Recent content by EddyKilowatt

This car has been a stalwart commuter for the 10+ years and 170k miles I've had it... but time moves on and it's time for it to keep chugging along for someone else. https://monterey.craigslist.org/cto/d/2003-vw-golf-gl-tdi-5-speed/6709441833.html (1% to go to TDIClub when this sells...

I think the powertrains (from the piston crown onward) have been pretty well debugged, and the turbo hardware too. I have the impression we're seeing first-generation issues with gasoline direct injection though, like intake valves crudding up like it was 1980 all over again... with oil rather...

This is why I pay the premium for Michelin, in most cases. Never had one out-of-round, they always seem to balance well, and they always seem to hold balance all the way thru their life. I hate out-of-balance tires... nothing says "beater" to me like a shimmy somewhere in the suspension...

I live near the ocean and have this pretty routinely due to the daily cycle of morning land breeze and afternoon sea breeze. Oh well... at least there's the ocean to look at. Most of my headwinds have a sidewind component, and my observation is that they seem to cause more drag than you'd...

Same here. I work in electronics and have installed and removed a lot of wire-applied crimp terminals in my life, but I couldn't get this one, at least not with the tools at hand and with the connector tethered to the dash by about two inches of harness. If anyone has a photo of either the...

Further to jack57's comment, I recollect from my own tire install last Fall that Michelin's best fuel efficiency MXV4 Primacy ("GreenX" I guess) had less tread depth, and a shorter tread life warranty, than their next-best MXV4. Something like 8/32" and 50k miles, vs. 11/32 and 70k miles...

I would think there'd be a decent USA market for a TT TDI, if someone who'd already figured out the details cared to series-build a dozen or two of them. I'd go for one myself... wouldn't have to be a hotrod, just give me a FWD TT with an ALH engine and I'd be a happy commuter.

So, what is the coldest temperature at which your van needs to start? 0 C? -20C? I would weigh this heavily in thinking about how much, if any, weight can be pared off the battery.

I feel that way about HVAC controls. BMW had perfect, infinitely adjustable analog sliders during the 70s and 80s, then replaced them in the 90s with fashionable rotary knobs that were specifically cammed to give an on-off, all-or-nothing, blast-or-freeze airflow distribution. My 2003 Golf...

Okay, my turn to give this a bump. What's been the long-run experience with these for folks who have 'em installed? Anywhere to buy them online? (No truck dealers near me.)

http://www.idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=652 Pain is relative and so is skill. I'm a clumsy amateur with a low pain threshold, and easily did my own in the driveway... but it was a summer day, not a winter night, and I pre-ordered the VW coolant. I'll let someone with...

If you are driving that 2000 on the same routes and at the same speeds, then all these comments about right foot, cruise, cams, etc can be tossed out the window. Something IS different about your 2003. And if you're driving 70-75 but only seeing 165F water temp... then you've found what that...

Running ESP 5W-30 year-round, but we don't go lower than 0 C nor higher than 30 C around here. Have not been too pleased with the UOAs but suspect it is due to running 15k on it... planning on changing at 10k this time.

Choose wisely if you're tempted to go with the hard TT bushings... they're my only regret on my recent install of Eibach springs and Koni FSD dampers. If you run your tires hard for fuel economy, the hard bushings really transmit the high-frequency road vibrations. All kinds of stuff in my...

I ran ESP 5W-30 for 14k, in pretty ideal conditions (35 mile commute in coastal Cali climate) and the TBN came back low but not alarming -- don't have the results here but it did seem that >15k wouldn't have been a good idea. What *was* alarming (at least to Oil Analyzers) was Oxidation, which...