European Car May 1994

c t
Purchase
considerations>·
peiformance
upgrades
by James Sly
PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
Before you can really begin a projectother than in your head, that is-you
have to buy a car. Buying a new car is
usually the second largest purchase we
make, the experts tell us. The experts
usually don't mention it is probably the
worst buying experience many of us
have. While tales of car salesman horror
are legend, we have some positive news:
We bought our new Volkswagen from
Timmons VW m Long Beach,
Neuspeed P-Fio Kit for the Golf/Jetta 111
The Neuspeed P-jlow comes
with a gloss powder-coated
bracket, low-restriction
K & Nair filter, all hardware including Nutsert TM
threaded inserts, and complete directiom. Installation
takes about 45 minutes
and requires no additional
engine adjustment.
Air flow is what it's all about when it comes to getting the most
out of a performance engine. T he Neuspeed P-Flo is designed to
reduce intake air restrictions caused by the factory air cleaner
assembly. Proven on the potent Neuspeed VR6 and Corrado, this
kit applies the P-Flo technology to VW's new A3s with the 2.0liter crossflow 8V engine.
The horsepower gains on the stock 2.0 engine aren't as great as
on the deeper breathing Corrado or VR6, but according to
Neuspeed's performance guru Aaron Neuman, "Once you modifY
Unplugging the mass air flow sensor plug.
Unsnapping the rubber clamp holding the
air filter housing.
Removing the foctory air filter housing cover.
Removing the air filter housing
from the fender.
Comparison offoctory air filter housing inlet
and the larger P-jlow inlet.
Drilling the holes for the P-jlow bracket.
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California, and were extremely happy
with the treatment we got.
Are VW dealers raking a step toward the
"new wave" approach of the much-praised
Saturn dealer? We don't know, but we do
know that the treatment and the follow
up we received from Timmons is a model
for other VW franchises.
The actual purchase went as smoothly
as possible, but more importantly, there
was great follow-up. Our salesman walked
us through the car, showing us everything
from the location of the radio codes to the
row hook behind the front parking light
lens. We were given a demo of how the
alarm worked, how to fold the rear sear,
and even how to open the new design fuel
filler door. There was also a video about
the car that complemented the in-dealership "training" we were given.
When we picked up the car, we noticed
that the rear bumper had been scratched
Project A3 2-liter Cross Flow Road Horsepower
from the APS Chassis Dyno
shipping. The
Service Department
110.
ordered a replacement
100.
and gave us a loaner
for a day when we
90.
brought the car back
; 80.
to finish the repair. In
buying the Golf, we
70.
received one heck of a
~ 60.
service and warranty
'V
package-something
50.
that should help sway
40.
buyers to VW. For
30.
two years, all normal
service is covered-all
20.
required oil changes.
2000 2500
rpm rpm
The car also has VW's
"bumper to bumper"
two-year warranty, backed by a 100,000mile powertrain warranty. That's an
exceptional value, to our minds.
We admit we aren't the quickest deci1n
""' ·+·
.
+
i
Stock Cross
Flow Golf 2.0
i
- - - with
Neuspeed PChip
- - - w ith P·Chip
a nd P-Fiow
,--"- - t
the engine with the Neuspeed P-chip engine management software
and Neuspeed's 260° camshaft, the P-Flo jumps the engine from
99 road horsepower to 114 road horsepower, a 15 percent gain."
There's another benefit that would make the P-Flo worthwhile
for most enthusiasts: the sound. What a sound. Bolting on the PFlo changes the note of the A3's engine from econo-box whoosh
to a throaty 2-lirer roar. Unobtrusive while cruising or at part
throttle, hard acceleration makes the 2.0-lirer A3 sound like the
performance car it is.
The P-Flo includes Neuspeed's derailed instructions, along with
everything yo u need to make the changeover to low-restriction
breathing, down to the last washer, self-locking nut, and vacuum
-+
3000 3 500 4000 4500 5000 5 500 6000 6 5 00
rp m
rpm
rpm
rpm
rpm
rpm
rpm
r pm
sion makers. After we had made up our
mind to buy an A3 for a project, we were
faced with a flurry of decisions: For
starters, do we get a Jerra or a Golf? Both
plug required. The heart of the mattq:-is a low restriction, surgical
cotton K & N air filter that is cleanable and reusable for as long as
you own the car. The bracket is a precision stamping, powder
coated in a durable gloss black with a red Neuspeed die cur label.
