Audi TT (8N) 225 coupe - second try lucky!
Discussion
There's quite a bit of talk on the forum about mk1 (8N) TTs at the moment, mostly owing to their rock-bottom pricing, good looks and solid performance. Is there anything out there that gives you this sort of power for this little money?
On to my TT.
I bought a silver 225 coupe in 2014 at auction - I didn't know a lot about them at this point and just fancied one as a more 'practical' replacement for my sadly sold rev2 MR2 GT-S (yes, I fitted UK bumpers and badges).
The car came on awful split-rim unbranded wheels. When we got home, the nuts they'd used were on at-most a single turn. The brake pads were down to nothing on the front, and it was down on power. This was £2500 - that'd get you a good one now!
I set about working through the issues. It had standard TT wheels (only 16 inch though) fitted on with the proper nuts, so at least it was safe. Brakes were serviced. Went through all of the split vacuum lines under the bonnet, clearing boost leaks. Ditched the wastegate controller as it was stuffed, fitted a better diverter valve, was starting to get somewhere.
Sadly, the car would always fight back. Steering rack exploded. Oil pressure light came on for a microsecond on the motorway (sump off, new strainer, oil pump drive tensioner had dropped into the sump too). Constant airbag issues requiring a VCDS reset every time the battery went flat. Yaw sensor failed and tried to put me in a hedge. Brake servo vacuum feed split so left me with unassisted brakes (the one-way valve also broke). Last straw was the alternator regulator failing and leaving me stranded by the road. I fixed everything up and sold it before anything else went wrong.
However, in the 2018 I'd been back to the same auction and there was a slightly sad looking, forlorn silver 225 there. I still owned the other one at this point. I'd chatted to someone else who was looking at the car, who broke them for parts. Seemed a shame for this car - it had no warning lights, was running well, and was straight. 140,000 miles which isn't a problem unless it has been oil starved.
Ended up buying it for a fraction of the cost of the other one. We drove it home on trade plates - no faults other than the dash cluster usual (fuel gauge and pixellated display). My friend who drove it back said 'it seems to go rather well'. I thought I'd check - it blew my other car into the weeds. It also promtly ran out of fuel as the gauge reads half full at empty
It's unusual in that it has the denim blue interior on a light silver body. I've always disliked the blue interior, but my other car was very boring (silver with black interior) and it has really grown on me since.
First job fixing an intermittent misfire. Replaced the fuel filter (the line clips broke and had to be modified to fit), no change. Replaced the plugs - better but not right. Finally, replaced the coilpacks for a set of late revision D genuine VW ones I'd been given for free. Problem solved. Don't buy cheapo aftermarket coilpacks!
The car had been fitted with a Forge 008 diverter valve (very expensive, very nice) and had some sort of remap. I think whoever remapped it was drunk - they've modified code blocks all over the place and the electrics do some weird things! Everything works, but there are things like the interior lights don't all come on with the doors, the window has to go down before it'll go up, the hazards don't flash with the lock, etc. All very minor! The remap took the car up to 1.5 bar of boost, found when I fitted my boost gauge into the centre vent. It's a decent map by feel - a little lairy but the clutch is handling it fine. I think a previous owner rushed 1-2nd changes so the syncho is a bit tired though.
Since buying it, the car has had much of the same shakedown as the previous car with many, many faults appearing. It's just somehow much more likeable than the other. To give you some idea of 20 year old TT ownership:
Door lock replacement (wouldn't open from the inside) - easy and cheap job.
Front top mounts, drop links, bottom arm joints, CV joint and boot - not bad to do at all and tightened up the handling.
Rear shocks - five minute job as they're not coil over shock. Monroe gas shocks used.
Haldex service - very easy with the correct tool and a lift.
Sump-off inspection with new oil strainer, turbo return gasket and service - not too bad, bolts at gearbox end are a bit trickier. Strainer was half blocked. This issue has killed many 1.8T engines!
PCV pipework leak - common as muck. Parts are cheap and easy to replace. I deleted the PCV and fitted a catch-can system on the old car, but this one has kept everything.
N75 failure - car limits to 5psi (spring pressure). The N75 valve controls the wastegate, and it's not that reliable. Extremely easy to replace, I had one spare.
Brakes - this one had awful brakes when I got it. The system was full of air, and not that easy to bleed. Local garage bled it for me, and that sorted it.
