New here plz don't shoot me. lol

Kushmin05h

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2018
Location
New York
TDI
02 Jetta TDI
First off I'd like to ask forgiveness if I'm posting in the wrong place here, I'm new here so please don't shoot me, my wife would be upset you robbed her of that opportunity ? In all seriousness though I recently traded my 2000 Audi S4 ( stage 3) for a low mileage 02 Jetta TDI (it's bone stock) (go ahead mock me lol) and obviously going from a 580 horse Bi-turbo Audi to a 90ish hp VW, I need more power. I'm not trying to go crazy, I just want a little more get up as I live in the ADK state park of NY. I've compiled a list of what I think will be a decent start to making my daily driver more fun to drive. I've ordered bigger Nozzles (.216) a short throw shifter from dieselgeek, egr delete and I plan to straight pipe the exhaust. I also plan to put a boost guage in at this time mostly foresight for future mods (besides who doesn't like to see that needle climb, am I right? Lol) I don't want to get into a clutch job and all that at this time as I have a kid on the way and really don't have the Xtra jingle to blow if I want to be around to c my son born ?? I'm mostly looking to get some advice if there's anything else you'd recommend or alternative routes I should go? I do plan on buying a flashzilla at this time to tune in the future.... Like I said I'm a car guy all the way but new to the TDI scene. Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Welcome to the TDI club.

Your Audio may have had 580hp, but that does not really develop until high RPM's are reached. It is the torque in the Diesel at around 2000 RPM which gets you going.

Installing bigger nozzles will give you more oomph. Good idea to do the nozzles first. A tune is customized to what your engine is currently equipped with.

Installing gauges will do nothing for performance, just something to look at.
I had a boost gauge on my 2002 Jetta. It is actually a fair amount of work to install for a boring gauge. Boost should be limited to around 20 PSIG, don't remember the exact number. When cruising on the highway it just used to sit at about 5 lbs but would go up when more throttle is applied.

Also buying the Flashzilla by itself accomplishes nothing.

After the nozzles are installed opt for a Stage 2 tune, that will give you a significant performance boost. Skip the Stage 1, shortly after you'll want the Stage 2 anyway.The Flashzilla is used to remove and store the original OEM tune. Then it is used to install the " new " tune.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Make sure it is running properly in stock form FIRST. If you are unsure of what that is, take it to someone that does. Or at least, drive another known-healthy one to compare. There are several things on the ALH that can cause low power that will not be a MIL request even (as in, no DTCs), and quite often a new owner will get in one that is sick, and think "well, it is *only* 90hp, so that is how it is" when in fact it cannot manage to make 70.

There are also 100 other things I'd want to be sure is in good order before trying to make it faster, even if it is already running at its full potential.

I'd be inclined to do nozzles (properly installed, as in, not in someone's driveway) first, then if you want, a software upgrade. Because the stock software will work fine with larger nozzles, but if you get software for stock nozzles, you may have to change again if you change nozzles, to get the full benefit and not just turning fuel into smoke.

The exhaust won't really change anything aside from making it sound different. The turbocharger is the size of your fist, with an inlet the size of a silver dollar. It can only move so much air. But, as far as driveability is concerned, the VNT15 is a great unit and works well even with mile power upgrades. Snappy performance, no lag, and very durable.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
First off I'd like to ask forgiveness if I'm posting in the wrong place here, I'm new here so please don't shoot me, my wife would be upset you robbed her of that opportunity ? In all seriousness though I recently traded my 2000 Audi S4 ( stage 3) for a low mileage 02 Jetta TDI (it's bone stock) (go ahead mock me lol) and obviously going from a 580 horse Bi-turbo Audi to a 90ish hp VW, I need more power. I'm not trying to go crazy, I just want a little more get up as I live in the ADK state park of NY. I've compiled a list of what I think will be a decent start to making my daily driver more fun to drive. I've ordered bigger Nozzles (.216) a short throw shifter from dieselgeek, egr delete and I plan to straight pipe the exhaust. I also plan to put a boost guage in at this time mostly foresight for future mods (besides who doesn't like to see that needle climb, am I right? Lol) I don't want to get into a clutch job and all that at this time as I have a kid on the way and really don't have the Xtra jingle to blow if I want to be around to c my son born ?? I'm mostly looking to get some advice if there's anything else you'd recommend or alternative routes I should go? I do plan on buying a flashzilla at this time to tune in the future.... Like I said I'm a car guy all the way but new to the TDI scene. Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks.
Welcome. No question is to stupid for us to answer, we might haze you a tiny bit, but its all in fun, very healthy community here.
those nozzles are tiny. go big but not too big, .764 5 hole PP from kerma with a pop tune stage 1.5

gauges are a MUST. EGT is a MUST when doing larger injection. Auber gauges are small, digital multimeters with relays in them for alarms and pumps and what not. best gauges around and 100% customer service. Go with a boost, EGT and a Oil PSI. this is the FIRST thing to do when modding, its cheep insurance.

