What did you do to your MKIV today?

rwthomas1

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2002
Location
Wakefield, RI
TDI
'03 Jetta
I have always installed really good stereos in my cars. Yeah, cars are noisy, but cruisin' with tunes is a big deal to me. I had a jl audio xd700/5 which got overheated sitting in a parking lot with the windows closed when I was on vacation. After two years of using my money for other, useful things, like paying off my townhouse, late Fall I sprung for an HD900/5. The is the most musical, best sounding amp I've ever heard. It is just wonderful. And I can hear lyrics in songs I never could hear before, even when travelling 75 on the highway. Combined with all of the soundproofing I've done, it's a nice result. (I forget what speakers I'm running, sorry.)

I do run a tube amp setup at home, but it's lower-end stuff. I have heard truly high-end systems, and have gone to stereo shows, but that's a dream for another day.

Most modern music is horribly overproduced and overmixed, probably to sound better through crappy earphones.
I haven't messed around with car audio in more than two decades. I'm sure things have changed a bit. I think that decades of loud noises have degraded my hearing enough that truly great sound systems are probably not worth it. I have also succumbed to the convenience of IHeart for my commuting tunes. The Monsoon system is old, but still sounds acceptable. Glad to hear the car audio game is alive and well though.

RT
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
I was happy with the Monsoon in my 03 JSW but I wanted navigation.
When I bought my Kenwood DNX571HD from Best Buy clearance I found out quickly how much better the sound is.
It was so much better that I removed it when I sold the car and just installed it into my 14 JSW.

Still have to hook up up the camera and update the NAV.
Today might be a good day for the NAV. :unsure:
 

rwthomas1

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2002
Location
Wakefield, RI
TDI
'03 Jetta
I was happy with the Monsoon in my 03 JSW but I wanted navigation.
When I bought my Kenwood DNX571HD from Best Buy clearance I found out quickly how much better the sound is.
It was so much better that I removed it when I sold the car and just installed it into my 14 JSW.

Still have to hook up up the camera and update the NAV.
Today might be a good day for the NAV. :unsure:
My problem is I move from my commuter to a company vehicle, then another company vehicle, etc. and the kid hauler at home. So Waze on the phone makes way more sense for me. RT
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
I received all the parts to do my suspension upgrade... Bilstein TC sports, beef on a budget springs and all new mounts and etc. This is going to be great! Now to find the time to do the work...
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
Arrrgh! Went to replace glow plug #1 and found the threads messed up. The glow plug threads are blunted, one small section is deformed. Pretty sure this was damaged by the previous owner. For fun I tried to hand thread the new GP in and it won't even start.

I 'think' there are enough threads left towards the bottom of the hole to use a back tap but now I have to buy one and wait for it to come in.

11 ft lbs of tightening torque isn't much, but I'm hoping there are enough threads left to hold even that.

Anyone in So Cal have a back tap I can borrow or know where I can buy one same day? (I'm in Ventura)

Dave
 

Judson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
Cheyenne, WY
TDI
2001 Jetta
Well, huh. I could have sworn I posted something last night. Anyway, did a logging run of block 11, requested versus actual. Max "actual" was 2589 when requested was 2402.4. Requested is always less than actual throughout the entire run. Not sure why this is the case. My boost gauge is always showing less than requested, and since the new tune has only shown a 1psi increase.

Is 2589 meant to be 25.89psi of boost? Is that how one interprets the info?

So, let's say that my boost gauge is correct within 1psi. This means that the new tune added 1psi to the mix. That's it, and that may be user error. I should see an increase of at least 4psi with the new tune.

Anyway, I have a ticket open with Malone, and they'll give provide me some great feedback as usual.

 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Well......what kind of tune did you do?
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
Well, huh. I could have sworn I posted something last night. Anyway, did a logging run of block 11, requested versus actual. Max "actual" was 2589 when requested was 2402.4. Requested is always less than actual throughout the entire run. Not sure why this is the case. My boost gauge is always showing less than requested, and since the new tune has only shown a 1psi increase.

Is 2589 meant to be 25.89psi of boost? Is that how one interprets the info?

So, let's say that my boost gauge is correct within 1psi. This means that the new tune added 1psi to the mix. That's it, and that may be user error. I should see an increase of at least 4psi with the new tune.

Anyway, I have a ticket open with Malone, and they'll give provide me some great feedback as usual.

The numbers used for boost are mbar. If that helps you any.
 

Judson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
Cheyenne, WY
TDI
2001 Jetta
Well......what kind of tune did you do?
Malone, stage 4/5. With the 4bar map the intent was to run 26psi. Assuming requested versus actual are accurate numbers, it begs the question of why my boost gauge seems to not report correctly. It's a very nice newsouth gauge with the factory lighting. Looks like I'm going to have to do a lot more logging while watching the boost gauge and hopefully I can figure out the problem. Or at least be satisfied that the tune is doing what it's supposed to do, and the gauge is just off....
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Well, huh. I could have sworn I posted something last night. Anyway, did a logging run of block 11, requested versus actual. Max "actual" was 2589 when requested was 2402.4. Requested is always less than actual throughout the entire run. Not sure why this is the case. My boost gauge is always showing less than requested, and since the new tune has only shown a 1psi increase.

Is 2589 meant to be 25.89psi of boost? Is that how one interprets the info?

So, let's say that my boost gauge is correct within 1psi. This means that the new tune added 1psi to the mix. That's it, and that may be user error. I should see an increase of at least 4psi with the new tune.

Anyway, I have a ticket open with Malone, and they'll give provide me some great feedback as usual.

Not all tunes update the scaling for the values in VCDS when you change the MAP sensor. I'd trust your gauge more than anything, it's the thing that hasn't changed.

The requested vs actuals look pretty reasonable in my opinion, you can see on the 3rd gear pulls that it starts to correct itself. In all the rest of the gears, you're not in the throttle long enough for it to regain control. If you plot the duty cycle from Group 11, we can see a lot more of what the boost control system is trying to do.

Don't even attempt to look at boost control in 1st or 2nd gear, get into 3rd gear and stable at ~1800 RPM for a few seconds then floor it for as long as you're comfortable/safe. You've barely 500 RPM of "run" in the first 3rd gear run and maybe 750 RPM in the second. 1500-2000 RPM run is what you're looking for.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Is 2589 meant to be 25.89psi of boost? Is that how one interprets the info?
2589mbar = 37.55psi *minus* the 14.7psi of atmospheric pressure = 22.85psi

or (doing "close enough" math):
1bar = pretty much exactly 1atm (standard atmospheric pressure), so...
2589mbar - 1000mbar (1atm) = ~1589mbar = ~23.0psi
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
As for what I did to my Mk4 today....drove up the ski hill, hit the GO pedal to get around some laggards and....watched the RPMs climb while my speed stayed flat.


So, in answer to my self-question...wondering if the 11mm pump and .205 nozzles are going to be too much for my clutch....yep!

On the plus side, found a Canadian vendor getting rid of a NOS Southbend Stage 2 Daily clutch for little more than what the G60/VR6 setup goes for...got shipping confirmation little over an hour ago. :)
 

Judson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
Cheyenne, WY
TDI
2001 Jetta
Nuje and Fix_Until_Broke - thanks a lot for your feedback. I need to go back out and log a bunch of values according to malone's logging guide, and do so in third gear WOT from 1800 rpms or so. It looks like at the least right now nothing is going crazy.

If you all remember, I blew up two VNT17s doing just this kind of thing almost two years ago. I suspected a bad N75 (new from the factory!), changed it, and have been limping alone with an old worn out VNT15 ever since. I also suspected a leak out of where my boost line was tapped (it was leaking - I could see spray after the first turbos went, and I fixed that). So, I never truly found out back then if the N75 was the culprit. It's looking like after all this time that I was right.
 
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Dhawk12

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2018
Location
Langley, Canada
TDI
2002 ALH 5 spd
As for what I did to my Mk4 today....drove up the ski hill, hit the GO pedal to get around some laggards and....watched the RPMs climb while my speed stayed flat.


So, in answer to my self-question...wondering if the 11mm pump and .205 nozzles are going to be too much for my clutch....yep!

On the plus side, found a Canadian vendor getting rid of a NOS Southbend Stage 2 Daily clutch for little more than what the G60/VR6 setup goes for...got shipping confirmation little over an hour ago. :)
I'm dreading trying to find a Canadian vendor to replace my southbend when it wears out. I got it at a scrap yard from the car I pulled the transmission from to do a manual conversion. (I know, I know, used clutch, do the job twice, blah blah lol. In its defense it has since done 60,000 km in my car lol.) When I got it I was just using the auto pump and injectors, but now I have slightly bigger than manual injectors with the 11mm pump so I don't think a stock clutch will work anymore.
 

MukGyver

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Location
Sierra Ca
TDI
2004 Jetta PD
As for what I did to my Mk4 today....drove up the ski hill, hit the GO pedal to get around some laggards and....watched the RPMs climb while my speed stayed flat.


So, in answer to my self-question...wondering if the 11mm pump and .205 nozzles are going to be too much for my clutch....yep!

On the plus side, found a Canadian vendor getting rid of a NOS Southbend Stage 2 Daily clutch for little more than what the G60/VR6 setup goes for...got shipping confirmation little over an hour ago. :)
No crappier feeling than to jump out for a pass and have your clutch slip. My 1700cc roadstar (cruiser bike) would slip. It left me hanging out there once I nearly got it.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Nuje and Fix_Until_Broke - thanks a lot for your feedback. I need to go back out and log a bunch of values according to malone's logging guide, and do so in third gear WOT from 1800 rpms or so. It looks like at the least right now nothing is going crazy.

If you all remember, I blew up two VNT17s doing just this kind of thing almost two years ago. I suspected a bad N75 (new from the factory!), changed it, and have been limping alone with an old worn out VNT15 ever since. I also suspected a leak out of where my boost line was tapped (it was leaking - I could see spray after the first turbos went, and I fixed that). So, I never truly found out back then if the N75 was the culprit. It's looking like after all this time that I was right.
Logged data and used tunezilla website to create graphs:


I'm at 6000 feet above sea level. Maybe that explains some variances.
Yes, I guess it goes without saying not to blindly mash the pedal :). Your graphs show that things are well controlled, but might need some refinement.

The 6000 ft altitude explains why actual goes below requested (1000mBar) when you're off the throttle, and I'm told can create some tuning revisions compared to those at lower altitudes.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
I haven't messed around with car audio in more than two decades. I'm sure things have changed a bit. I think that decades of loud noises have degraded my hearing enough that truly great sound systems are probably not worth it. I have also succumbed to the convenience of IHeart for my commuting tunes. The Monsoon system is old, but still sounds acceptable. Glad to hear the car audio game is alive and well though.

RT
I actually like the Monsoon system. I changed the headunit in my 2003 Golf and mom's 2005 Wagon, but the amp still sounds fantastic with aftermarket speakers and tweeters.

As for what I did - got my car aligned today, after replacing tie rods, front swaybar bushings, ball joints, lower control arms with TT bushings already pressed in, and swapped out my VR6 axle/brake and Bilstein B8/Neuspeed sport spring combo from my 2004 Golf.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
As for what I did - got my car aligned today, after replacing tie rods, front swaybar bushings, ball joints, lower control arms with TT bushings already pressed in, and swapped out my VR6 axle/brake and Bilstein B8/Neuspeed sport spring combo from my 2004 Golf.
Did the shop change anything other than toe? How far off were the readings before and afterwards?
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
Did the shop change anything other than toe? How far off were the readings before and afterwards?
Let's see if my image upload worked... and it did.
I also swapped out my now worn leather wrapped steering wheel I picked up about 100K-ish miles from @BleachedBora, so driving home felt so much more like my 2004 Golf.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
Let's see if my image upload worked... and it did.
I also swapped out my now worn leather wrapped steering wheel I picked up about 100K-ish miles from @BleachedBora, so driving home felt so much more like my 2004 Golf.
Excellent, thanks! Reason I ask is I've been doing my own alignments but basically just toe. I was surprised how little adjustment the ball joint has so I didn't think there was a way to adjust camber much.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
Excellent, thanks! Reason I ask is I've been doing my own alignments but basically just toe. I was surprised how little adjustment the ball joint has so I didn't think there was a way to adjust camber much.
Whereas it was explained to me what it all means earlier tonight by my tuner. Alignment is the one area I never truly understood, other than what to replace and how to know when something feels off.
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
I use a machinists square to dial in camber, after setting toe. Then going over both again. They will affect one another. Caster will affect both while turning.
I start by lifting a front tire and spraying white paint and scribing a line down the center as I rotate the wheel. This line is used to measure toe at the same height off the floor front to back. Second step is to drop and settle the car as I center the steering wheel. Third step is to take an eyeball line of sight down the inner sidewall of each front tire and noting how much of the rear tire I can see. The goal is to adjust toe to spec while having the steering wheel straight and the amount of rear tire tread visible equally from passenger to driver side by line of sight of the inner front sidewalls.
Then after I am satisfied, settling the springs and making sure toe is acceptable, I use a machinists square centered and plumb on the wheel to adjust camber.
It's been over 40 years that I used an alignment machine to set caster and don't remember the exact formula, (it involved turning the wheel 15 or 20 degrees and something like zeroing the camber gauge, then back to straight ahead for a reading) so I just try to twist each ball joint to the same general location left to right to give me positive caster for highway stability.
Then after driving for awhile to settle things in, it will go to an alignment shop if a lot of highway driving is done. I have been told I have dialed things in very close with this method.
 

