DeadSkunk
DeadSkunk Dork
8/16/12 3:30 p.m.

Other than knowing all my vehicles bar one have EFI, I know very little about it. What would it take to convert my 1991 VW GTI from CIS-e to EFI? Are there such things as a bolt-on kit, or would it all have to be pieced together from components and then have to fiddle with MegaSquirt, or something similar?

jungle
jungle New Reader
8/16/12 4:13 p.m.

If your GTI is an 8v, do a 94+ ABA 2.0 swap If your GTI is a 16v, do an ABF (hybrid of an aba bottom end and a 16v head) Or do a VR6 swap.

Otherwise you'd have to go standalone, such as SDS or MegaSquirt.

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 UltraDork
8/16/12 4:46 p.m.
DeadSkunk
DeadSkunk Dork
8/16/12 5:19 p.m.

Uh,no ? I had a number more like 200 in mind. Just a nice, reliable, reasonably economical car. I'd just get a newer small hatch, but they don't run over 130 HP and the new cars tend to be 2500 lb or more. And, I know the Mazda2 isn't that heavy. I like my GTI but the engine management tech is 25 year old stuff now. The ABF option bears some further investigation maybe. Maybe I'll swallow hard and go ferreting around the Vortex.....

jungle
jungle New Reader
8/16/12 5:29 p.m.

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mkoltz2/shared/16v%20ABA/project.html?uniq=6cgl61

200whp is going to be hard to do w/o boost or a modded VR6

DeadSkunk
DeadSkunk Dork
8/16/12 5:46 p.m.

Nothing showing on that link, jungle. 200 is probably more than I'd need to be entertained any way. My MINI has 167 or so, and it's fun and fairly porky as far as weight goes,too. I'm more interested in having EFI if the CIS stuff starts acting up. The car is 21 years old and some parts are getting hard to find, or expensive when you can find them. I just thought modern injection might give some extra power, better economy and a sense of reliability.

Knurled
Knurled GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/16/12 6:26 p.m.

I bought some parts from a guy whose hobby was putting EFI on 16vs.

I forgot if he was able to use the 8v Digifant fuel rail or if he sourced it from somewhere else, but he would put it all together with pre-A3 OEM stuff. I forget if he was using Digifant II (post-88 8v) or chipped Digifant I (the speed-density G60 setup, there are aftermarket chips for this!) but they apparently drove just fine.

I have no problems with CIS-E, seems to work just fine for me. But that's me and not you.

DeadSkunk
DeadSkunk Dork
8/16/12 6:43 p.m.

I've had 3 GTIs previously and only one ever had injection problems, but I'm just getting the current one roadworthy, so I'm starting with a car that's already over twenty years old. I may be anticipating problems that won't happen.

ditchdigger
ditchdigger SuperDork
8/16/12 6:57 p.m.
Knurled wrote: I bought some parts from a guy whose hobby was putting EFI on 16vs. I forgot if he was able to use the 8v Digifant fuel rail or if he sourced it from somewhere else,

You need an aftermarket fuel rail. There is no way a Digi rail will work, spacing is all wrong. The 1.8t has the right spacing but interferes with the manifold.

I used the BBM rail. It worked well enough, didn't leak and all that.

Travis_K
Travis_K SuperDork
8/16/12 7:40 p.m.

TDI swap? My friend ran 14.2 in his 91 GTI with a TDI swapped in. Easier than trying to mess with an EFI conversion on a 16v, and you can double your fuel economy as well.

slantvaliant
slantvaliant Dork
8/17/12 8:32 a.m.
jungle wrote: If your GTI is an 8v, do a 94+ ABA 2.0 swap If your GTI is a 16v, do an ABF (hybrid of an aba bottom end and a 16v head) Or do a VR6 swap.

[sing] E I E I O .... [/sing]

noddaz
noddaz GRM+ Memberand Reader
8/17/12 2:20 p.m.

You would have to remove everything CIS related and replace with EFI type parts. Including the fuel pump. Some sort of stand alone would be the easy route to take. All I can say, if it isn't broke don't fix it.

turboswede
turboswede GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/17/12 2:58 p.m.

CIS pumps work great for EFI conversions.

Converted my 924 to EFI, used the stock pump and it worked fine at the lower pressures that most EFI systems run at.

Remove the exploded Jules-Verne esque carburation under the hood along with all of the goofy temperature sensitive vacuum solutions, etc.

Install standard GM-style Intake Air Temp, Coolant Temp and Throttle Position sensors along with injectors, fuel rail, fuel regulator and EFI-rated hoses. Connected new sensors and injectors to EFI system.

Tune (if using standalone).

Enjoy.

With that said, CIS will work quite well if in good shape and will handle some power additions. Keep the fuel system clean and properly adjusted and ensure there are no vacuum leaks and it will work fine for many, many years.

noddaz
noddaz GRM+ Memberand Reader
8/17/12 3:49 p.m.
turboswede wrote: CIS pumps work great for EFI conversions. Converted my 924 to EFI, used the stock pump and it worked fine at the lower pressures that most EFI systems run at.

Good to know, I stand corrected... I assume the excess pressure and volume would just return to the tank like it is supposed too...

turboswede
turboswede GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/17/12 4:25 p.m.
noddaz wrote:
turboswede wrote: CIS pumps work great for EFI conversions. Converted my 924 to EFI, used the stock pump and it worked fine at the lower pressures that most EFI systems run at.
Good to know, I stand corrected... I assume the excess pressure and volume would just return to the tank like it is supposed too...

Yep.

Knurled
Knurled GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/17/12 7:48 p.m.
noddaz wrote: You would have to remove everything CIS related and replace with EFI type parts. Including the fuel pump. Some sort of stand alone would be the easy route to take. All I can say, if it isn't broke don't fix it.

The CIS pump is a massive upgrade for anything EFI. (What to you think the "Bosch 044" or whatever is?)

Figure that it had to flow for X horsepower at 90+psi, it's going to flow way way more at 42psi.

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