RE: Shed of the Week: Audi TT (Mk1)
Discussion
I currently have two 8N 225s, one bought in 2014 and another bought in June. The later purchased one was bought as it was dead cheap, but is in better condition than the other. It's now on the road instead.
I've worked through a fair slew of issues with the pair of cars, and I'd advise anyone looking at an 8N to go in fully aware of the potential issues. That said, parts aren't too bad and they're not the worst things to work on.
I've had:
Cambelt and waterpump replaced (oil pressure light briefly flashed on, indicating blocked oil strainer). Sump removed, strainer replaced, bits of oil pump tensioner removed from sump so that was replaced, got the garage to do the cambelt while they were there. About £600 all in. Just dropped the sump on the second car, and the pickup was nearly blocked on that. Always do a sump-off inspection!
N75 valve failure - 5psi maximum boost. Quick and cheap to replace, but symptoms were masked by old and decayed pipework. Ended up ripping out the PCV system and the N249 (DV controller).
Yaw sensor failure - car tried to bury itself in a ditch. Cheap and easy, but scary!
Brake servo vacuum feed split - total loss of servo assistance at high speed. Also cheap, also scary.
Discs and pads - they're heavy cars, but the parts aren't expensive. Front brakes aren't over-powered when new, they can be poor. Not that easy to bleed.
Haldex earth strap - these rot off and leave you with 2WD. Easy to fix.
Low voltage kills the airbag ECU. Has to be removed and sent off. I recommend CrashData for this. For the guy with the broken 3.2 - try this next. It's very cheap to do, and turns the light off where a handheld scanner won't.
Heated seats fail. It's the elements under the seat. They tend to go out with style; mine damn near singed my backside.
Tyre wear on lowered models can be very uneven. My current one has some stonking rear camber - dread to think what it'll do to tyres. Solved with adjustable rear control arms, but the problem can also happen when the wrong length arms are fitted.
Clonks and bangs from the front suspension - ARB drop links go, as they always do. Parts, including new shocks and springs, are cheap.
Rear parcel shelf rattles like nothing else. Most owners take them out
The BOSE stereo setup is pretty poor.
The underside of them, especially the suspension and drivetrain components, can rust spectacularly if not protected.
Alternator regulators fail, leaving you stranded with a flat battery. Very easy fix (and cheap), very irritating.
Servicing the Haldex is a pain, the filter comes off a fraction of a turn at a time and needs a special tool.
The diverter valves fail, so they don't release when sent a vacuum feed. This then means the turbo gets heavy abuse as the boost pressure is fed back through the compressor when the throttle closes. Most people replace these with Forge alternatives which are expensive (but lovely).
I'm sure there's more. I like the way they drive - very relaxing and a nice place to be. Potential to be quick with a remap, but modding gets expensive fast.
I have a Puma as my 'fun' (and more reliable) car, so I don't need something quite as nippy and agile as that.
I've worked through a fair slew of issues with the pair of cars, and I'd advise anyone looking at an 8N to go in fully aware of the potential issues. That said, parts aren't too bad and they're not the worst things to work on.
I've had:
Cambelt and waterpump replaced (oil pressure light briefly flashed on, indicating blocked oil strainer). Sump removed, strainer replaced, bits of oil pump tensioner removed from sump so that was replaced, got the garage to do the cambelt while they were there. About £600 all in. Just dropped the sump on the second car, and the pickup was nearly blocked on that. Always do a sump-off inspection!
N75 valve failure - 5psi maximum boost. Quick and cheap to replace, but symptoms were masked by old and decayed pipework. Ended up ripping out the PCV system and the N249 (DV controller).
Yaw sensor failure - car tried to bury itself in a ditch. Cheap and easy, but scary!
Brake servo vacuum feed split - total loss of servo assistance at high speed. Also cheap, also scary.
Discs and pads - they're heavy cars, but the parts aren't expensive. Front brakes aren't over-powered when new, they can be poor. Not that easy to bleed.
Haldex earth strap - these rot off and leave you with 2WD. Easy to fix.
