Reifentausch vorne hinten | Posts 16+

Hi Bertil,

*grin*

To get back to the topic of "cars" at least, even if it's not about diesel engines...

...is there a technical reason why your rally cars are Jettas? Or is it just a matter of preference?

Best regards,

Jan.

Jan6K wrote:

...is there a technical reason why your rally cars are Jettas? Or is it just for fun?

Now that you mention it, I'm noticing it too .

Okay, seriously: I was able to buy the first Jetta (the one in the picture) at a good price. The car was originally not purchased for competition use. There's certainly no technical reason for it. - But! The heavy rear wing was always next to the car . That always leads to adventurous drifts.
Then, at a mileage of 235,000 km, my 1500 JB was "destroyed" (crashed into while stationary after the finish line) during a rally, and that was without my fault. It was painful. And coincidentally, a club colleague wanted to get rid of his modified, black Rally Jetta GLI because he was expecting a baby. So, I took advantage of the opportunity and still have that car today.
People never really wanted Jettas, so the cars were always cheap.
Be honest: would you have voluntarily bought a Jetta in that "samtorange" (velvet orange) color?

Hi Bertil,

No, definitely not voluntarily... but with a rally car, it doesn't really matter .

Then you'll at least be happy about every scratch, instead of getting annoyed by it...

And a diesel engine doesn't provide enough power for the rally car? (just to mention "diesel" again).

Best regards,

Jan.

Hi Jan,

Jan6K wrote:

And doesn't a diesel engine have enough power for a rally car? (just to mention "diesel" again).

Why not!
There's a separate class for alternative drivetrains, and that includes diesel engines. I remember a Golf1 GTD that was quite successful in rally competitions.
In the Austrian championship, there were even two TDIs awarded on one occasion.
A few years ago, BMW attempted to win the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring with a diesel-powered car.
Alfa Romeo even has a brand trophy that is competed for using diesel vehicles.

So, there are some "performance diesels," but their popularity and awareness aren't particularly high. Especially, the image of these cars isn't great, mainly because the "sound" isn't as impressive as a nicely roaring gasoline engine. However, if you've ever heard (and seen) a VW Bora R-TDI "roaring" around the Nürburgring at night, you might change your opinion about diesels. The engine produced a really aggressive rumble, with absolutely no clatter!

Didn't a VW factory team also participate in a famous 24-hour race with a high-performance G3 TDI?

Hi Joerg,

joergs wrote:

Didn't a VW factory team also participate in a famous 24-hour race with a tuned G3 TDI?

I remember a G3 R-TDI. However, I'm not sure if it was at the endurance racing championship or the 24-hour race.

I was thinking about the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I believe they had to withdraw due to technical problems. They were trying to compensate for the lack of top speed by having fewer pit stops.

However, I'm not really sure if that was Le Mans, and whether the technical problems fit the story!

However, despite this, there are very successful racing teams that rely on TDI technology, such as Team Dose.

Hi,

Okay, I understand about the racing TDIs... They even tried using a TDI in the Paris-Dakar rally, and with some success (except for the failure with the timing belt).

I was actually referring to the diesel engines that would make sense in a Jetta... a TDI would probably be too heavy for it (front-heavy), and the diesel engines of that era weren't really that great in terms of performance.

Best regards,

Jan.

Hi Jan,

Jan6K wrote:

I was actually referring to the diesel engines that would make sense in a Jetta... a TDI would probably be too heavy (front-heavy) for it, and the diesel engines from that era weren't really that great in terms of performance.

It's already clear. But a good 1.6L turbo diesel, with proper preparation, can certainly reach 110-120 horsepower. That's really fun with the lighter vehicle weight. I know of two parts that already broke the transmissions back then. Only the soot output is/was enormous .

Hi,
I also swap the tires from front to back because eventually, the entire set of tires will need to be replaced, and you don't want to end up with tires of different types or development stages all at once.
Contrary to the usual doctrine, I put the better tires on the front: For an experienced driver, it is easier to correct oversteer by counter-steering than to catch a car that is uncontrollably sliding due to excessive grip on the front axle.
On a wet road, most of the water is pushed forward, and when driving straight, the rear wheels follow in the tracks of the front wheels. The argument that you wouldn't feel any potential aquaplaning in the steering is only partially true, even with front-wheel drive.
Finally, when braking, the weight is predominantly distributed on the front axle.
Mounting the better tires on the rear is more for less skilled drivers who, when the rear end breaks loose, freeze in fear and drive into the ditch on the inside of the curves, which unfortunately is not uncommon.

Hello,

Are you serious about that statement?

A vehicle that oversteers through the front wheels is much easier to control than a vehicle that oversteers through the rear.

Consider attending an ADAC safety training course.