VW question

So Per is doing the Golf 3 build and I would like to move up to newer tech than the 2nd or first gen cars. However as Per can probably attest to Golfs are hard to come by. Seems like everyone and their inbred cousin has a Jetta to sell. Tell me why I shouldn't consider a Jetta 3 build in the same vein as Per's Golf? I would begin using it in AX then transition to IT down the road.

Discuss...

Using a Golf instead of a Jetta is akin to using a CRX instead of a Civic as the basis for a race car....the Golf is (slightly) smaller/lighter, but it's otherwise the same car.

You are right in your assessment that a Golf is so much harder to find than a Jetta. Bet it's really hard to find a Jetta with a manual trans. compared to one with auto.

I remember when the Jetta first appeared way back in the early '80s...it was derided for being nothing more than a Rabbit with a trunk...and Americans so hated hatchbacks (thank you Ford and the Pinto) VW was all but forced to conceive this car. In Europe, the Golf handily outsells the Jetta.

Yeah, It really is the Golf with a trunk. Does it make it any better aero wise to have that decklid outback?

Actually I rarely see an auto equipped Jetta though they do exist.

Or alternatively, why shouldn't I gut my 16v 2.0L 91 Passat wagon with digifant conversion and go autocrossing until something else comes along?

There isn't a great leap in technology from the A2 to A3 (or A1 to A2 for that matter.) The block is bigger, but otherwise the same. The head is crossflow, but otherwise the same. The fuel injection is different, but not necessarily better. The first few years even used the same transmission. The suspension is exactly the same but a little wider. Aside from comforts, all you're gaining is about 10 HP (or actually losing power compared to a 16v) and a lot of bulk. I've never had one, so I can't say whether the VR6 is worth upgrading for. The move to the A4 was equally unimpressive. It didn't become a truly new car until the A5.

If you find a Jetta with the features you want, go for it. I don't think you'd ever notice the difference between a Golf and an equally equipped Jetta performance-wise. BTW, a Jetta has a stiffer unibody.

slightly longer wheelbase i think. get a tdi if possible, black smoke all over an autox parking lot is awesome

angusmf wrote: I've never had one, so I can't say whether the VR6 is worth upgrading for.

I've driven a friend's 95 Jetta GLX (VR6) a bit. The motor has some nice power. You MUST add an intake - not that the stock parts are bad, but because the intake growl is AWESOME. Even better when two of them echo off the empty seats at NHMS simultaneously.

The downside of the VR6 is it turns the car into a nose heavy understeering pig. I chased this car in my 95 Saturn SC2 at a track day. It would blow me away on the straights, but I owned the corners and was faster around the track overall as a result. This GLX was even worse when it came to autocross, which is all about handling, even with Neuspeed springs and Bilsteins.

Not a bad car at all, especially for the street. Given a choice between a VR6 or a 1.8T, I'd take the smaller turbo motor for similar horsepower and a lighter front end to improve handling. Though I would miss the VR6 intake growl...

Talk to Ken83GTi. He has autocrossed and won with many golfs.

He is rebuilding his MK1, He totalled a MK2 last year, He ran a MK5 Jetta and was competitive, and I know he has driven at least one MK3 and one MK4 car through the cones.

I will be rolling out my MK 4 1.8T GLI for it's first AX tomorrow if all goes well. I will let you know how the porky 5speed auto car does around the cones.

i like your passat idea, vwcorvette

As much as I love the VR6, I have to admit that my VR Corrados have only two modes in an autoX. Power off oversteer (good), and power on understeer (bad). White_and_Nerdy's exactly right. The VR's a handicap on something that twisty. I think I need to build one of them into a PDX/TT car, to put it back into its real environment, and find something else to autoX.

Aside to WaN, Bildon's got stuff that tames the u'steer on the Corrado, but I don't know if they've bothered to do the same for the Mk.3 or 4 Golf/Jetta, since they haven't built one..

Just for grins, here's some Bildon VR6 noise...they kinda gave up on the car after the BMW E36 chassis was added to SCCA ITS, but before that, they had the potential to catch SpeedSource's FC RX-7s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghrDRTVrc1c

That was a fun watch. Thanks for the link.

So...Perhaps I should just go with what I have until something better comes along.

Gut the Passat and watch the looks on peoples faces!