Low voltage kills the airbag ECU. Has to be removed and sent off. I recommend CrashData for this. For the guy with the broken 3.2 - try this next. It's very cheap to do, and turns the light off where a handheld scanner won't.
Heated seats fail. It's the elements under the seat. They tend to go out with style; mine damn near singed my backside.
Tyre wear on lowered models can be very uneven. My current one has some stonking rear camber - dread to think what it'll do to tyres. Solved with adjustable rear control arms, but the problem can also happen when the wrong length arms are fitted.
Clonks and bangs from the front suspension - ARB drop links go, as they always do. Parts, including new shocks and springs, are cheap.
Rear parcel shelf rattles like nothing else. Most owners take them out
The BOSE stereo setup is pretty poor.
The underside of them, especially the suspension and drivetrain components, can rust spectacularly if not protected.
Alternator regulators fail, leaving you stranded with a flat battery. Very easy fix (and cheap), very irritating.
Servicing the Haldex is a pain, the filter comes off a fraction of a turn at a time and needs a special tool.
The diverter valves fail, so they don't release when sent a vacuum feed. This then means the turbo gets heavy abuse as the boost pressure is fed back through the compressor when the throttle closes. Most people replace these with Forge alternatives which are expensive (but lovely).
I'm sure there's more. I like the way they drive - very relaxing and a nice place to be. Potential to be quick with a remap, but modding gets expensive fast.
I have a Puma as my 'fun' (and more reliable) car, so I don't need something quite as nippy and agile as that.
Edited by bangerhoarder on Wednesday 8th August 14:21
bangerhoarder said:
.
Low voltage kills the airbag ECU. Has to be removed and sent off. I recommend CrashData for this. For the guy with the broken 3.2 - try this next. It's very cheap to do, and turns the light off where a handheld scanner won't.
This seems very likely as at one time a new replacement 12v battery would turn the light off but this doesnt work now. Low voltage kills the airbag ECU. Has to be removed and sent off. I recommend CrashData for this. For the guy with the broken 3.2 - try this next. It's very cheap to do, and turns the light off where a handheld scanner won't.
Thanks for the lead to CrashData off to check them out.
Chers,
Tony
1781cc said:
PoopahScoopah said:
I've been toying with the idea of getting a TT for a while. Bit of a strange choice but I'm trying to decide between a TT and a Megane R26 F1 230. Anyhoo, my heart says the 3.2 for various reasons, and I suspect that when these do finally start going up in value and becoming more collectable the 3.2s will be more sought after. But........things like the cost of getting the timing chains done, and (don;t shoot me!) fuel consumption put me off. Now before anyone jumps done my throat about why on earth I should be concerned by fuel consumption I should point out that my current and previous cars (which were/are daily drivers) average low 20s. But I've heard that the 3.2 VR6s get comically bad MPG. It's not so much that I can't live with or afford a thirsty car, I just don't like it when it seems unnecessarily thirsty for what it is.
Heart says 3.2. Head says the 225. No idea which would be a safer bet in truth.
The one without the DSG mecatronic issues... the 225Heart says 3.2. Head says the 225. No idea which would be a safer bet in truth.
Low 20s is easily achievable in a DSG or manual VR. In my experience of a selection of VR powered cars I have had to repair 1 snapped timing chain on a 12v 2.9 vr6 that had around 90k on it. I have replaced timing chains on other 12 & 24v VRs as a precautionary measure and it's around £500 of parts, closer to £1k if you do clutch , lightened flywheel, slave cylinder and other bits which I often do/recommend.
When the chain has only stretched or the tensioner is beginning to fail or becoming noisy then replacing them isn't much more work than doing chains on any traditional V6/V8 car with chains at the front of the bay.
In contrast my experience of 20VT cars is they rarely do any of the claimed high 30s 40smpg in less you drive like a fairy. Plus I've noticed most owners waste time/money chasing boost leaks, faulty N75 valves, intake sensors, map sensors and many other minor niggles and still have on average 3 cambelt/waterpump changes at around £400 for every 1 timing chain on a VR6.
