Modifications

I have been repairing my car and it is nearly completely fixed. I was thinking of maybe modifying my car but don't really know much about it or what I should go for. I take my car on the road a lot and am always traveling. What would be a good modification(s) to make to my 2000 Jetta TDI?

Comfortable seats would be consideration if I drove alot.

Definitely, seats are something I will look into. A comfortable seat never hurts. Would there be any mods that would improve gas milage or improve the longevity of my car?

Aluminum Skid plate. Knowing that you will hit the rock and be ok is worth the price of the plate.

ECU Tune - it will feel like a new car and add confidence when passing on 2 lanes that you can actually get in front before the oncoming car on the horizon gets there.

Ecode (Euro spec) headlights - Available at a great price from vendors here, the reviews are great.

Ventectomy - simple mod that allows an extra gallon or two in your fuel tank and doesn't cost a dime.

I agree with sirpuddingfoot.

In addition:
1) maybe nozzles
2) Malone Tune to be specific
3) maybe drilled / slotted rotors
4) Not to be insulting, but learn to drive a diesel. They LOVE full throttle at low (1800-2000) rpm's.
5) Keep up on the maintenance: Good synthetic diesel oil, proper & regular filter changes
6) Pay attention to the car; it will let you know what it needs.

Drive more, worry less!

Tony

Those sound pretty good. Would a particular type of mechanic have to do the ECU Tune? How much does that usually cost? That ventectomy looks cool. I'm having trouble finding "how to's" on that. Do you know a good link?

See here for ventectomy pics.
Steps 7 and 8 are where the "work" takes place. You have to push that piece out. You can push with your thumb on the little button in the filler neck and use a screwdriver or something on the "Push Here" tab in the back.


ECU Tunes are done by a special tuner.
I have a Malone tune. The other tuners here are Rocketchip, TDTuning, and Kerma.

I'd recommend spending some time in the Power Enhancements section learning about the possibilities (they really are only limited by your wallet).

sirpuddingfoot said:

...they really are only limited by your wallet.

Click to expand...

That's the old racers adage: How fast do you wan to go? How much do you want to spend?

To the OP:
I am VERY happy with the Malone stage II tune. Per discussion with Mark, it works well with stock nozzles, but you pick up more power with bigger nozzles. You will need gauges (boost & pyro), to help manage the temps, after the nozzle upgrade. With stock nozzles, there is no need.

Oh yeah, I picked up 2mpg on the fist tank of fuel!

If you are considering a tune, I suggest you get a set of gauges, first!

Tony

I'm not sure exactly how much I would spend on it. I am assuming that they cost a couple or few grand so I guess I would spend that. Looking at that Malone webpage I would guess a stage II or stage III would be what I am looking for. What do those run, round about? Would it be a better idea to get larger nozzles in combination with the Malone, with gauges of course? Would I install the gauges without the nozzles?

Mark has basic pricing on his website.

You can certainly put the gauges on without the nozzles. That would be the better idea. Then, you can get an idea of how your engine runs in stock trim.

Tony

The next big questions is "who is turning the wrench?" If it's you, 2-3 grand is going to go a HELL of a lot farther. If it's someone else, not so much.

If you're going to modify your car, the first thing you need is access to the VCDS cable and software from Ross Tech. Frankly, at $250 (assuming you don't want to plan on supporting 2005.5 or newer diesels) it's a great tool to have.

Stage 3:
Clutch: you're definitely looking at a clutch and Single Mass Flywheel (SMF) as a requirement. Figure $450 in parts if you're committed to a maximum of stage 3 (G60/VR6 Clutch + SMF Kit). Figure a very long day (or weekend) if you're DIYing and it's your first clutch. $600-$900 for labor at a shop. With a now 12 year old car, you could put this down as maintenance.
Nozzles: I believe "Sprint 520" nozzles will get you through stage 3, but "PP764" nozzles give you more room to breathe. Figure $225 for sprint 520s and $300 for PP764s. More for There are many threads on nozzles here and even mentioning these could start a debate. Add more ($150-$200?) to get them flow matched (recommended, but also debated).
Exhaust:
Perform a mufflerectomy at the least.
Gauges:
At stage 3, I wouldn't call it a requirement. I'd invest in VCDS for logging and dialing in your tune before a gauge.

Figure 1200+incidentals for the stage 3 setup if you're turning your own wrench.
Figure 2000-2500+incidentals for a shop.

Stage 4 adds a good chunk:
Nozzles: PP764s (maybe more, debates will happen)
Clutch: SB S2E (south bend stage 2 endurance + SMF) or like: $630 in parts
Turbo: VNT17 (all across the board depending on new/used/how long you wait for a deal): 300-1000
Exhaust: get a turboback exhaust (downpipe and back)
Intercooler: Upgrade required - 100-600 depending on style, mounting, charge piping, new/used, etc.
Gauges: are a good idea at this point: 250.

You could do Stage 4 on your own for 3 grand.


More than ~that and you run into the fueling limit of your injection pump... and you probably don't want to dump more money into that... it's prohibitively expensive.

All of this assumes a 5spd transmission... you do have a 5spd, right? Otherwise your first grand goes into parts for a 5spd swap.