Rear trailing arm bushes - I was getting a bit of rear-steer, inspection with a lever bar showed the large bushes between body and arms had perished (fair enough). These are a bit of a swine to get to as you have to unbolt the carrier cups which are pretty rusty by this point, then drop the car's weight onto the wheels to force them down. Poly bushes used instead, as they're easier to fit and more durable. The brake hard-lines are attached here - when I bolted it all back up one had split and required a repair. As luck would have it, the caliper on that side had sheared the bleed nipple, so that was replaced too.
Four wheel alignment now done.
Tyres - this car is on 18s, 225/40. Gives a good blalnce of road holding and comfort - on 16s the old one was like a boat. 17s are meant to be fine too, but the arches just want 18s. I have a pair of Yokohama Parada Spec 2 on the front with Bridgestone Potenza S001 on the back. Despite them all being summer tyres, it's still pretty amazing on ice and snow. Not the cheapest to shod, but it will bite you with ditchfinders on!
Headlights - cloudy headlight covers were an advisory. These are easy to refurb with Quixx or similar.
And here she is with the daily, a Fabia VRS.
On to my TT.
I bought a silver 225 coupe in 2014 at auction - I didn't know a lot about them at this point and just fancied one as a more 'practical' replacement for my sadly sold rev2 MR2 GT-S (yes, I fitted UK bumpers and badges).
The car came on awful split-rim unbranded wheels. When we got home, the nuts they'd used were on at-most a single turn. The brake pads were down to nothing on the front, and it was down on power. This was £2500 - that'd get you a good one now!
I set about working through the issues. It had standard TT wheels (only 16 inch though) fitted on with the proper nuts, so at least it was safe. Brakes were serviced. Went through all of the split vacuum lines under the bonnet, clearing boost leaks. Ditched the wastegate controller as it was stuffed, fitted a better diverter valve, was starting to get somewhere.
Sadly, the car would always fight back. Steering rack exploded. Oil pressure light came on for a microsecond on the motorway (sump off, new strainer, oil pump drive tensioner had dropped into the sump too). Constant airbag issues requiring a VCDS reset every time the battery went flat. Yaw sensor failed and tried to put me in a hedge. Brake servo vacuum feed split so left me with unassisted brakes (the one-way valve also broke). Last straw was the alternator regulator failing and leaving me stranded by the road. I fixed everything up and sold it before anything else went wrong.
However, in the 2018 I'd been back to the same auction and there was a slightly sad looking, forlorn silver 225 there. I still owned the other one at this point. I'd chatted to someone else who was looking at the car, who broke them for parts. Seemed a shame for this car - it had no warning lights, was running well, and was straight. 140,000 miles which isn't a problem unless it has been oil starved.
Ended up buying it for a fraction of the cost of the other one. We drove it home on trade plates - no faults other than the dash cluster usual (fuel gauge and pixellated display). My friend who drove it back said 'it seems to go rather well'. I thought I'd check - it blew my other car into the weeds. It also promtly ran out of fuel as the gauge reads half full at empty
It's unusual in that it has the denim blue interior on a light silver body. I've always disliked the blue interior, but my other car was very boring (silver with black interior) and it has really grown on me since.
First job fixing an intermittent misfire. Replaced the fuel filter (the line clips broke and had to be modified to fit), no change. Replaced the plugs - better but not right. Finally, replaced the coilpacks for a set of late revision D genuine VW ones I'd been given for free. Problem solved. Don't buy cheapo aftermarket coilpacks!
The car had been fitted with a Forge 008 diverter valve (very expensive, very nice) and had some sort of remap. I think whoever remapped it was drunk - they've modified code blocks all over the place and the electrics do some weird things! Everything works, but there are things like the interior lights don't all come on with the doors, the window has to go down before it'll go up, the hazards don't flash with the lock, etc. All very minor! The remap took the car up to 1.5 bar of boost, found when I fitted my boost gauge into the centre vent. It's a decent map by feel - a little lairy but the clutch is handling it fine. I think a previous owner rushed 1-2nd changes so the syncho is a bit tired though.
Since buying it, the car has had much of the same shakedown as the previous car with many, many faults appearing. It's just somehow much more likeable than the other. To give you some idea of 20 year old TT ownership:
Door lock replacement (wouldn't open from the inside) - easy and cheap job.
Front top mounts, drop links, bottom arm joints, CV joint and boot - not bad to do at all and tightened up the handling.
Rear shocks - five minute job as they're not coil over shock. Monroe gas shocks used.
Haldex service - very easy with the correct tool and a lift.
Sump-off inspection with new oil strainer, turbo return gasket and service - not too bad, bolts at gearbox end are a bit trickier. Strainer was half blocked. This issue has killed many 1.8T engines!
