Jetta TDI upgrades -- warranty breaker

[bluefoxicy]

I'm not sure what's in the 2009 Jetta TDI. The 2005 Jetta TDI GLS I wanted was sold before I could get the money together ($3000 down payment, I needed a month), so I've decided to buy a brand new one. I'll void the warranty immediately.

So I'm thinking, I want to do some upgrades. A better suspension system (front struts, shocks and springs in the back-- that rear suspension is awesome by the way); some good drilled brake rotors; performance street brake pads (not silly racing pads that can't stop until they're hot); flush with synthetic DOT-4 brake fluid; and stainless steel brake lines. Maybe a Stage 2 clutch, but that stock clutch is freaking nice. Pull the tires and put on some nice ones (I like Goodyear TripleTred tires, Assurance or Fortera... it doesn't snow much here at all).

I know this is a silly thing to do to a brand new car, trashes the warranty. I probably won't do it right away, maybe ... getting the clutch and suspension early would let me ebay those out though.

Any thoughts?

[Yugguy]

Thoughts? What a daft thing to do to a new car. Why can't you do all these things to a user car and save a lot of money?

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by Yugguy

Thoughts? What a daft thing to do to a new car. Why can't you do all these things to a user car and save a lot of money?

Because the only used cars I can find that come loaded the way I want are $21000, and new they're $23000-$26000 (depending on if I get a sunroof). Half the time they break $19000 being 2-3 years old with CLOTH seats, and MOST of them have an automatic (I can't drive automatic, yes I said that). It's just that these damn things hold their value; a Cobalt will lose half its value in 12 months, but the VWs only lose like 10% in a year.

Mind you, I don't do warranties. I brought home a guitar amp and it was out of the box for 5 minutes before I'd soldered an input filter with 80dB cut-off at 3.5Hz, and altered the distortion characteristics by changing the gain on some of the tubes just slightly. (The input filter made a minor difference, but with the preamp gain adjustment it made a horrible muddy fart sound on any of the 3 low strings go away; too much undertone amplification.)

Even with a maintenance plan, I've got a compulsion to do my own work. I don't see a warranty as a value item.

It also helps that I can afford it without bankrupting myself.

[pgarner]

Why dot 4 fluid ?
gotta agree seems stupid spending couple of grand more for a new car when this money could be used on the parts required

has the 2009 got the 2ltr diesel over there yet for some reason you's, the americans, only seem to have had the 1.9 for the last few years.
clutch - if its the same as the older version - is good for just over 300ftlb plenty for a remap

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by pgarner

Why dot 4 fluid ?

Higher boiling point. It's cheap insurance. My thinking is:

• If I use my brakes too much (on a steep hill), at least the pads will fail before the brake fluid. This probably won't happen; I downshift for control.
• If the brake lines are faulty and water starts getting in, the brake failure should be more gradual, so I should notice the pedal getting softer before it becomes a problem. I'm not sure if this applies in the real world, but eh.

It doesn't hurt to use DOT-4, and it's cheap.

Originally Posted by pgarner

gotta agree seems stupid spending couple of grand more for a new car when this money could be used on the parts required

Yeah, but the car I wanted got sold. I've got a few months to poke around for one, and then I can just grab the one I want. New car == ripoff.

Originally Posted by pgarner

has the 2009 got the 2ltr diesel over there yet for some reason you's, the americans, only seem to have had the 1.9 for the last few years.

Yeah, the 2000 had 150ftlb from 1.9L; the 2005 had 170ftlb from 1.9L(?); the 2009 has 237ftlb from 2.0L. VW has been rolling all the luxury options into the standard Jetta TDI, and raising the power, advertising like hell, talking about how it's all sporty and powerful AND fuel efficient, etc.

Originally Posted by pgarner

clutch - if its the same as the older version - is good for just over 300ftlb plenty for a remap

Not sure I care for a remap, but someone told me the stock clutch sucks and a Stage 2 is much better on an otherwise stock vehicle. I'm unsure how, as this logic doesn't make sense, hence why I asked. I like the feel of the stock clutch.