Be aware with the 3.2 manuals, they aren't common so you may have to wait a while. I wanted a certain spec when I bought one and it never came up sadly which is why I ended up with a DSG, however I regretted that choice overall. The DSG in the MK1 isn't that good once you get over the novelty. The dreaded delay of death which is a weird quirk, well documented on TT owners forums is a pain.
The DSG caused me my most major (so far) mechanical mishap, I've ever had in a car. The mechatronics failed and fortunately for me. By this time, it was at a life cycle in age where companies exist to repair the mechatronic module. Even so it's still expensive.
On a side note, nice manual MK1 3.2s do seem to have a small higher premium attached to them as they are desirable. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and whilst I wished I had settled for the manual with a lesser spec I honestly don't think it would have left a hugely improved perspective on my ownership experience. They really aren't that good. Only one I'd ever want to try would be a quattro sport
The DSG caused me my most major (so far) mechanical mishap, I've ever had in a car. The mechatronics failed and fortunately for me. By this time, it was at a life cycle in age where companies exist to repair the mechatronic module. Even so it's still expensive.
On a side note, nice manual MK1 3.2s do seem to have a small higher premium attached to them as they are desirable. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and whilst I wished I had settled for the manual with a lesser spec I honestly don't think it would have left a hugely improved perspective on my ownership experience. They really aren't that good. Only one I'd ever want to try would be a quattro sport
I wasn't a fan of the TT when it originally came out, so have never read any of the road tests or paid much attention to them. And i was still heavily into R5 GT Turbos back then.
Had no idea there was a Quattro Sport TT until yesterday!
Had a quick look, a few circa 05 /06 cars out there, but with dubious mods and histories and seemingly over priced for a slightly lighter car, which admittedly, does have the superb Recarro Pole Position seats ( which some buyers didn't want / like ) a bit more power, a rear seat delete, a black roof and by the looks of it, no rear parcel shelf.
Anyone driven a Sport and how do they compare to a std 225 ??
Had no idea there was a Quattro Sport TT until yesterday!
Had a quick look, a few circa 05 /06 cars out there, but with dubious mods and histories and seemingly over priced for a slightly lighter car, which admittedly, does have the superb Recarro Pole Position seats ( which some buyers didn't want / like ) a bit more power, a rear seat delete, a black roof and by the looks of it, no rear parcel shelf.
Anyone driven a Sport and how do they compare to a std 225 ??
neutral 3 said:
Some scary stories re £££ need spending / Lots goes wrong.
Re the 3.2, my own thoughts are that the 3.2 manual isn't a " Drivers Car" due to the extra weight of its engine ??
Put a 3.2vr on a set of scales versus a 20vt with the turbo and intercooler attached and there really is a tiny amount in it, kilos here an there will not make a difference!!!! Re the 3.2, my own thoughts are that the 3.2 manual isn't a " Drivers Car" due to the extra weight of its engine ??
Honestly the way people refer to weight around here is laughable.
neutral 3 said:
I wasn't a fan of the TT when it originally came out, so have never read any of the road tests or paid much attention to them. And i was still heavily into R5 GT Turbos back then.
Had no idea there was a Quattro Sport TT until yesterday!
Had a quick look, a few circa 05 /06 cars out there, but with dubious mods and histories and seemingly over priced for a slightly lighter car, which admittedly, does have the superb Recarro Pole Position seats ( which some buyers didn't want / like ) a bit more power, a rear seat delete, a black roof and by the looks of it, no rear parcel shelf.
Anyone driven a Sport and how do they compare to a std 225 ??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3cuFUlKkB0Had no idea there was a Quattro Sport TT until yesterday!
Had a quick look, a few circa 05 /06 cars out there, but with dubious mods and histories and seemingly over priced for a slightly lighter car, which admittedly, does have the superb Recarro Pole Position seats ( which some buyers didn't want / like ) a bit more power, a rear seat delete, a black roof and by the looks of it, no rear parcel shelf.
Anyone driven a Sport and how do they compare to a std 225 ??
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