It's pretty much accepted knowledge that the ed30 was 'detuned' so it didn't step on the toes of the flagship R32.
How much boost do they run standard? Can't be much more than 9psi or so?
Get a decent downpipe and map and it'll come alive!
Which is bollocks because a stock ed30 is quicker than an R32....except launching.
Yeah we all know that. But what I'm talking about is in terms of marketing the R32. People look at performance figures. If the ed30 had the 260-270bhp it should have had, the R32 would have been much less desirable.
Weird thing is, the stock ED30 makes the same torque at 2200rpm as the R32 does as a peak (2800ish) but the R32 feels a lot punchier up to that point.
I remember my old R32 being a traffic beast. Could crawl along in 3rd at walking pace all day. No chance in the ED30, it's gearing is too tall for the lack of torque below 2500rpm.
Yep, that's good old fashioned displacement for you. There's no escaping the fact our GTIs and Ed30s are 2 litre four bangers when you're off boost.
My 'holy grail' engine-wise would be something 3 litres or more - for the natural torque, 6 cylinders - for the sound, and a fast spooling turbo at moderate boost - for the fun power delivery. We chatted about R32 turbos in another thread; if I ever had the chance it'd be firmly on the list. Along with something like a Nismo 400R. Which I can assure you, will never be in budget!!