T1000

Due to my current financial situation I sadly had to sell my Subaru Impreza Turbo, which was my pride and joy.

Having put some thought into it I ended up buying a VW Golf GT TDI 130bhp.
It drives really nicely, although the thing I miss the most about the Impreza is the noise!

Thought I'd see if any one else has had experiences with these cars?

This is my new one:

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

Yep, used to drive my ex`s one around and id love one as a daily driver.

Regarding the noise i thought it had quite a snarly induction growl for a diesel? sips fuel on the motorway in 6th gear, the needle never moves lol.

I think with a remap, some neuspeed ARB`s and some coilovers and it would be a great little package.

Charlie_Chunk

iTrader: (1)

My girlfriend's brother's girlfriend has one, great car!!!!

Pulls like a train!!!

corradoboy

Similar spec to my Fabia. Get it map'd for IRO 180bhp and 310 lb/ft and you'll have a good sleeper As S3TH says, a few quid on some suspension products too and it will be a hoot whilst remaining cheap to run. I filled mine up last Sun, did my Leeds-Wakefield commute, went to Cadwell Park (100 miles) where I did IRO 90 laps, then home, a full days driving instruction, went shopping, then did my commute another couple of times and finally needed to put some diesel in today Taxed it last week for £120 too Whilst on Cadwell I managed identical turn-in speeds to the Scoobs there, although they pulled away from me on the straights and mullered me under braking

T1000

Great thanks everyone! sounds like I made a good choice. I haven't heard much induction noise from it but the turbo does make a nice hissing sound with the window down when you're booting it. I also bought a green panel filter for it which has made it sound a little bit better too. The torque feels great and doesn't feel far behind the Impreza at motorway speeds.

I'd love to get front and rear ARB's fitted to it at some point but will have to wait till next year probably. Maybe I can book it in for a remap then too

I agree Corradoboy! The economy is amazing on them. I've been flooring it quite a lot since I've owned it and my overall economy never seems to drop much lower than 45mpg which is brilliant for me.

corradoboy

I checked mine out with a Racelogic Driftbox and it does the 30-70 sprint in 6.1s. An 03 WRX is quoted at 5.7, so not far off.

Get yourself on the VW and Skoda forums and keep an eye out for secondhand parts. Just like with Scoobs, people spend massive amounts tuning their cars up, then either upgrade again, or strip them back to stock for selling. I just got a Neuspeed RARB for the missuses Octavia (Golf Mk4 chassis) for £100 instead of £240. Looking out for some Eibach's and a set of 18's now

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

I'd recommend using a diesel treatment once a month as the variable vane turbo can clog up with Carbon very quickly and cause overboost problems.
Any problems with your car PM me and i'll no doubt have the answer.
Dean.

corradoboy

I use Millers Powersport 4 with every tank in mine. Supposedly ups the cetane rating to that of 'Super' diesels (V-Power, BP Ultimate etc) but if bought in a 5 litre bottle works out at 1p/litre, instead of the 7-10p premium on the fancy fuels.

Fasteronline : Millers Diesel Power Sport 4 5 litre size [SPORT4-5] - £64.99

T1000

Cheers for the info, it's something I haven't thought of. So far, I've cleaned the MAF using Isopropyl alcohol, cleaned out the dirt from the EGR valve and am now running the car solely on Shell Vpower Diesel or BP Ultimate to make sure the car's looked after. I've also had the steering Geometry checked as the car felt a bit floaty with not grip when I bought it and now that's done it's completely transformed the handling

corradoboy

Don't waste money on the premium diesels, just use Millers.

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

To be honest they do handle like boats standard, uprating the suspension should be first on the list maybe Eibach shocks and springs with addition of a rear antiroll bar, Audi S3 front wishbone bushes and maybe 225/45/17 decent wheels and tyres and should be mint. Just make sure you get decent wheels not cheap replicas as this will ruin the ride.
Regards Dean.

