'88 GTI: No power, please help
 

My friend has an '88 GTI. Great looking car, I've always loved how they look. I got to drive it last night, and he wasn't kidding when he said it was slow. Granted, it has A LOT of miles on it, but it was very disapointing. I'm not sure exactly what the engine was, I'm no a big VW guy, but I think it was a 1.8 SOHC.

Anyways, when I'd get on it both in 1st and 2nd the car would accelerate, but almost as if the car were towing something. The powerband seemed really 'hollow', if you can understand what I mean by that. There seemed to be almost no torque at all either high, or low.

I let my other friend drive it then (we were just in the mall parking lot, around 10:30 no one around incase your wondering), and he thought the same thing. However, he shifted it into 3rd and kept on it (which I didn't get a chance to), and it seemed like it actually started to pull like a normal car then, it was strange. Does anyone know what would be killing it? I mean, it really has a lot of miles on it (175k+ I think), but 3rd gear seems to pull harder than 1st and 2nd.

My 1st guess would be dirty airfilter but no, it has nothing to with gears...strange. There are 2 different GTI engines in 2gen VW (8- and 16 -valve), both 1.8L

I don't know about the '88 model, but I drove my friends 1996 GTI yesterday and the thing was freaking fast.....really fast....
it's a 2.0 DOHC as far as I know..........man .......that car would smoke me for sure............:D

-88 16v GTI Golf has 139hp, -96 GTI has only 115hp, it cannot be fast if it's stock and non VR6 which is not GTI but it's fast :)

it only has an intake and around 45k miles.....
I am pretty sure that the '88 GTI lost most of its 139 horsepower
with the 175+ miles it has on the motor;)

Well, I mentioned it's a SOHC, so it's obviously the 8-valve. I know that for sure, I may be wrong on the year. Either way it kind of sucks.

If it was an '88 GTi, then it had a 1.8L 16v. I forget the hp exactly, but the 139 hp mentioned was from a 90-92 GTi/GLi with a 2L 16v. Those motors rock.

With 175K, no doubt it's a little tired, but it should still be relatively quick. If your friend is into dubs and wants to fix it up, tell him to check out VWvortex.com, good forums with lots of knowledgeble people - especially in the Golf/Jetta II forum.

Also, the 93-99.5 Golf/Jetta's with 2.0L's were slow. Damn slow. The 2.0 8v is commonly reffered to as "2.slow." Since 1992 there hasn't been a 16v offered in the States. But the GTi VR6's romp.

VW GTI's got:
1st gen (77->83) 1.6L, 110hp
2gen (83-> 92) 1.8L 8v ~107hp , 1.8L 16v 139hp (also got 1.8 G60 with 160hp)
3rd gen(92-98) 2L 8v, 115hp (also VR6 with 172-190hp)
4th gen(98->) 1.8L Tbo, 150hp, 2L 115hp

Some differencies may occur inside same generation as mentioned

Reading this thread makes me reminisce about my 1984 Black GTI. Oh, how I miss that car.

Uh, 1st gen VW's in the U.S. run from 1975 through 1984. The '83-'84 GTIs had a 1.8L (1780 cc) SOHC 8-vavle engine with 90 hp. The 2nd gen GTI's came with a higher compression (10.2:1 vs 9.0:1) version of that engine, with a knock sensor. The 1.8L DOHC 16V was rated at 123hp. The 2L was rated at 134hp when first introduced. In an autocross, the early 8V models have always been faster than the 16V, due to lighter weight and greater mid-range torque.

Lucky Finnish bastard! You guys across the pond get all the good cars. VWoA sucks!

Yes, we are so lucky that we have to pay 25kUSD for a new protege. How about you? ;)

Shit! That would buy a WRX over here.

Just checked domestic price, we lucky bastards get WRX for 82000 USD, that's not too funny. Our salaries aren't that high and we pay 30%-60% taxes of our paychecks....should i get our of here?

man I miss my Jetta 87, 5speed, ahhhhh lowered 2"s with neuspeed springs and plenty of ass kicking tourque