It pays to know people. As much as your college wants you to think that getting an MBA is what will give you an edge in the world, at the end of the day it's all about who you know. This counts for everything in the business world, but when it comes to your personal life, it's a little different. Who you're friends with determines who helps you move, who you BBQ with and who helps you wrench on your car.
Take Jose Silva from Newark, NJ for example. He happens to have a pretty awesome friend whom he's known for many years; he grew up with Diogo Azevedo, who should be no stranger to regular readers (et 2/06). Diogo and his brother Rui (et 12/04) are owners of Azevedo Motorsports and have had a hand in many Euro creations that have graced our pages. Most are pretty wild and Jose's '96 Mk3 VR6 turbo is no exception.
The 29000-mile four-door 2.0 8v was purchased in '99 as a daily driver for several years. "One day I was leaving work and some guy in a pickup blindsided me, damaging the whole right side of the car, from the windshield to the quarter panel. And that's how it all started," Jose said.
Because the accident occurred on private property, the police wouldn't file a report, which meant a battle to get an insurance payout for the extensive damage. "Luckily the insurance paid but I got really frustrated and decided I was going to build this one, so got a hoopty to drive to work," Jose continued.
Another point that sets his '96 apart is the fact that it is a four-door Golf rather than the more common two-door GTI. "A four-door is nice because people underestimate it," Jose confides. "It's a sleeper."
Knowing the quality Diogo was capable of, he was naturally the first choice when the time came to take Jose's wreck to the next level. The work happened in stages over the past six years, with the first step involving the removal of the stock four cylinder and swapping in a complete VR6 from a '95 Passat.
Garrett GT40R turbo is mounted on an ATP exhaust manifold
From there, it progressed to a stage 3 Vortech supercharger with a front-mount intercooler, 15psi and 380whp. "The 'charger was great, don't get me wrong, but a turbo has unlimited power," Jose explained. "And for shows, the turbo has wow appeal." It must be a common reaction. The first time we popped the hood on Jose's car, a resounding "wow" was our immediate response as well.
The 2.8 VR6 12v was adorned with an enormous Garrett GT40R turbo and massive Spearco intercooler. The compression was lowered with a C2 Motorsports head gasket spacer and ARP hardware kept everything together. A 44mm Tial wastegate controls boost levels, while a 50mm blow-off valve keeps the turbo spooled between shifts.
VR6 turbo installation expected to produce around 500hp
For fueling, an Aeromotive system feeds 550cc Bosch injectors, while combustion is controlled by an EIP turbo chip. Chromed intercooler piping and a C2 Motorsports short-runner intake manifold not only look great but contribute to the massive performance as well.
It hasn't been dynoed in this exact form, but running 18-22psi, Jose estimates over 500 horsepower to the crank. A change to TEC 3 engine management should see even bigger gains in the future.
"The chip is great," he said, "but with the management we can play around with it more. There are certain things you can't tweak at present, but the management can so I'd rather go all out."
The transmission has naturally been upgraded to cope with the torque. It features a Peloquin diff, lightened flywheel and a Clutch Masters race clutch.
With so much horsepower, you'd be crazy to ignore the brakes, and Jose chose some of the best: Porsche 993TT calipers clamp down on 13.1" Brembo rotors up front, while drilled Brembo discs were installed on the rear. Mintex race-compound pads were also fitted all around for the best performance."The brakes do miracles," Jose told us.