Looking to swap from b8 2.0 tdi 143 to b5 1.9tdi

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Ayff

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Hi guys,

As the title says I'm driving a b8 at the moment and for lots of reasons I'm looking to switch to something cheaper, I love the look of the b5s and was just wondering if you guys could shed some light as to what it's like to own one of these?

I am looking for a diesel.

What are these cars like to drive daily? I do alot of motorway miles are they good on fuel?
Do they drive well? will I notice a huge difference in terms of ride quality?
What's it like on cold mornings do things take a while to get going properly?
Do they pull well?
Any common problems I should look out for?
 
Also what are the tdis like with an automatic gearbox?


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I jump from a brand new merc b250e into the B5, and the B5 doesnt feel hugely dated compared with some similar cars of the era.

While the B5 chassis as a whole has aged very well, the TDI engine is one place i suspect you'll find a huge difference in refinement.

They are pretty efficient, but the cars also a lot lighter than your B8 which helps. Expect mid 50mpg if your doing a lot of motorway miles. It will probably feel a bit agricultural though compared with the newer engine in your B8. Performance wise, they're pretty underpowered, only 110hp, but again, its a much lighter car than the B8, so you might well find it drives similarly. The autoboxes are typical of late 90's autos, a bit dim witted and slow. It might be worth considering the 2.5 if you want an auto.

Personally i'd be looking at a quattro car, thats what the B5's all about.

Not sure what you mean about cold mornings, like any car you dont want to thrash it from cold, but it'll start and drive from cold like any normal modern car.

Common B5 issues are the front control arms and really all the suspension bushes. Like most old cars the suspension simply wears out, and because of the age people often fit cheapey replacement parts which dont last 10 minutes. A full front arm kit will cost £350-400 plus fitting from a quality manufacturer.
 
I like the agricultural feel of the 1.9tdi :happy: know what the car's doing when it's loud and proud haha.
 
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aragorn said:
I jump from a brand new merc b250e into the B5, and the B5 doesnt feel hugely dated compared with some similar cars of the era.

While the B5 chassis as a whole has aged very well, the TDI engine is one place i suspect you'll find a huge difference in refinement.

They are pretty efficient, but the cars also a lot lighter than your B8 which helps. Expect mid 50mpg if your doing a lot of motorway miles. It will probably feel a bit agricultural though compared with the newer engine in your B8. Performance wise, they're pretty underpowered, only 110hp, but again, its a much lighter car than the B8, so you might well find it drives similarly. The autoboxes are typical of late 90's autos, a bit dim witted and slow. It might be worth considering the 2.5 if you want an auto.

Personally i'd be looking at a quattro car, thats what the B5's all about.

Not sure what you mean about cold mornings, like any car you dont want to thrash it from cold, but it'll start and drive from cold like any normal modern car.

Common B5 issues are the front control arms and really all the suspension bushes. Like most old cars the suspension simply wears out, and because of the age people often fit cheapey replacement parts which dont last 10 minutes. A full front arm kit will cost £350-400 plus fitting from a quality manufacturer.
Click to expand...


That's an amazing reply thank you! Just the insight I was looking for.
I really need fuel efficiency as I do about 60 miles a day,
I just love the way they look.
I will be looking to spend some money on the car to bring it's performance and handling up to as best as it can get.
In terms of mods should I look for the pd diesel engine or can you do just as much with the 110?
 
The PD engine is quite rare in the B5, and the early one they did use seems to have a bit of a reputation for popping head gaskets and/or the heads cracking.

I would try to get a facelift car, they are just that bit nicer to be in, lots of small updates and changes.

The "maze" is intentional, because without it you'd have a noisey exhaust, which is exactly what the OEMs dont want. Diesels with streight thru pipes cant often sound a bit weird, with lots of turbo whistle but also strange cooing and other noises that arent really nice.

Its a rattly 4 cylinder derv, i'm really not sure why you'd want to hear more of it! The V6's sound a lot better.

Buying a cheap car and wanting fuel economy doesnt really make sense if you start modifying it with exhuasts and things...
 
audi upgrades
Wouldn't say mine's particularly noisy unless you plant your foot in it and that's when you want it to be loud, satisfying having everyone get out your way/crap their pants on the button. Turbo diesel's are allot different to petrol's when it comes to exhausts, 1.9tdi's remind me more of a Honda in VTEC how they come on boost, haters gonna hate but I love it.
 
Std exhaust has vnt coo due to the absence of exhaust packaging for noise absorbsion .

Going straight through but straight through back box that has packing totally eliminated the coo but offset by some louder turbo whistle from decat .

Remarkably quiet though , put the same system on a 1.8T and it's a different story.
 
It's not the "exhaust packaging" that prevents the "coo"; it's either engine code specific or turbo specific as mine doesn't do it but I know plenty of 1.9tdi owner's who do/don't have "coo" with all sorts of exhausts, people speculate on other forums that it's literally just down to chance or could be related to boost leaks, funny really because my dad's 100% stock 1.9tdi Passat has the "coo" yet my A4 with every mod under the sun doesn't. For the most part diesel owners generally modify exhausts for the extra spool, bhp, lack of restriction, economy and less maintenance rather than noise anyway.

Here's what mine sounds like (b6 but same deal):



Occasionally makes a blow off valve type noise but definitely no "coo".
 
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