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Sedans Volkswagen Passat VW Passat Wagon vs Subaru Wagons
742 messages, Last post on Dec 23, 2008 at 11:00 AM
You are in the Volkswagen Passat Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Having said that a friend of mine has the 1.8T/Tiptronic and chipped both the engine and the tranny, and swears it performs far better now. I'll take his word for it, but that's still about a grand plus questionable warranty coverage. -juice |
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The difference between stock and chipped 1.8T is day and night! I have a 1.8T chipped with Wetteraurer making ~200hp and ~240 lb-ft of torque and after ~18K chipped miles, the Passat continues to be a pleasure to drive. The power comes on so crisply and linearly. And the torque is sweet! Yes, granted there are warranty issues (depending on whether your "friendly" dealer is mod-friendly or otherwise - mine is), but for ~$300 for a chip, its the best bang for your mod-bucks in my book. BTW, I almost went with the Legacy GT but the Passat won out because of its "chip-ability". |
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Wow, 240 foot pounds from a 1.8l? Doesn't that sound a little optimistic for a chip alone? -juice |
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That's what the chip manufacturer claims and its pretty similar across the board for the other manufacturers like GIAC, APR, etc. Thing is the Audi/VW 1.8 engine is so versatile (e.g its essentially the same engine in the Audi TT and that makes 225 hp/200+ lb-ft torque), and is so de-tuned for the Passat, that it appears simply re-mapping the ECU will do the trick. I personally have not dyno-ed my Passat but some of my fellow ClubB5ers have. From what I have seen posted, its within the ball-park. Sure feels like 200+ ft-lb to me - I drove a 24V V6 Duratec Taurus for 9 months before I got my Passat and that has an advertised 200 ft-lb; my chipped Passat's torque delivery "feels" pretty similar (not that I would equate a Taurus with the Passat but that's another story ...). |
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Well, we'll be seeing more chips for Subarus now that the WRX, STi, Forester XT, Baja Turbo, and pretty soon Legacy turbo are for sale. -juice |
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Wish the Legacy Turbo was around a year ago. Still have a soft-spot for Subies and still would like an affordable AWD sports wagon! Anyway, chip away! |
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I had a 2002 Passat wagon with the AT and 1.8T combo - horrible! Lag does NOT go away and can be dangerous if you are trying get out into busy street! I had a whole host of mechanical and electrical problems as well - the happy ending is that I wound up with a 2002 Bean! Even better, no lag from AT, Turbo OR wheelspin! Matt |
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| HELP PLEASE ... does anyone know if the dashboards in VW are all supposed to come in black ... just looked at a GLX Passat Wagon and the dashboard, and trim just under the door windows, is a terrible grey with, would you believe, a black steering wheel ... looks like a mistake to me !!!!!!!!! | |
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I will tell you this about my Passat! This stupid car has been nothing but a joy to own. Only thing I have done is change the oil and a few headlights. The maintenence has been so boring! The Subaru guys made it seem like such drama to own a Passat! I am truly disappointed. The car really is a joy to drive and the only excitement happens when I am behind the wheel. Gary |
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But don't get too cocky. At 3 years, I was praising the reliability of my Volvo 850 wagon and snickering at its CU bad reliability rating; At 6 years, I was cursing the day I bought that money sucking sucker. Sadly, statistical data usually wins in the end. Mike |
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