I am always looking for new projects to challenge me. This latest project may be my most ambitious to date.
Integrating a VW 2.0 TSI motor with a DSG dual clutch transmission into my 2010 Exige.
In my prior build I had integrated a Quaife sequential with paddle shifters. While this was great on the track, it wasn't the best for street driving. It took some finesse to drive smoothly on the street.
This new build would make the car not only a monster on the track, but also a dream to drive on the street.
I had done months of research trying to find any conversion which included a dual clutch transmission, and could find none. And no one makes a stand-alone controller for a DSG for the aftermarket. So I was embarking into uncharted waters.
A big thanks to the guys at New German Performance in Maryland for their technical insight and guidance on parts for the engine and transmission rebuilds. They are always gracious with their time on the phone with my many questions. And also thanks to my brother-in-law who has spent (and continues to spend) countless hours assisting.
Well, I knew I couldn’t just buy a motor/trans combo alone because these modern drivetrains depend a lot on the canbus to operate. Therefore, I would also need a complete chassis harness and the various control modules to make this work. Since there was no online info of what modules may or may not be needed, I began searching for a full donor car so I would have everything, and then I could whittle away what was not needed. I wanted a donor with relatively low mileage that was salvaged from a rear end collision... keeping the engine and drivetrain in good condition. After a couple months of searching, I was able to pick up this 2012 CC Sport with only 20K miles on it.
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Other than the rear end damage, the car looked like new. Now came time for the disassembly to remove the motor/trans and the entire chassis harness and control modules.
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With the desire to enhance the performance of the stock drivetrain, I decided to go with APR performance products. They are well known in the VW/Audi/Porsche community. I decided to go with their Stage3 turbo kit, forged engine internals, valve springs, DSG clutch plates, and more. The Stage3 would provide 450HP and 380lb-ft of torque.
With the engine now on the stand, I tore it down to the block, new bearings, rods, pistons, and head work and built it back up.
This is an incredibly well engineered motor... although heavy.
I then began work on the transmission adding a Peloquin limited slip differential and APR clutches to handle the additional torque.
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Since I would no longer need a clutch pedal, I decided to implement Pilbeam’s brake pedal system, which removes the vacuum assist and provides separate master cylinders to allow for front/rear brake biasing.
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.
![Image]()
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.
With the drivetrain assembled, it was time to drop it into the car. I had custom motor mounts and driveshafts made, and squeezed it all into the engine bay.
.
.
![Image]()
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.
Next came all of the plumbing, integrating an air to water intercooler, transmission cooler and all of the other ancillary items. Lots of trial and error trying to get everything to fit in the engine bay. And tons of custom fab work.
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.
![Image]()
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I had to cut into the trunk space a bit to allow for clearance and heat shielding from the turbo. I still need to fab up a cover in the trunk and install heat shielding.
.
.
![Image]()
.
.
But in the end... I got it all to fit.
.
.
![Image]()
.
.
Now the difficult part. Getting the drivetrain to work and integrating it with the Lotus wiring harness.
I decided to first take the entire VW chassis harness, lay it out on a table with all of its control modules attached, and hook it up to the drivetrain to ensure I could get the engine and transmission operating.
.
.
![Image]()
.
.
With everything hooked up, I did the first start-up.
.
.
.
.
.
With a successful test drive I am now embarking on cleaning everything up to its final install locations.
I do not want the VW stock gear select lever on the floor and I need to integrate paddles on the steering wheel.
So I connected to the car’s canbus and pulled all of the drivetrain can messages related to the various gears (P, R, N, D, S, paddle shift up, paddle shift down). With that info, I am building a controller which will allow me to have push buttons on the console to choose the gear, and have paddles on the steering wheel for tiptronic mode.
For the dash, I will be integrating an AiM MXS which will pull all engine info via the canbus, and also allow for data logging.
Also since I had the rear clam off, I installed BOE’s clam hinge which works nicely.
.
.
![Image]()
.
.