[HDi fun]

An ECU remap will see over 300lbft from that engine. It'll go very nicely indeed.

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by HDi fun

An ECU remap will see over 300lbft from that engine. It'll go very nicely indeed.

If I got an ECU remap, it'd be to smooth out the power curve (is this even needed?) and improve fuel economy without dropping too much engine power. 237ftlb is quite enough. I could even go for a 220ftlb peak. The thing will run 1800RPM cruising around 70mph though... with an 1800RPM peak power this means when I blow down the highway at 80mph I'm going to wish I had a second overdrive above 6th to drop me to 1200RPM :/ Push in, shift to 6th?

[pgarner]

1800 rpm peak power think your mixed up with torque on that.

should already be using dot 4 as standard

why not a remap ? increases the power further up the range, increases the torque lower down. Ohh and increases the MPG when driven nicely

[HDi fun]

You can never have too much torque in my opinion. You're totally correct that a remap will smooth out the peaks and troughs in the torque curve. All of which make a big difference to driving feel. It gives a 4 cylinder diesel the flexibility of a 3 litre plus V6 petrol and also makes the car more refined in general driving.

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by HDi fun

You can never have too much torque in my opinion. You're totally correct that a remap will smooth out the peaks and troughs in the torque curve. All of which make a big difference to driving feel. It gives a 4 cylinder diesel the flexibility of a 3 litre plus V6 petrol and also makes the car more refined in general driving.

In other words, it'll make it more likely that, when faced with highway-car-operating (you can't call these people drivers) morons do a FAST lane change into the same spot I'm doing it into, with no signal, when i'm already 2/3 of the way into MY properly-gradual lane change, I can avoid certain death by moron drivers?

I think I like this. Actually I want to beef up driver's ed in this country; but getting a sporty vehicle with better handling so I can drive like a stunt/race car driver when people start actively trying to flip my car is a close second, and actually feasible.

You know, since I got a stick shift (i.e. a vehicle that doesn't do freaky #!#!#!#! and randomly leave me unable to accelerate or maneuver in complex traffic situations) and stopped CAUSING the near-accidents, I've realized I really appreciate the little things, like people using their turn signals properly, or moving COMPLETELY into the merge lane when they suddenly drop speed to 20mph to get off the expressway. Also not cutting across 4 lanes at a 45 degree angle at 80mph with your tires screeching is really cool too, you should definitely not do that right into my path of travel (hooray for brakes! I can use mine FAST! Always dodge TOWARDS the exit to avoid the collision, if there's an opening!)

Can we have road tests back? This license-test-in-the-MVA-parking-lot thing is bull#!#!#!#!. I FAILED mine and they gave me a license anyway, after the third try, probably for good effort but I suspect it's more along the lines of realizing the test is bull#!#!#!#! anyway and people who pass can't really drive so who gives a #!#!#!#!?

[Yugguy]

Lol, I'm liking your insights into driving in America.

Mate it's your money, do whatever you want with it.

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by Yugguy

Lol, I'm liking your insights into driving in America.

I'll make this simple for you.

We drive automatic here. Stick shifts are somewhat rare. Some people even believe it's more expensive to work on a manual, because mechanics don't know how, and need a specialist (bull#!#!#!#!).

The roads are too dangerous. The government decreased driver's ed, and mandated "safety features" like anti-lock brakes to make us all better drivers. The car has traction control, the driver doesn't need to know how to drive, right?

Welcome to America.

[waynne]

It certainly sounds interesting over there. Depreciation over here on a VW is a lot more than 10%. I like your style though, I think you'll fit in great with us.

Post up some pics when you get it and I think you should start a project thread as well, it sounds like you will have plenty of mods to do to it.

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by waynne

It certainly sounds interesting over there. Depreciation over here on a VW is a lot more than 10%. I like your style though, I think you'll fit in great with us.

Post up some pics when you get it and I think you should start a project thread as well, it sounds like you will have plenty of mods to do to it.

