what would be the cheapest mod on a 2004 vw gti?

Question 1
what would be the cheapest mod on a 2004 vw gti?...  my friend said cold air intake would be the cheapest investment to increase the acceleration on my car?? and if so whats the cheapest and most efficent brand?? be specific..

Answers
1)   Tires. Specifically all four. - dis_orient_ed

2)   That's easy.
just make your own. Remove the air filter and cover.
It's the same thing.
If you're worried about dirt... wrap a pair of your woman's nylons around the entry. - techy76

3)   the best bang for the buck mod for increased acceleration is a "chip", which a flash to reprogam the ECU

www.goapr.com
www.giacusa.com
www.revotechnik.com
www.unitronic.ca - cant_think_of_1

4)   The cheapest mods are:
Strut Tower Bar
K&N filter Redirecting the air flow to Ram air in from behind the grille.
Header
Tires

Do not remove the Air filter and use nylons.... That will increase the airflow, but it can cause the car to idle and run funny as the MAF sensor will detect too much air and then need to increase the fuel to compensate. - Briano

5)   you don't mention if yours is the n/a or T gti, so it's hard to give specific advice.

TOTALLY ignore the airbox modification. The MAF is a hot wire sensor, as soon as you remove the filter, you allow all the containments normally captured by the filter,to pass straight over the MAF, I can promise you it would not be long before you find issue as a result of this.

Removing the airbox will have a negative effect.

Ensure you're running good quality tyres, at the correct pressure.
ensure the vehicle is serviced up to date, a good oil change often helps the engine to run a little smoother.
dependant on the engine, a remap may help improve power delivery. - anon2010

6)   I'd say get a chip in your engine there probally about 100 but are worth it once done you'll feel a hell of a lot difference in speed. You could also try an induction kit which would be cheaper but not as effective. - Frankie


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Question 2
Pinging (Knocking) sound in VW Bug?...  Hi i have a 1969 VW Bug. recently it start to give a pinging sound (not sure that call knocking as well). I checked the timing, and point gaps they all ok and the fan belt is tight too. this sound comes when doing sudden accelerations when the engine is hot. this sound stays there for some time until i release the padel a bit. even though the point gap is ok, the part which touches the distributor cam in points seems to be worn. could this be the problem that when accelerating the engine getting too much advanced ?

i have a oil filled air filter. this could be a problem where my fuel mixture getting too rich and making the engine hot ?

Answers
1)   It's also possible that the engine has built up some carbon in the combustion chambers which has caused an increase in the compression. Try a tankful of hi test gas and see if the pinging goes away. A dwell meter will more closely tell you if the points are set right or if the cam wear is causing big variations. - mustanger

2)   The distributor vacuum advance may not be working correctly. The fuel may not be correct, the vehicles timing may be incorrect and as already stated by another person, you may need a decoke. These are all the joy's of motoring we used to "suffer" 30 years ago ! - L G

3)   Air filter-no. But it is not suppose to be full either. About a 3/4" deep at the bottom (when you lift off the upper part) is adequate) Just over the little metal ledge by a 1/4" is enough. That is the normal VW air filter.
The distributor "rotor" the center part that spins around inside the distributor does not touch. It is a "hair from touching" any one of the "pins" as a spark jumps the gap from the rotor to the pin to the spark plug.
If it is starting to look worn, it may be time to do a tune up which includes a new distributor cap and rotor and points and condenser and spark plugs.(once a year at least)
I do not know how much of a mechanical minded person you are but you should remove the spark plugs and have a look at them. (you can only remove the plugs when the engine is cold) like overnight cold....car not running for 4 hours cold. Sure you can take them out hot but there is more of a chance to strip out the threads in the spark plug hole...which means a new head or $$$. So avoid that. If you have the original VW toolkit, it will have a screwdriver, a 10/13mm open ended wrench, and a sparkplug wrench(which may be the same socket that is used to remove the wheel bolts when changing a tire(on the other end of the socket)-one has a rubber blockage inside it with a small hole in the centre for the spark plug to go into and stick ; and a foot long black round bar. That should be up front with the spare tire.
The tools are there to change out a spark plug. Or maybe you have an assortment of tools already. You need a good spark plug socket(with the rubber insert to hold onto the plug to extract it out of the sheet metal housing. I have lost a few plugs because I did not have an insert and fortunately I have long fingers and a flexible wrist and patience because you are feeling around try to pull that plug out which now is out of the spark plug hole but not past the sheet metal shroud. The front two (when you are facing the engine in the rear)are not bad if you lose a plug out of the socket(you can finger them out without too much problem (but the other 2 are).
So, take your plugs out and take a look at the ends that are screwed into the engine. Note the color. White=very hot tan=perfect black=burning rich or burning oil.(engine wear).
Now you know the general health of your engine.
White would indicate either too hot of a plug(you may be able to buy colder plugs than what you have) ar the timing is far advanced or the fuel mixture is lean.
Which in your case I would let the dealership mechanics or a good VW repair shop mechanic adjust that.
But you can buy the parts from a "jobber" like Wal~Mart(jobber is a shop that can get ahold of parts that are made for VW but not from the VW company)
for the distributor,rotor, points,condenser, spark plugs, spark plug wires, coil(but you don't need a coil), and put all them things in. You need a feeler gage to set the point gap and the plug gaps and you should also have a timing light to set the timing. While you are at it, you should also check the valve lash on the intake and exhaust valves(all part of the tune up).
You would find all this information at a public library/automotive/vw beetle repair. I like Clymer publications the best. If you don't find one for a 69 (a 68,7,6,5,4,3, or 70 will do) measurements have not changed. - the Horses Butt

