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70 eurotuner nov
elcome back to another
courageous tale of the
underpowered yet
underrated Mk3 two.slow!
In et 8/07 we went behind the scenes of
Bahn Brenner Motorsport to unravel the
potential of the 2.0 8v ABA motor. For as little
as $2899, Mk3 owners can take home a BBM
supercharger kit, install it in their garage and
produce around 150whp. Step up to the stage 3
program for $4647 and you have yourself a
215whp car. This is amazing considering the
factory power figures were 115hp and 135 lb/ft.
Having achieved impressive and affordable
power, there was more to come, as we found
with this ’96 VW GTI owned by Andy Yeckel
of Seattle, WA. His daily-driven project car is
producing a healthy 227whp and 217 lb/ft with
BBM’s stage 3 kit and a 16v head swap.
Andy started his journey at the ’04
Waterwagens show, where he encountered
BBM while his car was bone stock. He was
intrigued by their 2.0 supercharger and ordered
one. After becoming acquainted with BBM
owner John Betz, he turned out to be a good
friend of the company and worked with them
to develop a 16v head conversion for the ABA.
We sat down with Andy and John to
understand the concept behind the conversion
that uses the head from the 9A Mk2 16v. The
head is significant because it shares similarities
with the European ABF 2.0 16v motor that
never made it to the US. “I think we got
cheated because the rest of the world got the
ABF,” Andy explained. “The US got the VR6
but VW decided to detune ABF so it wouldn’t
compete with the VR6. It performed like a VR,
and was light like an 8v and built like a tank.
So the perfect solution for 2.0 owners in the US
like myself was to make a clone of the ABF
using Mk2 and Mk3 parts. We ended up with
an ABA 16v using an ABA bottom end with a
9A 16v head.”
After months of development, Andy and
BBM finalized a turnkey kit. And all you need
is a 9A 16v head assembly, easily obtainable
from junkyards and classified ads, rather than
a full 16v engine.
Included in the kit is the “Dizzy Gizzy” and
modified intermediate shaft pulley. These parts
allow the engine to run the factory oil pump
and intermediate shaft; meaning you don’t have
to drop the oil pan or install a 16v oil pump.
eurotuner nov 71
TECH SPEC
1996 VW GTI
Owner: Andy Yeckel
Location: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Designer
ENGINE: two liter ABA 16v with
BBM twin-screw supercharger,
custom ABA 16v stage three
software, 9A 2.0 16v head, OBD1
ABA block with forged crank and
rods, Ross Machine Racing BBMspec 16v forged pistons, Techtonics
adjustable cam gear and 2.5”
stainless exhaust with dual Borla
mufflers, ARP head studs and rod
bolts, modified Scirocco intake
manifold, BBM fuel rail and fuel
pressure regulator adapter, 440cc
injectors, modified 16v distributor,
front-mount intercooler, ABF timing
belt, modified 16v intermediate shaft
gear, Dizzy Gizzy, billet front coolant
flange and block-off plate, custom
stainless steel coolant lines,
VF-Engineering engine mounts
DRIVETRAIN: 02A Corrado
cable shift transmission, hydraulic
clutch conversion, G60 228mm
clutch with VR6 pressure plate,
Quaife LSD, custom short shift
SUSPENSION: H&R Cup kit
BRAKES: ATE slotted rotors with
Mintex Red Box pads
WHEELS & TIRES: 15x8”
Compomotive TH-Mono wheels
with billet center caps, 195/50-15
Kuhmo Ecsta AST tires
EXTERIOR: VR6 chin spoiler,
deleted lower grille, 16v badge
INTERIOR: S3 Designs
electroluminescent gauges,
42DD boost gauge pod,
Auto Meter Competition boost
gauge, OMP aluminum shift knob,
color-matched trim
AUDIO/VISUAL: Alpine
CDM-9801 head unit and Type R
SWR component speakers,
MTX Audio 12” subwoofer
and monoblock amplifier
THANKS: John Betz and BBM,
Fine Tuning, Jeff Atwood, friends
and family
Also included are a modified crank pulley,
fuel rail, fuel pressure regulator adapter, injector
cups, 16v timing belt, coolant hoses and flange.
In addition, BBM developed the 16v head
kit to work with or without forced induction.
A naturally aspirated enthusiast has the option
of installing high compression pistons for more
power, while a forced induction fanatic can
either go super- or turbocharged.
In Andy’s case, he already had BBM’s
stage 3 supercharger. “One of the benefits of
using the ABA with the 16v head is that the
compression is 8.5:1,” Andy explained.
“So it’s perfect for boost,” John continued.
“The 16v supercharger setup takes the power
curve and gives you another 1000rpm of usable
power. It makes the power curve longer and it
revs higher.”
After driving his supercharged 16v over an
extended period, it’s withstood all kinds of
weather conditions and some intense driving.
“The car gets abused daily in the city,” he
chuckled. “I utilize its potential and it’s huge
fun to drive. It goes through hell!”
CONTACT
BAHN BRENNER MOTORSPORT
(541/388-1202, www.bahnbrenner.com)
72 eurotuner nov