First Upgrades for a 2001 Jetta 4 TDI?

jimbo1981

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Location
Zimbabwe
TDI
2001 Jetta IV (AHF)
I recently bought a 2001 Jetta 4 TDI with 50,000 miles on it - I needed to replace the injector nozzles (really bad quality diesel I imagine) so bought the Bosio Sprint 520.

That made me want to do more to the car to increase performance without overkilling it :rolleyes: Can anyone make suggestions (links to products would be most appreciated!)

Below is what I have considered:

1. BD Power X Power Box (chip tuning)
http://www.xtremediesel.com/bd-powerxpowerbox20hp.aspx

2. AFE Stage 1 Magnum Force Air Intake
http://www.dkdiesel.com/product_info.php?products_id=63&osCsid=e404daed49b395e6e2de93d18d3ab25d

Thanks!
 

glitdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Location
West Coast Canada
TDI
Tdi asv motor in a mk3 golf, om642 in a wk jeep
Tune for the win!
I would recommend a tune over a diesel tuning box.
Cleaner burn, better hp, and better economy than a diesel box also the price is about the same and can be tailored to your needs and wants.
Also can be tweaked with once you decide to upgrade other things.
Stay away from intakes, they are useless on a tdi save your money very little gain for the money.
Welcome to Fred's
 

jimbo1981

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Location
Zimbabwe
TDI
2001 Jetta IV (AHF)
@glitdi: Thanks for the response! When you say a tune over a diesel tuning box? I thought they were one in the same? However, perhaps you can help with another query. There appears to be the option of ECU replacement software (rocketchip, unitronic) OR a "piggy back" system (unichip, bully dog) when chip tuning is considered - do you know much about these options?
 

glitdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Location
West Coast Canada
TDI
Tdi asv motor in a mk3 golf, om642 in a wk jeep
I went with a diesel tuning box originally It plugs in between the engine and the ecu. Modest power for the money however a little more smoke than I wanted. The diesel tuning box basically opens the injectors a millisecond longer using a combination of resistors and circuits. One of the drawbacks of your engine is it is prone to carbon build up in the intake and vanes of the turbo. this is one of the reasons a tune in my opinion would be better cleaner burn less soot in the intake and exhaust.

After doing some research and knowing what power mods I plan to do I have decided to go with a tune through one of the vendors on this site. The big advantage over a tuning box is the ability to change more than just fuel.With a tune fuel, boost, and many other things can be tweaked to safely make power how you want to.
With your ecu you might need to have a chip socket installed so they can change the tune. You will have to remove the ecu and mail it away to one of the tuners however turn around is quick very common.

The main advantage is once the ecu is modified the tuner can send you different tunes via email when changing upgrading things on the tdi so it may cost you a little more initially however down the road it can be a time and money saver.
Sorry for the poor grammer long day.
 

bluesmoker

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Location
Maple Ridge, B.C.
TDI
2004 pd 5 speed tip
jimbo1981 said:
I recently bought a 2001 Jetta 4 TDI with 50,000 miles on it - I needed to replace the injector nozzles (really bad quality diesel I imagine) so bought the Bosio Sprint 520.

That made me want to do more to the car to increase performance without overkilling it :rolleyes: Can anyone make suggestions (links to products would be most appreciated!)

Below is what I have considered:

1. BD Power X Power Box (chip tuning)
http://www.xtremediesel.com/bd-powerxpowerbox20hp.aspx

2. AFE Stage 1 Magnum Force Air Intake
http://www.dkdiesel.com/product_info.php?products_id=63&osCsid=e404daed49b395e6e2de93d18d3ab25d

Thanks!
also be careful about your drivetrain, the nozzles alone will add about 20 hp, the tuning box or ecu flash will probably add another 20-30 hp

your clutch may start to slip
 

Dankcorey22

Veteran Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
99.5 ALH & 83 1.6 TD CY
holy crap that tuning box is 400 dollars its not worth it! get a tune for less $$$ and more HP and TQ! rocketchip is who i and bunch of others will recommend!
 

jimbo1981

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Location
Zimbabwe
TDI
2001 Jetta IV (AHF)
Thanks all for your input

@glitdi: Cool, thanks. SOOOO not what I wanted to hear (coz I live in ZW which means maybe a MONTH of downtime and some serious shipping charges!) But it does indeed sound like chip tuning is the way to go. Do you know anything about the TDTuning.com chip tuning or the KermaTDI chip tuning? These would be great coz can do the tune myself :)

@bluesmoker: If my clutch starts to slip I am HAPPY coz that means Im really achieving the torque gain :p however, thanks for the heads-up - considering the Sachs VR6 clutch from KermaTDI (without flywheel) - what do you think?

@dieseldorf: Just had timing belt changed - didnt think that would be affected by performance upgrades tho?
 
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vwmikel

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 5, 2005
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
'94 Golf Sport TDI
You might want to check the part number on your ECU before you make any moves as far as tuning goes. I just checked and it seems there is a possible cut-off there (based on what is specified for South Africa....that is as close as I could find) where the ECU goes from being non-OBD flashable to being OBD flashable. Generally if the last digits of the part number are 018 XX then it is not OBD flashable. If they're 012 XX then it is OBD flashable.
 

glitdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Location
West Coast Canada
TDI
Tdi asv motor in a mk3 golf, om642 in a wk jeep
the g60 vr6 clutch flywheel is an easy upgrade and very popular so the prices are reasonable.
As far as my experience tdtuning is the way to go. The vendor has exceptional service and spends a lot of hours on here donating his time and knowlegde to the people on this site. Great guy to deal with and does more than just sell his wares on tdi club.
Dieseldorf was concerned about the timing belt beacuase it is cheap insurance especially once you start upgrading.
Also depending on your climate you might not have to upgrade the clutch.
 

jimbo1981

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Location
Zimbabwe
TDI
2001 Jetta IV (AHF)
@vwmikel: I assume this is Mike from TDTuning? :) Thanks for the heads up! I will find out what my ECU number part number is.
 

vwmikel

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 5, 2005
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
'94 Golf Sport TDI
jimbo1981 said:
@vwmikel: I assume this is Mike from TDTuning? :) Thanks for the heads up! I will find out what my ECU number part number is.
Yes, one in the same ;)

If you open up the engine controller in vag-com it will display the ECU part number in the upper left corner.
 
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