SirFozzalot

I had one as a company car for 18 months. I loved it.

Seemed to use a lot of oil though, also know 2 other owners who also reported the same. Keep an eye on it.

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

Yeah oil consumption can be quite bad, but as the manual states maximum of 1 litre to 1000km most are wthin there spec. You should have a level sensor in the sump that will bring an orange light on to tell it is low, just don't be fooled into opening bonnet and shutting it as the car automatically thinks you have topped it up as you've opened bonnet and will only recheck after another 60 miles.

brickboy

What year is it? If it's pre-2004 you can disable the EGR without it throwing a fault code, I did this on my Passat 130 sport, it helps to stop the inlet getting coked up with soot and crud.

You remove the vac pipe from the EGR valve, put a ball bearing or similar in the pipe that fits snugly, and refit the pipe. Job done.

As said above, the VNT mechanism can get sticky, regular "exercise" is the way to sort it out. I used to spray the external VNT actuator linkage with WD40 once a month on the Passat to keep it moving free, but it's a lot easier to get at on the Passat ....

The MAF loom connector plug can be a problem sometimes, as the connections can get a bit oxidised. I used some Caig contact cleaner on mine, but any residue-free cleaner (like tape head cleaner or similar) would do. Other people use dielectric grease and report good results.

It's also worth checking the vac pipe connections for the VNT / EGR / anti-shudder etc. Even a tiny pinhole or dodgy fit on one of these pipes or connections will lose vacuum, and in turn you'll lose boost. 20 minutes with the engine cover off and a torch is worth a go ... even if you get the odd skinned knuckle

Edited to add I've just found the diagram of vac hoses on my hard drive, it's here:

http://xs537.xs.to/xs537/09112/pd_vac_system111.jpg

T1000

Cheers for the tips mate they sound very useful. I read a similar thing about the EGR valve but when I tried it a week or so ago (by jamming a bolt in the vacuum pipe and leaving it disconnected, when I tried restarting the car it was hard to start. Then 5 minutes after my drive the engine started making a loud clicking noise so I panicked and put it back to normal. I must have done something wrong as I shouldn't have experienced any issues? My car is a 2001 model by the way.

I have highlighted the vacuum pipe that I blocked. Is this correct?

brickboy

that's the right pipe, but I'd find something like a small bolt / screw or ball bearing or bit of plastic that fits snugly in the pipe AND allows you to refit the pipe onto the EGR valve.

It makes almost zero difference to performance but it does stop sooty exhaust fumes mixing with oil in the intake and crudding it up.

Have you checked the airbox & filter since getting it? Maybe it was the design of the Passat intake snorkel etc but it used to get handfuls of grit, leaves, feathers etc in there. The air filter service interval is 40K but I used to check mine every 10K, and it always needed hoovering out.

The ordinary paper VAG filter is as good as anything else.

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

Don't forget that the Ecu compensates for EGR when operating the turbo, I have seen a lot of cars with EGR blocked off and cause a lot of under and overboost problems.
As long as you give the car a blast every now and again and clean the EGR valve out every 6 months it won't prove a problem.

brickboy

Dean, do you mean removing the EGR pipe section and getting the gunk out?

I never did this on my Passat but often wondered how much crud there was in there.

I've seen some pics from the US forums where the EGR pipe section is almost blocked with carbon etc, however a couple of UK members of SeatCupra.net checked theirs and reported there wasn't much crud.

I wondered if it was because US fuel is lower quality than over here. Maybe also depends on driving style, etc.

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

Brickboy it's not that big of a job to move completly and clean, I've seen some where the opening as reduced as much as 50% and the inlet manifold was in pretty much same condition, this was an older person's car so it's fair to say it didnt get over say 3000revs. cleaning the unit every 6months would be better in the long run than stopping it working all together.
Biggest problem is the driving style a good blast now and again and it will keep it pretty clean.
Regards Dean.