Just like any magazine, receive hate mail and fan mail. Every month we take the hate mail, throw it into a big pile, have a bonfire, and proceed to drown our sorrows in the sweet nectar known as Cuervo Gold. It’s the praise mail, however, that makes the biggest impact on the way we put together the little rag we call MAX Power. When you tell us that you like something, we make our best effort to show your more and, thanks to your effulgent reviews of the Budget B5 Buildup, we bring you more Budget Bora Buildup.
So, the car isn’t a Bora in the strictest sense (A rose by any other name...—MAX), but Frugal Jetta Modifications doesn’t have the same ring to it. Just to refresh your memory, with our Budget
B5 Buildup we took a stock 2000
1.8T Passat and turned it into a pretty
competent performer and a very cool street car for under 5 G’s. Our intent this time, however, is to work within a slightly larger budget to turn the car into not only a kick-ass commuter, but also into a
vehicle that can contend on the show scene. We’re going to touch every single aspect of a car that you can modify,
including the drivetrain, chassis, interior, and exterior, and even the in-car
electronics. Yes, we’re that good—we can make the money go that far.
Buildup, we bring you more Budget Bora Buildup.
Now onto the cold, hard numbers. We set ourselves a nice, cushy $7,500 limit this time around, but we’ve already got more mods planned than you can fit onto a Rose Parade float. Remember, we’re putting together a show car, and when you consider that some will easily drop two grand on a set of coilovers and another $5,500 on a set of wheels and tires, we’re really gonna blow you away with how much we’re going to get done in this buildup. Our first step on this little journey is going to be adding some power and noise to our silver 2000 VW Jetta GLS with its VR6,
automatic transmission, leather interior, and sun roof.
Buildup, we bring you more Budget Bora Buildup.
Although the VR6 is thought of by
most as a smooth, torquey, and pretty
muscular motor, gearheads will complain that it is far too quiet for a naturally
aspirated engine. We don’t usually like the sound that a gas-guzzling V-8 makes as it burns a gallon of gasoline while traveling from home to the 7-Eleven on the corner, but we also don’t care for the removed feeling that the VR6 projects when you’re behind the wheel. Buildup, we bring you more Budget Bora Buildup.
You’re just not quite sure if the power’s going to be there when you need it. So, when we set out on this stage of modification, our main goal was to add a little noise to the overly quiet VR6, as well as give it some cool-looking parts protruding from the rear bumper and standing out in the engine bay. Our secondary goal was to see if we could eke out a couple of ponies in the process.
Buildup, we bring you more Budget Bora Buildup.
Maybe the products we chose are just that good, or maybe the motor just can’t breathe well enough in its stock form, but whatever the case, we were truly
surprised at the horsepower made by
the simple addition of Magnaflow
Performance Exhaust’s after-cat system and ABD Racing’s Quick Flow intake. When strapped to the dynojet at the
Magnaflow Tech Center, the stock Bora was able to pump out 148.2 hp and 150.8 lb-ft. As stat gurus, we had to compute drivetrain losses, which turned out to be a very conservative 12.8-
percent loss through the automatic
trans-mission—that is, however, only if you believe VW’s 174 hp claims.
Buildup, we bring you more Budget Bora Buildup.
The exhaust was then put on, and the car was strapped back onto the dyno, showing an 8.7 hp increase and an
8.6 lb-ft increase.
The following day, the Bora was driven to ABD in Riverside, California, where the intake was installed and then driven back to Magnaflow’s Tech Center. Horsepower jumped another 5.0, while torque was
increased by 3.1 lb-ft. Working all the math out, it turns out we now have 161.9 hp at the wheels and 162.5 lb-ft and, if we consider the 12.8-percent drivetrain loss, a stunning 185.7 hp and 193.9 lb-ft at the crank. Considering that our
intention was to add a cool-looking exhaust tip, decorate the engine, and add some noise to the mix—and we ended up with 161.9 whp and 162.5 lb-ft—there is probably no better way to have spent our engine mod money.
Buildup, we bring you more Budget Bora Buildup.
Just to give you a hint of what’s on the horizon, next month we’ll be adding 19-inch wheels as well as performing a brake upgrade. After that, it’s going to be body mods and some interior
enhancements, and we’ll also add a
little bass to the mix, just to show that you can have it all, even if you don’t have access to Fort Knox.
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To remove the stock exhaust from the car, Richie
followed these steps: Cut the pipe at the torsion beam/ axle, loosen the slip clamp at the cat and push it
towards the cat, remove the exhaust support just before the resonator, and undo the hangers.
Magnaflow’s exhaust is completely stainless steel, including the highly polished tips and the free-
flowing muffler and resonator. The 21/4-inch piping is mandrel-bent to smooth flow and reduce back
pressure further. The design uses three pieces and flanges, so the shade-tree mechanic can easily
perform the installation in his driveway.
After the resonator and exhaust support are installed, the slip clamp takes its place on Magnaflow’s
resonator pipe and is tightened down. Richie then passed the middle exhaust pipe over the axle and then used one of the included gaskets and two each of the included nuts and bolts to connect the pipe to the resonator.
The muffler is the last piece to go on. Push the muffler’s hanger onto the rubber hanger of the car. Use the remaining included gasket, nuts, and bolts to secure the middle pipe to the muffler. Before tightening everything down, make sure the exhaust tips are level, then have a friend hold the tips in place as you tighten the four flange bolts down.
The next day we headed to ABD in Riverside, where Adrian installed a Quick Flow intake on our Budget Bora. To begin, the stock airbox was removed by removing the bolts that secure it to the chassis, the screws that secure the MAF sensor to it, and the smog pump hose.
Just like the exhaust, installing ABD Racing’s Quick Flow intake is very easy. Once the airbox is removed, an engine mount is visible. The rear bolt is removed, ABD’s bracket put in place, and the bolt reinstalled. The MAF sensor is secured to the bracket using the included screws, washers, and bolts.
Once the bracket is in place and the MAF sensor tightened to it, the K&N filter can be attached. Be sure not to over tighten the hose clamp, as replacing the MAF sensor is a $200 expense you don’t want to make.
Adrian then pulled the smog pump hose from the engine and cut the hose from its connector.
The K&N breather filter was oiled and attached to the connector, which was then put back on the engine.
Once all was said and done, the intake provided the engine bay with some much-needed flair, as well as providing the engine itself with some power.