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dash_aremsc posted:Very long time lurker at SA, and being in the market to get myself a TDI this coming summer, figured I would take the plunge and post in this thread, with some requests for advice! Someone was wrong: Mileage wise the Manual transmission is where its at, not to mention the tendency for VW to have issues with their automatics. Its just worth it both for the mileage and the extra power you get. And that nice 6 speed manual if you can find one. Towing wise, you can easily tow a couple motorcycles or even a small boat or camper with ease, that extra torque and the wonderful towing mileage help. I've towed my Audi with my Jetta TDI, and that thing only had 90 HP when I started with it. As for photos and trip report, we'd love it! Pictures: My freshly finished AHU TDI! Freshly machined head installed!  ...and then the coolant return nozzle fractured and snapped off. Not wanting to spend $40 on a new one, I drilled the nozzle and the junction, inserted a piece of plastic tubing, put it back together and epoxied the whole thing. Ta-Da!  Forgive the poor cell phone pictures, my wife took her Canon SLR to her mothers for the weekend. CommieGIR fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Dec 8, 2012 |
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Dec 8, 2012 00:27
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dash_aremsc posted:If I am looking to get a TDI Golf (ideal) or Jetta in the $6000-$8000 range, approximately what sorts of mileage should I look for to find a good deal? Any suggestions for best venues to get a deal on diesel in the US? I know more about the older TDI's than the newer ones that would fall in that price range, unless you want to buy a heavily modified older one or a wagon. I'd recommend a manual transmission - better mileage and the automatics are known for having issues. Lots of miles isn't too scary, but miles wear out lots of components other than the engine, and that has to be taken into account. Timing belts are essential for these cars and should be taken into account price wise. A lot of cars will be sold when they're due to have a timing belt done, and the seller might not mention it - so check the recommended interval and the time it was done on any car you look at. You can check out the cars that are listed on tdiclub.com Those cars usually aren't cheap though. Basically just the standard places to check -vwvortex, craigslist, and ebay. I've never towed with one, but I've heard good things, which is to say that these cars tow well for cars of their size/weight. These cars are sometimes rated higher for towing when they're sold in Europe than in the US, which as far as I know is just VW not wanting to get sued in America when someone does something stupid. If you're getting one of the older 90 HP models, I highly recommend a tuning chip. If you upgrade more than the tuning chip you'll probably need to do the clutch too. Edit: If the clutch get's done, you want to have a VR6 clutch put on, which is usually gets put on anyway. So if you get a car that's already had the clutch done, try to figure out what clutch was put on. Opensourcepirate fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Dec 8, 2012 |
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Dec 8, 2012 02:11
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Opensourcepirate posted:If you upgrade more than the tuning chip you'll probably need to do the clutch too. I did a moderate injector upgrade and the clutch started slipping. Easy solution is throw in a VR6 clutch
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Dec 8, 2012 02:15
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BurgerQuest posted:Does any one have/have experience with the VW Golf GTD? I've got a MkV GTI at the moment and love it, but I'm starting to get ready to upgrade to something a bit newer, have been thinking the GTD might be a nice move sideways into diesel. quote:The turbo went on mine too, but luckily it was still under warranty. It's got a few electrical problems now and the doors are starting to seize up, but the engine has been indestructible.
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Dec 8, 2012 18:53
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 7.3L and 15 MPG. I approve this thread.
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Dec 8, 2012 19:40
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crutt posted:
EDIT: Actually, I have a slightly unusual request for one of the 1.9 VW guys. Could someone tell me the total effective engine length? As in from the bellhousing mounting face to the end of the crank nose assembly/accessory pulley? InitialDave fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Dec 9, 2012 |
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Dec 8, 2012 23:09
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It seems like my 2013 Golf TDI gets significantly worse mileage the colder the temperature gets. Am I crazy or is this normal?
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Dec 11, 2012 06:23
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fknlo posted:It seems like my 2013 Golf TDI gets significantly worse mileage the colder the temperature gets. Am I crazy or is this normal? maybe the engine is to cold? trucks usually have those blankets covering there rads. maybe that has something to do with it.
