Has anyone seen an Audi TT conversion?

kenavery7

Member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Location
Ipswich, MA
TDI
none
The reason I ask is because it seems like it would be fairly easy to do, being a VAG car and all.

Post pics if you can find'em!
 

SuperChicken

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Location
Chilliwack, BC
TDI
2010 Touareg TDI
I had the same idea not two days ago driving to work. TT Quattro with a high output TDI.

The budget to build it to my expectations unfortunately isn't there (in my bank account, that is). :(
 

kenavery7

Member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Location
Ipswich, MA
TDI
none
Nice.

I guess the way to do it would be to find one with a blown motor and go from there, but those are few and far between.

The thing I like about the TT is that it uses the Haldex system, so the AWD drivetrain is far more energy efficient, which should help MPG in theory.
 

Pat Dolan

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2002
Location
Martensville, SK
TDI
2003 A4 Variant, 2015 Q7
Being from the age of carburetors and coils, I look a the TT swap with one simple question: Does the ECU control the Haldex? If it does, that would become a nightmare of electronics design.
 

kenavery7

Member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Location
Ipswich, MA
TDI
none
Haldex is electronically controlled (which is the best and worst part about it), but as mentioned before, I think we can get around it using other controllers.

Man,this would be a cool project... but an expensive one. ha.
 

steviemac

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Location
Halifax, NS
TDI
03 Golf TDI
I was thinking of this conversion on the drive home from work and found this old thread to resurrect. I happen across this article on autoblog.com:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/11/audi-tt-to-offer-a-diesel/
Article below:
Audi TT to offer a diesel

Posted Jul 11th 2006 3:53PM by Erin Mays
Filed under: Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Audi

Cashing in on the R10's success as a diesel-powered race car (the vehicle won at Le Mans last month, for those out of the know), the Audi TT will also be likely offered with a diesel for the new model. While it's uncertain whether the diesel will be offered in the United States (likely not), industry sources cited by Automotive News indicate that the TT will go up against the likes of the Alfa Romeo Brera's 2.4L five-cylinder common-rail diesel. The Brera's engine spits out 200 hp, but the only diesel made by Volkswagen/Audi that will fit in the TT's engine bay is the 170 hp 2.0L four-cylinder diesel offered in vehicles such as the Golf and Passat.
[Source: Automotive News via AutoWeek]

The last sentence of the article is what caught my attention the most. 2.0L will fit in the new TT. Would that mean that it would also fit in the old TT. I've seen TT's with engine/tranny problems going for $10k CDN and I stumbled across this today:

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/11/audi-tt-to-offer-a-diesel/
(2.0L from a 2005 Passat)

This could be a project that would build my ultimate car: a high performance all wheel drive diesel. Would it really be as easy as buying a diesel and plopping it in a TT? I'm becoming very interested in the possibilities...
 

alphaseinor

TDI Innovator, Gone but Not Forgotten
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Location
Denton, TX
TDI
'03 Jetta TDI 780,000 miles (totaled out), 01 Audi TT 225 Quattro 230,000 Miles (runs great!), 00 Cabreetle Beetle dash, ALH & MK4 harness Swap
IIRC the TT is based on the A4 platform (at least when they first came out). so while it wouldn't be "easy" it certainly would be doable...
 

david_594

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Location
Cheshire, CT
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS Silver
The TT is based on the mk4 platform so it has a transverse motor. A 2005 passat TDI is based on the B5 platform and has a longitudinal motor.

So it defenitely wouldnt be easy to put that 2L motor in a TT.
 

steviemac

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Location
Halifax, NS
TDI
03 Golf TDI
Ok, maybe not the 2.0L, but the 1.9 must be a very easy transplant. I think I know what I'll be dreaming about tonight...
 

kenavery7

Member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Location
Ipswich, MA
TDI
none
steviemac said:
Ok, maybe not the 2.0L, but the 1.9 must be a very easy transplant. I think I know what I'll be dreaming about tonight...
The MK1 TT was just a golf frame, and they made golf tdis (obviously), so the engine fitting will not be a problem.

The hard part will be the wiring.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta

GoFaster

Moderator at Large
Joined
Jun 16, 1999
Location
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
I believe dieselgeek did a Corrado, but again, that's another VW chassis that was never offered with a TDI but you can still do it.

The instrument cluster might be a tricky bit if you want it to look and function like OEM, since there was never a TDI cluster built for that car.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
I'm conident that the instrument cluster can be made to look correct. Whether you take a tdi passat/audi cluster and can be clipped together in the TT's housing or you go the route that I did and you have to use a dremal with bondo and epoxy and some paint to make it look oem. I know that nobody has ever called me out on my cluster once I completed the work.

I think the biggest pain about this swap is the money outlay and the time required. The cluster is no bog deal since the tt's dash is built around the same general cluster as the mk4 tdis. The corrado's dash was not so it was very tough to it a mk4 cluster in it.
 