4)   May be what the others say and then it mite be your valves in the #3 cylinder.This is a hot running cylinder do to the air flow not being as good as the others.
Also get yourself a petronix electrical ignition, these work so well that my 78 Bus never needs the timing fixed.
Also learn to do your valves every 3000 miles. - DR DEAL

5)   How about a valve adjustment. This is a maintenence item too often ignored. Do not pay some one to do this as they will start the car to move it into the garage and it MUST be done with the engine cold.Other than that just adjust the timing a little till you find that spot where it stops the pinging. Timing it statically with a test light is best for the bug. A test light not a timing light. The idiots guide is really the best book to explain this. - Gerry


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Question 3
where do i locate the clutch switch switch on a 1970 vw bug?...  

Answers
1)   what clutch switch????? - ken k

2)   I think someone is leading you on. - Replica

3)   At the dealership. Get a repair manual to know your car - the Horses Butt

4)   Gio, come on now there is no switch. We have the peddle that you push in to change gears, but no switch. - DR DEAL


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Question 4
how long should a v4 1999 volkswagon passat last if it has 170,000 miles on it?...  

Answers
1)   how long is a piece of string? these engines are easily good for 250,000 miles if maintained properly. dependant on the service history, I see no reason why yours will not see a similar mileage. - anon2010

2)   being a VW, not much longer. - 1 Finger Willy

3)   actually, volkswagen beetles were first engineered to be inexpensive to manufacture, durable, reliable, and be cheap enough that the general public and buy one. it was also developed by the germans, and throughout history, ive never found a german engineer that did something half way.

most volkswagens are very reliable! the only other vehicles that come close to their reliability would be that of my step dad's grand cherokee that saw 250,000 miles. just keep up on the maintenance and you should be fine, you could probably get 300,000 out of it if her previous owners took good care of it. - frank

4)   As long as it is well maintained, easy 250-300K. Also, it is an inline 4, not a V-4. Make sure the timing belt, H2O pump, tensioner, rollers, coolant, and thermostat has been changed twice. - djaca70


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Question 5
would putting in a chip in my 2004 VW GTI....?...  really mess it up in the long run. i heard that putting a chip does increase the horsepower, but eventually destorys the pistons and messing up your engine???

Answers
1)   It doesn't increase anything. It simply moves low end horsepower, to top end.

So, on a dyno, it looks like you have more max power. It's easy to sell it this way, because all anyone looks at is max power,they never pay any attention to how the power is distributed.

But you lose low end acceleration.

And yes, you eventually destroy your engine. - Vipassana

2)   This really depends on the chip and the level of performance being generated simply by your engine having a new chip tell it what to do.

Generally people won't just throw a chip in a stock car (cause this won't give you the numbers you think you'll get)...chips were intended to be used as a supplement to create hp when you've changed things like your cam, injectors, intake, fuel rail, headers and exhaust...They assist in making power when you've customized your engine to the point that factory tuning isn't giving the car what it needs.

Don't buy a preprogrammed chip- they are crap. Avoid chips you program yourself too...good luck understanding everything.

Bring your car to a speed shop with a Dyno and they can sell you a chip they will program based on your needs. - Big L

3)   If you just get the (Stage 1) Re-flash because Euro cars don't have Chips per say they just re-flash the ecu. It wont hurt the car if you take care of it but once u start building the motor yes things will fail sooner because of the added strain but if you get a basic re-flash you will be fine also...What motor are we talking about 2.Slow VR6 or the 1.8t it really depends on the motor also....cheers - veedub514

4)   Dont waste your ££££££££ only TD are worth chipping m8 - Tazmania4580


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