A4 questions.....1.8T vs V6...which is better? and what are their

[Ti Kan]

JordanVw at aol.com writes:
> here is my understanding...
> in '98 the 1.8T was 150hp, then sometime around 2000 (?) it was bumped up to 
> 170hp (the current 1.8T is 170hp? )..  is this correct?????  and what is the 
> exact date VW/Audi tweeked the engine to get 20 more hp out of it?? also what 
> is the hp of the 2.8L V6??  190 or 200?  

On the A4 for the US market:

B5 class:
1996-1997	2.8  V6 12V, 172hp
1998-2001	2.8  V6 30V, 190hp
1997-2000	1.8T I4 20V, 150hp
2001		1.8T I4 20V, 170hp

B6 class:
2002-		3.0  V6 30V, 220hp
2002-		1.8T I4 20V, 170hp

> ive talked w/ a bunch of people that tell me to stay away from the 1.8T as 
> they are underpowered (sluggish off the line) and blow turbos...  is this true?? 
>  local dealer service guy says "we do turbos on those passats/A4's all the 
> time"

AFAIK the 1.8Ts tend to blow turbos only if chipped, or if some other
failure is not attended to (such as a failed diverter valve).  Early
1.8Ts have problems with the timing belt tensioners, but this was
corrected with a newer design (I think somewhere around 1998, but
don't quote me on that).

> my GF is looking (the car is for her)  at cars in the 75k-120k mile range as 
> they are more affordable and her budget is really $7 grand or less. .. needs 
> to be Automatic also.  Dont need quattro.   
> i recently saw a '96 A4 1.8T w/ 115k mi that was affordable...asking price 
> was $6500 obo.   could i get another 75-100k mi out of it? 

No such thing as a '96 1.8T A4 in the US.  The 1.8T was introduced for
the 1997 model year.

For the 1996-97 model years, the auto trans is just a plain 5-speed slush
box with adaptive shift programming.  From 1998 and on, Tiptronic mode
was introduced.

-Ti
2003 A4 1.8T multitronic
2001 S4 biturbo 6-sp
1984 5000S turbo
1980 4000 2.0 5-sp
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