MukGyver

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Location
Sierra Ca
TDI
2004 Jetta PD
How hot to the touch should a pd injector pump be after a good drive? I know they run high pressure. This one is significantly hotter than the head it's attached to. I can barely touch it.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
I use a machinists square to dial in camber, after setting toe. Then going over both again. They will affect one another. Caster will affect both while turning.
I start by lifting a front tire and spraying white paint and scribing a line down the center as I rotate the wheel. This line is used to measure toe at the same height off the floor front to back. Second step is to drop and settle the car as I center the steering wheel.
My setup is kind of similar
- jack up both sides in the front, start car, idle in 1st gear, stripe both tires with a ball point pen.
- put the car on ramps, with each of the front tires on a sandwich of two linoleum tiles with folded plastic trash bags in between. This works well as a slip sheet.
- put some weight in the driver's seat (bags of water softener salt usually)
- enlist a family member to help me measure the distance between the front and back of the tires
- adjust toe to target.

As far as centering the wheel, a test drive to see how far off it is and then adjusting the tie rods.

I've done camber on another car using a straight edge and a digital level. Worked well enough though my driveway isn't perfectly flat or level. That car needed it as I was using knuckles from a different year to upgrade the brakes. For cars that don't have adjustable camber, I don't bother checking.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
Took the Beetle's front tires to Walmart to get the Pirelli's I ordered installed. The rears were done 2 weeks ago and they took hardly any weight to balance, just like the old ones. Today, one tire took 3/4 oz in total. The other took 2.5 oz and another 1.5 oz, HUGE difference. The old tires didn't require that much weight. I asked the guy to rebalance the one and he let me watch when he put it back on the balancer - balanced perfectly without touching the weights. I did notice that he coned the wheel from the front vs the back unlike what the other guy did weeks ago.

Unfortunately I couldn't drive the beetle to see if indeed the balance is right as I still have a glow plug removed (taps arriving Tues), but I full expect to have to take it back and get that one tire rebalanced, this time coned from the rear.
 

Judson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
Cheyenne, WY
TDI
2001 Jetta
Drove her. I had a problem over the last few years (at least) of the engine bogging down at low rpms in 2nd gear - like when you come up to a sharp right turn and have slow way down - downshifting into first works but you’re still going fifteen to twenty and it doesn’t that much unless you match revs...

Anyway, after the turn, when I got back on the throttle, she wouuld choke on herself and have a hard time accelerating. Very annoying.

This behavior is totally gone now. She pulls from low revs in 2nd gear really well and in fact is running better than she ever has before! Yay Malone and right-sized turbo!
 

Rrusse11

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Location
PA Deutsch Country
TDI
2002 Golf, 5spd; 05 Jeep CRD
Congrats on getting your tune worked out. A word of caution though, be careful with the extra torque at lower revs.
It's fairly common for people to strip 5th gear by mashing the pedal below 2k rpm.
You doing hairpins on mountain roads?
 
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