The bracket firs perfectly on the A3 fender, using high-strength,
easy to install Nurserrs. The Mass Air Flow sensor bolts directly to
the P-Flow bracket.
Installation is a simple matter, requiring enlarging two factory
holes. A 3/8-in. drill, simple hand tools, and about a half hour of
your rime are all you need. No adjustments or other modifications are needed.
Removing mass air flow bracket from factory
air filter housing.
Installing bolts into Nutsert in the fonder to
hold the P-jlow bracket.
Fastenil1§ mass air flow sensor to
new Pjtow bracket.
Plugging the vacuum tee from the
stock air box.
Tightening down the screws on the
K& Nair filter.
M AY
I 9 9 4
39
c t
p r
european car
projects in the
past. The ]etta, in its earlier forms, has
been a best seller in the states, but we've
always liked the practicality of a hatchback. Finally, however, the decision was
made: Get a Golf.
Next up was a choice of motor package. Should we opt for the Mexicanmade cars with the 2.0 crossflow four or
wait until the VR6s from the Vaterland
hit our shores?
Money, and patience-or rather the
lack of inordinate quantities of eitherplayed an important role in this decision.
We found our 2-liter for less than $15,000
out the door, quite a bit cheaper than we
Shift Kit Ill
While we had Project A3 at the spacious new Neuspeed location in Camarillo,
California, we treated ourselves to a quick interior makeover and a Neuspeed ShortShift conversion. In principle, the A3 Short Shift conversion functions identically to
earlier A2 Short Shifts. In fact, in order to use the new factory "corn dog" shift weight,
the A3 kit had to be completely redesigned and now consists of two modified parts.
Both the relay lever and selector lever have been modified to work with the new factory
weight. Both levers came complete with new plastic bushings
There is a choice of two shift reductions, either 35 percent shorter than stock, or our
preferred 50 percent shorter. Like all Neuspeed Short Shift kits, the reductions actually
provide the full 35 or 50 percent at the
shift lever, and work smoothly. The A3
Short Shift kit is quickly installed from
under the hood, and no adjustments of the
shift linkage are required after the quick
and easy install.
You'll need a pair of pliers to remove the
clips holding the "corn dog" relay rod in
place, and a screwdriver to unclip the plastic clips, along with 13mm socket and box
end wrenches to remove and replace the
shift linkage levers. Aaron uses an 18-in.
Neuspeed A3 Short Shift includes two pieces extension and socket to reach the lever on
in order to clear the new weighted foctory A3
the body of the car.
shift Linkage.
Neuspeed shift (right) compared to
stock. To keep the shift bushings in the
same relationship with the modified
seLector fever and clear the weight, the
modified relay Lever is required.
40
E UROP EA N
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Neuspeed shift (right) compared to stock.
think anyone will have to spend for a
VR6. And we were able to get it right
away. By the time you're reading this, we'll
have had thousands of miles of enjoyable
motoring. We also suspect that fuel
mileage in the low thirties will keep us
happier than the 20-25 mpg of a VR6.
Most importantly, the 115 horse 2-liter,
not the VR6, will be VW's bread-and-butter car here in the U.S. It's also going to be
the most likely candidate for european car
readers who want to build a project car on
a budget. The stock engine has a decent
amount of power already, but we also
know there will be new performance ideas
for the 2.0, joining the already numerous
tried and true performance parts. Project
A3 is a four-door, like all early A3s. That's
not a problem for us, either. It just makes
the car more practical. It won't be our first
four-door project Volkswagen, either.
Project Millionized Rabbit back in 1978,
Project GLI and Editor Brown's ]etta 1,
still going after all these years, share those
honors.
Our Golf has the trick electrically operated glass sunroof, air conditioning, and
the now-standard factory alarm system.
We paid extra to upgrade the standard
radio to the high-end radio as found in the
Passat and Corrado. Like the standard
radio, it features anti-theft code protection. The reason we upgraded the radio
was to add VW's factory CD changer.
There is no factory bracket for installing
the changer on the Golf, bur the Service
Department at Timmons neatly installed
the compact six-disc changer in the glove
box. The factory head unit and stock
speakers sound okay, particularly with
compact discs, but our plans include
upgrading the speakers to an MB Quart
Golflll Sound Set, and adding additional
amplification and a subwoofer.
Driving Impressions
Does living with a new VW for four
thousand miles make us alter our opinion
about the cars compared to our short, initial A3 driving experiences? Yes and no.
