rocketeer928 - My 2003 VW Jetta TDI

rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Autotech Sport Tuning Upper Front Stressbar

Last June I saw someone else’s Jetta with an upper front stressbar, and I liked the look of it under the hood. I was told by a fellow TDI Club member that this stressbar wasn’t really necessary to stabilize the engine compartment, especially since I have a Panzer skid plate installed. However, I decided to purchase the Autotech Sport Tuning Upper Front Stressbar anyway and to install it on my Jetta TDI.

Test fitted the upper stressbar onto the strut towers to make certain that I had enough clearance to close the hood; no problem.

With the upper stressbar on the car, I used a punch and hammer to mark the drilling sites for the three holes on each strut tower. On the passenger’s side the holes were drilled at the one, five, and nine o’clock positions, and on the driver’s side the holes were drilled at the three, seven, and eleven o’clock positions. The two pictures show an awl, but I used the punch and hammer instead.





Removed the upper stressbar.

The directions from Autotech Sport Tuning indicate to remove the top strut nut and to allow the strut to drop down from the towers. This direction was given to allow easier access beneath the strut towers when attaching the upper stressbar rings. However, I was in the middle of installing the upgraded DC Stage III+ clutch kit and had the engine supported by the engine support bar, so I wasn’t too keen on removing the struts.

Using a 3/16-inch bit first, drilled out the six holes. Then drilled out the six holes with a 5/16-inch bit. Vacuumed up the metal shavings and test fitted the rings, and of course they weren’t dead on (nothing ever goes as planned or smoothly). I ended up drilling each hole with an 11/32-inch bit, and the driver’s side 11 o’clock hole had to be drilled out with a ⅜-inch bit. Vacuumed up the shavings again.



To help prevent future rust (I know, the metal is galvanized, but just in case…), I sprayed each hole with some black Rust Oleum enamel paint from both the top and bottom. When I sprayed from the bottom, I placed tape over the holes so as to not spray paint all over the body of the car and windshield.



Unbolted the upper stressbar from both strut tower rings. Because I didn’t disconnect the struts, I used a combination of a stubby ½-inch wrench, ½-inch socket, flexible extensions, and off-set extensions to first hand tightened the strut tower ring bolts and nuts. I used the provided hardware, where each hole had a 5/16-inch bolt and washer on top of the strut tower ring, and a washer and 5/16-inch nylon nut underneath the strut towers. At the driver’s side 11 o’clock position, I had to use a slightly larger washer than provided, since it’s hole was ⅜ inch. Tightened each bolt to 15 Nm (10 ft-lb).



Once the car was back on the ground (after completing the clutch and axle work), loosely reattached the upper stressbar to the rings with the ⅜-inch bolts, washers, and nuts. Adjusted the upper stressbar length by turning the 9/16-inch nut at the passenger’s side until the ⅜-inch bolt could be inserted straight.

With a 9/16-inch wrench, turned the passenger’s side upper stressbar nut until snug.



Tightened first the driver’s side and then the passenger’s side ⅜-inch bolts, washers, and nuts with two 9/16-inch wrenched until secure. The torque rating is 11 Nm (8 ft-lb), but it was impossible to get one of my torque ratchet and socket in there with other components in the way.



Two pictures of the upper front stressbar installed:



 
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rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Engine Bay Before and After

Back in Post Nr. 4, I showed the engine bay before I started installing all of the upgrades from May – Sept 2009. Here are comparison pictures before and after the work.

With the engine cover installed:





With the engine cover removed:



 
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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
Wow Chris, you have been busy! Looks great though!
How was Germany?
-BB
 

rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
BleachedBora said:
Wow Chris, you have been busy! Looks great though!
How was Germany?
-BB
Yeah, took me quite awhile to do the work and then create the write-up.

Germany was great. Had a two-day meeting on the beautiful Chiemsee in Bavaria and then visited work and friends where I worked for a year in Rheinland-Pfalz. I miss living and working there.
 
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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
Cool, only visited a couple times myself, haven't made it to Bavaria yet, perhaps next time!
Cheers!
 

rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Scan Gauge II Installation

Today, I installed the Scan Gauge II on my Jetta TDI.

