Almost bought a VW TDI

[SMorneau]

I have heard the wetterauer chips can cause problems at high altitudes. Remember, you have the variable turbo on the TDI.



I like mine stock (my CTD sucks all of my performance funds anyway) a nice little car with loads of low end torque. Kind of low-slung though... I hope it goes good in the snow.



The very first thing you need to do is add a factory metal skid plate to protect your oil pan. They are available from Dieselgeek.com. The second thing you need to do is join the epsilonian society. Do a search on it at Freds TDIclub.com and you will understand why. Also install an elephant hose.



The third thing is drive it and have fun

 

[LightmanE300]

SMorneau I can see you did your research. I have a DG race pipe, elephant, and eps on mine However, the wett chips have little if any problems at all. The reason is that the turbo boost upgrades are VERY mild, and it doesn't suffer boost spikes. The upsolute chip on the other hand, which USED to be pretty popular, causes serious boost spikes, and if you dont have a boost valve or dawes device, you can really melt your turbo if you're not careful, several have.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

My EGR/anti shudder valve is removed from the car and the EGR solenoid is blocked off - and until recently I had a CEL... . but not anymore... . no epsilonian device necessary. It's a top secret 'fix'.....



As for the exhaust debate - to each his own. I very seldom put any faith in even dyno numbers. There are WAY too many variables to factor in to even begin to find the 2-5hp increase (if that... ) from hogging out the exhaust on bone stock cars. Dynos are good for finding 10-15hp... . not the miniscule gains we're talking about. On my car, the 'seat of the pants' dyno told me that I did something good... . nuff said.



It isn't loud - I'm not hurting anything - and it was FREE.



Matt - loud pipes save lives.

 

[therabbittree]

i'd have to agree with holeset on this one the stock tdi exhuast isn't very good at the minimum at least remove the mmuffler and weld a straight piece in. . the turbo spools up much quicker and the egt drop slightly. any time the egts drop your gaining something . . if not just for the fact that with the lower egt you can now add more fuel to the mix to bring the egt back up till you figure out another method of lowering them again ha. . more boost less egts etc... more fuel makes more boost aqnd more fuel makes for higher egts haha a viscous circle everyone here is well aware of... . every engine in the world is just a air pump and any way to make the air pump work more effiecently will make more power . . bottom line.

definately get the metall skid plate and the crank case vent rerouted from the intake to the atmosphere, the diesel geek "race pipe" egr shutdown valve removal pipe is nice also. I have aespilion device also but i haven't installed it yet, as to correctly install it you must cut the factory MAF wiring and splice it in and i'm not cutting my factory harness... so i'm dealing with a sometimes on engine check light... the tdi club forums have tons of info but like matt said most owners are REAL ***** footed on doing any mods that are serious... and most are liberal tree huggers ha... believe me i was one of the first members on it so i've been there for a long time

hope this helps you

thanks

deo

\x/ hillfolk!

 

[SMorneau]

The worst thing about driving my TDI is being pegged as a liberal, tree hugger, or hippie. Trust me I'm not. But I guess it balances out when I'm blowing a load of soot from my CTD in front of those who think I'm a beer drinking redneck who has absolutely no regard for the environment.



As far as mods to my TDI. If I wanted a fast car I would have bought one. Of course, I may change my mind if I am outrun by a Honda Insight



LightmanE300. I stand corrected on the chip. The TDIclub is an excellent site.

 

[LightmanE300]

Therabbittree, dont be a wuss , the eps device is easy to install. I did mine a month or so ago, and had never previously soldered in my life. I have a step by step PDF file with pictures on the install and can walk you through it if you like. The downside of not having it is not only the check engine light, but also your air/fuel settings and a few parameters in the ECU are set at a fixed level as long as there is an EGR flow fault code present. This is a well known fact on the tdiclub and I verified it with my vag-com diagnostic software.

 

[KennyM]

What kind of power increase could I see with a chip and injectors, on a TDI. I am selling my truck and looking for a small econo car to be towed by a motor-home. VW TDI is first on my list, and I have the power bug. I can and will not leave it stock. Could mid to low 14's be obtainable with out breaking the bank.



Thanks Ken

 

[LightmanE300]

low to mid 14's will be tough for cheap. Popping a chip and injectors in will take you from 90 to about 125 RWHP, and 155 to about 225-250 lbs of torque. No matter what you do they wont be hot rods unfortunately. Its give or take. The tdi offers great performance for the mileage, but is no sports car. Mine just sold, I'm ordering my cummins today!!!

