OT: sportwagen

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by goonster

First car I ever owned, and a great car to really learn to drive in. Now there was a proper chassis.

The only parts that are really from the 924 are the body panels, thank goodness. The 924S was one of those truly rare cases where substance > appearance.

The front suspension and about half the electronics are 924/early 44. The rear suspension is 951, the engine and transmission is 944. It uses early offset suspension and late offset wheels. The heater is early 944 and the AC (gone in mine) is late 944. Mine now has some 968 suspension, 911 wheel studs, boxster s spacers, and cayman wheels. These cars are like Legos.

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

A really good thing because the regular 924 was rather dreadful.

It is a slow car, but still a balanced chassis. I would daily drive one.

[carpediemracing]

Originally Posted by Nooch

so many sportwagen threads are making me feel like I'm back at vwvortex.com... (if you've never met me, which many haven't, I've got a big VW tattoo and two vw rabbit tattoos on my chest... JSW is on my short list for sure!)

I was really surprised at the strong JSW/TSI current in this forum. I'm on VWVortex as well.

I like the diesel, the manual, but I'm conflicted about AWD. I don't think I'd need it in New England. We have good snow tires and they're pretty amazing. AWD costs money in fuel all year round in weight and in friction.

[Netdewt]

Almost no one needs AWD.

[buck-50]

Originally Posted by Netdewt

Almost no one needs AWD.

Bingo.

The number of times when I couldn't just wait an hour or so for the plows to come through in the last 2 years came to exactly zero.

[Climb01742]

Originally Posted by carpediemracing

I like the diesel, the manual, but I'm conflicted about AWD. I don't think I'd need it in New England. We have good snow tires and they're pretty amazing. AWD costs money in fuel all year round in weight and in friction.

Any recommendations on snows? If this coming winter turns out to be as bad as they say, good snow tires seem wise investment for my GTI. TIA.

[echelon_john]

That's true. But I do!

We live on a mile-long, 14% hill in Vermont, in a tiny village that's last on the list for plowing & sanding. I switched from a Mercedes E320 4matic (which was AWESOME in the snow; as competent as any Audi or Subaru I've owned) to a Saab 9-3 SportCombi. Even with new studded snows last winter, there were times when I couldn't get up my hill.

It used to be okay; there was a watering hole about 2 miles up Rt. 7, so if I got to the bottom of the hill when it was bucketing and unplowed, I'd just call the plow company, ask them to come over, go kill an hour over a couple of pops at the local, then drive up the hill once it had been 'groomed.' But now the watering hole's not there anymore, so AWD is mandatory. ; )

Originally Posted by Netdewt

Almost no one needs AWD.

[krhea]

I purchased a 2013 JSW TDI about 2 months ago after "trying my best
not to buy one..."

It was a pure "want" purchase not a "need" but boy do I love the car. Immediately installed a "copy-cat" Golf R suspension- springs/shocks/bump stops/struts with an H&R 24mm adjustable rear sway bar, went to 17" wheels/performance tires, blacked out all the chrome trim, added rear bumper guard, roof top bike racks, cargo liner, did a few vag-com changes and will install fogs in the next week or so then I'm done until spring. I'll tint the windows a bit, change the wheels, front grill will be replaced with a Golf grill, install an "R" steering wheel, shift boot/knob and maybe upgrade the stock headlights.

Having owned numerous wagons in the past and had the incredible pleasure of driving uber-wagons on the autobahn I find it hard not to have one in the driveway. Find the right wagon and they're as functional as all get out plus really fun to drive.
Tons of great info over on VWVortex.com

[p nut]

Originally Posted by Climb01742

Any recommendations on snows? If this coming winter turns out to be as bad as they say, good snow tires seem wise investment for my GTI. TIA.

Unless you live where streets aren't plowed or the roads are snow-covered all winter long, any studless snow tires will be ok in my experience. Blizzak's and Nokian Hakka's have worked well for me, but so have the cheap Hankook iPike's I have now. Buy some snow cables for peace of mind in case of freak storms.