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Dec 11, 2012 06:40
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There's a couple of factors. One is that winter Diesel fuel has a lot of additives to keep it from gelling up and generally gives you worse power and fuel economy than summer Diesel. The car will get worse fuel economy when the engine is cold, and Diesel engines take a lot longer to warm up than gasoline engines. Glow plugs help heat the engine up faster, but the higher drain on the alternator lowers economy. Due to the reasons in the second paragraph, you'll take a much larger hit on a lot of short trips starting with the engine cold than you will on a longer drive with the engine warmed up most of the time.
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Dec 11, 2012 06:43
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fknlo posted:It seems like my 2013 Golf TDI gets significantly worse mileage the colder the temperature gets. Am I crazy or is this normal? What you want is called a "winter front" -- it covers the grill to help the engine stay warm. Also, are you going on mainly short trips? If so, your fuel economy will suffer and you'll get more fuel contamination in your oil.
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Dec 11, 2012 10:36
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Opensourcepirate posted:There's a couple of factors. One is that winter Diesel fuel has a lot of additives to keep it from gelling up and generally gives you worse power and fuel economy than summer Diesel. Did they remove the coolant glow plugs on later model TDIs? That was the whole point was to keep the engine at optimal temperature...
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Dec 11, 2012 15:57
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fknlo posted:It seems like my 2013 Golf TDI gets significantly worse mileage the colder the temperature gets. Am I crazy or is this normal? This is normal as others have said. I have been averaging around 42 mpg tank average. This tank is sitting around 39 because it's been so loving cold. My car isn't up to full operating temp until about 5 miles into my trip to or from work. What's really wierd about the car, and I mean it makes sense but is kind of counterintuitive, I get better mileage when there is traffic than when there isn't. When I'm stuck in traffic, I'm usually creeping along at 1500rpms in 3rd gear vs doing 60-70.
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Dec 11, 2012 17:20
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Opensourcepirate posted:There's a couple of factors. One is that winter Diesel fuel has a lot of additives to keep it from gelling up and generally gives you worse power and fuel economy than summer Diesel. This is the big one. Winter additives are completely different and most stations north of the Mason-Dixon will be stocking it now (probably quite a few south as well). My '11 TDI drops about 5mpg with the winter fuel.
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Dec 11, 2012 17:57
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For a '10 jetta Tdi running mostly shorter trips and B5 fuel is a 5k mile oil change interval a good idea? That would work out to be about every six months. I have heard that the biodiesel will tend to cause more oil contamination. Does anybody else with cars get the occasional person come up and warn them thy are filling up with diesel? I don't get it in the city but when I stop out in the small rural towns it is about a 50/50 chance someone will comment.
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Dec 11, 2012 19:04
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Shifty Pony posted:For a '10 jetta Tdi running mostly shorter trips and B5 fuel is a 5k mile oil change interval a good idea? That would work out to be about every six months. I have heard that the biodiesel will tend to cause more oil contamination. If you are running full synthetic 5k to 6k is a good change interval, especially running bio. I have had multiple come up and warn me I was filling with diesel. I had a trucker run up to me at the truck pump and try to stop me, thinking my Jetta was gas. And then I've had one or two Prius owners chide me for driving a diesel
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Dec 11, 2012 19:26
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CommieGIR posted:Did they remove the coolant glow plugs on later model TDIs? That was the whole point was to keep the engine at optimal temperature... I'm not sure if they have them heating the coolant or just the cylinder heads. Either way they'll be lowering your fuel economy while they're running, even if they do get you up to an efficient engine temperature faster. Edit: IDParts (.com) is having a bunch of winter fronts custom made. They're starting with the A4 Jetta/Golf (99 to 05 or 06), but they're planning to do them for newer and older cars as well. Opensourcepirate fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Dec 11, 2012 |
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Dec 11, 2012 20:21
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I think the best was when I had some wannabe hippies screaming about no blood for oil when I was filling up my F250 with B99 Biodiesel. I guess the huge banners everywhere with BIODIESEL in three foot tall letters where too hard to read. What was sad is they had a one year old car and it was already beat to poo poo, I wouldn't be surprised if it was in the junkyard now already. I wouldn't run Bio in the winter unless you lived in a warm place or had tank heaters. I had problems with gelling at like 40F. Someday I need to have my old truck gone through.
