[urq] 20V conversion questions, a timeless subject!

[packley]

Eric:

This will be a frequently asked question, I am sure when you consider
all facets.  Certainly Steve Eiche will have opinions as he is most
accomplished in conversions.

Colin Cohen and I are in the process of converting our 83 urq.

I have driven Charlie Day's immaculate AAN converted (RS2 specs) urq (he
is original owner, I have owned mine since 87.

Tremendously smooth torque monster.  These engines easily produce 300+
wheel HP.  So if you double HP and torque what do you get?  You get the
requirement to modify the suspension/brakes to support the increase.  It
seems that Audi could have done this conversion easily, and they did
with the RR, which could have been upgraded by Audi for a legitimate
factory
RS2 engined urq with little additional effort, other than it would have
taken the wind out of the RS2 specialty sails (sales?).  I do not intend
on stepping on historian feet here, just an observation, as it seems the
Japanese have figured out how to add superchargers on their production
cars
as an option without affecting warranty.  Too bad US marketing by Audi
could not do the same.

I have also been in MC modified cars, and they have a different feel,
because the performance curves are quite different, but you can get
250-275
HP out of these engines and it is a substantial improvement over the WX
and quite a lot easier than the 20V conversion.

But those that have done a MC conversion may argue bang/buck equation.
If you think about it, many MC conversions were done before 20V engines
became available, and still 20V engines cost $3K compared to an MC which
cost a few hundred, so initially 20V were not an option, and now a more
expensive option.

3B vs. AAN?  We found a brand new shortblock, replaced the rods with
Carrillo rods and have upgrades wherever we thought it would help us
produce
reliable HP. The engines can produce 450 HP with ignition/MAF
enhancements The AAN engine is superior, obviously, because its ignition
avoids the distributor problems, but HP output is equal until you use
electronics that benefit from the coilpacks.  The only weak part I am
aware of are that stock con rods are limited to about 400 HP so we did
not want to
dance on that margin of error. 

Conversion details? Lots of things that have to be changed.  We are
trying to document each part, modification, and other details so that
others can do this conversion without having to re-invent the wheel each
time.  Detailing and objectives will vary with each conversion.  Do you
keep AC, use Sport header, what intake manifold? What clutch, flywheel,
etc.  Each is a variable that influences the final product.  Buying a
stock 3B conversion from 2bennett after you get into this detail, may
not be such an expensive
alternative to some.

When it is all completed, the properly prepped 20V is an incredible
sleeper, capable of equaling 993TT Porsche handling and acceleration.
We cannot wait until ours is finished this year.

Phil Ackley