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Ok Dom and Greg

Milner

Milner

formerly "rckcrlr"
Location
Hiding behind a camera
So since you both have TDI's, educate me, Please....
I am considering giving up the SCCA dreams for the miata and looking for a TDI.
Damn carseat won't fit in the miata:mad:
What years are the "best"? What to look for? What to stay away from? What forums/resources are best?
If I get one, I may have to find a 4bt for the Bronco:p
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
rckcrlr said:
So since you both have TDI's, educate me, Please....
I am considering giving up the SCCA dreams for the miata and looking for a TDI.
Damn carseat won't fit in the miata:mad:
What years are the "best"? What to look for? What to stay away from? What forums/resources are best?
If I get one, I may have to find a 4bt for the Bronco:p
Click to expand...


You'll love it. And you may not have to give up roadracing. I've seen a guy road race a daily driver TDI Jetta, :greg: . I'll have to find his site, you'll be impressed.

There's a few different sites, but IMO the most comprehensive forum for TDI VW's is- http://forums.tdiclub.com/

Here's some good reading- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Jetta

I have a Mark 4 (4th Gen Jetta), they were made form '98-'05. They're not bad, I've been impressed with the car actually. It's quite roomy up front, I'm 6'4" and don't feel cramped at all. After turning wrenches for a couple years & working on VW's here & there, I wasn't impressed with German engineering. But after owning a VW, I'm a fan... mostly due to the TDI.

The latest models are slightly bigger, if you can afford a '05+ it will have more room. The newer cars also have a different motor, a PD or "Pumpe Düse" engine. It's more powerful, but much more complex than the older TDI's.

The only problem with my Jetta is that the heated seats aren't working. Apparently it's a common problem for VW and there is a recall. Mine is now pushing 180k miles and I've had no issues. I had to replace the battery, but it was the factory battery so no issue there. I probably will need glow plugs soon, it's getting hard to start when real cold. Again, no biggie for a car w/ 180k.

The guy that roadraces his Jetta had done quite a bit of suspension mods IIRC. If you drive a Jetta, you probably won't be impressed by it's handling, they don't feel 'sporty'. They ride well, but it's not a firm, road-hugging feel. They kind of bounce along, smooth but cushy. I have thought about taking off the 15" wheels & upgrading to factory 16's, but then tires become expensive. My Jetta is strictly a commuter, so I don't want to make things more expensive. About the only mod I want to do is to the motor, injectors & an ECU tune will net 250 ft/lbs & better mileage.

Does that help? Any other questions?
 
Dominic

Dominic

Well-Known Member
Location
Salt Lake City
tdiclub.com
I have loved my TDI I made the mistake of starting with the gayest version (a bug) but I have made it work and not look so gay. I would start with a 2000-2006 MK4 or Mk5 jetta if I were to do it agian. I have never had any real bad problems, maintence is a bit more expensive than other cars but there is enough education through the forums that you can do the preventitive stuff and duck alot of the major problems. Living in Salt lake you are an advantage of having some great shops around for performance and major maintence. Streamline industries is on 21st south run by a two guys named Elf and Hans they know everthing about Vw's and Audi's Hans is unbelievable. Kerma TDI is out of Park City and have made ridiculous strides in Diesel perfomance. You can do just about anything with them now (big turbo's, injectors,chips etc.) I would buy another TDI in a heart beat. It's a neat concept to buy and build a diesel car that can be quick and still get 40+ mpg.
 
Dominic

Dominic

Well-Known Member
Location
Salt Lake City
Mine has 113,000 miles on it. Like I said prevenitive maintence is the only expensive thing but it's cheaper in the long run. They released the Passat with a TDI a couple years back and they are kind of hard to find but awesome cars. For a little autocrosser/ family ride you might consider the Mk4 Jetta wagon with some minor mods you could have a rad little car that's baby friendly.
 
Dominic

Dominic

Well-Known Member
Location
Salt Lake City
I think I have found a balance to level out the gayness of the bug somewhere between the supermoto and the Jeep. At least the bug isn't bright yellow.

118219452933_3300_1.jpg
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Oh, might as well mention the mileage since that's the most appealing factor. I average 46-48 MPG, depending on the speed. If I keep it around 70 I'll get 48 MPG... if I kept the speed at 65 or under 50 MPG is doable. As you might know, I was driving back & forth to Wisconsin & Chicago over the summer for work. With a small mod to the fuel tank filler, (removing the vent aka a ventectomy), I'm able to add almost 2 more gallons of diesel. With that amount of fuel I was averaging 600 miles out of a tank... at 74-78 MPH driving across the country. My 2 highest tanks of fuel have given me 670 & 650 miles.

I was driving from Fruita to Chicago and filling up my tank once in between. :greg:

You've probably seen it, but here's our car-

attachment.php



You can get a Jetta Wagon w/ a TDI motor... sounds funny, but I'd love to have one for the room. We came pretty close to looking for one for Catherine. With that kind of mileage, why not have 2? I've saved a large amount of change driving this car and it's very evident. I went from driving my Dodge that probably averaged 16-18 MPG to the Jetta, 46-48 MPG. You do the math! Mabey down the road we'll get a Wagon.
 
Dominic

Dominic

Well-Known Member
Location
Salt Lake City
Yeah I wish roof racks and 17x8's have kinda screwed my gas milage 37ish I drive like an jerk too high 80's on the freeway most of the time.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Dominic said:
Yeah I wish roof racks and 17x8's have kinda screwed my gas milage 37ish I drive like an jerk too high 80's on the freeway most of the time.
Click to expand...

I'd like bigger wheels & better handling tires, but not at the expense of dropping mileage. I've put 20k miles on this car since Summer, I need to keep that mileage high.
 
Milner

Milner

formerly "rckcrlr"
Location
Hiding behind a camera
Dominic said:
I think I have found a balance to level out the gayness of the bug somewhere between the supermoto and the Jeep. At least the bug isn't bright yellow.


Thats OK, a friend of mine went out and bought a Yellow Convertable bug for HIMSELF on his 36th bithday....Crisis of coming out, we are not sure:p
Click to expand...
 
Kiel

Kiel

Formerly WJ ZUK
There is a tdi jetta in this months diesel power. Something like 250 hp and 550 torque:eek:
 
Tacoma

Tacoma

Et incurventur ante non
Location
far enough away
FWIW, the '07 Jetta I just rented felt pretty sporty. Handled the tippy-top of Ogden Canyon pretty well, with a LOT less body roll that I was expecting, and just the barest hint of tail-wagging while exceeding the speed limit through the twisties by quite a bit.
 
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