My main motivation was to have some way to monitor the intake air temperature (IAT) while driving. I could have gotten a dedicated IAT gauge, but doing so would have meant either placing a second gauge pod on the driver’s side A-pillar, which seems dangerous considering the airbag, or placing a gauge pod on the passenger’s side A-pillar. The passenger’s side A-pillar seems too far away to me to both occasionally glance at an IAT gauge and drive safely.

So, I opted for the Scan Gauge II, which allows me not to only check out the IATs, but other data that the computer generates and fuel consumption data. Here’s how I performed the installation.

A picture of the Scan Gauge II, the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) cable and connector, and the documentation.



Removed the trim underneath the steering wheel, including the fuse panel cover by prying off, the underside and lower left panel via three Torx-20 screws, and the lower right panel via one Torx-20 screw and prying off.







Using four VW/Audi Radio Removal Keys, removed the stereo.



Unclipped the antenna wire on the passenger’s side of the stereo, and the main connector on the driver’s side of the stereo.



The idea is to snake the Scan Gauge II cable from the OBD port under the dash, through the stereo compartment, through the same grommet I installed for the iPod adapter, and then out the glove compartment door. This way, the cable has some permanence to it and is not dangling in the way to interfere with driving

Picture at the OBD port:



Picture of the stereo compartment (iPod adapter strapped to the upper rear of the compartment housing that I installed previously):



Picture inside the glove compartment showing the rubber grommet for the iPod cable:

 
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rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Scan Gauge II Installation – Continued

Tied the OBD cable connector with string to pull it into the exact spot I wanted the cable to enter the stereo compartment.



Guided the OBD cable connector toward the lower back side of the stereo compartment housing below the iPod adapter, so as to not interfere with the reinstallation of the stereo, which already has a tight fit because of the massive amount of wiring.



Removed the grommet for the iPod cable within the glove compartment. Again, tied the OBD cable connector with string to pull it toward the opening for the iPod adapter cable.



I could not easily get the OBD cable connector through the iPod cable hole in the glove compartment because I could not get my hands and fingers where they needed to be to prod along the connector. Therefore, I had to partially disassemble the glove compartment by removing six Torx-20 screws (3 upper and 3 lower), and carefully pry it away from the dash in order to get the connector on the OBD cable through the iPod cable hole. Nothing is ever easy on this car!



Cutting the grommet a little, fed the OBD cable connector through the grommet and then reinstalled the grommet into the hole within the glove compartment. The rubber grommet is now home to both the iPod adapter cable and the Scan Gauge II OBD cable.



Reinstalled the glove compartment. Here’s a picture of how the Scan Gauge II with the OBD cable connector and the glove compartment will work. The OBD cable doesn’t get squeezed too badly and the glove compartment closes with no problem. Just need to take a little extra care with the OBD cable. Also, the Scan Gauge II is held in place with a couple of Velcro pieces that came with the kit, cut to size.



Tied off the OBD cable in a couple of places underneath the driver’s side dashboard so that it wouldn’t move around and entangle itself among the steering column or pedals. Reinstalled all the lower dash trim.

Here’s a couple of pictures of how the Scan Gauge II looks in the car during the day. Though it doesn’t look like it, there is still enough clearance to insert a CD into the stereo (I checked before embarking on this installation).





And, here are a couple of pictures at night with the display set at a color that nearly matches the blue dashboard lighting.



 
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tothemax

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Location
Nevada
TDI
TDIs: 2003 Jetta, 2016 Q5 3.0
Man Chris, These are some great writeups! Way to go... Keep it going.

I just installed a scan gauge as well in my new Golf. I really like it. Perfect match with the blue and tons of valuable parameters. Still calibrating it though.

Peace
 

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
Chris,
Can you come work on my car too? :D
 

rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
BleachedBora said:
Chris,
Can you come work on my car too? :D
I chuckled, but no chance Aaron.

