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Originally Posted by GolNat
Thanks. Lol yeah you are certainly a fan of the TDI. It is certainly a forgotten engine and one that I am glad to be getting the experience with.
I read in your build thread that you have the EGR and tune for your Jetta. I originally didn't want to remove any emissions stuff but from what the forums are saying the longevity of the engine can be reduced by keeping it on the car. Is this true of what you have experienced?
I was looking at the Kerma Tune since it doesn't require removing or replacing any hardware but Malone seems to be the go-to tune for TDI's. I'd love to go with Unitronic as I have that on my GTI but it is not able to be flashed at home, I have to send the ECU in.
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Ha, yeah, they're great commuters and serve my travels well. I gotta get a fast car again soon though
Yeah, I've ditched the emissions stuff on all of my TDIs. I mainly do it for the power, added fuel mileage, fun, and sound. However, since the Dieselgate fixes have been done, DPFs have been failing at a higher rate than they use to. And it's not THAT big of a deal when it fails, because the warranty covers it, but DPFs are backordered at least three months in most places, so it's super annoying if nothing else. Anyway, it's a lot of money up front, but deleting and tuning definitely makes them more reliable by getting rid of several things that are known to fail or cause problems. And you'll likely gain something like 10-15%-ish average fuel economy. Both of my Jettas gained about 7mpg mixed driving.
Malone is certainly the big one. That's who I've always had because it was convenient for me. There are lots of good tuners. Some are easier to get a hold of or have good dealer networks or whatever. The general rule of thumb is to skip the big gas tuners (APR/Unitronic/etc) and go with the diesel specific folks. RocketChip is another great one from York PA, Stevenson, JR Auto. My Touareg will likely get a JR Auto tune or I might try to reach out to RC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blue91lx
That thing seems like a great daily. I have been hunting for a daily upgrade (hatch, manual, decent economy, etc), and hadn’t stumbled upon these. I likely overlooked because-FWD.
What’s the long term durability of these things? I’m totally in the dark with VW.
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I think they're great long term. They have some issues that can occasionally crop up and catch you out, but generally they're very reliable. There are many folks zipping around at 300-500k miles with no issues. Emissions equipment is the big failure point, but the dieselgate warranty covers it all. The high pressure fuel pump is another one, but that's a whole can of worms and I think it's massively blown out of proportion. Other than that, some random sensors and dumb stuff, pano sun roof leaks, coolant leaks/water pump on the 2015, lots of rattles depending on the year/model. However, I've had two 2009-2015s now, and five of my friends each have/had one. All Jettas, two Jetta Sportwagen. Only issues have been a leaky DEF injector (warrantied) on my friend's 2015 Jetta, an engine speed sensor or something on a 2013 sportwagen (warrantied), and a DPF on it's way out on a 2013 Jetta (again, warranty).
Both transmissions are great, fuel economy is roughly the same between them. I actually love the dual clutch DSG unit, but a lot of people don't. The manual is fine, not much to say, it'll hold "stage 3" "euro big turbo" power levels. The DSG will do whatever you want with a simple tune.