 

[HoleshotHolset]

My CEL still hasn't lit up yet.....



No epsilonian, no ECU mods, no wiring mods, and NO EGR!



Matt - beer drinking, somewhat cultured, soot blowin' redneck... .

 

[LightmanE300]

WEll above you reference a 'top secret mod' Either way, a few have been lucky enough to disconnect the egr and not get a CEL, but usually on older models. The eps device is a 5 minute install and removes in 15 seconds. HH, have you checked for fault codes with vag-com? I wonder if your cel just went out but the code remains?

 

[HoleshotHolset]

If I told you... . it wouldn't be top secret!



After I took out the EGR/anti-shudder valves and started her up... . the CEL came on it about 30 seconds... . and I lived with it for 1/2 a year with the CEL on all the time. After I did the BOMB... it hasn't come on since.



Hint - As far as I'm concerned... . the code can chill out in the ECM for eternity... . so long as the CEL doesn't light up - I'm happy.



And no... I didn't cut, remove or modify the CEL to not light up.....



Matt

 

[LightmanE300]

There is another way to bypass the CEL, which is what I'm guessing you did. Important - whether the CEL is gone or not, if the code remains, your car will not run as well as it should because it keeps a static figure for the air/fuel/maf reading etc, rather than changing appropriately. I didn't realize this and ignored the CEL for a while until I learned that. I looked in vag com and sure enough, the maf was stuck at 500. You're losing a good bit of performance this way. The eps device fools the ECU so there is no code thrown HH, I know you are knowledgeable on TDI's, but nobody knows it all, and there is always something to learn If your mod prevents the code from being thrown, bravo. The eps is cheap, easy, and proven.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

My MAF voltage is probably inhibited..... never checked it with a scanner, though... . a Pierburg MAF is also on my list.



I do still want an eps - is there a reliable source for a kit? The last time I did a search I didn't come up with much.....



Matt

 

[LightmanE300]

email me, I'll give you the guy's info that has brand new quality eps units. The price is a bit of a rip off IMO, however he includes a step by step PDF for install with pics etc... You won't find much in searches because this is an illegal device, being a federal offense to remove/modify emissions equipment in a way that results in increased emissions... . such as trashing the EGR, lol. Anyway, assuming you are going to use this device for off-road use only, and you only discuss it as such, its easy to get one from my source. He's very reliable, uses only high quality parts(diode stack etc), and has been around the forums a long time. It's too bad I broke my anti-shudder valve while playing with it, since I sold my tdi. Otherwise I would have just put the EGR back on and sold you mine for half price. Oh well, the lucky gentleman who's picking up my TDI next week doesn't even realize that he has a DG race pipe and Eps device, but he'll sure appreciate it when he figures it out!

 

[therabbittree]

cool light man . . i would like to get a copy of the pdf as my esp supplier didnt give any instructions . . ha just said to look in the forums for them ha. . argh. Rene... ... send ma pm and if you don't mind email the pdf etc?... . my cel comes and goes. . i cleared it twice and it still comes back . . but it will go out on its own for a while then come back on later etc... i have the piersberg maf and the kerma 216's, upsolute chip, no egr, and a racepipe i have the vr6/ g60 clutch sitting on the shelve and i definately need it slipps alot below 2000 rpm and if you stomp it around 3000 it slipps sometimes too. . must be making some power now hahah. . i hope to do the clutch soon

thanks

Deo

\x/ hillfolk!

 

[LightmanE300]

too bad you didn't wait, because the spec clutch is available now, a DMF setup, which wont have the rattle/chatter the g60 clutch will. Oh well, it still won't slip



Email me and I'll send the files over guys, I dont want to be finding and emailing everyones addreses. I just did the install recently and can answer any questions you'll have. Rene is an idiot.

 

[therabbittree]

cool i will email you or pm you if your email is unavailable etc. . i just bought a mint 1 owner '96 passat wagon tdi 47k miles on it , perfect condition. . we are hopefully have it by teh end of next week. . so now the 2001 is mine and the wagon is the wifes hehehe..... now i can swap in my vnt 25 and some other stuff i've been waiting to try 12mm plunger etc cool

later

Deo

\x/ hillfolk!

 

[HoleshotHolset]

FYI: South Bend Clutch offers multiple levels of holding power to satisfy even the most powerful TDI torque monsters.



Mine has been okay so far - when I chip it - my clutch will not be long for the world (it has 122k miles on it!!).



Deo - way to go on the Passat!



Matt