There is still a long way to go before it is truly road/track ready. But so far so good…
.
.
Integrating a VW 2.0 TSI motor with a DSG dual clutch transmission into my 2010 Exige.
In my prior build I had integrated a Quaife sequential with paddle shifters. While this was great on the track, it wasn't the best for street driving. It took some finesse to drive smoothly on the street.
This new build would make the car not only a monster on the track, but also a dream to drive on the street.
I had done months of research trying to find any conversion which included a dual clutch transmission, and could find none. And no one makes a stand-alone controller for a DSG for the aftermarket. So I was embarking into uncharted waters.
A big thanks to the guys at New German Performance in Maryland for their technical insight and guidance on parts for the engine and transmission rebuilds. They are always gracious with their time on the phone with my many questions. And also thanks to my brother-in-law who has spent (and continues to spend) countless hours assisting.
Well, I knew I couldn’t just buy a motor/trans combo alone because these modern drivetrains depend a lot on the canbus to operate. Therefore, I would also need a complete chassis harness and the various control modules to make this work. Since there was no online info of what modules may or may not be needed, I began searching for a full donor car so I would have everything, and then I could whittle away what was not needed. I wanted a donor with relatively low mileage that was salvaged from a rear end collision... keeping the engine and drivetrain in good condition. After a couple months of searching, I was able to pick up this 2012 CC Sport with only 20K miles on it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Other than the rear end damage, the car looked like new. Now came time for the disassembly to remove the motor/trans and the entire chassis harness and control modules.
.
.
.
.
.
.
With the desire to enhance the performance of the stock drivetrain, I decided to go with APR performance products. They are well known in the VW/Audi/Porsche community. I decided to go with their Stage3 turbo kit, forged engine internals, valve springs, DSG clutch plates, and more. The Stage3 would provide 450HP and 380lb-ft of torque.
With the engine now on the stand, I tore it down to the block, new bearings, rods, pistons, and head work and built it back up.
This is an incredibly well engineered motor... although heavy.
I then began work on the transmission adding a Peloquin limited slip differential and APR clutches to handle the additional torque.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Since I would no longer need a clutch pedal, I decided to implement Pilbeam’s brake pedal system, which removes the vacuum assist and provides separate master cylinders to allow for front/rear brake biasing.
.
.
.
.
With the drivetrain assembled, it was time to drop it into the car. I had custom motor mounts and driveshafts made, and squeezed it all into the engine bay.
.
.
.
.
Next came all of the plumbing, integrating an air to water intercooler, transmission cooler and all of the other ancillary items. Lots of trial and error trying to get everything to fit in the engine bay. And tons of custom fab work.
.
.
.
.
I had to cut into the trunk space a bit to allow for clearance and heat shielding from the turbo. I still need to fab up a cover in the trunk and install heat shielding.
.
.
.
.
But in the end... I got it all to fit.
.
.
.
.
Now the difficult part. Getting the drivetrain to work and integrating it with the Lotus wiring harness.
I decided to first take the entire VW chassis harness, lay it out on a table with all of its control modules attached, and hook it up to the drivetrain to ensure I could get the engine and transmission operating.
.
.
.
.
With everything hooked up, I did the first start-up.
.
.
.
.
.
With a successful test drive I am now embarking on cleaning everything up to its final install locations.
I do not want the VW stock gear select lever on the floor and I need to integrate paddles on the steering wheel.
So I connected to the car’s canbus and pulled all of the drivetrain can messages related to the various gears (P, R, N, D, S, paddle shift up, paddle shift down). With that info, I am building a controller which will allow me to have push buttons on the console to choose the gear, and have paddles on the steering wheel for tiptronic mode.
For the dash, I will be integrating an AiM MXS which will pull all engine info via the canbus, and also allow for data logging.
Also since I had the rear clam off, I installed BOE’s clam hinge which works nicely.
.
.
.
.
There is still a long way to go before it is truly road/track ready. But so far so good…
.
.
