2015 Sportwagen Tow Rating

or this

https://www.pfjones.co.uk/westfalia_fitting/321782.pdf

Towed a Uhaul trailer from MI to NC last year with my father.
Never weighed the trailer but it was less than 2000lbs.
Had no performance loss. Churned along at 60-70mph. Decent fuel mpg in the mid 20's.

Drove through the night while going up through the Appalachian Corridor System.
It snowed that night in VA & NC, cold weather was probably good for the engine.


Had a hitch very similar to Nuje's installed with the standard 2" receiver.

Nuje said:

Mk7 Sportwagen was the best (what looked strongest) install of a hitch/receiver I've ever done. It basically bolts up right to the bumper bar (you literally replace the bumper bar's bolts) underneath the bumper cover, and then the outlet is quite well-hidden in a factory cut-out in the lower plastic valance of the bumper cover.

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The journey from NC to Ont was a little *warmer*

Important to remember that the 5x8's are 900lbs empty.
Towing from NC to Ont, the total load was easily 2000lbs, maybe a little more?
But I packed everything in stages making sure the load was balanced.
That squat...

Driving north through the Appalachian Corridor in the morning, the oil was a warmer.


Only weird weird occurrence while towing was the high rate of DEF consumption.
The distance on the "DEF Range" warning ticked down a lot faster compared to the actual driving distance covered.

Given the large amount of strain that was put on the engine that season I did an oil analysis.
The rest of the year was basic, unloaded, highway driving and the second test reflects that.
I bought it at ~40,700 miles

I'm kinda happy with leaving it stock for the time being.
Would a tuned EA288 have made it through the mountains with less wear?

That 259 degree oil temp is worrisome for even a 5W-30 synthetic, I'd change the oil ASAP. VW seems to have designed and programmed these cars to run hot as over 200 degrees is the norm when warmed up. I back off the throttle when the temp reaches 230.

gearheadgrrrl said:

That 259 degree oil temp is worrisome for even a 5W-30 synthetic, I'd change the oil ASAP. VW seems to have designed and programmed these cars to run hot as over 200 degrees is the norm when warmed up. I back off the throttle when the temp reaches 230.

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I thought synthetics could take many hundreds of degrees, that oil in the turbo on shutdown can get very, very hot.

I've seen 300 to 350 degree temps in air cooled motorcycle engines, but that was with 5W-50 synthetic oil that was changed often.

Oil temp is one thing, but EGTs are another, I bet the ECU was pulling power at that load, if a lower gear was grabbed EGTs would have been much happier (thus oil temp would be lower as well).

Also hotter exhaust more NOx, more NOx,, more DEF consumption, simple science

I believe the operating temp of these cars its the 195 mark, as that appears to be the reading I see nearly 24/7. There are times were it's over, but shortly falls back to 195.

Running in the NC mountains without any comparable load (like a trailer) I've seen temps that are similar - CACT peaked at 322F, oil hit 250F and coolant hit 228F - relatively aggressive climb in elevation and speeds ranging from a tight switchback speed to 35-40mph total distance is roughly 5 miles. Base temps in the valley are 190 coolants, 210ish oil, and CACT 240s, once you hit the climb - temps climb quickly.

I think the concern is the Charge Air Cooler temps, it's roasting the coolant.

More recently, I had a full car with 4 adults and hiking gear in the car on the same route - Coolant temps landed over the 240 mark with oil in the 260 range. As soon as the car is stopped or is no longer climbing the temps drop relatively quickly. Car is fine, oil is fine. If I was required to do it daily, I would be concerned.

I believe EGTs are a concern but with the thresholds programmed in the computer, you likely lose power to attempt to avoid any crazy readings. Being from Florida without any elevation change, the highest EGT I've seen under my ownership was 1324 and that was in town idling at a light or coming off a light.

With our '15 Passat and Malone tune, I was trying to accelerate up a hill doing 90mph, EGTs climbed very quickly (~1500F) to the point i could tell the ECU was pulling fuel to keep temps happy.

Any trip longer than 20 miles does get that CACT much higher than 190F while under load. I do agree CACT being constantly 250+ does the coolant no good, I did shell out the coin to have a "coolant flush" around 62K on the '15 Passat. So far so good at 67K

Does anyone know of a test kit for G13 coolant? I've started refreshing my 2015 TDI's coolant one expansion bottle at a time, emptying the expansion bottle with a turkey baster and refilling with fresh VW G13. Not a perfect solution but cheaper than flushing and refilling the entire cooling system (a job my local indy TDI expert told me wasn't necessary unless the coolant was contaminated, and quoted $250+ to perform).

nathanso said:

Does anyone know of a test kit for G13 coolant? I've started refreshing my 2015 TDI's coolant one expansion bottle at a time, emptying the expansion bottle with a turkey baster and refilling with fresh VW G13. Not a perfect solution but cheaper than flushing and refilling the entire cooling system (a job my local indy TDI expert told me wasn't necessary unless the coolant was contaminated, and quoted $250+ to perform).

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I'm going to start doing the same as its exposed to the CACT which are crazy high, or can be at least. Cycling some fresh stuff in will help avoid any changes in the coolant's ability to corrode.

Try emptying the ball and filling with plain water some summer day. I think you'll find that the coolant pretty much hangs out in the ball and doesn't get circulated very much.

turbobrick240 said:

Try emptying the ball and filling with plain water some summer day. I think you'll find that the coolant pretty much hangs out in the ball and doesn't get circulated very much.

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Is that unique or something to the newer cars? Because in my Mk4, once it heats up even a bit, there's always coolant circulating back in through the top (of reservoir) coolant line.

Coolant systems have changed a bit since mk4 days. Since the mk5 TDI it's mainly an expansion tank that hardly flows anything back and forth of the block as the coolant expands and contracts.

This past weekend I towed a U haul 4 x 8 filled with furniture for my daughter's apartment with my 6 speed manual from NC to NYC. Had a Yakima SkyBox on the roof. Oil temps stayed around 220-240F but would go to 245-250 when going up an incline or when passing. Route I took was through Shenandoah valley: rolling hills, nothing crazy steep. Max speed was 70 MPH when having to pass but stayed at around 60-65 most times. EGT peaked at 1100 since I always backed off on the pedal once it gets up there. Coolant stayed at around 200-220. Car computer said I got about 35 MPG but that is likely an overestimate. Bet it was more like mid 20's.
Didn't notice any drop in oil based on dipstick.
There was however a trip from Miami to NC a month ago where I would average 75 MPH and hit 120 occasionally to get away from annoying BMW's and Civic Si's that tailgate while I am on the RIGHT lane. On that trip with a few full throttle bursts to 120 (4500 RPM) I used about half a liter of oil.
I suppose the oil use differential has to do with RPM/throttle position? Currently has 15W40 Mobil Delvac full synthetic.

Wait - you have 15W40 in your Mk7....!? That doesn't sound good.
VW spec is 5w30, or even their new OEM stuff is 0w30. I don't know Delvac, but looking quickly at the spec sheet, it's not a 507.00 spec oil, which means it probably isn't engineered for cars all of our exhaust hardware (DPF, AdBlue system, etc.). Probably shortening the lifespan of all of that running that oil.

I'm sitting at just under 150k miles on my JSW. I've done some towing (U-hauls for moving kids and kayak trailer with bikes) over the years. With the trailer on, I keep speeds below 65, especially with questionable U-Hauls. Without trailer, I'll cruise at upper 70s all day. I have never had to add oil between changes. If you're adding oil, then something is going on other than just beating the poor thing to death.