Considering trading in my car for a TDI... opinoins?

[flood]

I'm considering trading in my car (see sig - 91 735i) for a used TDI golf or jetta
It'd cost a few grand more now, but long term expenses would be a lot cheaper on the TDI.
I'm not too familiar with the new interiors of the VW's... I'm used to a luxury car, how does it compare?
Also, I'm addicted to the 292hp at the wheels... every time I drive my mom's camry, i want to get out and push. I hear that with a chip, I can get 250ft/lb of torque? How fast does it feel?
Anything else I should know?

 

[ElFenix]

are you crazy?!?

 

[ndee]

Don't! NEVER EVER DO IT, promise? Don't!


How COULD you? I mean.... no, just don't do it!

 

[Viper GTS]

I think you're a ways off on your HP figures, unless you actually have a 750iL.

According to Edmunds the 735i has 208 hp & 225 lb/ft of torque.

The V12 powered 750iL is significantly more powerful at 296/332.

Viper GTS

 

[flood]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
I think you're a ways off on your HP figures, unless you actually have a 750i.

According to Edmunds the 735i has 208 hp & 225 lb/ft of torque.

The V12 powered 750i is significantly more powerful.

Viper GTS

I've got a fair amount of upgrades, the 292hp is from the dyno.
chip, headers, intake, LSD.

EDIT: I also did something special to my cat, which the DOT will not find out about

 

[aphex]

Welp ive never driven the TDI jetta or golf, but i did own a '00 Jetta before i got my new passat.

Loved the car! But if i were to get one again, i personally like the styling of the GTI/Golf better than the jetta now... Granted the Passat looks much better than ALL IMO.

Interiors of VW's are very nice,
a Huge pic of the interior can be found here. (bottom row, 1st pic)

Granted its not what you will find in a $60,000 car, but its very refined for what you pay for... I personally LOVE the VW interiors...

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: flood

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
I think you're a ways off on your HP figures, unless you actually have a 750i.

According to Edmunds the 735i has 208 hp & 225 lb/ft of torque.

The V12 powered 750i is significantly more powerful.

Viper GTS

I've got a fair amount of upgrades, the 292hp is from the dyno.
chip, headers, intake, LSD.

Never mind then.



Viper GTS

 

[flood]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
are you crazy?!?

depends who you ask.

Originally posted by: ndee
Don't! NEVER EVER DO IT, promise? Don't!
How COULD you? I mean.... no, just don't do it!

I like my car a lot, and I love driving it. The thought of selling it hadn't crossed my mind, but Ive been doing some reading. There are few cons to owning the TDI, the pros include:
250 ftp-lb chipped
50mpg
10k mi oil changes
nothing really to break, keep putting in gas and change the timing belt every 80k.

I know I'll be giving up the luxury im used to, but as long as the interior is good, I think I could live with it.
w/that chip, it'll have comparable power, and its certianly a lighter car, so it'll probably handle better, albeit i dont know if it'd be as balanced.
Being FWD is the biggest downside that I see, but then I really dont track my car too often. Besides, drifting eats up the tires.

Any AT'ers interested in picking up my car? I'll give ya a good deal if i find a nice price on a TDI

 

[Thegonagle]

I'm in no way against their fuel economy, but they pollute more than gasoline, they smell bad to other drivers, and fuel isn't available "just anywhere."

 

[notfred]

100hp from exhaust and a chip?

It's not a turbo car, is it? (the 7 series, not the VW)

I'm editing this post instead of adding a new one because I don't want to raise my post count:

84 hp <- that's if the manufacturers spec is at the wheels, which it never is. If your car makes 292 at the wheels, it probably makes 325 at the flywheel.

chip
intake
exhaust, headers, no cat (dont tell the DOT ) <- those are all "exhaust" mods.

and LSD (standard one saps up a lot of power) <- not at the flywheel, where the manufacturer measures HP.



EDIT: no, its not a turbo <- The reason I suggested that is cause it doesn't seem reasonable to get that much power out of those few mods unless you could increase the boost via the chip.

 

[flood]

Originally posted by: notfred
100hp from exhaust and a chip?

It's not a turbo car, is it? (the 7 series, not the VW)

84 hp from:
chip, intake, exhaust, headers, no cat (dont tell the DOT ), and LSD (standard one saps up a lot of power)

EDIT: no, its not a turbo

EDIT2: yea, it seems like a lot, I wanted more power but didnt expect this much. I'll see if i can get a dyno graph when im in portland next week.

 

[StageLeft]

For you I'd think this isn't necessarily a great idea, because you obviously care about power. In that case a TDI is NOT what you want. Stock they have 150 foot pounds of torque. They have something like 95 horsepower. Although they are fine for city driving once you decide to try and accelerate fast anywhere you quickly realize that the 150 pounds torque is inadequate because you're having to change gears at 3500-4000 RPM. Even with 250 torque in terms of real life performance it will probably be more in line with a 160 horsepower car of similar size.

But really can you simply throw a chip in and have an extra 100 foot pounds without having to do anything else? I doubt it... They have nice interiors and are not bad cars. I'd consider one too, but going from a near 300 horsepower beast of a BMW to a little diesel car is going to be tough on you I bet Go test drive one!

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Garfang
I'm in no way against their fuel economy, but they pollute more than gasoline, they smell bad to other drivers, and fuel isn't available "just anywhere."

That and it may be louder than what you are used to, and if you run out of fuel, if they are like most, you have ti have it pressuzied in, you just can't add more and go.
And it will have tourqe, but not much HP, so if you have a need for speed, get a Corvette, not a TDI

 

[N8Magic]

w00t!