Clutch is a must if you want decent power. its not a hard job and you can get a clutch kit for about $300.

honestly if your hurting for funds and $1000 for performance is too much then you should consider other options.

Things you can do with out a new clutch, Nozzles, your size is probably best for lower power with stock clutch, up the turbo boost a bit and ghet a tune. Done. Change the clutch and you can start dumping fuel and more tune at it and a bigger turbo.
 

PB_NB

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
TDI
1999 New Beetle
Back when we first got the Beetle, we started with a few minor performance upgrades. They made the car bearable until we could afford bigger $$ upgrades.

I put .205's nozzles on myself and was lucky that they worked smoothly. ~$200
I put a Digi-10 tuning box on it with an adjustable increase in power. ~$300

Apart from the necessary maintenance ie" timing belt kit, aluminum skid plate and a bunch of tricks to fix starting issues and wiring issues.

These rather inexpensive items made a huge difference to our car and woke up the sleepy 1.9L.

We were good for a few years, then we went with a tune and EGR delete and balanced DLC1019 Nozzles/injectors and South Bend Clutch. That smoothed out the power and cut back on the black smoke.

Our last round was a bigger tune, VNT17 Turbo, Intercooler, Cam, etc....

You can get a good bump in power without breaking the bank. Just keep in mind that if you do an upgrade now, you will probably end up changing when you do more upgrades so planning is best to be efficient.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Like Oilhammer mentioned, make sure it's running 100% BEFORE you go "fixing" it to make it faster. It will save you much frustration and $$ not trying to troubleshoot what you changed vs everything else.

An alternate suggestion from a performance standpoint is, once you get it running 100% in stock form, just get a tune from any of the reputable vendors here. Nozzles are great, but in my opinion a tune does better and is more improvement for the $$ spent.

Nozzles only add fuel - nothing else. Nozzles and tune require a clutch and now you just spent $1k (minimum) on performance modifications. A tune will add fuel when/where you need it, not when you don't, will raise boost, will advance timing, will turn off EGR, etc and will both add power (when you want it) and improve MPG's (when you're not using the power).

If you want the most benefit for the least $ spent, get it running 100% and then get a tune only and be done with it. If you want more power down the road, the cost of upgrading your tune will be trivial compared to the parts/labor that you'll be paying for the upgrades (nozzles, clutch, turbo, exhaust, gauges, etc).
 

Kushmin05h

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2018
Location
New York
TDI
02 Jetta TDI
I appreciate the insight... Yeah I got the car with about 22k original miles on it. The kid who owned it before had about $3k in receipts for all the recall work and some other preventative stuff he had done. I know he had the 100k belt put in it and some other things. Don't get me wrong it's runs great... spools nicely, makes decent power considering what it is lol it's actually a fight to keep it under 80mph on the highway. I may actually take that advice and just opt for a mild tune for now and the egr delete is happening as well as the straight pipe. I may end up buying the clutch and just doing it now as well while I have the time.before the kid is here to ruin me ? Isn't so much an issue of being able to afford $1000 or more to add power... It's an issue of my wife finding out and clipping things I may need later on in life lol thanks again for the input y'all are much more forgiving over here than they are at VWVortex and audiworld lol
 

Nevada_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Location
Reno, sort of...
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
As mentioned above, "We may haze you..." but we are all here to help. I am not affiliated with any of the vendors here, but the last time I checked one of them will updates tunes for free as long as you continue to buy your upgrade hardware from them. So depending on where you want to go power wise, they may or may not be the best deal going. The last time I checked, tune upgrades usually cost around $100.00, some may be more some may be less. I too have to keep money spent on my Jetta under the radar of the wife as she does not understand my obsession with all things TDI.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
I agree with other posters, ALWAYS DO larger nozzles FIRST. Then do a tune and you don't have to pay for a second tune if you do the nozzles after the tune! That has been the order of things to improve the MKIV's back in those days and should still apply now!

When I had my 2002 Jetta installing bigger nozzles made an immediate power and torque boost for essentially little money. It actually also improved the Mpg because you could stay in a higher gear longer before downshifting.

The one item limiting you in upsizing the nozzles is the size of the fuel pump. If I recall the manual cars have a 10mm pump versus a larger pump for the automatics.
 

