have some steel and aluminum ones if your still interested


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

mudanddust said:


> i made the flange and still have some steel and aluminum ones if your still interested


This is true :thumbup:


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

So without reading back through your whole thread, what is your fuel pump setup?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Stock intank pump, high pressure pump under the car removed, filter put in its place. Mr gasket fpr mounted under the hood.


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> Stock intank pump, high pressure pump under the car removed, filter put in its place. Mr gasket fpr mounted under the hood.


What pressure were you seeing directly from the stock in-tank pump and what did you have to drop it down to in order to not overflow the carbs? I remember fuel spilling out the carb mouths way back when you first got it running in your photobucket vids and think you must have installed the FPR afterwards... If I'm remembering the right one of us?

I'm wondering what my mk1 in-tank pump is putting out... If there is one! It was formerly a CiS 8v


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

OrangeDUB said:


> What pressure were you seeing directly from the stock in-tank pump and what did you have to drop it down to in order to not overflow the carbs? I remember fuel spilling out the carb mouths way back when you first got it running in your photobucket vids and think you must have installed the FPR afterwards... If I'm remembering the right one of us?
> 
> I'm wondering what my mk1 in-tank pump is putting out... If there is one! It was formerly a CiS 8v


that was on the holley fpr some people use, and because the carbs were mounted too far on a downward angle. The fuel pressure gauge i have never moves off 0 psi.


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## Abstract_99 (Jun 24, 2002)

hiyah guyz


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

hola


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

How is the VW doing? I've been tinkering around with my rabbit lately and wanna get it on the road. Need to buy:
1. fuel pump
2. FPR
3. fuel pressure gauge

any thoughts? I don't think I have an in-tank pump but I may be wrong. I guess I'll have to look at that before I go buying anything


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

OrangeDUB said:


> How is the VW doing? I've been tinkering around with my rabbit lately and wanna get it on the road. Need to buy:
> 1. fuel pump
> 2. FPR
> 3. fuel pressure gauge
> ...


Im just using the Mr gasket FPR, it has a round adjustment knob on top that you can turn by hand, no tools needed. As for a fuel pressure gauge, I had one but it never read above 0psi, so I removed it.


As for my gti, it has been parked in the woods next to my house for a couple months. Actually goign to try and start it up and park it back by the garage and start getting it ready for spring


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## mudanddust (Oct 24, 2007)

i am using a mallory fpr and gage that a buddy of mine gave my, havent got the thing running yet so im not sure how its gona work exactly, but i recently got the motor completely done and ready to go into the rabbit. I am not putting the yosh pipe on it fyi, just thought it would be a funny pic


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I want that intake manifold!


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## mudanddust (Oct 24, 2007)

how much u willing to pay for one?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Im not! haha I have everything I would need to make one. My steel one is working fine, yours is just better looking than mine!


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## badazzgti88 (May 2, 2006)

When is the last time that car was even started Wes?


---
I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?d3px5j


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Yesterday. Drove it around the block the day before actually. The white oil pressure sender is leaking oil out the top, a new one should be here today. Other than that, and being low on oil for said reason, it seems to have weathered winter unharmed.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

So I pulled the plugs because the car was still misfiring after a couple days of driving it. I found the #4 spark plug had a chunk of the porcelain missing. This was an old plug I threw in there a few months ago after breaking the porcelain on the previous spark plug. 

Two plugs, both with broken porcelain, both #4 cylinder. Any ideas? Im thinking it may be carb related, maybe a lean run situation that is making the plug extra hot, but I am pretty much clueless right now.


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## mudanddust (Oct 24, 2007)

can you post up good pics of the broken plugs and the plugs from the other three cylinders? also how many miles are on the motor, good and even compression?


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

I dont think its a carb thing. I have had the same thing happen in my low comp ABA 16v turbo. It was #4 as well.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I can post pics of the broken plugs. I cleaned the other plugs with the wire wheel on my bench grinder so looking at them wont help much. The car ran awesome before the first plug broke, I spent a whole day drag racing at Bug Out (made it to the semi finals, like 8 or 9 passes  ) The plug broke that time on the ride home from bug out actually, while on the highway. When I got home, I swapped in an old plug, which has now failed. I posted on NGK's facebook, and they recommended a plug for me, problem is I have not found it locally yet.


