924Board.org

[Rick MacLaren]

And I'll never know about the 931...but I'll assume it doesn't work there...

[aussie931]

Re using a Franco on a 931.

I emailed George last year and asked about using the gear on a 931 here is his response:

"Yes, there are a few things to consider for a Turbo application. The gear needs
a second keyway broached into it so that all of the advance is to the bottom
end. This would set the gear up at +10 degrees of advance below 3,500 rpm and
in the retard position the gear would be at factory zero. Turbo and
Supercharged cars need this setting or you will loose horsepower with the
normal installation of +7degrees and -3 degrees of retard.

Also, it is best if the ignition system is crank fired. If the distributor is
driven by the camshaft gear and controls dynamic advance, then the automatic
gear will change your ignition advance curve. There are ways to compensate."

FURTHER CORRESPONDENSE:

Schrick makes some good stage 2 cams that work well with the gear. I
have installed Schrick 276 degree duration x .430 inch lift into Audi 5
cylinder engines with good dyno results and happy customers.

I did not purchase as at the time the money was better spent getting a 944 intercooler and front end panels for fitment.

To do properly it would appear that all the following would be required:

1. Cam Gear
2. DIS system
3. Revised Cam

Adds up to way more than just the purchase price.

Just my 2 cents worth.
Cheers,

[Richard]

Guys! Guys! Let's stay togther on this. There already have been numerous posts concerning the gear. Please take a little time researching a topic . I will try to sum it up again: 1) I already posted a notice saying we needed 25 firm orders to make
George Franco consider a new batch. 2) No one has stepped foward and offered to coordinate the effort. It is not magically going to happen by saying "I want one" on a post. Someone has to say " I'm in charge". 3) There are two ways to deal with the timing issue. Either have your distributor recurved with 10 degrees extra static advance or buy a digital (distributorless) ignition system. 4) As with most performance gains, better results is acheived if you make changes in a coordinated fashion. A big cam with low compression and a low flow head will yield alot less hp than if you did it all. It is understood that the Franco gear is part of a package deal. It is a step along the way. We all agree that flowing the head is the most important thing to do.
5) For the disbelievers, fine, Franco has already done the dyno runs, but not on a 924. Why don't you be the first to step foward and do it yourself? To say " I won't buy it untill I see the numbers" is placing the fiscal burden on someone else. Apple Bit has apparently had real good results with it. Trust him or not. Why doesn't someone send him the money for a trip to the dyno for a before and after? He has already spent big bucks on experimentation that he unselfishly shares with the rest of us for free! Get it? I spent extra money on a G-tech Pro so I could get some numbers. 6) The cost of the gear is going to be higher than $300. George needs to go out for new vendor bids and most likely they will be higher because it has been several years since the last batch. Peace & Love Richard

[Richard]

I just re-read the first post. It looks like Jwalin is stepping foward to be "the man". I hope everyone who wants one e-mails him off the board so he can get a firm commitment. I hope it works out for you'all.

[Richard]

I just re-read the first post. It looks like Jwalin is stepping foward to be "the man". I hope everyone who wants one e-mails him off the board so he can get a firm commitment. I hope it works out for you'all.

[Rick MacLaren]

Thanks Aussie. I'll stick to dropping weight and maybe a MAP sensor later on.

[jwalin]

Yes, I will be the man! I will do all the leg work and gathering of orders....I will get with Mr Franco on a tenative price....meanwhile everyone who wants one please email me at jwalin@megagate.com.

Also, if you want me to contact a specific group of VW or Audi enthusiasts that you know of, let me know in an e-mail. I don't know of any, but I will be looking on the net...

let's try and get this going.

I agree with everyone that this gear is part of a package, and won't have much affect on a stock motor. The key to hp in the 924 engine is head work, and that can only take you so far because of the poor design of the head. Then there is the ignition issue, which is best solved by using a crank triggered unit.

And it isn't worth the trouble for a 931.

So...this is geared (heehee) for people who are putting money into building a motor, not for stock. Please understand this when I ask for a final commitment.

anyone with questions, email me...

-jef

[teo]

uhhm, let me be the first to back off. It's tempting to have that gear, but I think I should have everything else straight first.

-1

[jwalin]

It's looking very bleak.....one person has emailed me....

shall we lay this dead horse down?

I even e-mailed the Audi-VW groups and no response....

eeeeek
-jef

[eturbo924]

If you can get others I might be interested.

What kind of time frame has Franco given you?

[jwalin]

No time frame yet...need to get closer to the magic 25 before the details are hammered out...

-jef

[larso]

With digital ignition on the later 931s it would be no problem right? Definately not worth the hassle on the 80 931 since you would get detonation! But on the later 931s it woudl be fine right?

Why the hell aren't there any VW dynos on this thing! Or are there? Please forward the links if you have any, there's gotta be some dude who proves this thing GOOD, or BAD.

[Richard]

Franco's web site is off the net now. I copied it a few weeks ago and there is no dyno run but a table shows reduction in 0-60 times of 2.8 seconds, 1/4 time of 1.9 seconds and plus 1/4 speeds of 19 mph in a stock 1800cc VW Golf to one with Franco and hot cam. This was an improvement of 16mph from the hot cam alone. The stock cam and Franco gear had some gain, but most with both installed.

[AppleBit]

Guys,

I will do a dyno run with and without the gear and share the info to the world... No charge. I will do this because you all need to see the difference just the gear makes. I want to as well.

I will do this within a month because right now I have been experimenting with camshafts without good sucess... I found I need to get better than stock springs to go any further with my cams...

_________________
Classic British Sports Car Restoration v6 + v8 Engine Conversion Swaps

Porsche 924 Wide Body LS1 Corvette 500 Horsepower Engine

[81turbo]

Great Jon. Your car is heavily modified making your dyno runs useless to the majority of the people interested in buying the gear. Think before you convince a bunch of people to spend $300 plus dollars on a part that may have no gains on the stock engine. Mr. Franco has made it clear that there is HP gain on heavily modified cars. Although 2.8 seconds 0-60 sounds outlandish. Honestly there is no way that could possibly happen. If the gear works so well don't you think that EVERY VW owner would most likely have one? There is no shortage of modified VW's. Power is not free and on an N/A engines most people will take anything they can get. If there is benefit I stand corrected. But those claims are ridiculous. Come on guys, you are dreaming if you believe those numbers. Vario cam is a very efficient system and this comes no where close. The numbers on Vario Cam aren't that good. -Ryan