Nods, I think I'll keep it light. I could lower it, do a cooling bypass for the air intake (cold air), add a cold air intake, change the exhaust system (manifold, high-flow cat, muffler, etc), and the like; but I'm not into running my car on rice water. If I toss that 20lb bag of rice in a 10gal fermenter with some koji, it's gonna be for drinking and making sushi (you add a tiny bit to the rice when steaming).

I'll take lots of pics. I may pay someone $80 to redo the brake lines (including cost of stainless steel line) because it's cheap and annoying to do; I'd rather spend my time disassembling the brakes.

I'll work out the suspension system after a couple months driving it, it's not my area of expertise. I don't care to lower the vehicle, but some better springs do attract me... something that does the initial drop faster, but then becomes stiffer an inch or two down would probably let me corner better (center of gravity drops faster). It would also make the car float up and down annoyingly (softer springs when not under stress). So lowering the car an inch and using stiffer springs would probably actually be optimum...

By the way. 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, automatic, has electric motor driven power steering. I tried to swerve around a pothole. I got really confused! There's WAY more feedback in the manual 1995 Cavalier I have; I felt like the Cobalt was just floating on the road. Let's avoid any sort of suspension that makes this happen; the stock suspension in the Jetta is NICE, hence why I'm going to take a couple months to work out what to do (i.e. leave it the hell alone if I like it).

I'm so tempted to tune the payment period to make my payments similar to a $70k BMW with 10% down on a 72mo loan.

Wow I ramble a lot.

You know, I really want to build a car from scratch one day....

[Yugguy]

Originally Posted by bluefoxicy

I'll make this simple for you.

We drive automatic here. Stick shifts are somewhat rare. Some people even believe it's more expensive to work on a manual, because mechanics don't know how, and need a specialist (bull#!#!#!#!).

The roads are too dangerous. The government decreased driver's ed, and mandated "safety features" like anti-lock brakes to make us all better drivers. The car has traction control, the driver doesn't need to know how to drive, right?

Welcome to America.

Welcome to the UK as well mate, well I'd say welcome to the average modern car, with the driver totally cut off from what's happening outside his safe metal box.

I still can't help thinking there must be another model of used car that fits your criteria, that way you'd have more money to spend on fettling it.

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by Yugguy

I still can't help thinking there must be another model of used car that fits your criteria, that way you'd have more money to spend on fettling it.

You're in the UK.

My choices here are an Audi A3, some time at the end of 2009, when Audi introduces diesel; a 1970s VW Rabbit; or a VW Jetta. Other than that, pickup trucks sometimes come with diesel, but only the really big ones (small pickup trucks only run on petrol). Oh, VW also makes a diesel SUV.

[pgarner]

most of us are.

the touareg is supposed to be ab absolute beast. more or less the same engine as in the R10 Tdi

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by pgarner

most of us are.

the touareg is supposed to be ab absolute beast. more or less the same engine as in the R10 Tdi

Yeah. But in the UK you have lots of options. In the US we don't get diesel much, is my point. I'm being encouraged away from it too.

[Yugguy]

Ah right, I hadn't twigged you wanted a diesel.

Screw it, you want a large V8 petrol!!!

[pgarner]

thats because you petrol is so dam cheap.
theres also the metality in US about there being no replacement for displacement.

[bluefoxicy]

Originally Posted by Yugguy

Ah right, I hadn't twigged you wanted a diesel.

Screw it, you want a large V8 petrol!!!

Have you considered being a car salesman? I imagine my attempt to buy a Jetta going like this:

"Ah, okay. And you want a 6 speed? Actually you should get the automatic; it lets you shift gears just like a manual! You definitely want that instead!"

Ensuing half hour argument, me punching the salesman, heading towards another lot, manager comes out to stop me, fires salesman on sight, $2000 discount, sells me the car.

They also try damned hard to make sure you don't buy something they don't have. If it's not on the lot, they want you to get something else; why order a car when you can help clean out their inventory?