I'm done doing major work on my Jetta for this year. I have one more simple thing to do, but am waiting for a replacement on a defective part I had bought. Time to just drive the car, enjoy the ride, and get the dyno numbers at the NE Dyno Day at DSG.
tothemax said:
I just installed a scan gauge as well in my new Golf. I really like it. Perfect match with the blue and tons of valuable parameters. Still calibrating it though.
I just filled up with diesel to start the calibration too.
 
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rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
I now have about 500 miles on the new DC Stage III+ clutch/flywheel. Working out well, so far. It's still shuddering a bit from a stop in first, but not too bad. Aaron K. tells me that it will take about 10,000 for the new clutch to truly be well seated.
 
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rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Radiator A/C Fan

Ever since I bought my Jetta TDI in Dec 2007, I don't think the large radiator A/C fan has been working. After doing a search, reading up on A/C problems, checking fuses and such, I decided that the fan was likely not functioning. I found a new fan on eBay sold by a vendor here in Connecticut for $50 plus tax and shipping. So, last night I replaced the larger radiator A/C fan. Works great now! I'm hoping for better A/C next summer and less burden on the system.

I may have to take the car into my local shop (Farnbacher Loles in Danbury, CT) for A/C service anyway next spring. Over the summer while installing a bunch of performance modifications, I noticed that the dehydrator has leaked some oil. Because of the propellant, this is not a job I can do myself.
 
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Jordan_Elias

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2008
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI GLS 1999.5 Jetta TDI sold
GREAT thread. just spent the last hour or so reading it from start to finish. Many of the mods i want to perform on my tdi. I will definitely be referring back to this.

great work
 

shizzler

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Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
Ann Arbor MI
TDI
05 BEW Wagon
Can't remember if I've posted in you thread before, but if not, Nice job on everything dude. You clearly spend a lot of time (and $!) on mods. Real nice ride you have.

rocketeer928 said:
I also deemed this to be the best location for scan gauge install. However, I just popped out the small trim panel above the radio, drilled a quick hole in the center, fished the wire down through above the radio, plugged into the back of the scan gauge, and taped it on. Maybe 15 minutes total.... I was also paranoid about the cd slot, but its no problem.

 

rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
shizzler said:
I also deemed this to be the best location for scan gauge install. However, I just popped out the small trim panel above the radio, drilled a quick hole in the center, fished the wire down through above the radio, plugged into the back of the scan gauge, and taped it on. Maybe 15 minutes total.... I was also paranoid about the cd slot, but its no problem.
I just drilled a hole in that piece of trim for an intercooler fan switch, so maybe I'll take your approach and drill another hole for the ScanGauge II wire too. Thanks for the suggestion, and compliment on my car.
 
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rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
My Woodworking Hobby Comes in Handy for Exhaust

I had to adjust my ID Parts exhaust again (this is not a slam against ID Parts; the guys there and their products are great!).

Even though I bent up the metal piece underneath the rear of the car where the exhaust tip protrudes, the pipe crept up anyway to contact it again. The weekend of Oct 17-18 I loosened all the clamps and the middle exhaust hold, stuck a 1½-inch thick piece of scrap wood between the top of the exhaust ti
p and the frame and re-tightened everything. Drove the car for a week, and my adjustment did not work. The exhaust was now hitting the floor somewhere else and vibrating the whole cabin terribly. Ugh!

This Sunday morning before heading to church, I lifted up the car again and loosened the two exhaust clamps. I noticed that the middle pipe was up against the floor. So this time I slipped a 3/8-inch scrap stick between the floor and middle pipe, a 3/8-inch scrap stick between the floor and the catalytic converter (not sure that was needed), and the
1½-inch thick piece of scrap wood between the top of the exhaust tip as before. Tightened the clamps, removed the wood, and using a light determined that there was space between the exhaust pipe and the floorboard.

Took the car for a short test drive and to church, and this adjustment seems to have worked, so far. I hope it lasts. I hate it when the exhaust vibrates the whole cabin because it's in contact with the floorboards.
 
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rocketeer928

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Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Intercooler Fan and Universal Voltage Switch to Control Intercooler Air Temperatures

After I installed the Scan Gauge II to monitor the intake air temperature (IAT), while driving I was surprised at how high the IAT went up from the ambient, outdoor temperature during normal driving conditions. I became a bit obsessed about these higher than expected IATs, and started researching a solution to bring the temperature down.