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## lilredcabby (Mar 28, 2010)

hey ma ur inbox is full and wont let me send any messages to you...clear up some space i have another question haha thanks.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

:thumbup:


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## mudanddust (Oct 24, 2007)

finally got my new motor in the wabbit today, hopefully get it buttoned up and try to fire it tomorrow


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## pnavarro (May 17, 2009)

yeayeayea, I read the entire post but i didn't find how big you drilled the main jets for you cbr900 carbs... I read in this same post a drill bit sized at .178 but ... sounds to big to be correct...? Help?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I believe it was 1.73mm, not .173 inches. .173 inches would be much too big.

At least that is what I wrote in the info for this video back when I was piecing it all together


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## pnavarro (May 17, 2009)

I thought it might have been a bit much at .173, so 1.7... nice, thanks for the info!


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## rysskii3 (Apr 19, 2006)

What is done to the engine to run 173?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

rysskii3 said:


> What is done to the engine to run 173?


1.8 16v, decked head, 3angle valve job, autotech cams, eurosport cat delete header, tt exhaust, no cat.


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## rysskii3 (Apr 19, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> 1.8 16v, decked head, 3angle valve job, autotech cams, eurosport cat delete header, tt exhaust, no cat.


Hmm, I got very similar mods, with a few more little things, but I'm on 91 octane. I don't know of I should install the 170 or 175. And I got 2l


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I run 93 octane in mine. You also have R1 carbs where I have cbr900 carbs. I think yours are 40mm versus mine being 38mm. That said I would shoot for the 175's.

The mains were the only thing I changed on my carbs, I left all the other jets alone. I did play with needle heights to dial it in some.


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## rysskii3 (Apr 19, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> I run 93 octane in mine. You also have R1 carbs where I have cbr900 carbs. I think yours are 40mm versus mine being 38mm. That said I would shoot for the 175's.
> 
> The mains were the only thing I changed on my carbs, I left all the other jets alone. I did play with needle heights to dial it in some.


hmm, maybe i should get some 180 and 185. i do have mild p&p and TT 4 to 1 catless header.


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## bmwquick (May 17, 2010)

So how is it daily driving this?? Your dyno showed your HP and torq were slightly under stock until 5k rpm. I'm putting together an R1 carb setup but I'm afraid intown driving will suck, right?

I have a 9a with ported head and an exhaust. I'd like to see if I can hit vr6 150 whp with some cams and maybe a header. Shouldn't be impossible.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Well I broke my ankle back on may 6th, so the car hasn't moved since. But I daily drove it for a couple years. No problems, no air filters, all year round.


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## steveo27 (Aug 2, 2005)

:wave:

Hope ya feel better chief. And hope to see ya around :beer:


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## bmwquick (May 17, 2010)

yeayeayea said:


> Well I broke my ankle back on may 6th, so the car hasn't moved since. But I daily drove it for a couple years. No problems, no air filters, all year round.


Sounds reliable. Ever left you stranded? I'd like to DD mine to work/school when I finish it.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

steveo27 said:


> :wave:
> 
> Hope ya feel better chief. And hope to see ya around :beer:


:beer: Long time no see steve, still got the 12v?



bmwquick said:


> Sounds reliable. Ever left you stranded? I'd like to DD mine to work/school when I finish it.


The only carb related problem I have had was a broken throttle cable that was made from a bicycle brake cable. The new cable I have has been problem free. 

Other than that, I have had two spark plugs, both on cyl4 break the porcelain. Also have had two oil pressure senders fail, the second one being a used one I got from a friend though. Only other problem was a radiator clog, the little vent line on the top of the rad was clogged, causing the radiator to get filled with steam vapor and overheat the car. Pretty tame for a 23 year old car that gets driven hard every time it is running.


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## bmwquick (May 17, 2010)

so slightly more reliable than mine.:laugh: You said you may be able to hit 150 whp with some finer tuning, do you think that's possible? I would be very happy if I could get mine in the 145-150 zone without going for crazy cams..


