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Neuspeed
Tour
November 26, 1999
Camarillo, CA USA
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On
November 26, I took a little road trip up to Camarillo to meet
up with the president of NEUSPEED, Greg Woo. We initially
planned on getting together in order to discuss about what kind
of future NEUSPEED
and Club B5 may have together, but it ended
up being more than just a boring conversation. Greg ended up
taking me on a tour of the entire building, and I must say, I
was impressed. I had no clue what-so-ever that NEUSPEED
is so
big. While walking through the hallway of endless offices, I got
to see the computers that they burn their
"P-chips" on. Then, what really impressed me
was the amount of stock they keep in their warehouse, everything
from their suspension products to brakes. This is fabulous
because you know how annoying it is when you want a toy for your
B5 and you have to
wait for it to arrive.
After a brief little tour of the office
and warehouse, it was time to check out their Fjord Blue
monster, NEUSPEED's
project Passat. Greg took me around it a few
times showing and telling me all about of the different
modifications done to it. |
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The
suspension modifications include NEUSPEED
sport lowering springs, which lower the
car 1.5 inches in the front and back. And to accommodate the
springs, a set of Bilstein shock absorbers were installed
at all four corners. Then, to reduce body roll even more than
just the springs, a set of NEUSPEED
front and rear sway bars were installed. The
factory front bar is 27mm (tubular construction) while the NEUSPEED
bar is a 29mm solid design.
In the rear, the factory on has a small 12mm. welded
support bar on the beam axle.
The NEUSPEED 28mm.
rear bar has 3 different adjustment positions and features
precision ball joint end links for race car style mounting.
Now...POWER. NEUSPEED's
catback exhaust system
allows for the B5 to breathe better. Manufactured from T304
grade stainless steel, this exhaust is a true cat-back design
for the 1.8T motor. A NEUSPEED
2.25” downpipe runs from the catalytic
converter to a stainless steel flex joint.
Tubing diameter increases to 2.5” at the midpipe and
continues rearward to a NEUSPEED
polished end muffler and twin, polished
DTM exhaust tips. |
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NEUSPEED’s 1.8T engine upgrade program consists
of a higher output K04 turbocharger manufactured by KKK
in Germany, an Extrude Honed factory exhaust manifold, a NEUSPEED
hi-performance computer chip, four BERU Ultra
spark plugs, and a lower temperature fan switch and thermostat.
Boost is increased from the factory 6 psi. to a new peak
of 15 psi.
The factory fuel programming is retained, but ignition
timing is modified to improve throttle response.
Combined with our stainless steel exhaust, the result is
a jump from 150 horsepower (stock) to nearly 240 engine
horsepower.
Not much has been done to the brakes, but they have included
their stainless braided brake lines. NEUSPEED's
stainless brake lines reduce the spongy pedal feel caused by the
factory rubber lines.
Inside the NEUSPEED
line,
a high-quality Teflon tube is encased in braided stainless steel
for protection. Next, a heat-shrink plastic cover surrounds the
stainless line to eliminate chafing and frays. Then, some Foliatec
red caliper paint was used to pretty up the brakes.
Now,
lighting. Hella
gas discharge HID headlamps also replaced the stock headlamps. These
are the real thing, not a pair of blue bulbs stuck into a
factory headlight housing.
Hella’s European division manufactures this
bolt-in kit that includes the lights, housing, and ballast
(igniter) module.
This kit plugs right into factory wiring harness. The
amount of visible light cast onto the road is nearly double the
output of a conventional halogen bulb of the same power rating.
Since HID lamps produce a color very similar to normal
daylight, oncoming traffic is not blinded. |
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Of course, a car isn't
completed until it's made to look cuter as well. A Zender
rear spoiler and Kamei front grille and spoiler were also
added. Kamei
and Zender produce subtle aerodynamic enhancements that
look almost O.E. These
ABS plastic and urethane body pieces have been painted to match
the Fjord Blue color of our Passat and the black, metal mesh
grille improves airflow to the radiator. Finally,
clear front corner lamps, smoked side markers, and rear tail
light covers finish of the slick look of NEUSPEED's
Passat's which is rolling on 19" Racing Hart C5
wheels, wrapped in size 235/35/ZR19 Pirelli P-Zero's. The
wheels were supplied by DAZZ Motorsport.
once that mighty turbo kicked in. |
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After hearing all of this now,
I was dying to see how it performs, and luckily, that's when
Greg said he's going to back it out in order to take it for a spin. So I
hopped in and he drove me all around the streets of Camarillo.
Handling, excellent. Ride comfort, excellent. Power, EXCELLENT...I
was impressed to see the boost gauge reading a constant 15 lbs
of boost while he was flooring it. As if things weren't going
well already, he pulls over and says "your turn." This
was my first time driving a KO4 powered Passat, and the
difference in acceleration between the KO3 and the KO4 was very
noticeable |
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After the drive, a little conversation ended our meeting and a
future Club B5/NEUSPEED
tour/tech day
is being planned so the rest of you Southern Californians can
check everything out for yourselves. Projected time of date for
this event: late January/early February.
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