why 2.9 ????

[PoorMansPorsche 0]

alright peeps

 

one thing that has always puzzled me is why did VW just up the VR6 engine by 100 cc for the rado, youve got a perectly acceptable engine - why just enlarge by 100cc - surely it would have made the car more special, saleable and more able to compete with the big boy german motors if it was 3 litre - it cant have been that much more difficult if you are going to make the effort of upping it by another 100cc. was it tax reasons or something as we all know the block is capable, even if it didnt up the performance at all it still would have been like - yeah well ive got a 3 litre like etc etc.

 

hmmmmmmmmm

 

Brett

[logicaltuning 0]

also like the 1.8 16v which was more powerful than the 2.0 16v

[PoorMansPorsche 0]

i can understand about the 1.8 being more powerful because thats what happened around that time with cats and emmissions etc, take the vauxhall 2.2 engine - only designed to match the power of the older 2 litre but with lower emmissions

[mr.ots 10]

I could be wrong but I think the VR engine started out as a 2.9 and was down sized to a 2.8 to meet the more stringent US emmisions standards. The 2.8 was the engine used in the US spec VR's and all VR goofs

[kebabman 0]

If that's true, what about all the V8s they drive around in!?

[mr.ots 10]

There are different ways to improve a cars emmisions, after all a lot of modern V8's have cleaner emmisions than a Moris Minor.

VW decided to reduce the capacity and subsequently the power output down from 190bhp to 178bhp which was probably easier and cheaper than fitting lots of emmision control systems to achieve the same result.

 

I believe the VR6 engine first appeared in the Passat in 1991 in 2.9L configuration

[dr_mat 0]

My personal suspicion is that the 2.8L was the original config. The 2.9 was what VW would overbore to for the factory refurb market. The guys designing the Corrado wanted to distinguish it from the Golf VR6 so they were working on the VSR manifold and so on, but when that got canned they said "right well at least use the 2.9 block then"...

 

As usual, read the .sig, this might well be complete bollocks...

[dr_mat 0]

And I could be wrong, but I didn't think the 2.9 had appeared in ANY other vehicle.

[mr.ots 10]

The 2.9 was definately used in the passat syncro although I'm not absolutely sure that the first VR engines that went into the Passat in '91 were 2.9's

[mrbeige 0]

I thought the 2.9 was the original, but downgraded to 2.8 due to one of the outer most cylinder walls being too thin and more prone to overheating? I'm probably wrong though!

[RW1 0]

but I didn't think the 2.9 had appeared in ANY other vehicle.

 

Also the 4 motion Golf III in europe was powered by the ABV 2.9ltr engine.

 

.

[VWci 0]

Golf 3 Syncro has 2.9 ABV

 

4motion is newer than Syncro system i dont know the differencees tho...but 4motion was started to be used in Golf 4s...Syncro was used in Golfs and Passats....passat - B5 if i am not wrong 1996 - 2005 - has both syncro and 4 motion systems..early versions(1996-1999 i guess) have syncro late versions has 4 motion system...

[Claret Badger 0]

it's to do with the tax laws in Germany/Europe

 

And engine output - I don't think many marques had a high power - for their mid range (199bhp

 

That is why the biggest 3 series was only 2.8 for ages.

 

hth

[dr_mat 0]

But then the question becomes "why bother at all?"..

[veeDuB_Rado 0]

Passat was 2.8 I'm pretty sure...

[Not_Aircooled_or_Taxfree 0]

I think it was something cleaver about road tax laws in Europe or Germany, something like that. It was cheeper to have a 2.9 intead of a 3.0. I may be wrong. ( I am most of the time)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

And engine output - I don't think many marques had a high power - for their mid range (199bhp

 

I've been told that in the mid 90s, German insurance premiums were heavily loaded if the engine output exceeded 200bhp. That isn't the case now but as you say, 325i, 328i, Corrado VR6, Merc Kompressors etc were all under 200bhp, but easily capable of a lot more.

 

And the Corrado VR6 was always destined to be a 2.9 in Europe.....and the powerplant was tested in a Rallye shell in the late 80s as it was going to be fitted to A) a compact rado engine bay (MK2 bay size very similar) and a 4x4 Golf.....so using the Rallye they could test all scenarios. They already had a development MK3 golf running around with a VR in it to test FWD behaviour.

 

The 'lesser' Golf was down graded to 2.8 as to not 'upstage' the Corrado.

[GIXXERUK 0]

The 'lesser' Golf was down graded to 2.8 as to not 'upstage' the Corrado.

 

kevHaywire, yeah i read that , the corrado was to be the flagship