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

bmwquick said:


> so slightly more reliable than mine.:laugh: You said you may be able to hit 150 whp with some finer tuning, do you think that's possible? I would be very happy if I could get mine in the 145-150 zone without going for crazy cams..


Im sure its possible. I literally have only played with needle heights for tuning. no syncing, no idle jet adjustments. But it runs well enough that I dont care to bother with it.


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

What throttle cable did you end up using? Last time I asked I think your reply was a bicycle cable, but I see that didn't last.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

yeayeayea said:


> So its time to make a new throttle cable, since my bicycle brake cable finally died.
> 
> I am using a honda hood release cable, as it has the right size barrel end for the cbr900 carbs
> 
> ...


 I think it came out of an early 90's honda accord.


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks for the info. So did you get the Accord's steel cable to take the solder in? I can solder better than most and couldn't for the life of me get the OEM cable to take the solder, even with more than enough intense heat and plenty of flux.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

cant say for sure, but I think it flowed in ok, at least into the hook. I crimped it first, so it may be the crimp doing all the work.


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## marcabrams (Aug 10, 2012)

with line is the main fuel line the top hose or the bottom


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

marcabrams said:


> with line is the main fuel line the top hose or the bottom


 The bottom is your fuel input. The upper 2 nipples that are between the carb pairs are your guel overflow/return, and the main big upper nipple in the center by the throttle cable attachment is a breather for the main venturi vacuum chambers, and that needs to breathe to atmospheric.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Soon


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## scirocconaut (Oct 7, 2011)

I would like to convert, wish I hadnt sold
My hayabusa carbs


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

I wouldnt mind stepping up to some carbs with a larger Throttle plate diameter. the cbr900 carbs are 38mm, i think R1 carbs are 40. Do you know how big the busa carbs are?


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

Ever since I put carbs on my rabbit, I have since questioned why I didn't get hold of a digifant ECU with wiring and some injected motorcycle throttle bodies...


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

OrangeDUB said:


> Ever since I put carbs on my rabbit, I have since questioned why I didn't get hold of a digifant ECU with wiring and some injected motorcycle throttle bodies...


 Well the carbs are a lot cheaper and simpler than going through all that hassle. But Fuel injected ITB's have a higher power potential if done right.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Say what!? 


__
Image uploading. Refresh page to view


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Found one of the dyno printouts from the last time I dynoed it. Unfortunately, it is speed based, not rpm, so no torque curve. 










New motor goes in tonight, with an 8lb flywheel and new friction disc and new axle. Looking forward to some track time once it I tune it for the extra displacement


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

First start of the 2.0 16v swap. 





After letting it run for a while, it sounds like it needs an Intermediate shaft bearing. making bad noises. 

Edit: New IM shaft bearing and a different TB tensioner, and the noise is gone.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

First 8k pull on the new motor. needs some jet work, but that will come in due time


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## OrangeDUB (Sep 18, 2006)

Awesome! Do are you happy overall with this? How reliable has it been?


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## keeton (Aug 16, 2010)

yeayeayea said:


> I need to get rid of the crappy aluminum aftermarket crankcase breather plate and run an oem one, so this stops happening.


That's not an NLS one is it? I though about picking one up to use with my catch can. :what:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

keeton said:


> That's not an NLS one is it? I though about picking one up to use with my catch can. :what:


It does not have any markings on it, but it does not look like it is a NLS piece. However, if the NLS piece is not baffled, expect the same results.


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## rysskii3 (Apr 19, 2006)

check out the Peterson Fluid Systems 08-0410. it has a baffle on top so that oil doesnt get into the filter. very nice catch can. i absolutely love it.


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## keeton (Aug 16, 2010)

yeayeayea said:


> It does not have any markings on it, but it does not look like it is a NLS piece. However, if the NLS piece is not baffled, expect the same results.


What's it doing? Blowing the hose off?


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## hantonyc (Sep 27, 2010)

yeayeayea said:


> I need to get rid of the crappy aluminum aftermarket crankcase breather plate and run an oem one, so this stops happening.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



my engine was spitting oil like that when it was during break-in but stopped after about 3-400km, ive installed a catchcan with no baffle and the oil stayed in the catch can i didnt go thru the filter like that :sly:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

hantonyc said:


> my engine was spitting oil like that when it was during break-in but stopped after about 3-400km, ive installed a catchcan with no baffle and the oil stayed in the catch can i didnt go thru the filter like that :sly:


The can only does that when it is full. However, since the breather plate isn't baffled, that only took a week to happen.