MrDave

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Location
1300 km NW of nowhere
GoFaster said:
The instrument cluster might be a tricky bit if you want it to look and function like OEM, since there was never a TDI cluster built for that car.
If you compare a TT cluster with a mk4/A4 cluster, the locations of the dials are the same. I'm pretty sure it's essentially the same hardware behind the cover.

You wouldn't have the ugly TT gauge faces for the hybrid-TDI/TT cluster,
but the more palletable mk4 gauge faces, or perhaps some pretty faces from a European Audi A3 or Skoda.

I don't see the cluster as being an issue.

-Dave
 

awmw

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2006
Location
Coventry, England
TDI
Audi A4 TDI 1998
I have seen one!

Last Sunday at the GTI international car show.














It started life as a base model TT with the 180BHP engine and FWD.

It has been fitted with a 1.9 TDI PD from a Mk4 golf, tuned to 240 BHP using a turbo from Allard.

I spoke to the owner, Matt, for a few minutes. He's one of the owners of vagparts.com so that's got to help when doing a project like this!

He used the standard diesel golf driveshafts and the instrument cluster fitted into the Audi dash with just a little cutting.

If you didn't know better you'd think this is how it left the factory.
 

duckman808

New member
Joined
May 10, 2007
Location
Gloucestershire, England
TDI
Mk1 Audi TT, Mk4 Golf 25th Anniversary
...thats what we thought, straight forward. Wiring proved more complex than we imagined (Dan Turner of VW & Audi Centre, bit of a hero) sorted it though. Believe me, in alot of ways, a Golf the TT ain't. But approx 240bhp, 350 lb/ft torque and 48mpg.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
In a couple years I think I might build one for the wife. I think the difficulty level would be somewhere between my two corrado projects. The Key would be to get a european 4-motion 150hp donor and then a Quattro Convertable TT.

The Wife likes the sound of this project. That is often the toughest part of any project I take on ;)
 

steviemac

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Location
Halifax, NS
TDI
03 Golf TDI
duckman808 said:
...thats what we thought, straight forward. Wiring proved more complex than we imagined (Dan Turner of VW & Audi Centre, bit of a hero) sorted it though. Believe me, in alot of ways, a Golf the TT ain't. But approx 240bhp, 350 lb/ft torque and 48mpg.
I surf here in awe... What a beautiful car -- just the thing I have imagined for some time now. I would be years away from taking on a project such as this, but you have given me a new wallpaper for my desktop. Truely great, thank you...

Steve
 

03_01_TDI

Banned
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Location
Denmark
TDI
Na
We have two options on the TT swaps


Very Simple - a FWD Audi TT
Or the little bit more - Quattro EDIT- Audi Quattro is different from VW 4-motion - would require many adaptors and headaches... or so I've been told.

To make things as simple as possible a front donor clip from a Golf or Jetta would be the best way. Just pick the same platform and Immo ECU year.

It's the ECU, gauges, and wiring that would require some help and lots of technical advice. Mechanical stuff would be simple - remove and replace. The intercooler would need to be figured out and the fuel lines and fuel filter.


--
Hopefully somebody on this side of the pond will do a TDI TT FWD --- so I won't have to be the first!
 
Last edited:

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
03_01_TDI said:
Hopefully somebody on this side of the pond will do a TDI TT FWD --- so I won't have to be the first!
If I do it for "The Wife" she would insist upon Quattro
 

Aidan

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Location
Midlands, UK
Just to point some of you in the right direction,
There was an Audi A3 TDI 130 quattro, it is haldex 4motion as with all 'A4' platforms.
As you probably know 130/150 tdis are basically the same, and the ecu can be flashed to match either.
This was available in the UK, so you should be able to get parts from here. There was a Leon 150tdi 4 which is PD150 4motion, but only in some parts of Europe. It is likely there is every conceivable variation of model/engine/drivetrain around Europe.

The latest Golf is available with 2.0 tdi and 4motion, still haldex.

Who knows, you may be able to get away with an engine, gearbox, rear diff, and ecu, then get it all going with some software reflashing and stock tdi parts from the US
 

DIESELprogrammer

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Location
NorEastern, Washington, USA
TDI
Golf GLS, 2003, Silver/Gray
Resurrecting an old thread as I search for information.

I still have my 2003 Golf TDI. Blew out turbo and over revved engine awhile back. Bought a new engine and turbo but still haven’t installed as I have been considering a 6sp trans.

I was recently given a 2002 Audi TT Quatro W/Manual that is in good shape with fairly low miles. But still has blown 1.8T. Considering a TDI swap and letting the Golf wait awhile.

Any info, links, experiences would be greatly appreciated. Want to keep the Quatro, otherwise don't see much need for the swap.
 
Last edited:
Top