ABF and KR engine! NOT the same old question; need some advice!

[RowanVW 0]

Well, I currently have a 89 KR 16v, the problem is that the guy before me has chopped the wires and its gonna take alot of effort to sort it out, so I shortly to be purchasing a decent ABF engine off a friend with loom ECU and what ever I need... Also the KR has never been run by me, so no idea what condition its all in!

 

However, I have read that the KR head on the ABF block is the best route to go, however because my KR wiring is so messed up, can i use;

 

KR Head

ABF Block

ABF Wiring

KR management

 

Or what would people suggest as i'm trawling through pages and pages of info that is giving me no clear path, or would just a straight swap to the full ABF be easier in my case?

 

Any pointers would be great, my main worry is that the ABF wiring will be completely different from the old loom and won't plug into everything smoothly.

 

Thanks

[davidwort 0]

2 different generations of vw engine and management, a complete abf block and head with kr inlet manifold and kr injection is the easiest way to go if the car was kr to begin with, original spec abf head is better than kr.

full abf management/injection etc is going to be a lot of work but if you have a complete donor car then it's doable.

you could run a kr head on an abf block but you'll get better results from an abf head on either management.

I'd suggest you do a lot of reading in the 16v section on the club gti forum

[RowanVW 0]

Ok cheers, i've just finished scouring this forum, now just found a nice guide on the gti forum cheers... choices choices! I guess its a lot of work because i'd have take the immobiliser ring and ignition barrel etc to make it work, but then it would have benefits such as mapping and diagnostics?

[davidwort 0]

yeah, you can make a k-jet 16v quick and a fair bit more power than standard, but an abf on abf management (even custom mapped) is a very strong motor even without gas-flowing etc, basically the abf is the final development of the 16v engine by vw and they did a pretty good job. It's even said they played down the performance in marketing the mk3 golf as the abf 16v was so close in power to the 2.8 VR6.

[RowanVW 0]

Yeah i've heard that somewhere, apparently map to 170 ish which wouldn't have looked good against the VR6 models... right think im gonna go full abf and management, i should have a bit of free time coming up... strange not many people take this route though, i guess the KR on ABF bottom is easier!?

[boost monkey 0]

isn't the ABF taller?

[corrado9a 0]

I have heard that story about ABFs as well but i have seen many many ABFs swapped (fully with electronics) and none of them made over the standard 150hp

[RowanVW 0]

Yeah its 15mm taller apparently, with my sound proofing pads on the bonnet gone it will fit without fouling the throttle linkage! 150bhp will be plenty for me mate, i drive a 1.0 polo at the moment lol