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## rysskii3 (Apr 19, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> The can only does that when it is full. However, since the breather plate isn't baffled, that only took a week to happen.


Why don't you just use an mk3 block breather?


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

rysskii3 said:


> Why don't you just use an mk3 block breather?


I just acquired one. However more pressing issues have arisen in life, so I have not turned any wrenches lately.


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## kinkerstinker (May 9, 2008)

yeayeayea said:


> I just acquired one. However more pressing issues have arisen in life, so I have not turned any wrenches lately.


i know that feeling. i hope everything works out for ya :beer:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Couple recent pictures. This car definitely has more torque now but it doesn't feel much stronger on the top end. I think bigger carbs are in order, as the cbr's are only 38mm throats.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

kinkerstinker said:


> i know that feeling. i hope everything works out for ya :beer:


One day at a time, things are slowly looking up though!:beer:


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Well the time has come. The gti is up for sale 

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...-with-Carbs-head-work&p=79821897#post79821897

Will be really sad to see it go, but I just have not driven it enough since I got my motorcycle to justify keeping it around.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

May need to go up one size on the mains, or maybe adjust the needles. Could use a little more fuel on the top end but it is pulling steady:thumbup:


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## steveo27 (Aug 2, 2005)

yeayeayea said:


> Well the time has come. The gti is up for sale
> 
> http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...-with-Carbs-head-work&p=79821897#post79821897
> 
> Will be really sad to see it go, but I just have not driven it enough since I got my motorcycle to justify keeping it around.



 Dont do it, you'll regret it


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Replacing both my cars with one newer, lower mileage car. Getting old man :/


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## rysskii3 (Apr 19, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> May need to go up one size on the mains, or maybe adjust the needles. Could use a little more fuel on the top end but it is pulling steady:thumbup:


nice video, but thats running lean. my gauge goes down to 10.5 at wot in 5th and stays around 11.5 at wot in 4th.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

rysskii3 said:


> nice video, but thats running lean. my gauge goes down to 10.5 at wot in 5th and stays around 11.5 at wot in 4th.


Yeah Ive been told 12:1-13:1 range is where the most power is made. Just haven't had the time to pull the mains yet. 11.5 might be a bit on the rich side.

Guess ill be going up a jet size this week and reporting back with my findings.


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## rysskii3 (Apr 19, 2006)

yeayeayea said:


> Yeah Ive been told 12:1-13:1 range is where the most power is made. Just haven't had the time to pull the mains yet. 11.5 might be a bit on the rich side.
> 
> Guess ill be going up a jet size this week and reporting back with my findings.


cool. you should post pictures of the process. im am sure someone will be doing the same and might get lost.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

rysskii3 said:


> cool. you should post pictures of the process. im am sure someone will be doing the same and might get lost.


Will do!


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## oopseyesharted (Mar 2, 2005)

Getting carb info is tough. Lets get this going again.


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

oopseyesharted said:


> Getting carb info is tough. Lets get this going again.


The only carbed engine I own now is my suzuki. But I still rock ITB's!




























[video]http://instagram.com/p/daiGXUkCNB[/video]


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## Keep it low (Aug 18, 2013)

What size intake pipe did you use for your manifold and what gauge pipe? Did carbs on my other mk2 and doing it to my newest one can't remember those couple of things and I'm doing the swap with ac also so it will be interesting


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## yeayeayea (May 29, 2005)

Keep it low said:


> What size intake pipe did you use for your manifold and what gauge pipe? Did carbs on my other mk2 and doing it to my newest one can't remember those couple of things and I'm doing the swap with ac also so it will be interesting


1.75" piping on the intake manifold, though you will want the manifold to be as close as you can get to the ID of the carbs. I was toying around with a full serpentine conversion and with better resources I could have made it happen, but sold the car before that came to existence. (pictures of that back on page 1)


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