PCV pipework leak - common as muck. Parts are cheap and easy to replace. I deleted the PCV and fitted a catch-can system on the old car, but this one has kept everything.
N75 failure - car limits to 5psi (spring pressure). The N75 valve controls the wastegate, and it's not that reliable. Extremely easy to replace, I had one spare.
Brakes - this one had awful brakes when I got it. The system was full of air, and not that easy to bleed. Local garage bled it for me, and that sorted it.
Rear trailing arm bushes - I was getting a bit of rear-steer, inspection with a lever bar showed the large bushes between body and arms had perished (fair enough). These are a bit of a swine to get to as you have to unbolt the carrier cups which are pretty rusty by this point, then drop the car's weight onto the wheels to force them down. Poly bushes used instead, as they're easier to fit and more durable. The brake hard-lines are attached here - when I bolted it all back up one had split and required a repair. As luck would have it, the caliper on that side had sheared the bleed nipple, so that was replaced too.
Four wheel alignment now done.
Tyres - this car is on 18s, 225/40. Gives a good blalnce of road holding and comfort - on 16s the old one was like a boat. 17s are meant to be fine too, but the arches just want 18s. I have a pair of Yokohama Parada Spec 2 on the front with Bridgestone Potenza S001 on the back. Despite them all being summer tyres, it's still pretty amazing on ice and snow. Not the cheapest to shod, but it will bite you with ditchfinders on!
Headlights - cloudy headlight covers were an advisory. These are easy to refurb with Quixx or similar.
And here she is with the daily, a Fabia VRS.
Another job which needed doing, but was a bit more awkward, was replacing the thermostat. These cars can deceive you into thinking that it's warming up fine, and it's just the temp gauge also playing up. Thankfully, you can check this with the 49C code from the heater controls.
Mine was not getting up to temp, and would rise and fall. Thermostat it is! Few issues with choosing the right gasket as the part comes with many of them and some are pretty similar! Got it right in the end, tightened up, and the car warms up quickly and holds temperature very well.
Access isn't too bad for this, once you remove the dipstick/N112 valve bracket. The dipstick tube normally breaks. Now is also a good time to check the vacuum pipework underneath the inlet manifold, replacing any that is perished or split because you'll lose power if so. You shouldn't need to remove the manifold if you're dextrous!
Mine was not getting up to temp, and would rise and fall. Thermostat it is! Few issues with choosing the right gasket as the part comes with many of them and some are pretty similar! Got it right in the end, tightened up, and the car warms up quickly and holds temperature very well.
Access isn't too bad for this, once you remove the dipstick/N112 valve bracket. The dipstick tube normally breaks. Now is also a good time to check the vacuum pipework underneath the inlet manifold, replacing any that is perished or split because you'll lose power if so. You shouldn't need to remove the manifold if you're dextrous!
My dad's had his black 225 TT since about 2005; had recent work including clutch, clutch pedal and thermostat.
He's since bought a 3.2 mk2 and I've been using the mk1 as it's smaller than my A8.
Great fun little car, ideally needs a good paint correction and wheel refurb at some point (not soon unfortunately).
He's since bought a 3.2 mk2 and I've been using the mk1 as it's smaller than my A8.
Great fun little car, ideally needs a good paint correction and wheel refurb at some point (not soon unfortunately).
I bought a 225 with a knackered clutch from a chap I used to work with. I bought it as a cheap breaker but ended up driving it for 2 years.
I decided it was too nice to break, it was silver with heated grey leather which was immaculate inside.
I changed the clutch (probably the worst job I’ve done on any car!) and it was fine for a month or two then the night before a Ring trip, I’d just loaded the car and was on the way back from fuelling up, the gear stick went limp.
Took the box out (again!) and stripped it down, had the usual selector failure where the rivet holding the forks falls out. Easy fix and was back up and running.
It had the usual problems; dodgy fuel gauge, pixels missing on the dash, rusty underneath, around wings and cill edges, intermittent boost leaks and vac leaks and a squeak coming from the rear suspension I could never find despite throwing parts at it.
I had it mapped and it really did fly, the torque made the engine a lot more flexible when driving normally.
I could never get used to the handling though, it had massive amounts of grip, just was never sure when it was or how it was going to let go. Probably the fastest I’ve been for £600!
I decided it was too nice to break, it was silver with heated grey leather which was immaculate inside.
I changed the clutch (probably the worst job I’ve done on any car!) and it was fine for a month or two then the night before a Ring trip, I’d just loaded the car and was on the way back from fuelling up, the gear stick went limp.