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Dec 11, 2012 20:45
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InterceptorV8 posted:I think the best was when I had some wannabe hippies screaming about no blood for oil when I was filling up my F250 with B99 Biodiesel. I guess the huge banners everywhere with BIODIESEL in three foot tall letters where too hard to read. You can run bio in winter but you have to mix it with diesel, gas or kerosene.
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Dec 11, 2012 20:59
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CommieGIR posted:You can run bio in winter but you have to mix it with diesel, gas or kerosene. B99 from recycled oil? With terrible quality control? If it's gelling at 40F, I'd worry more about your injection pump than getting a tank heater...
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Dec 11, 2012 21:43
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CommieGIR posted:You can run bio in winter but you have to mix it with diesel, gas or kerosene. Yeah, or you could just change the grade from B99 to B5
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Dec 11, 2012 21:45
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primitive posted:B99 from recycled oil? With terrible quality control? I guess Bio made from animal gels differently than bio from plants. You also have to remember this happened 6 or more years ago.
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Dec 11, 2012 21:46
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InterceptorV8 posted:I guess Bio made from animal gels differently than bio from plants. You also have to remember this happened 6 or more years ago. Bio-diesel is well regulated as far as its content, but its just the nature of the beast that it will gel higher than normal Winterized Diesel. I don't even know if they make a winterized version of bio for the pumps. CommieGIR fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Dec 11, 2012 |
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Dec 11, 2012 22:56
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InterceptorV8 posted:I think the best was when I had some wannabe hippies screaming about no blood for oil when I was filling up my F250 with B99 Biodiesel. I guess the huge banners everywhere with BIODIESEL in three foot tall letters where too hard to read. I have had my car for over a year now and no one has cautioned me  No one is helpful out here in CO. Also, I'm about loving tired of people blocking the diesel pump when there are clearly 8 empty gas pumps they could be filling up at.Did you explain to the hippies how their Prius does more damage to the environment than a gas guzzling SUV before it even reaches the US shores?
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Dec 11, 2012 23:22
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Shifty Pony posted:
Doesnt happen quite so much in Aus- Guess diesels are a hell of a lot more common over here than in the US. We do get a huge number of chucklefucks parking in front of the diesel pumps to go to the shop in the servo tho...
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Dec 12, 2012 00:09
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veedubfreak posted:Did you explain to the hippies how their Prius does more damage to the environment than a gas guzzling SUV before it even reaches the US shores? If you've watched the Smug episodes of South Park, then you are fully aware why they buy Prius.
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Dec 12, 2012 00:48
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Ferremit posted:Doesnt happen quite so much in Aus- Guess diesels are a hell of a lot more common over here than in the US. Diesels have had a bad rep in the US for a few decades due to the fact that the only real vehicles you were able to buy were lovely GMs and big trucks which love to belch black smoke. The Germans didn't really make a push to get diesels into the country until the late 90s. But the stigma still exists. I love my TDI. All the fuel economy of a hybrid, all the torque of a tractor. Plus the TDI Golf comes equipped basically the same as a GTI and costs less while having a higher resale value down the line.
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Dec 12, 2012 17:13
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veedubfreak posted:Diesels have had a bad rep in the US for a few decades due to the fact that the only real vehicles you were able to buy were lovely GMs and big trucks which love to belch black smoke. The Germans didn't really make a push to get diesels into the country until the late 90s. But the stigma still exists. The bad rep is due to that and the Cadillac diesel, which resulted in a huge class action lawsuit and because Cadillac sucks at diesels. Volkswagen and Mercedes have had diesels in the US since around 1979, and they never really left, but they were never sold in good numbers till recently thanks to the fact that people now want economical cars that can still be fun.
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Dec 12, 2012 17:26
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Diesel has a pretty decent price premium too, about 50-60c/gal here. That plus the extra cost of a diesel car means the payback period is fairly lengthy. BMW is bringing a bunch of new diesels over soon, it'll be interesting to see how they sell. The 335d never made much sense, a 320d might do quite well.