Our initial impression of the A3 was positive, to be sure, but the smoothness of its
character almost lulled us into thinking it
has a boring chassis. Not so. After living
with it for a while, the car still feels
smooth, but we're more impressed by its
solid feel, quiet running and abiliry to
hold a line through a corner with little or
no fuss. The sound insulation and aerodynamics are so good the A3 will quiety
cruise up to 80 mph if you don't pay
55 ~
PROJECTA3
~ 55
Removing the stock Golfsteering wheel is the
first step to a new driver interface and a great
Looking interior. Unlike most American cars,
removing the VW steering wheel requires only
that you remove the nut-you don't need a
steering wheel puller or any special tools.
with the supple black leather and the gloss
shine of the steering wheel's insert.
MOMO makes a carbon fiber dash overlay for the Golf, which we soon be fitting
to further dress up Project A3's interior.
With the engine broken in and 3000
miles under its belt, we went for som e
added performance in the form of a
Neuspeed P-Chip and P-Flo air filter.
Simply installed by plugging the new chip
in the ECU (Engine Control Unit), the PC hip made an immediate difference we
could feel. Accordin g to Aaron at
Neuspeed, "The fuel curves on the A3s are
pretty close these days, and changes are
minor in that area. Bur Volkswagen continues to give us plenty of room to improve
the ignition riming maps. The riming maps
are extremely conservative. The result is a
chip with a very different feel, particularly
at part throttle. The biggest power gai ns on
the A3 come in th e midrange, with as
much as a 12% increase in road horsepower. At the high end, the P-Chip offers a
healthy 9 road horsepower improvement. "
We'd driven A3s wi th the Neuspeed PChip before, bur this was our first chance
to try th e chip in a car we were familiar
with. What a difference! The engine even
so unds different, due to rhe large timing
changes Aaron made in rh e chip. Light
appl ication of the throttle brings quicker
respo nse, and when flooring it there's a difference you can really appreciate.
Other changes on the Neuspeed P-chip
include a raised rev limit, and removal of
VW's 118 mph speed limit built into the
stock chip. You'll want to upgrade to ti res
with a higher speed raring than stock
before exploring the new top speed. T he
Neuspeed P-Chip is priced at $250. The
chip is the equivalent of what would have
been a distributor recurve and custom
dyno-tune with diffe rent carb jetting in
the old days. The difference is that this
time you just plug in a chip--no hours of
hard tuning work to make things work so
well. If you're in a hurry, Neuspeed has a
special offer for the readers of european
car: Free next-day shipping wi th arlf PC hip purchase, which is rath er cool.
Decide today at 3:00 yo u want the
Neuspeed chip, and you're experiencing
the added power tomorrow. T he 50-stare
legal P-Chip CARB EO number was
pending at press rime.
We also installed the Neuspeed P-Flo,
detailed in the sidebar. Designed to replace
the stock air filter assemb ly with a low
restriction K & N filter, the P-Flo adds a
couple horsepower on a stock or "chipped"
engine, bur according to Aaron yields even
greater improvements once a cam is added.
That will be our next step, of course.
Finishing off rhe modifications, Aaron
added subtle "Neuspeed" die cut lettering
on each rear quarter wi ndow. As he peeled
off the backing, revealing the white letters,
it finally sunk in that we were on the way
with another great proj ect car. As usual,
there's a lor of different options available,
and we'd like to hear yo ur ideas. Should
we go for a New Dimensions Stage III
turbo ? A Techronics Street Port II crossflow head ? A wild Germ an body kit or a
subtle rear spoiler? Let us know what you
want to see!
Parts Audit Trail:
Neuspeed Carbon Fiber
Look Steering Wheel w/ hub ... $325 .00
Neuspeed Carbon Fiber
Look shifi: knob . .. 69.95
MOMO Aluminum shifi: knob
"Comperizione" .. .49.95
MOMO leather shifi: boot ... 49.95
MOMO hub spacer w/ screws ... 19.00
NeuspeedA3 Short Shifi: ... 89.95 *
Neuspeed P-Kit. .. 250.00 *
Neuspeed P-Flo, complete ... 129.95 *
*Prices Subject to Change
Performance Audit Trail:
We purchased the Golfiii with an
advertised 115 horsepower ar rhe flywheel
and a dyno yield of99 road horsepower at
5500 rpm. With the addition of the
Neuspeed P-Kit and P-Flo, that number
has jumped to 113 road horsepower at
5500 rpm. ~
Neuspeed
3000 Con e Malpaso
Camarillo , CA 93012
(805) 388-7171