I've been looking at A2s for one of my kids and have found the 8V engines seem to be more prevalent. What's the story with the 16V engines? Are they worth the extra effort to maintain for the increase in output? Any suggestions or advice?
Jim
16V GLI engine
Dec 11, 2004
2 Replies
IMHO no. The 16V is a nice engine but it's an interference engine so if the TB breaks you are scrod. Also all the power is up high, torque is little if any better than the 8V. An 8V makes a great daily driver and you really won't miss the power unless you auto-x. I've owned and enjoyed both - if I had the choice, for myself I'd buy a 16V, for my (hypothetical) kid I would buy an 8V :)
I'm not sure what extra effort to maintain you refer to, however, they are both fairly reliable in my experience, the only special instruction with the 16V is to change that timing belt religiously.
nate
Agreed...8Vs are nice engines and they are just as strong as the 16V except at higher revs where multivalve engines always do better than their single-valve counterparts.
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