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| Editors: |
| Thanasi
(The GREEK) |
| Katherine
(atomicalex) |
| Jamie
(JazzMat) |
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| Writers: |
| Katherine
(atomicalex) |
| Rob
(rpaller) |
| Carl
(ckatkinson) |
| Ralf
(rtenke) |
| Kevin
(Sullie) |
| Chris
(TheJezter) |
| Tyler
(teknubic) |
| Tony
(cerev1) |
| Thanasi
(The GREEK) |
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Fuel For
Thought by atomicalex
June 29, 2004 |
With gas
prices rising, I have been thinking some pretty crazy
thoughts. Like the other day when I saw a TDI B5.5
drive by and I though to myself “look, a Passat with
a Diesel motor. A DIESEL MOTOR THAT WILL FIT IN MY
CAR!” The light bulb had gone on. It’s going to
take a long time to erase that crazy thought.
I’m not very big on drastically altering cars. I
like my mostly stock Passat with its conventional body
and lightly modified drivetrain. But the seed was
planted and I can’t get it out of my head. Just how
much is one of those Diesel motors going to cost me,
and how long will it take to get it in there? Will I
have to get a new fuel tank? Will I have to replace my
stick transmission?
I have never considered a chassis-altering
modification to my Passat before, preferring to stick
to the basic bolt-on stuff and only doing it as
existing parts wore out or failed. I really felt the
car was best left alone for the most part. At 35YO, I
am the last of the pre-emissions people, and some of
this new stuff confounds the heck out of me. So what
am I doing thinking about an engine swap? Even bigger,
a fuel swap?
I’m in love with Diesel. The motors are profoundly
simple, the torque is mind-boggling, and they are
incredibly fun to drive. They are cheap to own and low
maintenance. There’s another thing. When I was
Passat shopping, rumors about TDIs were rampant. I had
my heart set on a TDI 6 speed 4Motion behemoth. I
chose my 1.8T 5speed FWD because it was what you could
get in early 2000, when the stick variants were slim
pickin’s and you were lucky to get anything. I took
what they could get to sell me and got a good deal on
it. But my heart has longed for the strong torque
curve, my ears for the sweet clatter, and my purse for
the extra cash I would pocket in fuel savings. I would
have waited four very long years, and still my wishes
would only be partially fulfilled.
It’s hard to accept that there are people out there
driving around in these beauties today. I saw a dealer
rep at the fuel station the other night filling up a
new TDI Passat. He said they can’t keep them in
stock and are sold out of allocation for this year
already. I’ll have to accept that as a sign that I
will be driving my gasser for a while. But my heart is
heavy for the heavy fractions and I am green with
envy.
I think it’s time to start seriously building this
1.8t. I hear it takes about 500hp to blow the stock
internals, so I have a long way to go. |
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