I decided to add a pulling automotive fan and a way to control the switching of the fan electronically. From AutoSpeed in Australia I found an article called “Triggering an Intercooler Fan” that explained the use of an electronic board using the voltage drop from the MAF signal. So, I purchased a Perma-Cool 19128 Standard Electric Fan from Summit Racing Equipment and a Universal Voltage Switch from Jaycar Electronics.

Here’s a picture of the Perma-Cool 19128 fan. I didn’t use the metal mounting brackets shown in the picture.



Instead, I used cable ties through the EuroJet SMIC to mount the Perma-Cool fan to the back of the intercooler.





I used crimp connectors from the fan wires to 14-gauge wire, which I worked to the firewall, across the firewall, and through the rubber grommet in the firewall near the accelerator pedal underneath the dashboard.

When I first installed the EuroJet SMIC I tried to get the front intercooler plastic shroud to fit, but I ended up mangling the shroud and threw it away. However, I decided that to get the most effect from the pulling of ambient air through the front of the intercooler by the fan I needed to purchase a new shroud and make it fit. Through some careful cutting and the use of cable ties, I installed the new intercooler plastic shroud.





To make certain the intercooler fan worked, I hooked up the power wire to the 75X ignition-switched 12-volt connection and the ground wire to the mounting bolt for the terminal box underneath the dash. It worked!

Next, I fed the intercooler fan power wire into the slot above the stereo through the underside of the dashboard. Here I added a 25 amp in-line fuse and an LED rocker switch from Radio Shack to the power wire. I drilled a hole within the trim piece above the stereo for the rocker switch so that it would sit next to my Scan Gauge II. The rocker switch had three connections: power wire from the intercooler fan, power wire to be fed back underneath the dashboard, and a ground wire to be fed back underneath the dashboard. For about one week, I ran the intercooler fan manually with just the rocker switch. I would turn the intercooler fan off while driving at my normal highway speed. When driving local roads I kept the intercooler fan on. The fan worked, and my IATs were much lower than before I added the fan.

Here are the components of the Universal Voltage Switch. I didn’t use the LED bulb in the packaging on the upper right-hand side of the picture, rather opting for the rocker switch described above.



I actually expected the Universal Voltage Switch to arrive pre-assembled, but it wasn’t. I carefully read the directions, labeled the parts, and soldered everything together.



To protect the soldered connections, I placed the completed Universal Voltage Switch on top of a plastic light switch plate, drilling holes where the corner holes of the circuit board are located for cable ties.



At the MAF connector, tested the wire at Pin Nr. 4 to make sure it was the 0 – 5 voltage wire. I checked the voltage of wire 4 with a multimeter by hooking it up to the connector and slowly increasing the accelerator. The voltage at idle was at about 2.3 volts and did increase toward 5 volts upon acceleration.





Using a crimp connector, tapped into the Nr. 4 wire, wrapped it up with electrical tape, and fed the wire through the rubber grommet on the firewall above the accelerator.
 
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rocketeer928

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Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Intercooler Fan and Universal Voltage Switch Continued

For a test before attaching the intercooler fan, I hooked up the Universal Voltage Switch as shown in the diagram below. I attached the ignition-switched 12-volt wires to the 75X connection and the ground wire to the mounting bolt for the terminal box underneath the dash. The wire from the MAF was attached to the signal connection, and a 12-volt LED light was attached to the COM connection and ground.



Upon turning the ignition to the ON position: POW!

The micro-switch, which is the larger black box on the Universal Voltage Switch, blew up with a puff of white smoke, and I’m not certain why. I think the micro-switch might have been defective. So, I ordered a new micro-switch from Jaycar.com, checked to make sure there weren’t any cross-connections in my soldering, and soldered in the new micro-switch. Upon testing again, it worked. I adjusted the adjustment screws on the Universal Voltage Switch until the micro-switch would turn off at around 1800 rpm.
Once I proved that the Universal Voltage Switch would work, I attached the intercooler fan as shown in the below picture.



