g40 tuning ????

[dreamer]

hi there, I am looking at buying a g40 in the next couple of weeks as I have wanted one for ages now but have been unemployed. I am going to look for a standard g as I want to do the all tuning to it, it will also be my everyday car so I still want the reliability!!! can anybody give me sum advice on what to do to it any what performance things I should do. I'm very keen on the eaton idea as the g lader just sounds expensive and not too reliable and rebuilds are also expensive. but iv not exactly heard too many good things bout an eaton. I will want a kit ad I won't be custom making my own if I go for the eaton. any advice much appreciated thanks Jake

[hayesey]

welcome to the forum!

Personally I'd say an eaton conversion is the last thing you want to be doing to maintain reliability.  Have a search around here at some of the eaton conversions that are in progress (well, most have been in progress for years now).  I would stick to simple things like a pulley and chip, exhaust etc... aim for about 150bhp and you should have a nice reliable daily.  Yes the charger needs servicing at the correct intervals but as long as you do this and don't drive the car like a total lunatic all the time then there's no reason the charger should be unreliable. 

I would say a turbo conversion would be a more reliable conversion if you definitely want rid of the g-lader.  Use a K03, keep boost down to about 15psi and you'll have a nice 150-165bhp daily driver.  Parts for this conversion are easy to find off the shelf and there are no worries with pulley alignment and bearing arrangement which seem to plague the eaton conversions. 

My 2penneth anyway, I'm sure the people in progress with Eaton conversions will want to disagree with me but that's OK, my opinion still stands whatever...

[Justin14100]

hi there, I am looking at buying a g40 in the next couple of weeks as I have wanted one for ages now but have been unemployed. I am going to look for a standard g as I want to do the all tuning to it, it will also be my everyday car so I still want the reliability!!! can anybody give me sum advice on what to do to it any what performance things I should do. I'm very keen on the eaton idea as the g lader just sounds expensive and not too reliable and rebuilds are also expensive. but iv not exactly heard too many good things bout an eaton. I will want a kit ad I won't be custom making my own if I go for the eaton. any advice much appreciated thanks Jake

I'd advise not using a standard G firstly as they are hard to come by now secondly there needs to be some standard ones left! haha. the G-lader isnt really expensive its special! I'm not sure on how many eaton kits there are off the shelf now but i think its none, eatons are ass expensive to setup properly as im sure you will hear.

[dreamer]

thanks for the advice really. right well I'm now put off the hole eaton idea. how often does the g lader need a rebuild on average? I am now feeling the hole turbo conversion but unfortunately all the research I have done has bin on the eaton conversion, sooo with a turbo conversion where do I start?? many thanks Jake

oh and thanks for the welcome and help.

[Jezza-7]

G-lader rebuilds depend on a few things.

Standard pulley size is round 40k but on a smaller pulley, like 65mm, it would be best to service it every 20k. Depends on the driving too. But as you said it would be a daily so the mileage above would suit, if it was being used for drag/race it would need it more often. Im not 100% sure but i think thats a rough idea.

Some people have run the lader for miles without service. My original charger looked like it never came off the car, had no history and that did around 100k with no know service.

With the turbo conversion side of things best to have a look in the turbo section. There are a few people that are doing it at the moment. Some really helpfull guys too.

[hayesey]

hmm well on a standard pulley then probably wants a service if it's not been done in the last 30k miles or 10 years.  If it's on a 65mm pulley then this goes right down to 10k or 2 years in my opinion but there are no hard & fast rules.

[Jezza-7]

hmm well on a standard pulley then probably wants a service if it's not been done in the last 30k miles or 10 years.  If it's on a 65mm pulley then this goes right down to 10k or 2 years in my opinion but there are no hard & fast rules.

Go with what hayesey says, he knows more than me! 

[Justin14100]

hmm well on a standard pulley then probably wants a service if it's not been done in the last 30k miles or 10 years.  If it's on a 65mm pulley then this goes right down to 10k or 2 years in my opinion but there are no hard & fast rules.

Go with what hayesey says, he knows more than me! 

done 25k on a 63 / 65 mm toothed setup

forgot to mention its a daily and doesn't get a huge thrashing all the time.

[hayesey]

hmm well on a standard pulley then probably wants a service if it's not been done in the last 30k miles or 10 years.  If it's on a 65mm pulley then this goes right down to 10k or 2 years in my opinion but there are no hard & fast rules.

Go with what hayesey says, he knows more than me!  

well, just make your own mind up.  As I say, there's no rules, if you ask VW they tell you the charger is a sealed unit which never needs servicing for the life time of the car!!

[PeteG40]

hmm well on a standard pulley then probably wants a service if it's not been done in the last 30k miles or 10 years.  If it's on a 65mm pulley then this goes right down to 10k or 2 years in my opinion but there are no hard & fast rules.

Go with what hayesey says, he knows more than me!  

done 25k on a 63 / 65 mm toothed setup

forgot to mention its a daily and doesn't get a huge thrashing all the time.

it does depend on how its used.

I've seen charger rebuilds and after 12k of hard miles the bearings ahve been overworn and the lader starting to wear.

Thing is, when they start making noises etc - they are past servicing often!  A bit like trying to replace a cambelt after it snaps...

[Justin14100]

hmm well on a standard pulley then probably wants a service if it's not been done in the last 30k miles or 10 years.  If it's on a 65mm pulley then this goes right down to 10k or 2 years in my opinion but there are no hard & fast rules.

Go with what hayesey says, he knows more than me!  

done 25k on a 63 / 65 mm toothed setup

forgot to mention its a daily and doesn't get a huge thrashing all the time.

it does depend on how its used.

I've seen charger rebuilds and after 12k of hard miles the bearings ahve been overworn and the lader starting to wear.

Thing is, when they start making noises etc - they are past servicing often!  A bit like trying to replace a cambelt after it snaps...

always use a panel filter too - keeps the life in them

[grungeisdead]

if youve lost your job, i dont really think a G40 is the route to go, and to try and maintain reliability whilst spending money on go-faster bits, will ultimatly lead you having to shell out more money than youve probably previously factored.

the only way i would run a G as a single car, is if i didnt need to travel to the office, or had access to another vehicle when required, so you dont have to rush to finish any work on the car, within the day, so its usable for the next.

moving towards an eaton, isnt the best solution to reliability, yes the chargers are more reliable, however the kits used off the shelf are poor, and have much scope for improvement. some of the owners on here have found out the hard way, and are still refining thier designs to this day.

if your hearts set on it, build up another G lump but always keep your standard lump as a backup in case anything goes pear