Yes.

The gains wont be the same though.

 

i am almost 17 and have a 96 with the 12v and quattro, they are right, it is way harder to mod but quicker than a 1.8 stock and a tiny bit slower than a 30v. only 18hp diff, the car has low miles, (69k) and has no problems, its is perfectly reliable. but if you want a fast car, charge the 1.8, and if your willing to put an extra 5 into a 30 valvle 2.8 (97.5 and up) you can have 300hp with the pes supercharge,

 

the most power i think you could get out of a 96 without way more serious work is probably around 200hp and 215lb/ft or torque or so... i think, 1.8 are flippin crazy but if you mod them up too much you might blow the turbo,

 

for any variant of the 2.8 your money would be best spent else where.

 

well my first pick now is a 97 1.8 awd, but i only can find 2.8 w/awd...and im not lookin to make my car crazy, just the basic mods

 

see I wanted a 2.8 awd but all I could find was 1.8t.

 

dont get the 2.8. get the 1.8t wiht awd and in a manual. u will not regret it. u can make it go very fast and well just get the 1.8t

 

well im lookin for 1.8 awd, its at the top of my list