To fine tune the Universal Voltage Switch, I attached it temporarily to the dashboard and took some test drives.



During the test drives, I turned the voltage set screw on the Universal Voltage Switch until it was adjusted as follows: In fourth gear the intercooler fan is switched off at around 40 mph, and in fifth gear the intercooler fan is switched off at around 57 mph. For mileage reasons and to keep driving stress at a minimum, my normal highway speed is around 65 mph. In reality, as the rpm’s increase, the MAF voltage increases and turns off the Universal Voltage Switch, which then turns off the intercooler fan. The intercooler fan remains on during slow travel and at stops, unless I’m running heavy through the gears.

Once the Universal Voltage Switch was adjusted just right, I placed it and its wires underneath the dashboard with the use of cable ties so that it wouldn’t move around.
 
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rocketeer928

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Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Heat Shield Wrap on the OMI Turbo Intake to Control Intercooler Air Temperatures

To further keep the IAT down, I decided to wrap the OMI turbo intake with DEI Titanium Exhaust Wrap. This way, the heat from the exhaust manifold doesn’t transfer into the air going through the intake to the turbo.



I used two stainless steel T-bolt clamp to secure the exhaust wrap to the OMI.



Here’s the wrapped OMI on the car.





Unless I’m performing an Italian tune-up, with this intercooler fan and heat wrap set-up, I’m finding that my IATs rarely go above 8 – 10 degrees F.
 
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rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
LED Lights

On Post Nr. 56 of this thread I showed where I added LED taillights. With these taillights only the brake and parking lights were actually LED. I decided to add LED lights from SuperBrightLEDs.com throughout the car, including turn signals, side markers, and within the headlights like some of the newer Audi cars. I did not add LED lights to the back-up lights or front and rear fog lamps. Just like the brake lights in Post Nr. 56, I had to add resistors to the front and rear turn signals. I chose to solder the resistors into the existing wires.

I also added a strip of LED lights to my trunk by soldering into the existing trunk light. Here’s the how-to thread I used to do that from Ausgezeichnet TDi: http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/TDI_Trunk_Light_Mod.pdf
I had projector headlights on my Jetta already, but I was having some problems with them. First, the angel eye features never worked for me because I tried to exchange the incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs. Second, the headlights came with these huge rubber backings that kept falling off, so I removed them. This caused bugs to fly and die inside my headlights. Not too nice.

Here are pictures of the headlights with the strip of LED lights I installed on the car.









I know some people won't like these headlights, but I do. The LEDs are good when it's slightly foggy or during dawn or dusk when full headlights aren't yet necessary.

Update: The low and high beam projection on these headlights were too low, and it was difficult to see while driving. I drove all evening one day with the high beams on and nobody flashed me to turn them down. I ended up placing ½-inch nylon spacers underneath the bottom connection points of the headlights, along with longer sheet metal screws and homemade washers. Noticeable difference. I can now see better and my headlights are no longer merely two dots on the road a few feet in front of me. Lifting the bottom of the headlights doesn't distract from the look of the car, and I doubt an untrained eye would even notice.
 
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rocketeer928

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Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Scan Gauge II Continued

I took shizzler's advice on Post Nr. 136. Drilled a hole in the center of the trim above the radio, removed the connection from the glove box and redirected it above the stereo, and plugged into the back of the Scan Gauge II. It's a much cleaner look.

To the left of the Scan Gauge II is the LED rocker switch that is connected to the Universal Voltage Switch for the intercooler fan.



 
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shizzler

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Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
Ann Arbor MI
TDI
05 BEW Wagon
Wow man, you just don't quit modding this thing. My IATs went up noticeably (Only while driving slow / stopped) with addition of my aluminum turbo intake pipe, even after using some wrap. My wrap was non reflective though (doh!)

But dang on the intercooler fan. Cool project, but I think all you really needed was the front shroud! What kind of IATs were you seeing? I bet they are even better now with the fan off and shroud installed, even with the fan blocking being an obstacle on the backside. I challenge your curiosity not to disable your fan temporarily and compare IATs to the setup pre-shroud. :) sorry.
 