I live in a snow state as well, and don't "need" 4WD/AWD. Nice to have for sure, but cost benefit is not there when you look at the fuel and maintenance expenses (not to mention the upcharge).

[PoppaWheelie]

Originally Posted by krhea

I purchased a 2013 JSW TDI about 2 months ago after "trying my best
not to buy one..."

Got a photo?

Our X3 imploded last summer and we bought a 6k TDI JSW (manual) that I'm slowing starting to love. I immediately drew up a laundry list similar to yours but have been resisting....seems it could really do with a xenon/fog lamp upgrade...

Compared to the 12-15mpg I was getting in the Bimmer, the TDI mileage is glorious.

[Marburg]

Hmm... good timing on this thread. We're in the process of moving back to the States, and a TDI JSW is high on our list of vehicular-type objects. Anyone have any pointers/resources on particular model years to seek/avoid and/or things to look for?

In our price range we'll probably be looking at clean 2011-2012 models (based on a very casual troll of cars.com)

[Ken Robb]

I have no interest in snow tires since I live in SoCal but the Tire Rack site has lots of good info on all kinds of tires' performance on wet/dry pavement. I don't know if they have been able to test in snow but even so the other test info would probably help you decide on the best compromise for your usual conditions.

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by krhea

I purchased a 2013 JSW TDI about 2 months ago after "trying my best
not to buy one..."

It was a pure "want" purchase not a "need" but boy do I love the car. Immediately installed a "copy-cat" Golf R suspension- springs/shocks/bump stops/struts with an H&R 24mm adjustable rear sway bar, went to 17" wheels/performance tires, blacked out all the chrome trim, added rear bumper guard, roof top bike racks, cargo liner, did a few vag-com changes and will install fogs in the next week or so then I'm done until spring. I'll tint the windows a bit, change the wheels, front grill will be replaced with a Golf grill, install an "R" steering wheel, shift boot/knob and maybe upgrade the stock headlights.

Having owned numerous wagons in the past and had the incredible pleasure of driving uber-wagons on the autobahn I find it hard not to have one in the driveway. Find the right wagon and they're as functional as all get out plus really fun to drive.
Tons of great info over on VWVortex.com

Get us pictures. Sounds like we are headed down the same path. I already had black trim and I'm going to keep the suspension mods light. I'm thinking springs, bump stops, and maybe a rear sway bar but that is a ways off.

Originally Posted by Climb01742

Any recommendations on snows? If this coming winter turns out to be as bad as they say, good snow tires seem wise investment for my GTI. TIA.

I've driven blizzaks and coopers on my dad's old mini JCW. Both worked extremely well in the snow and were surprisingly good on dry pavement.

Originally Posted by Marburg

Hmm... good timing on this thread. We're in the process of moving back to the States, and a TDI JSW is high on our list of vehicular-type objects. Anyone have any pointers/resources on particular model years to seek/avoid and/or things to look for?

In our price range we'll probably be looking at clean 2011-2012 models (based on a very casual troll of cars.com)

Do it. I did a fair bit of research (on the gas cars) and I strongly prefer the mk6 dashboard found in the 2010-2014s. The base models also seem to have more standard features, not sure if that applies to the TDI as well.

About the interior LEDs, I jsit drove my wife's ford fusion. It reinforces how positive the change was. For a second, I thought the battery went dead the light was so pale and yellow.

[peanutgallery]

Bought a tdi for my bride this summer, loving the mileage on trips. Live in a winter state and never had awd, not even worried

Only thing on my mind is the dsg. Curious how that works out

[thirdgenbird]

Oh, I debadged the rear hatch as well. It looks much cleaner. It was needed after the bumper protector.

I don't have any pics of the jsw, but here is the other car:

[bcroslin]

Originally Posted by thirdgenbird

I by no mean an expert, but I had a friend use Ross-tech vag-com. They are about $250. You can get cheaper knockoffs, but I've heard it is worth the $250 to get the real thing.

I've been dying to program our 2010 to roll all the windows down with the key fob. I wonder if I could find someone local with the ross-tec software and pay them to do it.