Power Gasket Plus for the VR6

[Joniboy 0]

Hey guys,

 

Have any of you tried the Power Gasket Plus for the VR6 that Awesome have for sale on their website?

Details here:

http://www.awesome-gti.co.uk/store/product.php?xProd=3507&xSec=86

 

Did you notice better performance?

 

Just curious :)

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[dr_mat 0]

I would be surprised to see that much difference, cos after all the intake runs over the top of the engine anyway. It might cut down on direct transmission at the intake, but that's unlikely to be a significant change once you've been driving the thing for a while.

[Joniboy 0]

Yeah I was thinking along the same lines as you with that one.

Would be nice to think it had a 5% power gain, but I can't see it myself.

 

Anyone fitted one? Need to quench my curiosity :)

 

"More input Stephanie"

[VRTrickster 0]

I have one fitted to mine, but I cant say Ive noticed any difference, as I fitted it the same time as my port matched inlet, tb and cams. It is a lot of money, but I would like to think its made a bit of difference, as opposed to none at all!

I think the only way you could sort of test it is to plug in vag-com and see what the intake temp measures. Fit the gasket, then run the engine up to the same temp when tested and see if theres any change.

[tonedef 9]

I think the only way you could sort of test it is to plug in vag-com and see what the intake temp measures. Fit the gasket, then run the engine up to the same temp when tested and see if theres any change.

 

I don't mind being wrong here but surely the intake temp will remain the same as that's measured at the MAF? Or is there another inlet temp measurement. It would only prove anything if you could actually measure the temp at the runner.

[Mike Edwards 0]

The Inlet Air Temperature sensor is on the front right of the intake manifold

[tonedef 9]

The Inlet Air Temperature sensor is on the front right of the intake manifold

 

Fair enough, was trying to picture it without going into the cold to take a look!

[Tekara 0]

Surely more heat would transfer upward from the rocker cover into the manifold.

[PeteC 0]

The fastest way to drop the manifold temperature is to disconect the throttle body heating tubes and install a 70 Deg. thermostat. That keeps the VR runing where it likes to be, warmed up but not hot. I'm sure we all agree that's when they are most lively. This is due in part to the real temperature drop but I believe it's also due to the ECU running a slightly richer AFR when it sees those temperature inputs.

[VRTrickster 0]

Yes Im running with a low temp stat and fan switch, with a power gasket and the tb pipe disconnected. Im sure all these things would see a decrease in temp ?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Got one of those gaskets on mine too and can't say I've noticed a difference, but I use a short runner intake, so any difference would be small anyway.

 

The throttle body coolant hoses are there to cool the throttle. It sits right above a 400 degree exhaust manifold and 90 degree water flowing through it removes some heatsoak. I always found my engine ran best with the coolant hoses connected when I had the stock manifold/throttle etc.

 

70 degree stat is too low. Especially in the winter. People are obsessed with small readings on the dashboard but they're not accurate anyway. A healthy VR will run perfectly on the stock cooling arrangements - if they're maintained well.

[VRTrickster 0]

The throttle body coolant hoses are there to cool the throttle. It sits right above a 400 degree exhaust manifold and 90 degree water flowing through it removes some heatsoak. I always found my engine ran best with the coolant hoses connected when I had the stock manifold/throttle etc.

 

70 degree stat is too low. Especially in the winter. People are obsessed with small readings on the dashboard but they're not accurate anyway. A healthy VR will run perfectly on the stock cooling arrangements - if they're maintained well.

 

I see your point with the coolant pipes kev, Ill probably hook them back up at the weekend. As for the low temp stat, Ive fitted a 180f stat and fan switch, so its only around 10 degree lower.

 

I did want to ceramic coat my manifolds with something before I put them back on but I havent got the time or money at the mo. Ive also been thinking about sticking some conductive heat protection to the underside of the inlet mani.

[PeteC 0]

Maybe important to clarify the two diferent scenarios. 1. Std. engines being used for normal use. 2. modified motors. For normal use the stardard cooling arrangements work reasonably well given the nescessary compromises. So if a standard engine is evidently running hotter than it should do the first thing to resolve are the problems not modify the setup.

However if the goal is to optimise the cooling system as part of other power increase mods, things become a little diferent. lowering head and manifold temperature become key objectives. Insulating the external hot parts limit convected and radiated heat but decoupling the manifold and droping thermostat threshold are well published methods to maximise power. It's dificult to notice a few % of power increase in isolation but cumulative to other contributions they all add up. The function of the throttle heater is discussed in an old thread 'Throttle body heater pipes'.

[vdubjb 0]

most people here think those TB lines are there to heat the TB to prevent icing over in cold temps. Disconecting them should'nt have any positive effects because the engne/head and manifolds are going to put heat into it anyway. Also, the air isnt lingering in the TB long enough to be cooled by any coolant that is going through those lines.