BleachedBora

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Location
Gresham, Oregon
TDI
'81 DMC-12, '15 GL350 CDI 275 hp/448 tq - '81 Caddy CJAA, '05 E320 CDI 250hp/450 tq, '23 ID4 AWD Pro S Plus
Nozzles, tune, clutch, turbo - it becomes a slippery slope. Getting one of these modded to about 140-150 hp is super easy and relatively inexpensive. Each HP after about 160 starts costing a lot more to get...

A properly dialed in car with about 150 hp is a hoot to drive and still very economical.

I too have an over 400 hp Audi - it's a TT so it weighs as much as a shoe, but it's fun. Yet I drove the Delorean today because I didn't want to go fast. All about what you want to do and how you want to do it...

Have fun!
-BB
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The TTs are actually a lot heavier than they look. Especially if it is a quattro. The Eos is another portly model.

Of course, with 400 German horses... :D :D :D
 

BleachedBora

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Location
Gresham, Oregon
TDI
'81 DMC-12, '15 GL350 CDI 275 hp/448 tq - '81 Caddy CJAA, '05 E320 CDI 250hp/450 tq, '23 ID4 AWD Pro S Plus
The Pilot Super Sports help too...
Supposedly the TT is 3220 lbs.

The S4 would have been about 3700 lbs.

The "D" is about 2700 lbs, but also only 130 hp. It's a surprising amount of work to drive but also surprisingly refined. My first "SC" VIN (Irish) car. :D
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Oh man, definitely jealous of the DeLorean. I saw my first one in the wild last summer(just a few miles from home). It had biturbo markings on the back. That version of the PRV must have been more than 130 hp? Unless it was just sticker engineering :D.

Edit: Damn, I knew I should have chased the guy down and harassed him. Thought for a minute this twin t dmc12 had 345 hp.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/jalopnik.com/at-48-500-could-this-twin-turbo-1981-dmc-12-stainless-1797796817/amp Definitely not a crack pipe!
 
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BleachedBora

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Location
Gresham, Oregon
TDI
'81 DMC-12, '15 GL350 CDI 275 hp/448 tq - '81 Caddy CJAA, '05 E320 CDI 250hp/450 tq, '23 ID4 AWD Pro S Plus
I actually barely missed one with a LS1 swap. It actually cost less then the one I got too, go figure. Mine just had $13k worth of work done to it and has 22,000 miles, purchased from the original owner.

As much fun as 350 hp would have been it's hard to describe what is like to drive one of these cars. It's super fun; no power steering - everything is mechanical. The rear wheels are 235 series 15" and the fronts are 195 series 14" to help with the 60/40 weight distribution. It makes it relatively neutral handling.

With all that in mind though it IS a workout to drive. 130 hp is sufficient. 200 hp would probably be ideal. 350 would be downright terrifying, and I have driven 550 hp 911 Twin Turbos on the Autobahn at almost 180 MPH. That was less work! It's all about the experience, and driving a DeLorean, in whatever guise it's in, is fun enough. :)

I should probably do a post on it in the general automotive section with some pics...
 

JDSwan87

Black Swamp Thing
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Location
Michigan near Toledo
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI, 5 speed Lagoon Blue Metallic(sold); 2005 Jetta TDI Wagon auto
I think we all missed the fact that the OP has a sub 30k mile car...

On that note, you should sell it in stock for a MINT and buy this car, you will be money ahead, trust me...
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Basically what was said, but do NOT delete the EGR, it takes longer to warm up and solves nothing, just get a tune with dynamic EGR.

Exhaust will have a nice sound to it.

I think .216's are too big for a stock engine but meh, so install those, a tune to take advantage of them and becareful as you will slip the clutch.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Just for what it's worth, I had larger nozzles and a Stage 2 tune in my 2002 with the 01M? automatic transmission. I had no problems whatsoever with the tranny until I traded up to the Passat.
But to qualify this, I never did nor do I now drive like a raped ape! I just want the extra power for passing and going uphill without the need for the car to shift down to a lower gear. Which happened far too frequently with the 2002 before the nozzles and tune.
It is my belief that the people who have problems overtax the cars capabilities.
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Just for what it's worth, I had larger nozzles and a Stage 2 tune in my 2002 with the 01M? automatic transmission. I had no problems whatsoever with the tranny until I traded up to the Passat.
But to qualify this, I never did nor do I now drive like a raped ape! I just want the extra power for passing and going uphill without the need for the car to shift down to a lower gear. Which happened far too frequently with the 2002 before the nozzles and tune.
It is my belief that the people who have problems overtax the cars capabilities.
See my sig on my wife's Auto ALH, :eek: Agreed on the driving, and also change the bloody oil, :(
 
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