Im trying to figure out why 1.8t HP figures are relatively low in the realm of 4 cylinder turbocharged engines.

For example:

Mitsu 4g63 = 190-210HP depending on year
Subaru Ej20 = 225hp
Dodge Srt4 = 240? HP
Nissan Sr20DET = 190-250HP depending on year and trim

VAG 1.8T = 150-170HP depending on year

All these motors have astronomical HP potential, many pushing 300hp on stock internals, and some on stock turbos. My question is, why is it that you never hear about 3-400HP 1.8t's, not that it hasn't been done, but not nearly as frequently as with the above mentioned motors. What is the hangup? I know that the 1.8t is dealing with a few handicaps, 2/10's of a liter less displacement then the smallest motor above mentioned. Also a SOHC head design, but are these the reasons why 1.8's are limited? Do we suffer from excessivly restricted heads, or poor intake and exhaust ports? I know the turbo is virtually worthless, but even with larger turbos people arent breaking 250-300HP all that often. With the compression set at 9.5:1, I can see about 15-20ish psi being fine with adequate fuel and octane rating. I guess what I'm getting at is that I want to trap 95 miles per hour in the quarter, and I just dont understand why it's that hard.

 

There are lots of A4's with 300+HP'
The cars are de-tuned when coming from the factory. With a simple ECU flash they make almost 250TQ.
And thats on a ko3, go k04 or GT28rs and you will make 300HP easy

 

not with your Tip tranny though

 

why not, will the tranny hinder HP out put or is it just not capable of an increase in power

 

The auto tranny isn't nearly as strong as the manual.

 

What is the HP/torque limit for the tip tranny?

 

Ive seen ko4s make over 350ft/fd.

 

 

If upgrades put me over 313 HP/420 ft-lbs of torque, I should look into replacing it with an S4 tranny?

 

the s4 transmission swap much harder and more involved than just bolting it in...btw just so ppl know, a guy on vwvortex running 034efi standalone at a t61 made 684whp on the 1.8t