Audi A4 B6 TDI New Owner (1.9 + 2.5)

[Legacy87]

Hi All,
Im looking for a little help making a decision between my car, and my other car.

A week ago i bought a 1.9 SE 130 Front Wheel Drive A4 Sport, 2001, 125,000 Miles Very nice, black interior (plastics etc), Cloth seats, Trip computer etc.

Today i bought a 2.5 SE TDI, Quattro, 180bhp Same Age, 152,000 Miles, Interior is a horrible blue colour with nasty wooden inserts, so thats the first thing to go.

Few pro's and con's i already come up with.
1. The 1.9 Has just been remapped (DIY, 162bhp) and feels like it really Launches and feels all out amazing.
2. The 2.5 Is pretty nice and smooth to drive, and feels really well "Planted" on the road.
3. The 2.5 drinks fuel like theres no tomorrow, but i know this is a sacrifice.

In reality i really want the 2.5, it sounds amazing, the bodywork is better, the colour is nicer, but the interior is going to cost me at least £300 to replace. The 1.9 has a damaged front wing and pretty bad paintwork all over, and will cost me about £500 to fix.

Should the 2.5 be ALOT better than the 1.9? i like to feel the kick in your **** when i put my foot down and in the 2.5 i really do not seem to feel this.

Experiences please?

Also, when buying the 2.5 i checked out the cam via the oil cap with a torch, there is very very minor marks, its only got 2 owners from new and has been pretty well looked after as far as i can see.

 

[quattrojames]

I guess it depends what you want from the car, and how important fuel economy is to you.

For me, a V6 with quattro over a 1.9 fwd is a no brainer, but we all vary. When you say "A LOT" better, whats that in reference to? The quattro drivetrain will dull the performance a bit, especially over a remapped 1.9, but if you can't get the power down it's wasted. There are several 1.9 vs 2.5 threads for you to browse.

 

[Legacy87]

I went over loads of threads, been reading them all day and they mainly boil down to people complaining about maintenance and fuel costs, which arent bothering me much.

As i said earlier i like to feel planted into my seat when i put my foot down, im still young (25) and like the occasional 'Spirited' drive down the country lanes etc where having quattro could come in handy.

 

[adamss24]

Safe advice from above poster, i would like to add that a mapped v6 tdi will also feel awesome and handle much, much better than a 1.9 Tdi. I have a few b6 tdi, among them there's a 210Bhp 1.9Tdi and a 2.5 tdi quattro, standard apart from a remap. The v6 tdi handles better, brakes better and feels much more planted at high speeds on motorway, the 1.9Tdi is all over the place after 100-120 Mph ! The 1.9 needed bigger brakes to cope with the increased power, a bigger cutch and new suspension all round, the v6 tdi needed nothing but would benefit from bigger brakes to be honest...no clutch slip or anything ! Just to top it up the 1.9 tdi has decided to strip the syncromesh in 3rd and it locked in first a few weeks ago- it now awaits a ful quattro gearbox and driveline swap !

 

[DALE_AVANT]

If you prefer the 2.5, you could always swop the interiors over?

 

[Legacy87]

Thats the kind of advice i wanted! and welcome more and more of it please folks!

its unlikely i will be hitting 100-120 MPH too often i like to drive fast but im more of a country lane, 60-70 driver which is where i got the impression the 1.9 would come into its own and have the lowdown torque needed.

On the upside, the Genius at BlackSmoke (Andrew) has just dropped the remap file in my inbox Brilliant bloke! so will have a 208 BHP Map on there in the morning

 

[Legacy87]

If you prefer the 2.5, you could always swop the interiors over?

Ah, there lays the problem.
The 2.5 i part exchanged my dads car on, lol he isn't too bothered which one he gets but hes adamant he isnt having the blue interior lol so thats the compromise i have to make, i may end up doing that if i keep the 1.9 for myself and give him the 2.5.

 

[starnon]

Why would a v6 handle better than a 1.9? It's the same car but with a heavier engine out the front which common sense would make me imagine that this is worse for the handling..

Black interior is the only way to go with an Audi, blue or beige looks like something from a Dastun Sunny

 

[adamss24]

Why would a v6 handle better than a 1.9? It's the same car but with a heavier engine out the front which common sense would make me imagine that this is worse for the handling..

Black interior is the only way to go with an Audi, blue or beige looks like something from a Dastun Sunny

The v6 tdi is not that much heavier than the 1.9Tdi engine but you get better dampers with better valving, thicker antiroll bars and chassis braces which all are missing on the 1.9Tdi... Also the quattro means the v6 will grip and grip and grip and you'll chiken-up well before the car looses grip !

