Napisal/-a eugene dne To Dec 23, 2008 9:46 pm
VW 16v head:
The VW 16v head is a performance nightmare. I think VW introduced the
head merely to say they had one, as they obviously didn't care about
performance when they designed it. VW began design of the 16v head
about 1980. It went through various metamorphasizing phases before
it was released. On one version, the exhaust cam was gear driven,
but VW ultimately chose chain drive because it was the quietest way
to drive the exhaust cam. (The quietest way they would consider;
they obviously chose not to allow the exhaust cam to be belt driven
with the same timing belt as the intake cam...which would have been
the quietest by far.) According to my sources, VW was planning to
introduce the head as early as 1984-85, and some 80000 units were
produced. Then it was discovered that some engineer forgot to design
water in the casting around a pair of exhaust valves. Overheat =
cracked head ==> junk 80000 castings <==> put the program back a
couple of years.
Before the head came out, rumors were circulating as to its design
characteristics. All of us in the high performance business cringed
at what we heard. We heard that VW had designed the head with the
exhaust valves top dead center over the combustion chamber; the
intake valves cocked over about 20 degrees. We said if that was true,
the head was junk. We couldn't believe VW (read that ANYBODY) would
introduce a high performance head with such awful flow characteristics.
When I saw my first 16v head (off the motor), all my nightmares turned
into reality. Actually, it was worse than I thought. The exhaust valves
were top dead center, but the exhaust ports exceeded a 90 degree bend
to allow the gas to exit. This head was obviously not designed for
performance. The valves spacing is too close together, thus putting
in bigger valves would be near impossible. The only possibility of
obtaining higher performance was porting and polishing.
_______
Aftermarket 16v heads:
There are three aftermarket heads that I know of. Of which, only two
can I review - as the third I don't even know the manufacturers name.
Oettinger:
Oettinger has long been considered the venerable 16v head manufacturer
for water cooled VW motors. They have been making the head about 8
years. For the most part, it is a good design. But like the VW head,
it wasn't designed for racing, just a little high performance.
The head is a two piece head, with the cam housing as one piece, and
the combustion chamber/valve housing as another piece. The intake
and exhaust valves meet the combustion chamber at approximately
30 degrees. The ports for the valves meet approximately 75 degrees
with the combustion chamber. This isn't so good for racing, but is
adequate for street use, and immeasurably better than VW's own head.
The exhaust cam is driven via gear from the intake cam, and it is
a cross flow head.
Oettinger went through some pain and expense to make the head California
street legal. The kit they offered was based on a 1588cc motor. It
had 10:1 compression ratio, and all the parts necessary to put the motor
together. It cost $5500.00 and developed 136hp. (Remember $5500 is NOT
a complete motor, just the cost of the kit.)
Drake:
It isn't well known that Drake Engineering also makes a 16v head for the
VW. Drake never marketed the head for street use, and instead chose to
develop it for racing only. Since Drake is a racing company with a long
history of development, they weren't afraid to engineer a head that
had no performance compromises.
The head is also a two piece head. But unlike the Oettinger, the
Drake head afforded all the creature comforts that make working on
a motor real nice. For example, head bolts: The openings in the
cam housing were designed to be big enough for the head bolt tool
(10mm 12point socket) to fit in, but smaller than the heads of the
head bolts. What this means is that (picture the head attached to
the block) when the head bolts are loosened, the head lifts itself
away from the block. No prying or hitting with a rubber mallet.
Another byproduct, is that the head bolts made a convenient stand
for the head; thus the valves could NEVER get bent by setting the
head down.
Intake and exhaust valve ports are 21 degrees with respect to the
combustion chamber, and the valves themselves are approximately half
that. This is the ultimate performance design for ports. Practically
a straight shot into the combustion chamber. Because of the port
design, the head is slightly wider than Oettinger or VW, but is thin
enough to work on a street motor.
Austrian 16v:
There is a company in Austria that makes a VW 16v head also...but I know
nothing about it.
16v performance review:
The VW head is junk for racing or high performance. I have little regard
for this head at all. For 8v owners, you are best to build the motor
you have now, as you can get MORE performance out of it, than VW's 16v.
For comparison, I will give specs for both 8 and 16v performance heads:
Motor Cam HP Induction
8v 1781cc .426 130 @ 6500 Fuel injection
8v 1805cc .496 178 @ 8000 1 Weber 45 DCOE
8v 1977cc .475 185 @ 7500 2 Mikuni 44pph
8v 1588cc .500 210 @ 9000 Hilborne F/i (supervee motor)
8v 1588cc .410 145 @ ? 8# boost Callaway turbo
8v 1588cc .410 165 @ ? 11# boost Callaway turbo
8v 1781cc .423 175 @ ? 11# boost Callaway turbo
16v 1588cc ? 136 @ 6500 2 Mikuni 44pph (Oettinger 16v)
16v 1588cc ? 178 @ 7000 2 Mikuni 44pph (Drake 16v)
16v 1781cc ? 123 @ ? KE Jetronic (VW 16v stock)
16v 1781cc ? 140 @ ? KE Jetronic (High performance version)
Racing 16v's:
2021cc 210 DIN VW 16v
2021cc 225 DIN Oettinger 16v
1935cc 295 SAE Drake 16v
Who's head performs best? The results are obvious. I will admit that
my specs for racing 16v's for Oettinger and VW were taken from printed
literature. That's not to say that more power isn't possible (but
I doubt it!).
Until next time.
--
"Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." Mat. 4:10
Robert Collins of Sykes Systems, Inc.
"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try." - Master Yoda