2004 VW Passat 4motion, 5sp 1.8t; ko4, green injectors, VR6 MAF housing, Techtonics exhaust
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52 Posts
Hi, I started to post about this car in the new members thread, but thought it would be better to move it over here, since this seems to be a better place for it.
I bought my Passat in 2010, I believe, as a one-owner trade with 90k miles, and it currently has 200k. Until the recent timing belt failure (more on that later) the only time it failed to run for me was then the MAF sensor died. I kept up with the maintenance fairly well, and the car has been remarkably reliable for me.
Before the Passat, I was driving a 1998 Volvo V70 T5 wagon (along with my exes 2000 V70r Wagon) and I wanted a car with a stick that was more fun to drive than the Volvos. I decided I wanted another European wagon with a stick shift, and decided to look for B5 Audis. I quickly discovered that, at 6'5", the Audis were simply too cramped for me. Which was a bummer, because I was so excited to do an R2S replica. Doing some digging, I learned that the same basic drivetrain was in the B5 Passats, so I started looking at them. I had test-driven several over the years while car shopping and had always been impressed with their overall competence, but I had never driven a 4motion.
As soon as I test-drove a 4motion with a stick, I decided this was the car for me. Tons more interior room than the Audi, exceptional visibility, great turning radius (compared to the Volvos) and the 5-speed had a light, easy action. I found one at a VW dealer in West Hartford with under 90k, and I bought it.
My 'method' with all my used cars is to make sure all the deferred maintenance is attended to, and to look for opportunities to improve performance and gain fun with every worn part that needs replacing. The first opportunity came a few months later with the failing motor mounts. I chose to replace them with RS4 mounts. My initial thought was "Hell no, these have to come out" when I fired it up for the first time. The Buick-like quiet in the cabin had been replaced with actual engine noise, and I was a bit shocked. But when I started driving home on back roads, I was elated. The slightly floaty handling of the car was gone, because the motor and transaxle were held more firmly to the chassis; I could actually throw the car around a bit! I was, and still am, a little shocked what a huge difference to the car's personality this one small change made. Not only was it worlds better than my old Volvo on the same roads, the car even had a better ride/handling balance than my wife's MkVI GTI.
The second mod didn't necessarily improve the performance, but I got a set of H&R adapters so I could run Porsche rims.
(I will post more later)
I bought my Passat in 2010, I believe, as a one-owner trade with 90k miles, and it currently has 200k. Until the recent timing belt failure (more on that later) the only time it failed to run for me was then the MAF sensor died. I kept up with the maintenance fairly well, and the car has been remarkably reliable for me.
Before the Passat, I was driving a 1998 Volvo V70 T5 wagon (along with my exes 2000 V70r Wagon) and I wanted a car with a stick that was more fun to drive than the Volvos. I decided I wanted another European wagon with a stick shift, and decided to look for B5 Audis. I quickly discovered that, at 6'5", the Audis were simply too cramped for me. Which was a bummer, because I was so excited to do an R2S replica. Doing some digging, I learned that the same basic drivetrain was in the B5 Passats, so I started looking at them. I had test-driven several over the years while car shopping and had always been impressed with their overall competence, but I had never driven a 4motion.
As soon as I test-drove a 4motion with a stick, I decided this was the car for me. Tons more interior room than the Audi, exceptional visibility, great turning radius (compared to the Volvos) and the 5-speed had a light, easy action. I found one at a VW dealer in West Hartford with under 90k, and I bought it.
My 'method' with all my used cars is to make sure all the deferred maintenance is attended to, and to look for opportunities to improve performance and gain fun with every worn part that needs replacing. The first opportunity came a few months later with the failing motor mounts. I chose to replace them with RS4 mounts. My initial thought was "Hell no, these have to come out" when I fired it up for the first time. The Buick-like quiet in the cabin had been replaced with actual engine noise, and I was a bit shocked. But when I started driving home on back roads, I was elated. The slightly floaty handling of the car was gone, because the motor and transaxle were held more firmly to the chassis; I could actually throw the car around a bit! I was, and still am, a little shocked what a huge difference to the car's personality this one small change made. Not only was it worlds better than my old Volvo on the same roads, the car even had a better ride/handling balance than my wife's MkVI GTI.
The second mod didn't necessarily improve the performance, but I got a set of H&R adapters so I could run Porsche rims.
(I will post more later)