 

[quattrojames]

If you prefer the 2.5, you could always swop the interiors over?

Beside the other issue, also SE vs Sport.

 

[amz]

Despite owning a 1.9tdi myself, I have heard all sorts of good stuff about the 2.5tdi quattro! I wish I bought the 2.5tdi initially lol.

I know a friend that is looking to sell his Audi A4 2.5tdi SE Avant Quattro '2003' in Grey colour which is absolutely MINT! It's only done 80,000 and comes with full service history, and I think it has the RNSE unit aswell.

Let me know if you're interested mate

 

[Legacy87]

Interior really isnt a major problem, If i have to spend to get it nice i will, already sourced a dash, just need to get some more bits.

Sport steering wheel is going to set me back no more than £50 and im half way there The seats/door cards etc would probably be from a B7 also so abit more modern.

It's all about the drive & power, and to be honnest the quattro isnt impressing me much yet, the 1.9 seems to hold fine, but we will see once the map is on there tomorrow, it may all be in my mind thinking the 1.9 is faster because its FWD and you feel the rear of the car dip on a launch where as the quattro is 4wd and just goes for it on all 4's no "dip" in the rear.

 

[Legacy87]

and I think it has the RNSE unit aswell.

I've bought two A4's this week, both totaling almost £4k i would end up dead lol

 

[amz]

I've bought two A4's this week, both totaling almost £4k i would end up dead lol

I'm so sorry mate, I had a blind moment lol. I thought you were 'looking' to buy one, didn't realise you bought it :icon_thumright:

 

[Steffgj]

On the upside, the Genius at BlackSmoke (Andrew) has just dropped the remap file in my inbox Brilliant bloke! so will have a 208 BHP Map on there in the morning

Is this going on the 1.9 or 2.5?!

 

[adamss24]

Is this going on the 1.9 or 2.5?!

The map goes onto the 2.5 tdi ecu, the 1.9 would not do 200 without supporting mods !

 

[Legacy87]

Yeah 2.5, its been done now and drives a lot nicer but still isn't as thrilling as the 1.9

 

[adamss24]

Yeah 2.5, its been done now and drives a lot nicer but still isn't as thrilling as the 1.9

That's because it's another generic remap... Do you have a copy of the map so i can have a look at it myself in winols ? I could send you a flash i am using on some of my motors, not as crazy so the clutch does not slips but should give the 1.9 tdi a good run for it's money ! To be frank the b6 v6 tdi is torque limited in 1st and 2nd + has sneaky fuel limiters built in the pump's EDC so they don't feel thrilling + the turbo on the pd130 is a better design and less laggy than the gt20 on the v6, what you need is larger nozzles and a bigger turbo and you will change your mind about the v6 !
Once you drive a sorted v6 tdi you will not go back to a 1.9 Tdi, there's no replacement for displacement ! Throw a modern technology turbo on a v6 tdi and it will change the pick up from low down and will give so much more in the midrange and top end...

 

[Legacy87]

GT20? How would a GT25 or if i could shoe-horn it in there a GT28RS fare on there? I'm a Rover boffin and have stupid amounts of T25 Units (Rover 220 Coupe Turbo Stock Turbo's) and T28's from upgraded 220's, I've also got a Hybrid T25/T28 which has stupid amounts of torque and no lag what so ever.

I do have the map, Im not sure if Andrew would appeciate me sharing it, And im not sure if your Map would be compatible with my ECU etc?

The generic map come from the same guy as the one on the 1.9 TDI, he did say the torque wouldn't be massively impressive as its already quite highly torqued.

I've removed the EGR today (Blanked the VAC Pipe) and given it an oil service which has quietened it down no-end, the old oil was black, it's not been serviced for 11,000 miles but seems to have taken this in its stride.

 

[adamss24]

Forget about gt25 turbo's, they are antics now ! What you want is a turbo less than 10 years old, i would go for a gtb2056vl or a gtb2260vk.
What you need to remember is that the petrol engines have one ace up their sleeve- revs- which the diesel engines lack ! I would go with a GTB2260vk turbo, full boost by 2200 rpm's and 1 bar of boost at 1500rpm's with better response than the original GT20 turbo !
Had a GT2559v on one of my old motors, was fine from day to day but laggy under 2000rpm's ! I also have a hybrid gt2260 with a Mercedes turbine and 60mm compressor wheel and it spools fine with the aid of race nozzles !

 

[Legacy87]

You have a PM coming your way