Audi A4 Cabriolet 1.8T Advice

[MoAudi1.8T]

I am looking at getting a audi a4 cabrtiolet 1.8T as i cannot get insured on a 2.4 or 3.0 atm. I was just curious as a lot of people say that it is a gutless car and that its basically sluggish; is this true?

what kind of modifications can i have done to the car that will increase the performance of the car; i know a remap will be the best thing but what other mods do you guys suggest i should do before getting the remap done i.e. performance air filter and so on; as is it not best to remap once mods like induction kits, exhausts have been done?

thanks

 

[ScottyP45]

mate, mines a 1.8T 163 saloon, and it aint gutless, maybe if your 5-up full of passengers and pull from low revs in a high gear, you need the gearbox when its loaded but the boost is quite brutal and its certainly not slow. They can be remapped to over 220 brake easily with no other mods, maybe a panel filter & uprated dv.

Surely the cabby will be slightly lighter or the same weight as the saloon so they should be similar. Its 0-60 is about 8 secs i think so thats not bad, and remapped would be around 7 secs, top speed of nearly 150mph already so I dunno what more you'd want in an engine thats cheap to insure and tax.

The 1.8T engine is quite brilliant and in full fat mode is as powerful as the 2.4 and 3.0 units and with lower emissions too. Its reckoned to be the most tunable bullet-proof engine audi have ever made.

The only reason I would shift to a 3.2 now is for the sound of the v6, apart from that the acceleration from rest is brutal on the high-end standard 1.8T's so the remapped ones must be pretty pant-wetting.

 

[MoAudi1.8T]

thanks for the reply.

so it is possible to get around the 200bhp mark by remapping and a couple of other mods. I think that will probably be best for me. who knows i might even find the standard 150 good enough, as id rather the car look nice than be extremely fast. but a remap, panel filter and dump valve will probably be the things on my list when i get one.

anyone else got anymore ideas?

 

[quattrojames]

It would be worth looking up some data ref weights on the car. I would imagine the cabby is a bit heavier than a saloon.

Just looked at Parkers for you, B6 Cabriolet 1.8T weighs 1540 kg and is 0-60 in 9.1 as opposed to the saloon weighing 1375 kg and taking 8.6 seconds. I'm surprised the cabby weighs so much more, but I know cabbys are heavy!

I have never heard anyone describe the 1.8T as gutless though, and it is eminently tunable if you feel it is. The 2.4 engine is not rated at all and the 3.0 a completely different animal. You wont go wrong with a 1.8T in all honesty.

 

[MoAudi1.8T]

yh the cab is heavier i thought aswell. what kinf of mpg figures are you guys getting out there with 1.8T cabs.

i would prefer a 2.5tdi cab but there a little out of my price range, so i think ill stick with the 1.8t.

 

[quattrojames]

Parkers says 32, but hopefully somone who actually has one will be along to give you the real figure!

 

[MoAudi1.8T]

cheers quattrojames. 32 aint too bad, all i do is local miles and hardly any motorway miles as work is very local to me, so i assume id be getting in the mid-high twenties. i do the odd motorway trip to london once a week but even still i live so close to london its only 20min drive on the m'way, lol.

any figures anyone???

 

[M4KTT]

Not a cab but my remapped 1.8T saloon averages 22mpg but i work 3 miles away... if i pop out around town it can go to 25mpg and 30+ on a motorway run.. i've had as low as 19 though.

the best engine to go for in the cab has to be the 1.8t or 2.5tdi....I'd give the others a miss.
the 1.8T is economical if you keep it out of boost. and a turbo car is the best for getting more power cheap.(remap) The 1.8T can be mapped taken to 400+bhp with some external mods..
just a remap will see over 200bhp with a upgraded DV(recircing) and panel filter just allowing the power to be more available and smooth.

shame they didn't do the 1.9tdiQ in the cab....

although am I right in thinking they do the 2.0tdi in the facelift???

 

[quattrojames]

shame they didn't do the 1.9tdiQ in the cab....

although am I right in thinking they do the 2.0tdi in the facelift???

1.9TDiQ's are few and far between in any format!

Yes they do a 2.0TDi B7 Cab :icon_thumright:

 

[pjmspeedy]

I have a 1.8T Cab and I get 40-42 on a run. That's with my commute from home to work (110 miles each way!) Hopefully not for too much longer!

Then local driving I'm getting between 35-37mpg. Which I very glad about considering the cost of fuel.

