On May 14, 2013, at 3:28 AM, Frank Grunthaner wrote: > I must agree with several listees here that the best I4 conversion > is the 2.0L I4, but the ABA version is unnecessarily complex and > costly.
I would agree with that statement were I swapping into a Digifant equipped van. I wasn't. Converting the Digijet to Digifant seemed to me to be an unproductive and costly step. I choose to use the engine management system that VW supplied with the ABA motor. Another consideration for me was that the counterflow VW engines are a few years older than the ABA. Additional considerations included the differences between the 3a and the ABA. The 3A gains its displacement by using larger pistons. The ABA by a longer stroke. Longer stroke typically equals more torque which is what (IMHO) is needed pushing a 5,000 lb. box around. ABA 115hp@5400 rpm 135 ft/lbs@3200 Motronic 3A 115hp@5400 rpm 122 ft/lbs@3200 CIS-E 10% difference. Lastly, ABAs are common. 3As a bit less so in this part of the world. > On the negative side, there is the expense and mass of the two or > more Bentleys. That's the only downside I've discovered so far.... Instead of five hundred pages of shop manual, I now travel with a thousand pages. I think it may be time to marry the two. I no longer need the mechanical engine sections of the Vanagon manual, and neither do I need to know how a Jetta body comes apart. Jim |
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