Took the box out (again!) and stripped it down, had the usual selector failure where the rivet holding the forks falls out. Easy fix and was back up and running.
It had the usual problems; dodgy fuel gauge, pixels missing on the dash, rusty underneath, around wings and cill edges, intermittent boost leaks and vac leaks and a squeak coming from the rear suspension I could never find despite throwing parts at it.
I had it mapped and it really did fly, the torque made the engine a lot more flexible when driving normally.
I could never get used to the handling though, it had massive amounts of grip, just was never sure when it was or how it was going to let go. Probably the fastest I’ve been for £600!
The remap transforms these cars, even though it's only typically 30-35bhp extra. More can be liberated with a free flowing airbox and turbo intake plus downpipe, but at around 260bhp it feels fast enough for most uses.
The handling is an interesting one - it's neutral and the grip is excellent in wet or dry. I've not pushed it hard enough to understeer, nor backed off hard to induce the rear end to lift. There are many handling mods, like adjustable rear camber arms and beefier ARBs that can improve things further, but I think many people's experience is of a car in need of alignment and a refresh. Of course, they're not as sharp as some of their competitors as the underpinnings aren't that sporting, but they're a good steer.
Now that the cambelt is done on this one (last month) so that I'm not playing that lottery, next up should be dashpod repair - may be a while as the Fabia needs a cambelt next!
The handling is an interesting one - it's neutral and the grip is excellent in wet or dry. I've not pushed it hard enough to understeer, nor backed off hard to induce the rear end to lift. There are many handling mods, like adjustable rear camber arms and beefier ARBs that can improve things further, but I think many people's experience is of a car in need of alignment and a refresh. Of course, they're not as sharp as some of their competitors as the underpinnings aren't that sporting, but they're a good steer.
Now that the cambelt is done on this one (last month) so that I'm not playing that lottery, next up should be dashpod repair - may be a while as the Fabia needs a cambelt next!
Had one a year or so. Fairly nippy and good for banging about in, relative ease for overtakes etc but I find runs out of steam once that boost is gone.
Needed a steering race last year due to a seal leak which was relatively inexpensive. Suspect I can hear the CV joints going too as they are grumbling under hard acceleration.
Needed a steering race last year due to a seal leak which was relatively inexpensive. Suspect I can hear the CV joints going too as they are grumbling under hard acceleration.
AMD have a reasonable rep. I did book the last car in with https://www.p-torque.co.uk/ but actually sold it before the booking date! They have lots of recommendations from the TT Forum.
Only the QS or 3.2 will hold or rise in value.
The rest were made in too higher numbers to be rare enough and most out there now are ratbags
Having had two, wouldn't have another. At a certain point these are complete money pits and don't give much back in terms of driving pleasure.
The 1.8t engine is especially dull
The rest were made in too higher numbers to be rare enough and most out there now are ratbags
Having had two, wouldn't have another. At a certain point these are complete money pits and don't give much back in terms of driving pleasure.
The 1.8t engine is especially dull
Agreed, but the same was said of many common models which rapidly disappeared. We were buying mk2 MR2s for a few hundred pounds that went straight onto the road - that's not happening now.
The 1.8T isn't the most vocal or charismatic engine, but it's fun with a remap (in a lag-then-go way). Modding the airbox and fitting an aftermarket diverter valve makes it sound a lot better without silly blowoff or massive induction roar.
My experience of them being a potential money-pit matches with yours. I aim to give this car what it needs - it has a fair old oil leak now and that won't be a cheap fix.
The 1.8T isn't the most vocal or charismatic engine, but it's fun with a remap (in a lag-then-go way). Modding the airbox and fitting an aftermarket diverter valve makes it sound a lot better without silly blowoff or massive induction roar.
My experience of them being a potential money-pit matches with yours. I aim to give this car what it needs - it has a fair old oil leak now and that won't be a cheap fix.
I had a 225 coupe, previous owner had it mapped to 280bhp and was good for 5.5secs 0-60. R32 arbs are a good upgrade and its a good idea to polybush everything if you can afford it as it just tightens everything up nicely. I kept mine for 2 years and in that time I replaced a few coil packs and the only other to fail was the steering rack...if it starts making noises get it refurbished straight away as it could leave you stranded, not a massively common problem though. Have fun and enjoy.
bangerhoarder said:
Headlights - cloudy headlight covers were an advisory. These are easy to refurb with Quixx or similar.
Nice motor! Did you use Quixx for this job, or something else? I used the Autoglym offering this weekend on mine and wasn't impressed with the result. Perhaps it was the person doing it not spending enough time (!), but I'd like to have another go doing them.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff