The NARFmobile, My 2001 Golf TDI

Is there any experience or speculation out there about whether the Mahle is more resistant to vane carbon sticking than the Garret?

Chris Bell said:

Is there any experience or speculation out there about whether the Mahle is more resistant to vane carbon sticking than the Garret?

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I don't know, I just keep the vanes clean by accelerating hard at every opportunity. Hill climbs at WOT also help.

I was able to connect the intake plumbing while the kids were playing outside this afternoon. Everything went back together extremely willingly. The only part that took some extra patience was the turbo compressor outlet where the clamp did not want to slight up into place right away. The upper hoses including the stealth race pipe finished up the job.

Next I primed the oil supply to the turbo by disconnecting the fuel shutoff solenoid and cranking the starter, checking for leaks, then cranking some more.

Did I mention my new flex pipe has not arrived yet? Funny thing, I started this project because the flex pipe was broken, and here I am two weeks later and the flex pipe is missing. Then again, there is no better way to HEAR the new turbo than to have it dump out 10 inches from the turbo exit!

Went for a test drive: took the kids to the bank, the grocery store, the post office, the library, and finally the beer store. The whole while making awesome brrrm brrrm noises which my youngest especially loves. He calls all cars "brrrm brrrms" but the Volkswagen is his favorite. When I shut it down without the exhaust installed you can really the turbo spin down and Evan imitated the sound today, "bweeeuuuuuu".

So the car is down off the jacks and stands and running and driving but in want of a few items:

- exhaust flex pipe (waiting on Canada Post to find the package)

- engine side and underbelly covers (got all new clips and screws, need to do this before I drive in the rain to protect my new VNT actuator!)

- control arms (one is ready to go in, bushings ready for the one that comes out so that it can be re-installed in the opposite side, then I can do my home alignment)

HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING WEEKEND!

Keep us posted on this turbo replacement.

I would consider the Mahle unit also and from what I've read, they are made somewhere in Ontario.

When I was researching it months ago, I couldn't find much info besides IBWagon having it on his blue mk4 wagon.

mrrhtuner said:

Keep us posted on this turbo replacement.

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You bet I will!

mrrhtuner said:

I would consider the Mahle unit also and from what I've read, they are made somewhere in Ontario.

When I was researching it months ago, I couldn't find much info besides IBWagon having it on his blue mk4 wagon.

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Those two points were in "pro" column when I considered purchasing the Mahle VNT-15!

The label says made in Canada and I was waiting for someone to mention it. I just checked Mahle's website and they do list a location in Burlington, Ontario which is minutes by bicycle from where I grew up, and my parents still live! http://www.mahle.com/mahle/en/about-mahle/locations/7772.jsp

I also trust IDparts and am following the thread IndigoBlueWagon posted:IBW Gets a New Engine

So far so good, not sure what else I can tell you about the unit I installed other than it looked gorgeous, but also the VNT actuator seems to be adjusted perfectly from the factory with paint marks on all the adjustment points. There was a tiny amount of play in the shaft which I have to assume is normal.

I have adjusted three actuators in the past using the the "sweep of the boost guage" method and this one from the Mahle factory by far has the least overboost: if you jam the accelerator to the floor boost builds quick and the needle just overshoots by half a psi before snapping back, and building some more depending on rpm. I have never been able to adjust it that close, the old turbo with the VNT actuators I set up would always overboost at least a couple of PSI, then fall back, then build boost again or underboost then have to build, but I was probably adjusting them wrong. I also noticed the return spring on the VNT actuator seemed extra strong and hard to move by hand.

I did another "after-school" run today with no exhaust and the car sounds like a jet plane taxiing on the runway if driven gently and a crazy Group B rally car when driven aggressively and it is kind-of fun. I am seriously considering an electronic exhaust cut-out so that I can let the noise out when I want but still have some peace and quite too. Also the smell is unpleasant without the cat hooked up.

UPDATE: Lower control arm bushings replaced!

It took a couple of weeks to find the spare time and most of the work happened while toddlers were napping. Today I finished the passenger side lower control arm while Evan was napping inside the car!

It always amazes me how many tools are needed to replace just one part:



Here is a close up of the trashed bushing from the drivers side, and the Audi TT bushing that would replace it:



Here is a side-by-side of the "like-new" bushing from the passenger side and the upgraded TT bushing.



I checked the alignment using my home made tools before and after replacing each individual lower control arm. When I replaced the drivers side I didn't get the lower ball joint quite lined up right the first time and I had more camber than before which threw off the toe measurement. I was extremely lucky that I only had to make one adjustment and the camber was back to acceptable and, more importantly, the toe was zero!

On the passenger side I knew there was very little camber to start with, and I remembered that I had to pull the lower ball joint out as far as possible to achieve this. Miraculously the lower control arm that I swapped over from the drivers side was EXACTLY the same length as the one that came out of the passenger side. On the very first try, simply by sliding the ball joint out as far as possible before tightening the three screws, the toe measured zero. Sweet.

At no point did I need to adjust a tie rod end, so I know my alignment is back to where it was before replacing the lower control arms. My new tires from this spring now have 20,000km on them with very even wear so I am pretty sure my alignment system is working.

This afternoon the toddlers "helped" me load the biggest trailer load of leaves ever:



I used the Volkswagen to tow the trailer to the dump on the way to pick up two of the older kids up from school.



I managed to park the car and trailer so that they only technically took up half of one parking spot:



It was a very good day.

NarfBLAST said:

UPDATE:
I checked the alignment using my home made tools before and after replacing each individual lower control arm. When I replaced the drivers side I didn't get the lower ball joint quite lined up right the first time and I had more caster than before which threw off the toe measurement. I was extremely lucky that I only had to make one adjustment and the castor was back to acceptable and, more importantly, the toe was zero!

On the passenger side I knew there was very little castor to start with, and I remembered that I had to pull the lower ball joint out as far as possible to achieve this. Miraculously the lower control arm that I swapped over from the drivers side was EXACTLY the same length as the one that came out of the passenger side. On the very first try, simply by sliding the ball joint out as far as possible before tightening the three screws, the toe measured zero. Sweet.

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I think you mean camber, not caster. I would have been very impressed if you had actually been able to measure caster; it can be done but requires a pair of turntables.

Chris Bell said:

I think you mean camber, not caster. I would have been very impressed if you had actually been able to measure caster; it can be done but requires a pair of turntables.

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Thanks, I did mean camber... Will edit the post.

UPDATE: Exhaust COMPLETE!!!

I can now say I have fully welded the exhaust on this car from turbo to tip. It has been a long journey and I learned more than I can put into words and post here.

After analyzing the pictures I know why the last flex pipe failed prematurely: I must have wedged and clamped it in under stress because you can see even after it was cut free it had a permanent bend:



This afternoon I had a chance to fit and tack weld the new flex pipe in, with home made adapters fore and aft, and then pull the down pipe out for finish welding:







I was amazed that the entire down pipe just slid back into place and lined up perfectly with exhaust housing on the turbo.



I went for a test drive, then came home and drank beer and watched the movie "Need for Speed". It was good. I can't feel my thumb.



To get ready for winter all I need to do is:

- rotate tires, or possibly shop for winter tires
- install lower engine covers

mrrhtuner said:

Keep us posted on this turbo replacement.

I would consider the Mahle unit also and from what I've read, they are made somewhere in Ontario.

When I was researching it months ago, I couldn't find much info...

Click to expand...

I don't think there's much info to be found on the Mahle VNT-15.

I installed one in my 03 Golf this past Spring, and have put almost 40,000 kms on it since. It's still working just like new. I'll be ordering another one shortly for my ALH Beetle.

You can buy them from Mahle distributors in Canada, and Mahle stocks them in Ontario. The prices are quite good. The box does say "Made In Canada".

A shop in New Brunswick quoted me $790 Canadian, but I was going to have to pay for shipping to NS, so I bought mine in Halifax for $825 CDN. I ordered it on Monday, and they had it on the counter before lunch time on Wednesday.

Next time I have to make a work trip up to NB, I'll order one at the better price and pick it up when I'm passing through.

Good job Mr. Narf.

I too would have no problem recommending a Mahle turbo to anybody that's in need of one. In the bang for buck category, they're good.

Rembrant said:

A shop in New Brunswick quoted me $790 Canadian, but I was going to have to pay for shipping to NS, so I bought mine in Halifax for $825 CDN. I ordered it on Monday, and they had it on the counter before lunch time on Wednesday.

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Good info! There was a bit of a shock when I got the credit card bill and realized that US dollars were costing me $1.32 Canadian, but shipping from idparts.com was only $9.99.

NarfBLAST said:

Good info! There was a bit of a shock when I got the credit card bill and realized that US dollars were costing me $1.32 Canadian, but shipping from idparts.com was only $9.99.

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Yup, my mom just got back from a trip to Houston, and she checked her card when she got back...$1.36, ouch!

Keep us posted on how your Mahle turbo works. As I mentioned above, I've got almost 40k on mine now, and I'll be buying another one around new years for my Beetle. I think they're great bang for the buck.

Rem

NarfBLAST said:

To get ready for winter all I need to do is:

- rotate tires,
- install lower engine covers

Click to expand...

I am ready for winter!

I made a very embarrassing mistake when I installed the new aluminum belly pan, it was over a month ago and I am just now ready to share:

I ordered a huge matt-black Autobot logo which I though would look awesome against the aluminum under the car. It would be my little secret...



Only problem was, I put it on the wrong side, so it ended up inside the engine compartment... and that is where I wanted to rivet the old plastic cover for sound control and extra oil pan protection:



So the Autobot emblem is forever buried between the aluminum and plastic pans, never to be seen again. Oops.



I would order a second decal, but thankfully I waited, and I am over it now.

UPDATE: Quick Alignment Adjustment

Shortened the passenger tie rod by half a turn to remove the toe-in condition that I apparently introduced while swapping lower control arms around.

Pictures of my new alignment-plates (which I found in my shed and had scavanged from the recycling bin at my old job) and my old wheel-rim-staright-edge (which I built a few years ago using a four foot level and two identical spark plug sockets and zip ties):



Ideal toe is zero, so I didn't bother with math, I just knew that the front and back measurements used to differ by half an inch, but now they are pretty well spot on.

Front plates:



Rear plates:



Good times in the garage this morning.

They have actually varied from 0* to 0*10' between different models. Slightly toed in allows for neutral toe on FWD when driving down the road (tires splay out a little when the load of acceleration acts on the front suspension). Also slightly toed out makes car more willing to turn in - IE better for handling at autocross. Toed in slightly makes car want to stay on center - IE feels more stable and less "loose" on the hiway.

Jason

PS - much simpler way for home toe setting is to spin the tires and scribe a mark (chalk on clean tire, awl on dirty tire, etc.) then measure the difference between the mark on front or rear of the tire as the car sits.

I really love talking about alignment but I was so sick in bed two weeks ago when I read this post that I was not able to reply then, just getting around to it now:

SilverGhost said:

PS - much simpler way for home toe setting is to spin the tires and scribe a mark (chalk on clean tire, awl on dirty tire, etc.) then measure the difference between the mark on front or rear of the tire as the car sits.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand your tire marking technique, but I personally I would not trust any measurements based on the tires because they are never round enough or straight enough for me.

SilverGhost said:

They have actually varied from 0* to 0*10' between different models. Slightly toed in allows for neutral toe on FWD when driving down the road (tires splay out a little when the load of acceleration acts on the front suspension). Also slightly toed out makes car more willing to turn in - IE better for handling at autocross. Toed in slightly makes car want to stay on center - IE feels more stable and less "loose" on the hiway.

Jason

Click to expand...

I do agree with everything you say about front end toe. There will always be some error and play and dynamics when under acceleration (or even cruising) where the torque of the tires pulling the vehicle forward will pull out some toe. I am hoping the TT busings have eliminated some of that.

Playing with the alignment on this car I have definitely felt the tightness of two much toe. What I find is worse is the looseness of a towed out condition: when driving on the highway you have to constantly make tiny corrections because the car doesn't want to go straight. Obviously my car is "set up" as a daily driver, not for auto-crossing.

Erring toward toed-in is a good idea. I have done this in the past and achieved a very neutral steering wheel on the highway, but that was with sloppy lower control arm bushings. This last alignment is the closest I have come to zero, but I also have the new TT LCA bushing, and I think they have picked up most of the slack.

For me, the proof is in highway cruising: having a light steering wheel that stays straight and barely needs your hands on it. Its a special neutral feeling when you know its right.

ALH TDI Coolant Glowplug Manual Overrride and Telemetry Circuit

TIME TO MODIFY! (as in, "Now is the time!", but also, "I had some time...")

This past week I have been working on re-purposing some old switches and a push button:



Today I finally had time to cut into the car's wiring. I removed the three coolant glow plug plugs and fixed them up with some heat shrink and connectors:



Then I installed some relays and stuff:





Now I can control the coolant glow plugs manually!



As I bonus I can see when the fuel shutoff solenoid is energized by a LED on the dashboard.

I am looking forward to testing this out on some colder mornings, the school bus run is 20 minutes and 14 km but it is mostly down-hill which doesn't put much heat into the cabin for the first half of the trip. This modification should help when I forget or can't be bothered to plug in the Frostheater.


Theory of Operation:

A latching relay is operated by a push button and powered by the signal to the fuel shutoff solenoid. When the latching relay closes it powers a set of three change-over relays which cut the coolant glow plugs over from automatic operation to manual operation. When power is removed from the fuel solenoid or the arming switch is flipped off the laching relay is de-energized and will not re-energize until the push button is pushed. In this way the coolant glow plugs will only run after the engine is is started and a button is pushed and will automatically shut off when the engine is stopped. There is a second switch which is wired to simulate the button being held down in which case the coolant glow plugs will stay on as long as the fuel solenoid is receiving power - in which case the coolant glow-plugs would come on the next time engine is started without intervention.

All but that last point is explained in detail in this video I made right after connecting the system and testing it for the first time:
ALH TDI Coolant Glowplug Manual Overrride and Telemetry Circuit with Fuel Solenoid Monitoring
by NarfBLAST
click for video:

Ultimate Manual ALH Coolant Glow-Plug Control Circuit Complete

Added a "cut-out" relay to disable the coolant glowplug manual override when the engine glow plugs are in "after-glow":



Revised Theory of Operation:

Three change-over relays have their "normally closed" contacts connected to the coolant glow plugs, their "common" contacts connected to the stock glow plug wiring harness and their "normally open" contacts connected the positive battery terminal.

The three change-over relays are only energized when the latching circuit is latched.

The latching circuit is powered by the fuel solenoid wire.

The cut-out relay opens the circuit between the fuel solenoid wire and the latching circuit any time the engine glow plugs are active.

As a bonus, I can monitor "after-glow" of the engine glow plugs via the "Circuit Armed LED" on the dashboard. The LED comes on when briefly when turning the ignition on, then off as the engine glow plugs cycle, then on while starting, then off again for the "after-glow" cycle.

When the engine reaches a certain temperature or a certain RPM the after-glow is shut of off and the LED lights to indicate it is "safe" to run the coolant-glow plugs. At that point, if I had the second switch on, or if I push the button, the coolant glow plugs will come on.

Making sure that all seven glow plugs are not run at the same time should save wear on the battery and the alternator.

I made a second video (which I haven't posted yet) where one coolant glow plug was on even though the IAT and CTS were both reading -10 degC. I suspect that the engine glow plugs were probably in "after-glow" mode, but I did not have the "cut-out" relay installed at that time. With both my original and revised circuit the ECU will still be allowed to run one or two coolant glow plug during engine after-glow as per the stock programming.

As a side note I am happy to report that pulling current off one bank of of my "two-wire" engine-glow-plug harness to run the "cut-out" relay did not throw a code. I guess the current required to run the relay coil is not enough to trigger the comparison circuit in the factory engine glow plug relay.

Plus the engine bay is like a rainbow of electrickery!

You will probably want to move the relay mounted to the engine, I think the direct engine vibration will kill it quickly. I had some trouble keeping and electronic oil sender for the same reason. I got 2 of them replaced under warranty and then decided to remote mount it and it has been fine.

jayb79 said:

You will probably want to move the relay mounted to the engine, I think the direct engine vibration will kill it quickly. I had some trouble keeping and electronic oil sender for the same reason. I got 2 of them replaced under warranty and then decided to remote mount it and it has been fine.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I hadn't thought of that.

TredWear.com Tire Letters Review

It was above freezing and I had time to wash the car today!



I also had time to clean the tires, and the http://TredWear.com tire letters - or what is left of them after only eight months and 20,000 km:



I guess I had better explain myself, and why I let these expensive letters peel and fall off my tires. The thing is, these letters are just held on with crazy glue and the glue requires "touching up" from time to time. The instructions say they only need touching up for the first week, but I found I had to touch them up EVERY week, all summer.

When fall came and the temperatures were regularly below the recommended 16 degC required for the glue to work; I stopped doing touch ups.

I also climbed or rubbed a couple of curbs which is bad for the crazy glue bond. I found all kids of loose corners today and I was able to rip many letters off with just my fingers. I am not sure if the cold weather was harder on the letters but either way I do not have the time or the temperatures to maintain them so they are coming off.

Also, they are had to keep clean: you have to scrub and scrub to get the white to pop. You have to scrub so hard that the corners of loose letters come up to let you know they need to be re-glued. You also have to scrub so hard that the white seems to come off in a milky layer, so I am not sure how much longer these letters would last. Here are a couple of close-ups:





Was it worth the time and money to install these letters? The initial install took over six hours and I had to spend about an hour a week cleaning and touching them up. The cost was over $30 per tire, plus shipping, for a total of $150. For the money I would not do this again, BUT you can't always put a price on fun, and these were huge fun while they lasted and I do not regret putting them on my car.

those letters were enormous fun. not as much as your gear shift, but epic.

Lol. I also got a big kick out of them.

Agh! I know right? After picking the kids up from school, then taking them to swimming classes, I got home after dark but when I got out of the car the letters on the left rear (the only complete set left) totally grabbed my attention. The white is so bright when it is all cleaned up! I had not washed the car for a couple of months.

Unfortunately it only takes one wet day for them to pick up a dull film of road grime and brake dust that turns them all yellowy brown and not so nice. The amount of scrubbing to get them clean is ridiculous. I am pretty sure it has to do with the crazy fine cross/hatched or knurled texture that traps dirt (see close up pictures) Also I wonder if the white actually turns yellow on the surface and that needs to be scrubbed off?

If they weren't also peeling off the tires constantly I might have kept them.

I am sad to have to say goodbye, will always have the memories, and the pictures.

Just one more picture; it rained last night:

A Perfect Tie Rod End Replacement

I was getting some creaking noises from the left front recently so I decided to jack the car up and have a look. Right away I found play when grabbing the left front tire at nine and three o'clock. I took the wheel off and confirmed play in the tie rod end and possibly the inner tie rod so I ordered a complete unit because it only cost a $10 more than just the tie rod end.

This afternoon while the kids were riding bikes and playing outside in unusually warm temperatures and sunshine I was able to slip the outer tie rod off. I would like to think it came off more easily because I had replaced it four years ago and coated everything with anti-seize but it was probably just the fact the rod goes into an enclosed space that is sealed off by the jamb nut.

As soon as the rod end was off I could confirm that the rod was rock solid, and I was relieved I didn't have to go to my local Canadian Tire ask them if I could borrow "the bigger set" set of inner tie rod tools which I can no longer find on their web site. I had all the tools I needed at home, I even got to use my pickle fork for the first time!



The new and old tie rod ends looked identical, so I thought I would be able to simply thread the new one on to the old rod till it just touched the old jamb nut and then re-tighten the nut and alignment should be almost perfect... but the new rod end bottomed out a few millimeters before it reached the nut! Sure enough, the new rod end was bored to a depth a full centimeter shallower than the old one! This was a bummer, I would have to finish up here and adjust toe on the other side and then the steering wheel would be crooked for sure. I took a deep breath and re-installed the new rod end, bottoming it out, then backing it up a full turn before tightening the jamb nut because you should never install anything with an adjustment at the end of its travel. The boot got a new plastic zip tie because the old one had prevented the rod from turning without twisting the boot.



It took quite a few turns of the rusty jamb nut up the rusty rod on the opposite side of the car to get the toe back into alignment. At least I didn't bottom that rod into the rod end!

I knew the steering wheel would a bit off and after driving out and back in to the garage as straight as possible the wheel was off about this much:



So it was time to take it off and straighten it. Things started to go smoother as my new-best-screwdriver-friend here popped the clips in under a minute!



Studying the diagram helped me to "get inside" the airbag housing in my mind and pop the clips faster than ever:



Once the steering wheel retaining nut was off, I turned the wheel back to the crooked position, then popped the wheel off the splines, then tossed it back on the steering column as straight as possible. That was when I noticed that the steering wheel was perfectly aligned with the original factory mark on the steering column!



I haven't gone for a test drive yet, so I am not sure how straight the steering wheel will be. Also I will double check the toe and if it is not exactly where I want it I can choose the side to adjust it on that will bring the steering wheel into alignment.

I think it is cool that after all these years the original steering rack is still good and now the steering wheel is back aligned on the factory splines where it started.

It was a good day.

My wife was at work when I finished at midnight last night so the final test drive happened during the school run this morning. The car felt great and sounded better too, however, I can still hear a creaking sound in certain parking lot maneuvers that I suspect might be a sway bar bushing or a strut bearing. At least there is no more play in the front end.

Also, I have to admit I am not THAT good and the planets and my steering column did not magically align. I am guessing I only got the steering wheel half way to where it should be. I figure my mistake is not driving on the road and only judging the degree of crookedness by the few car lengths drive into the garage bay. If I had tried to keep a straight line on the road I would have noticed I had to turn the wheel twice as far as I did. In other words I figured it was only half as bad as it was before I moved it, otherwise I am sure I would have gotten it closer than this:



I will be going back in to fix it, after I re-check the front toe, but there is no rush.

The last few of days I have experienced a string of perfect moments just like the commercial: A Perfect Moment by Lexus - YouTube

The day after replacing the tie rod end I checked the front toe: it was still good, so I went ahead and straightened the steering wheel. I only had to take the airbag off twice to get it perfect:



I am really enjoying this car this winter.



It was -14 degC at 8am this morning in Waterdown according to the Weather Network, it got down to -17 degC according to the Kia's outside air temp gauge. My wife's Kia was parked outside because I had stolen her spot in the garage with the Volkswagen yesterday. I cleaned the snow off her car and started it, turning on the lights, rear defogger and heated drivers seat, a few minutes before she left. I felt bad for taking her spot.

The Volkswagen should have been parked outside with the Frostheater plugged in, instead it was parked in the relatively warm garage without electric engine heat assist. The Scanguage in the Volkswagen said the engine only dipped down to zero degC since it was last driven yesterday afternoon. The glow plugs ran for a few seconds thanks to How To extend glow time with Vag-com - ALH - TDIClub Forums. The engine fired instantly thanks partly to the new starter but probably mostly to the superb timing belt job done by Windex, in his garage while I mostly watched, almost 140,000 km ago.

The engine sounds better than it has in a long time. Mostly due to the work done since spring:

- removed the AC compressor
- replaced the serpentine belt and tensioner
- rebuilt the exhaust from tip to muffler to down pipe
- replaced the turbo
- replaced and upgraded the lower engine covers

Every job has been rewarding and it all ads up, but the best improvement to the sound at idle was a weird simple fix. There was a fairly regular loud chirping or squeaking sound at idle. It was apparently coming from the timing belt, and not a pulley, because the fix was to open the timing belt cover and rub some wax on the back of the belt with the engine running. It took a few days for the chirping sound to completely disappear, but it hasn't been back for over a month! The engine sounds so much more serious when it isn't going "squeak - cheap - squeak - cheap - squeak". I am really enjoying hearing nothing but subdued clatter and low rumbling burble at idle.

The last thing that is making this car more enjoyable than ever this winter is possibly the most under-rated modification on TDIclub: the coolant glow-plug manual override.

In past years, even with the front grille blocked off, I have always yearned for more heat. I did change the thermostat at one point, but that just brought the car back to regular operating parameters for a diesel in this climate. I can specifically remember driving down the road watching the Scangauge and waiting for heat to come out of the vents. Now that I have started using the coolant glow plugs to their full potential I am getting much more heat much sooner. I clearly remember leaving the manual temperature control dial on full heat for most of the winter in the past, and only adjusting the fan speed. Now I find myself having to turn the heat down at some point on most trips.

What I think is misunderstood about the coolant glow plugs is that their intent is not to warm the engine faster, they were instead designed to provide heat to the heater core in extreme conditions. This is accomplished by warming the coolant that is leaving the top of the engine. Most of this heat is immediately pulled into the cabin by the blower fan through the heater core before the coolant returns to the engine. That is one reason why the effect of the coolant glow-plugs on engine warm-up time is hard to measure and not really relevant anyway. I am convinced the coolant glow plugs were designed to warm the cabin air, not the engine. This would confirm the theory that they were originally designed to bridge the gap between the automatic transmission and manual transmission warm-up times when it came to being able to clear fog from the windshield before driving away.

I understand why the engineers programmed the coolant glow plugs to run for the minimal amount of time to be able to take the fog off the windshield. It does take extra fuel and load on the alternator to run them. That is the fun of modifying: engineers always leave some extra performance potential in their designs and often it is easy to unlock. I should have done this mod sooner; more faster heat really makes this car more enjoyable in winter.

The car sounds good, performs better than ever and now cranks out more heat faster than ever in winter. I am still enjoying this car every single day. It will never be perfect but it keeps surprising me with new perfect moments: whether it is cruising down the highway barely touching the steering wheel, listening to the sweet rumble of the engine, or just turning the heat control down to the perfect level.

Drove the Volkswagen to opening day of the Canadian International Auto Show.

This was the most enjoyable Auto Show for me ever. I felt inspired to write about it (and share pictures) on my Facebook page: http://facebook.com/santosspeedshop

You can "like" the page if you want updates to show up in your Facebook news feed.