just to start a new topic off of interest, which do you guys and girls on the forum think is most reliable, the Eaton unit or the G-lader?? mainly for all of you which have done conversions and know, tho i'm interested to know everyone elses opinion.
is the eaton setup prone to having any mechanical or electrical failures?? obviously the G-lader was standard but has anyone had any unexpected/uncommon breakdowns, e.g slipped apex seal???
Many thanks Tom
I've only converted to try and save the rebuild cost every 20k miles! lol.
that and abit more power and the noise.. :-)
It goes without saying that the Eaton is a far more reliable charger than the G-lader. However, I wouldn't neccessarily say the Eaton is a more efficient charger though. In comparison with the G-lader they produce more heat and from what I understand also incurr more driven losses.
The Eaton charger has its own sealed oil system and is built to modern high standards and tolerances. It is a very robust charger and is very simple in its construction. I can't imagine BMW, Mercedes Benz (or any other manufacturer for that matter) fitting what is a major component and not expect it to last (without rebuilding) for circa 100k+ miles.
When a system has been devised that mounts the Eaton properly to the Polo engine (something along the lines of the old PSD setup) and gets around the problem of stripping belts then it should be a pretty much fit and forget setup.
Once someone like Duck has sorted out a method of reducing the awful noise they make and the above standard of installation is acheived then the Eaton may well be an excellent choice of forced induction. Until (and if ever) that happens remains to be seen.
What is the difference between the set ups on the mini and the polo that makes it incredibly loud on the latter?
whether an eaton conversion is reliable or not will come down to how well the conversion is done, quality of the mounting parts, tensioners etc... as well as getting remapping done properly.
Eatons are far more reliable due to them being made to much much better tolerances, materials and machining processes weren't available in the late 80's when the G Lader was produced.
As to which one is better is another arguement
Quote from: breadman on April 26, 2009, 09:20:25 AM
When a system has been devised that mounts the Eaton properly to the Polo engine (something along the lines of the old PSD setup) and gets around the problem of stripping belts then it should be a pretty much fit and forget setup.
I fitted mine purely because the Eaton is more robust and cheaply replaced. The G40 charger is great, but in my opinion a bit fragile.
The point above that you put is very important mind. I got the AWT kit fitted to mine and the problems we've found over the past few weeks -
*Alternator mounting is completely wrong and comes slack far too easily
*The belt used is too narrow (and seems to snap easily, as I am finding out to great expense, as it took the timing belt with it)
*Complete lack of tension on the belt. It needs another tensioner adding
*Air filter is located in the wrong place! Just sucks in nice warm air!
We are now going totally back to the drawing board with mine... not impressed at all after getting a good look at the kit after pulling the front of the car off.
First job will be to add another tensioner, work out what belt I need and shim the pulleys correctly so they all sit perfectly aligned. Hopefully with this done I can't see why it would strip belts? Surely the belts strip due to incorrect tension or catching on something?
As for the noise, well if it bothers you, don't do it! lol
If I was to do it all over again I'd go turbo... looks SO much simpler. :)
Quote from: Robin on April 26, 2009, 11:19:35 AM
Eatons are far more reliable due to them being made to much much better tolerances, materials and machining processes weren't available in the late 80's when the G Lader was produced.
As to which one is better is another arguement
not so sure about that, g-laders are pretty intricate inside and the scrolls are very complicated things and pretty fragile. Eatons have two big chunky rotors and generally a lot less smaller, complex bits in them.
considering AWT had my car for a fai few months designing the eaton kit as the first off, they done a pretty shite job in that time having noticing the crap rushed job that was done when i took it apart, the way it sits is all wrong with the intercooler intake touching the charger which kept cracking the intercooler as there was no give in it, like the post above the induction positioning is terrible, when i fitted an extra tensioner the tension was fine but still was stripping belts. ok the power was great when fully tensioned and running a small pulley but the noise was annoying around town or parking etc.
i have gone back to g-lader myself at the moment as i prefered the low down torque and power delivery, better sound, ok im sacrificing some power and reliablility but if everything is kept on top of then hopefully all should be fine
I HONESTLY THINK I COULD HAVE MADE A BETTER KIT OUT OF LEGO THAN AWT KIT
Must say I agree with the above post. I feel a little conned out of a large amount of money now. Especially considering it could cost me another 1k+ to fix I am gutted - my charger belt snapped and got sucked into the timing belt if you didn't know...
Out of interest, Chris, did you try different width belts? First thing we noticed is that the belt is a rib too narrow, but when you look closely, on the charger it is a rib too narrow on the left hand side, then a rib too narrow on the right hand side on the bottom pulley. So surely the whole kit is out of alignment? If you ran a wider belt you would need to shim the bottom pulley out, which then catches on the chassis leg... :-\
I think some of the above must contribute towards the belts snapping. Surely if the belt is not aligned and doesn't have enough tension on it, it will tear itself to bits?
Most reliable, turbo
Why bother with the hassle of the Eaton when you can go turbo for cheap. K03's aint exactly Expensive anymore
the PSD kit is much more refined but again has belt snapping issues so i believe but dont quote me on that. just seems to be that most people that have an eaton attached have had issues somewhere.
nut on the other hand my original G-lader which steve in pitstop reckoned it was in an awesome condition, but just 4000 miles after a full blend service it just blew a hole in the side of the charger and melted some internals all of a sudden. steve said it looked like the oil feed pipe blocked for some reason and blew the charger. gutted but shows how easy the g-lader can break
how realiable are the turbo setups, has anyone had problems with them
turbos a simple devices, not much to break if you do the conversion properly. And replacement turbos are £50 from scrapyards.
i aint ever dealt with turbo's
so im not sure how they would need o be setup tbh, will look into this for the future
I think the Eaton has the potential to work right, the kits just need refining, the belts must snap for a reason... and I would like to try and figure out why. Mine lasted less than 2k :-\
I'd love to go turbo, and now wish I had, but I would miss the noise, I love it!
the only issue I have had with the AWT kit is the charger ripping the endtanks on my intercooler caused by the fact the intercooler being only attached to the car by the charger and thats it. Sorted this now by mounting the intercooler to the engine so when the engine flexes in the bay the intercooler flexes at the same rate rather then being pulled by the charger. I have done 10k + without belts tearing so i cant comment on this issue although i swear the belt could be 2 ribs wider not 100% sure tho was ages since I last checked it.
Hello everyone :)
Just would like to ask if someone could tell me the internet adress of PSD?
Thank you very much,
Greetings
;)
Sorry everyone....
just found that psd are no more :-[
but where i can find some reliable eaton conversion kits for g40?
thank's again and sorry bout this ;)
reliable and eaton dont go together!
Mines being an arse and its gonna cost another small fortune to put it right.
There are afew PSD kits floating around. if you can find one, you'll be better off than with a AWT kit. If theres anything you wanna know, send me a PM.
Jon.