Fahrvernügen: n. far-fair-gnu-ghen, A pleasurable
sensation experienced when a car and its driver are in mutual
harmony.
You never plan to be a Volkswagen enthusiast. It just
happens. For me, it was probably about when, while car
shopping a few years back, I realized I couldn't afford to
maintain an E30 M3.
Discouraged, I happened upon a black Mk3 VW Jetta on a local
lot. A test drive later I was in love - I could afford
to buy and maintain this! And it's actually
involving to drive!
Well, three transaxles and a slew of electrical problems
later, that Jetta was gone. Most sane people would
probably have walked away from the brand at that point.
Not me.
I bought another. And this time, it's turbocharged...
Check out these sites for more VW info:
2004 Jetta GL 1.8T
I've had this car about four years now and it's been far more
reliable than the Mk3 down below. Here's the stock specs:
- 1.8 liter 20v turbo - 180hp @ 5400rpm /
174ft-lbs @ 1950rpm
- 5 spd 02J transaxle
- Macpherson struts of front with a trailing arm twist rear
beam
- Weighs about 2950lbs
It's been modified far more than the 2.0 now too.
It may not be the fastest thing on the street, but I'm happy with it.
Here's the modification list:
- APR 93 oct
program & V-Tune
- Milltek 2.5" turbo back exhaust
- Forge turbo inlet pipe
- Hyperboost diverter valve
- N75H valve
- AEM intake
- Audi TT 12.3" front brakes
- Bilstein
Sport dampers
- H&R Sport springs
- Neuspeed 28mm rear sway bar
- Borbet 17x8" Design T's - et30
- Falken Azenis RT615's 225/45
- NewSouth Indigo boost gauge
- 42nd Draft A-pillar pod
- Audi TT
pedals
- Stubby antenna
- OEM GLI head lights
- OEM Euro tail lights
- OEM Euro
head light switch
- OEM Euro
textured rub strips
- OEM 4Motion front valence
- OEM black grille
- OEM Passat W8 interior console
- Euro rear fog lamp
Power is up quite a bit. It's putting down almost 208hp
and 253ft-lbs to the wheels.
1998 Jetta GLS Compared to what I drove prior to this guy, this car was a
go-kart. For the non-VW people out there, here's the
specs:
- 2.0 liter 8v - 115hp @ 5400rpm / 122ft-lbs @
3200rpm
- 5 spd 020 transaxle
- Macpherson struts up front with a trailing arm twist rear
beam
- Weighed around 2750lbs - not a great power to weight ratio,
eh?
I did a few things over the couple years I had the car.
The photos below are representative of its final state.
Here's the modification list:
- Techtonics
Tuning ECU upgrade
- K&N panel filter
- OEM Leistritz VR6 exhaust
- Weitec 60/40mm GT cup kit
- Autotech 28mm rear sway bar
- Eurosport front strut bar
- Turn2 poly front motor mount
- Zimmerman front rotors
- Mintex red box pads
- OEM 5-spoke wheels
- OEM Euro GTI
VR6 lip spoiler
- OEM Euro military badges
- OEM Hella fog lamps
- OEM Hella smoked/red tails
- Hella smoked side markers
- Fuba BetaFlex-D roof aerial
- Euro rear fog lamp
- Blaupunkt Las Vegas head unit
- OEM MkIV leather shift knob
- OEM Euro head light switch
I loved this car. Being a bit underpowered, it was still rewarding to drive at the limit. Consequently
though, it really took a beating. After just about every
kind of transmission failure you could envision, the breaking
of every door handle due to the cold, the power window
failures and the realization that I could do better with the
amount of money being funneled into the car, I traded it.
It was a sad goodbye. I spent my last hours with it
stripping parts at one in the morning.