Another diesel convert! VW should pay me for this... i've already managed to convince Murpheee from here to buy one.

BTW, that 250lb.ft figure is with a chip, K&N drop in panel and an aftermarket cold air intake. As I said in the other thread, if you have any other questions just let me know and i'll do my best to answer them.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Garfang
I'm in no way against their fuel economy, but they pollute more than gasoline, they smell bad to other drivers, and fuel isn't available "just anywhere."

AFAIK diesels are generally now less polluting than gasoline. Fuel isn't readily available, but when you're getting so much mileage on a tank it doesn't much matter You can always find a diesel place if you go through a few gas stations. If it's local just keep a place in mind. If on a road trip every once in a while a place advertises it.

 

[Jzero]

WTF? I'll take that 7-series off your hands....geez and that thing is in really great shape from the pic. My gf's dad has a TDI Jetta and it's nice, pretty peppy, decent enough interior although it's no BMW. It's a great car, although I dunno if it's worth dumping a 735 for...


I think you're nuts but....that's just me

 

[flood]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
For you I'd think this isn't necessarily a great idea, because you obviously care about power. In that case a TDI is NOT what you want. Stock they have 150 foot pounds of torque. They have something like 95 horsepower. Although they are fine for city driving once you decide to try and accelerate fast anywhere you quickly realize that the 150 pounds torque is inadequate because you're having to change gears at 3500-4000 RPM. Even with 250 torque in terms of real life performance it will probably be more in line with a 160 horsepower car of similar size.

But really can you simply throw a chip in and have an extra 100 foot pounds without having to do anything else? I doubt it... They have nice interiors and are not bad cars. I'd consider one too, but going from a near 300 horsepower beast of a BMW to a little diesel car is going to be tough on you I bet Go test drive one!

Yea, im a little skeptical of the 100 gain just from a chip, just something I read. I'll have to see if i can find more info and maybe a dyno graph.
I'll have to test drive it... Even tho the TDI has less power, my 7 is 3900lb bone stock, I'd imagine its 4700lb with gas, passengers, and accessories.

 

[vi edit]

That and it may be louder than what you are used

Only at idle. At speed they are actually quieter due to running at much lower RPM's than a gas engine.

 

[Codewiz]

my girlfriend just got a Golf TDI. She loves it. She had to get used to shifting different from her old jetta since she gets power at low rpms.

BTW: she got it pretty loaded for $17000.

 

[N8Magic]

Originally posted by: Garfang
I'm in no way against their fuel economy, but they pollute more than gasoline, they smell bad to other drivers, and fuel isn't available "just anywhere."

The TDI is a very efficient engine and their emissions are LOWER than a standard gasser in pretty much every category except for particulate emissions. As for the smell, I take it you haven't been around a new TDI lately? My car doesn't smoke and the exhaust "smell" is pretty much indistinguishable from that of a gasser. Fuel availability? If you have an interstate nearby, getting diesel will NOT be a problem. You'll also find that a growing number of inner city gas stations will have a diesel pump. Add this to the fact that once the low fuel light turns on, you have 100 miles to find a diesel pump.

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

That and it may be louder than what you are used to, and if you run out of fuel, if they are like most, you have ti have it pressuzied in, you just can't add more and go.
And it will have tourqe, but not much HP, so if you have a need for speed, get a Corvette, not a TDI

Louder?

This fact I will not dispute, but new modern diesels sound very little like the old diesels of years gone by. Once warmed up, they are not much louder than a gasoline powered car.

The fuel system needs to be pressurized if you run out of fuel? What? Where did you hear this? I'd love to see a link that documents this.

 

I'm in no way against their fuel economy, but they pollute more than gasoline, they smell bad to other drivers, and fuel isn't available "just anywhere."

What planet are you from ?

They DO NOT pollute more than gasoline, They DO NOT smell bad and you can buy deisel on ANY INTERSTATE.

 

[N8Magic]

Originally posted by: flood

Yea, im a little skeptical of the 100 gain just from a chip, just something I read. I'll have to see if i can find more info and maybe a dyno graph.

Dyno Graph (not mine)

This dyno is from a guy that has done a reasonable amount of work on his car, and he is comparing different injectors with this graph.

The .187 injectors are the stock injectors, and the other ones are upgrades. Even looking at the stock injector plot on the graph, you can see that he is getting 124.3 and 248lb.ft to the wheels with stock injectors, chip, CAI, K&N, et al.

 

[deerslayer]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
are you crazy?!?

That car is sweet, what are you thinking?

 

[Stark]

I have a new TDI Golf GLS. I love my car.

That said, I don't think you'd like it. I've driven a BMW 735 before and if your car is anything like it, you're used to smokin' performance (I was able to lay rubber going into second gear going down a hill in the 735). You may like the GTI, but not the TDI.

The TDI is great once the levels of testosterone in your body have dropped and you take more joy in getting good gas mileage than getting places fast. I dropped my normal cruising speed from 80 to 75 in the TDI just to get 40+ MPG. It does 85+ with no problem, but it is not even close to the performance of a 1.8T (like my wife's passat).

Go to the dealership and try a TDI. You'll either love it or hate it. My wife says it's the perfect car for me... totally geeky.

 

[geekender]

I am getting 45mpg over a mountain in my new 2002 VW Jetta TDI. Traded in my 1991 Ford Bronco really quickly when I took this job driving 50miles to work. Great car and super power. Another girl here has a 1999 with 150,000 miles. She is getting 50mpg in hers. Its a pain in the @$$ to change the oil though. $20 just for the filter.