Worth doing a balance shaft delete?

[OllieVRS]

In about a month or so I'm going to be dropping the sump to replace the oil pump chain tensioner as some of the plastic had broken off both making it a potential engine-killer and a pain to put in. I didn't replace it before as I was impatient to get the car running and didn't want to wait 2 weeks for shipping, and I crossed my fingers that if it's constantly soaked in oil it should hold together.

Here is a picture of a chain tensioner with the plastic parts broken off crossed out in red:



edit: (I crossed out the wrong end of the plastic guide rail, it's meant to be the other end where the balance shaft sprocket goes)

I don't know why the tension pin hole was half-broken, probably from poor reinstallation from a previous repair. But the plastic 'guide rail' showed signs of being shredded by a lose balance shaft sprocket in the past. Nevertheless, I'm going to replace it soon.

This makes me wonder if it's worth getting a €205 balance shaft delete VIS Freewheel while I'm in there? I'd do it for reliability more than anything.

On their website it say The simple weight reduction provides a small performance gain 15-20HP which I find rather dubious. Maybe someone could confirm if this holds any truth?

On the other hand, last time I inspected my oil pump it seemed to me that the balance shaft was rotating smoothly, I even have a video of it here:

[pudding]

It can't hurt to give it a try.  I've been in a GTI with one of those VIS pullies and I can't say I noticed any difference as a passenger.

The throttle response might be a little better without the extra drag/rotational mass of the balancers, but it won't show as a 20hp gain on the dyno!

[OllieVRS]

It can't hurt to give it a try.  I've been in a GTI with one of those VIS pullies and I can't say I noticed any difference as a passenger.

The throttle response might be a little better without the extra drag/rotational mass of the balancers, but it won't show as a 20hp gain on the dyno!

Thanks for the reply Pudding.

I'm probably not going to get it then if it's 205 euro (+cost of oil and time if reverting back to oem) for something that I don't urgently need. I suppose the next time I get the panic-attack inducing, flashing and beeping red light on the dash, I'll look into it again. smiley:

When I inspected the oil pump's balance shafts last October they felt smooth enough and there wasn't any play, so not too concerned there.

I already have the same mysterious hot idle shake others have, so I wouldn't want to add more vibrations on top of that, nor am I fan of putting extra strain on the engine mounts.

I'm only planning on getting a stage 1 map to accompany my air intake, which means I'm not planning on raising the redline, which is another reason people get these freewheels.

[pudding]

It's not something I would mess with personally.  I trust that VW got the bowels of the engine right and tampering with them doesn't always end well 

Balance shaft seizure is not common, although internet hysteria will have you believe otherwise.  It's like the infamous BMW V10 and V8 conrod bearing saga. If you believe the internet, every single M5 and M3 ever made will have f'cked rod shells......but that's completely false.  Yes it happens, but not in the exaggerated internet numbers.  Plus of course, the one thing internet exaggeration NEVER provides, is context.  I.e. How was the car treated prior to failure?

Anyway, rant over.... I'd leave it as it is and just focus on the tensioner for now.

The hot idle shake is just a poor burn on one or more cylinders and fixing that is not easy or cheap unfortunately.

[Forcast]

I’d say they are worth it, mainly for preventative maintenance reasons. When I got mine fitted, I noticed the car would rev faster maybe there is a slight HP increase but it’s not noticeable. Also, with these kits fitted it allows the car to have a higher rev limiter mapped in.