# Performance Questions



## [(V\ET]Fathom (Jun 4, 2010)

Hello Everyone, 
I'm new to the site and pretty much new to imports. I've worked with older v8's, v6's and 4x4's but not on anything small. I just got a 1996 Volkswagen Golf with the 1.8 L and I'm wondering what I can do with it performance wise. 
I'm on a budget but plan to continue work on it until it's done. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. 
What are the first 5 things I should be doing to this car, in order and in your own opinions?


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## chois (May 12, 2000)

What country are you in? If the USA, then you have a 2.0, not a 1.8. 

Look around these forums to find the tech sub forums specific to your car. There you will find people that know your car specifically, and probably find a lot of existing recommendations. 

Look in: 
Technical > 8 valve crossflow engines 
Technical > suspension 
Volkswagen > Golf/Jetta Mk3 

Poke around and you will find a bunch of info...


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## jjkljlk (Jun 25, 2010)

*What To Do About Performance?!*

Anything is possible... Check the parts yards for some great finds like turbos from newer models and/or complete engines from late model DUBs. What kind of performance did you have in mind? Check out the rabbit (Old School) high performance:


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## 860redrabbit (Dec 5, 2006)

if you are in USA then you have a 2.0 ABA 8V engine - not the best performer stock thats for sure.

However, you are in luck. There are tons of upgrades/swaps you can do to increase power. The most fun swap/upgrade IMO is doing a 2.0 ABA 16V - then turbo'ing it. It may sound like alot but can actually be accomplished on a pretty reasonable budget. 

Do some hunting in the classifieds on this forum and you can find some great deals - also check out the MK3 forum for any ideas/help

Good luck and welcome to VWVortex


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## Mathdiesel (Sep 13, 2005)

Probably the Canadian-spec 1.8l ACC engine. Dead-reliable, pretty good mileage and totally worthless mod-wise.

You are looking at swap if you want more power.


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