Which way to go: Eaton or turbo?

[Stirlitz]

Hey there everybody, I'll be needing some advice!

I bought my G in march with a refurbished G-lader (had about 5k miles in it according to the prev owner)... but about 7k miles later (a week ago), the lader finally gave up. It wasn't on me, as I really pampered the little G. The refurbishing wasn't done properly, so even the housing itself is useless.

Having the the lader taken apart and now fully understanding the technology I decided to go a more reliable way... as a refurbished replacement charger would cost a helluva sum also... and would last for another 30-40k miles before another refurbishing.

Eaton or turbocharging are the two options. Just had a discussion with a local "G-magician", so my options are Eaton M45/ M62 (he has an M62 on shelf) or a hybrid K03/04 turbo (a K03 if can not get the hybrid).

What you should know: the little G is my daily driver and reliability and mileage are more important to me than power... but of course I'm a gearhead, so would like to make the best decision that I won't regret.

I had an Audi UrS4 Avant before the G, so I love turbocharging. He told me that my mileage would be better in general use... and would make around 170 hp with better general (low and high rpm) dynamics than with the "lader". The K03 would make around 150hp.

I love the sound of the Eaton, so that's a big plus to me. The M62 would be switchable as it has a magnetic clutch, so could be turned off if needed somehow for economy.
Would also make around 170hp, and be better on low down torque (than with turbo) and would make around the same mileage as the G-lader in general use.

Turbocharging would cost a bit more... The mechanic would go turbocharging.

I wouldn't have ever thought that I'll be spending the cost of the car in 6months for a major "repair", but if I need to cough this money up I'd go with the best option.

I know, I foresee further mods... brakes, clutch... trans ( ehhhhhhhhhhh )... first I need to make the little G mobile.
This would be my final engine mod, as I really don't need more HP for my daily commute.... and the G would smoke the larger part of the cars easily even with the 150HP option.

Any advice/ experience is welcome! Thanks!

[Andy]

Depends what torque response you want. In the UK the M45 Eaton was popular for a while, but now the turbo seems more popular. I've seen both M45 and K03 turbo'd G40s make 190bhp+, though they were all running well over 15psi of boost - and hence needed the ECU modifying with a larger MAP sensor.

If you 'only' want 130-150bhp, I'd buy another G-lader or whack on an M45 Eaton if you have to. If you're heading for 170bhp+ then I'd argue a case for a well-matched turbo (i.e. not a massive one!), as its less aggressive low-down torque delivery will help the gearbox and other drivetrain components to hold together.

For what it's worth, I'm confident a K03-005 (Passat 20v) turbo will do 170-175bhp at 15psi with the right camshaft. For every day driving that's more than enough, and with the little K03 the boost threshold is sensible so you get good response. You do need to change the cam for a 254° or 268° item though, as using a stock cam leaves the power band ridiculously low. I mapped a car with this spec, and the owner turned the boost down a bit for daily use - last I heard it'd done over 25,000 miles like that and was regularly turning in 42mpg+ (UK gallons).

The noise from an Eaton on a daily driver would utterly do my head in, unless of course you're fitting it post-throttle (or fitting an additional silencer throttle upstream of it). The M45'd cars I've been in have been hilarious for short trips or Sunday blasts, but every day the whining wears thin IMO!

[GR40]

Turbo is the more popular way to go but I would argue about it being the most cost efficient if u are not going for power. I only have experience with an Eaton conversion though so that is what I am gonna focus on. In my G40 I was running an Eaton M45 with a stock engine and stock map (don't do that) and wasn't bad at all! 2 weeks ago I rebuilt the engine and everything came out in perfect condition. I was running the car like this for 5 years (80.000 km) and was making 143hp at the crank at 1,2 to 1,3 bars. It was leaning out in high rpm but not enough to cause damage to the engine. It cost me around €700 including the charger. It may not had been perfect and didn't have great high end power but was really nice mid range and fast enough. (now its in my Arosa waiting for some parts and we ll see how much more hp I can squeeze out of it with stock pistons)

The noise I believe is something personal, for me 2 to 3 hours of it a day with the combination of my loud exhaust was nothing. But 4 to 5 hours in a long trip, it was starting to wear out my ears.

For parts, if u go turbo you will probably need turbo, exhaust manifold, downpipe, intercooler, cam, map and pipework when for a bit less you can go the Eaton route with charger, pullies (6pk ones from later models are at the cost of chips), tensioner, belt, brackets, intercooler, map and pipework! (for my old setup I used the original intercooler to keep everything looking original).

Ps. I believe the M62 is kind of big for the engine.

[hayesey]

I would go turbo.  It should be cheaper if you use a K03 given that you can quite easily pick these up for £50 from scrapyards off various VAG cars.

Eaton M45s aren't as easy to come across here any more since the bmw mini hasn't been using them for some time.

I reckon it'll cost you as much to get the bracketry made up for mounting the eaton as the entire turbo conversion would cost.  Obviously that doesn't apply if you can make that stuff yourself.

When I went from G-Lader to turbo it cost me next to nothing because the money I got from selling the recently serviced g-lader pretty much paid for everything.  I got most parts 2nd hand.  I spend about £500 on the conversion bits all in, then remapping work was on top of that but you'll pay that whether you go turbo or eaton.

[Stirlitz]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I'll go turbocharged, as I just got a brand new K03 for a very reasonable price.

I'll stay uncharged for the holidays, will get the "hardware" recently, and the conversion will be done in mid-january...

K03 on 15psi, hopefully will do about 170HP.

This Trabant now makes about 240HP, had a spin in that.... nicely done. I have my confidence in the guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zMpZYMEOeQ

He did several turbo and Eaton conversions and says I'll be really satisfied with the result. Fingers crossed

I'll keep you updated.

[GR40]

I guess it comes down to what you can find cheaper then! Good condition used K03s here are more in the range of 350€ (ridiculous, I know!) and a custom manifold and downpipe (I actually asked yesterday) is around another 400€. But then again I live in Greece!

[Stirlitz]

I live in Hungary... and prices are also ridiculous here. The new K03 is around 400-430€ (Chinese ones are cheaper, but you don't want a Chines turbo), but the downpipe and the custom manifold is something like 200€.