delusions of grandeur: porting and polishing

[jab86@cornell.edu]

well, i have ordered my new suspension: boge progas struts and h&r 
springs.  thank you all for the great advice.  since i am incapable of 
not having a performance enhancement in the works, i have been thinking 
of the only thing my audi actually needs: uhm, some balls.  look, i love 
my 80Q, but the 2.3l 5 cyl is just not a performance engine.  one of the 
things that i have been mulling over is porting and polishing.  i know a 
fellow who will do this cheaply and well ( ihave used him before), but i 
would like to raise my compression ratio as well for some added oomph.  i 
would like to impose upon my fellow listers for some advice.  i have 
heard that my 1990 80Q has domed pistons.  how much (if any) can i shave 
off of my head before my valves and pistons collide?  also, i am concerned 
that if i shave too much, my knock sensor will retard the timing to the 
point where performance is adversely affected.  is this a valid worry?  
how much can i shave off, and what would be the resulting compression 
ratio?  another worry i have is the effect on my timing belt with 
the decreased space.  what do you say about that?  has anybody done 
this, or does everybody just drop in an MC engine ?  i would prefer 
to stay normally aspirated - alternative suggestions with that 
restriction in mind are welcome.  thanks in advance.

-   joe-the-new-guy
1990 80Q 138k - outdoor sculpture until 7/23