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Dec 12, 2012 17:29
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The price difference between diesel and gasoline depends highly on the time of year. Diesel fuel meets the requirements for home heating oil, and the reverse is sometimes true - the standards are looser on heating oil - so the price of Diesel goes up in the winter as heating oil comes into demand. During the summer I've seen Diesel be the same price as premium gasoline.
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Dec 12, 2012 17:39
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Opensourcepirate posted:The price difference between diesel and gasoline depends highly on the time of year. Diesel fuel meets the requirements for home heating oil, and the reverse is sometimes true - the standards are looser on heating oil - so the price of Diesel goes up in the winter as heating oil comes into demand. Either way, the calculated cost difference is more than worth the efficiency and fuel mileage. I mean, the Gas Direct Injection engines are starting to catch up, but they still have a little ways to go, even then all some company would have to do is make a Diesel Hybrid and diesel would still hold have the best efficiency.
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Dec 12, 2012 17:47
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CommieGIR posted:I mean, the Gas Direct Injection engines are starting to catch up, but they still have a little ways to go, even then all some company would have to do is make a Diesel Hybrid and diesel would still hold have the best efficiency. Its pretty close now if you look at the best petrols Golf 118TSI (petrol) = 6l/200km combined, 139g/km - Euro 5 Golf 103TDI (diesel) = 5.4l/100km combined, 142g/km - Euro 5
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Dec 12, 2012 19:37
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CommieGIR posted:Diesel Hybrid Is there some glaringly obvious reason why they aren't doing this? Even the drat VW Jetta hybrid is gas instead of diesel. Those of you with TDI's, how many miles are you running between oil changes? I've always done every 5k with Rotella T6 and a new filter but have heard of people doing 10k just fine.
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Dec 12, 2012 21:13
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InitialDave posted:I have a slightly unusual request for one of the 1.9 VW guys. Could someone tell me the total effective engine length? As in from the bellhousing mounting face to the end of the crank nose assembly/accessory pulley? Anyone able to help me out?
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Dec 12, 2012 21:19
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InitialDave posted:Anyone able to help me out? Ive been looking dave, I might have to measure my own engine but for the life of me I cant find it
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Dec 12, 2012 21:22
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NitroSpazzz posted:Is there some glaringly obvious reason why they aren't doing this? Even the drat VW Jetta hybrid is gas instead of diesel. Diesels aren't very efficient when you stop and start them a lot, which tends to be the way a hybrid engine runs. I take my oil change intervals from the manual - I believe it's 12 months or 10k miles, but I'd have to check. Been fine so far.
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Dec 12, 2012 21:26
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NitroSpazzz posted:Is there some glaringly obvious reason why they aren't doing this? Even the drat VW Jetta hybrid is gas instead of diesel. I read an article not that long ago talking about why diesel hybrids aren't a thing. It mentioned several reasons, like hybrid fans and diesel fans being different people according to market research, but the biggest point in my mind was the added cost of a hybrid powertrain on a diesel motor that already sells at a premium wasn't worth it since diesels are already more fuel efficient than gasoline. Also something about non-complimentary torque curves. Benz does make one, though: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1079728_mercedes-benz-e300-bluetec-hybrid-sedan-quick-drive
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Dec 12, 2012 21:30
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Wolfsbane posted:Diesels aren't very efficient when you stop and start them a lot, which tends to be the way a hybrid engine runs. Yes, but you could do a diesel electric combo
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Dec 12, 2012 21:31
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InitialDave posted:Anyone able to help me out? I missed this question somehow but give me a sec. e: 47.7cm
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Dec 12, 2012 21:34
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Wolfsbane posted:Diesels aren't very efficient when you stop and start them a lot, which tends to be the way a hybrid engine runs. Yes, but you could do a diesel electric combo and still exceed the Prius
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Dec 12, 2012 21:37
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SERIOUS QUESTION: How lovely is a 1980s Mercedes 300 TD?
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Dec 12, 2012 21:38
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