CSM Jetta

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Apr 19, 2009
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
TDI
2002 Jetta--SOLD
rocketeer928 said:
I know some people won't like these headlights, but I do. The LEDs are good when it's slightly foggy or during dawn or dusk when full headlights aren't yet necessary.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
I think they look awesome! I would love to do something like that but I don't have the electrical know-how to do so. Looks good though! Keep it up
 

rocketeer928

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Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
shizzler said:
My IATs went up noticeably (Only while driving slow / stopped) with addition of my aluminum turbo intake pipe, even after using some wrap. My wrap was non reflective though (doh!) I think all you really needed was the front shroud! What kind of IATs were you seeing? I bet they are even better now with the fan off and shroud installed, even with the fan blocking being an obstacle on the backside. I challenge your curiosity not to disable your fan temporarily and compare IATs to the setup pre-shroud. :) sorry.
I disagree, in general. Though the shroud helps direct the ambient air through the intercooler when the fan is running, I don't think it does a very good job on it own without the fan installed. While driving, there doesn't seem to be enough air being pushed through the intercooler to keep the IAT down, even with the vented passenger side fender housing and splash shield. I think the SMIC concept is a rather poor design, and I can now understand why guys install FMIC. I have no plans to install a FMIC.

Without the intercooler fan, I was noticing the IATs going up 25°F above ambient whether I was driving slow or at highway speeds. Seemed too high to me, which is why I decided on the intercooler fan.

I did drive around with the intercooler fan completely off, and the IAT went up faster than having it cycle on and off automatically.

There is one disadvantage to having the intercooler fan installed. At idle, the fan resonates a bit, which causes a little vibration in the cabin. That goes away while driving, or perhaps I just don't notice it.


CSM Jetta said:
I think they look awesome! I would love to do something like that but I don't have the electrical know-how to do so. Looks good though! Keep it up
Thanks, man! Glad you like them. If you're willing to stick with the regular turn signals and you already have fog lamps on your car then installing these new headlights are plug-n-play.
 
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rocketeer928

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Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
shizzler said:
Wow man, you just don't quit modding this thing.
Yeah! My wife is now asking me, "so when exactly are you going to start building our dining room table and stop spending money on that car?" Hmm...

My other hobby is woodworking. I developed the plans for a table in early 2008 and bought the hard maple in August 2008. The plan was to have the new table ready for Thanksgiving last year and then this year. Opps! Modding the Jetta kind of got in the way. Perhaps by next year Thanksgiving, though realistically I hope to get it done over the winter.


I actually have one more modification planned for the Jetta later this month; before the Dec 5 New England Dyno Day at DSG.
I suspect IBW knows what it is, since what I'm going to install I recently purchased from him.
 
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CSM Jetta

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Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
TDI
2002 Jetta--SOLD
rocketeer928 said:
Thanks, man! Glad you like them. If you're willing to stick with the regular turn signals and you already have fog lamps on your car then installing these new headlights are plug-n-play.

Cool. But unfortunately I do not have fogs on my car. :( so I guess I'll have to just live without them...
 

rocketeer928

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Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
This Exhaust is Killing Me!

I'm still having trouble with the exhaust system I put on the car earlier this year. Every time I make an adjustment, it's just a matter of time before a portion of it rests against a heat shield and rattles the cabin like crazy. I tried three adjustments last week alone!

When I adjust it to make sure that the middle and end pipes don't touch any heat shields, then the middle pipe's hanger bracket twists and touches the heat shield above it on the passenger side. I'm convinced that the middle hanger brackets was welded on the pipe in the wrong spot. So, I decided to do some cutting this weekend, since I don't have access to a welder.

I marked the passenger side of the middle hanger bracket, as it was touching the heat shield. Then I removed the middle exhaust pipe and cut off about ¼-inch of the hanger bracket where I marked it. Put everything back together, making sure the middle and end pipe are not touching anything. As expected, in order to keep the middle and end pipe from touching anything, the middle hanger bracket is twisted. However, since I cut off that portion of the bracket, it doesn't seem to be touching the heat shield.

We'll see how it goes. This morning to work I didn't notice any exhaust vibration. It would be nice if I finally conquered this stupid exhaust.
 
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