BTW- This is standard - no re-map (not yet anyway)

 

[1wheelonly]

hi
mines the 18t, there not the quickest by a long shot, i had a 1.9TDI saloon before which was alot pokier as the cab is alot heavier due to as far as im aware the strengthening underneath due to removining the roof for rigidity.
im getting about 30mpg round town with the ECON button on which makes quiet alot of difference.
looking at remap myself in the near future.
not the sort of car you really need to go fast in, i found myself driving alot steadier since i had it and find myself just cruising rather than booting it everywhere like previous cars ive had (s3's etc) must be a cab thing!
great car though, really pleased with it.
good luck with yours.:thumbsup:

 

[andyccr]

Never have any problems with MPG, on either my Octy vRS or on my cabriolet.

I don't know why SO many people seem to hate the 1.8T in the cabriolet - yeh so what it only comes with 163bhp as standard, but even as standard it has enough pull, and a remap will make a big 50bhp difference.

So don't worry, buy a 1.8T ! And after all, if it goes wrong it will be cheaper to sort out than the 2.4 or 3.0

I chose to go for another 1.8T after the Octavia vRS as I was just SO impressed with the engine.

I can easily return 35mpg + on my car and I am running 19s which I am sure will have some effect on MPG

Andy

 

[Cpt Stirling]

Have the 1.8T 163 cab, similar to previous reply approx 42 mpg on a run, high thirties otherwise. Seems to like good quality fuel. Quite happy with power (band is quite narrow) although I tend to waft about more than push on these days. Hope that helps. I would perhaps consider a remap if I could be convinced long term reliability was unaffected.

 

[MoAudi1.8T]

thanks for all the replies guy, much appreciated.

these mpg figures seem pretty good, make it even more tempting to get one asap. as id be doing mainly local miles, shall i be expecting mid 30's in terms of mpg as 'pjmspeedy' has suggested?

thanks

 

[chris a4 128]

my standard 1.8t 190 s-line does around 20-22mpg on local runs on motorways i get 30-32mpg depending on my mood or how heavey my foot wants to be., but trust me its nice and quick enough. had 135mph on the motorway the other day and there was loads left in it, just got parra about going under all those crossovers where police like to lie in wait. great car great engine. not a bad choice at all.

 

[A3NDY L]

I've just got the 2.5tdi Cab, and I'm getting around 44mpg on the motorway and around 33mpg around town, but I do rag it around town. I'm pretty happy with that when you think how heavy the Cabrio is and how heavy the tdi engine is aswell. I'm thinking about a remap, but I don't know what the insurance will be like.

 

[MoAudi1.8T]

i wish i could afford the 2.5 tdi, that was my first choice but much dearer and i cant stretch to that much.

im lookin at mercedes clk 270cdi facelift as they are cheaper and the economy will suit me better as i do local miles. audi is far better but got to look at money aswell, lol.

any ideas or experiences of clk, i know its an audi site but im sure sum1 will have something to say,lol

thanks

 

[ScottyP45]

I tend to rag my 18T saloon around on boost all the time and just got 415 miles for £70 of unleaded at £1.16 a litre (morrisons) till the range dropped to zero. Thats 60 litres, or 13.26 gallons giving a calculated mpg of 31.3

Not bad at all.

 

[ScottyP45]

clk is a nice motor but has one drawback - its a 2 seater!! Unless you have no family at home except you and the wife it is useless.

Trick folding hardtop, loads of style, fast & smooth (squishy lol) merc dealers are *****, worst customer service in the known universe.

 

[andyccr]

What CLKs have you been sitting in ??? CLK is the 4 seater. SLK is the little one with the folding roof !

Anyway, I don't think the CLK looks particularily nice though. The old shape CLKs were a god damn awful car, no decent engine, poo handling and if you look - poor residuals. Just look at the value of CLK55s !!!

 

[Nickynibbles]

Big engined mercs drop value quicker than my jaw dropped this morning watching the womens beach volleyball at the olympics!! 8 yr old CL 600's can be had for £10k.................thats a supremely luxorious car with a V12 bi-turbo chucking out 500bhp................its pure madness in a metal box with seats!!!

 

[ScottyP45]

oh aye i meant the slk, didnt read it properly lol.

Yeah the c180 is nice as a saloon, and the slk, but the clk is a big ugly biatch.

 

[dansansome]

my 1.8t averages between 29-32mpg per tank, calculated values after refilling. (i have adjusted the DIS to tie in with this too, it was about 10% optimistic)

my journey to/from work is motorway 35 miles each way, with two people on board. round town i get around 25mpg, normally with three onboard. (less if just me and my heavy right foot )

remapped too.