Throttle body 96kW PD

Hi,
I had the pleasure of driving a Passat from 2003 with a 96 kW engine last week.
The engine is sufficiently well-known. However, I've had to jump-start the car several times. Embarrassing. This kind of thing usually only happens to me with Opel cars. To avoid misunderstandings: it doesn't have turbo lag, so it pulls quite well at the bottom end, provided it survives the clutch engagement.
Is this normal for this engine? My AAT and also the Passat with the 1Z engine are absolutely trouble-free.
Is the clutch too aggressive considering the enormous torque, is the EDC not fast enough, or does the engine have so little rotational inertia?

With the 2.5 TDI (AAT), you can apparently let the clutch engage from idle, and the car will produce a lot of black smoke (according to a friend). The 115 hp PD TDI is different, as is the 130 hp PD TDI in their A4. I've noticed the same effect with a Mercedes CDI. Starting is almost like with a gasoline engine; you can't really move without giving it some gas (although the Opel C16NE and the BMW 316i weren't bad in that regard). The 100 hp PD TDI engine, which we have in our company cars, is actually very pleasant to drive (almost as good as the 1Z).

Best regards, WarLord.

Hi Christian,

The clutch in engines with high torque seems to be a real "digital clutch" (it's either fully engaged or disengaged ). They remind me so much of the old sports clutches in my rally cars; even letting the engine "slip" is an art form. Abwürgdrahmen during startup were therefore pre-programmed .

It's possible that the clutch is a bit more aggressive, and if you're not used to that, the engine might stall more quickly than you expect.

'As you know, I also drive a 96kW PD engine. I had the same experience at first. If the engine survives the initial clutch engagement, it then runs like a dream. But it's just a matter of getting used to it. After a few attempts at starting, you'll get the hang of it!'

Hi,

My A4 with the 2.5L V6 AKN engine was also very unusual when it came to clutch engagement.
At first, the clutch barely engages, but then, with just 1 millimeter more pedal travel, it suddenly grabs completely. It seems to be normal for some types of medical conditions.

Hello,

Okay, so I have a Golf with 96 kW privately, and a Passat with 96 kW for work. Both are TDI, of course. With the Golf, the clutch isn't a problem. With the Passat, I initially thought I wouldn't be able to drive it anymore. It was awful, but it's getting better now. I don't know if it's the car or me. So, don't worry about it, this is the case with the Passat, but not with the Golf... (maybe it's because the power has to travel around a corner first...) (Please don't take the last comment seriously).


Matthias.

If it helps to know:

'I had the same problem with my 1.8T Passat. And then there's this mushy accelerator pedal...'
Only burnouts or engine killers. Even trucks don't have clutches like that...

CU Gremlin.

hi gremlin

As far as I know, the 1.8T still has a throttle body directly connected to the accelerator pedal, similar to the Golf with 75 horsepower. Okay, so no issues with the "egas" system... at least that's what I've seen with a colleague's 25-year-old GTI, and I've also seen it on a regular 1.8T.
Perhaps that's the explanation.

Hi,

It's specific to the clutch... and depends on how accustomed you are to it.

Before I had the TDI, I owned a Polo with a 60 horsepower gasoline engine, and it had a very sensitive clutch. The first few times, I almost always threw up, but later I always had fun when giving someone else a ride, because it was almost guaranteed to happen to them too.

After 40,000 km, I had become so familiar with it that I could maneuver it like I now do with the diesel, idling without using the accelerator - the AEX engine is a pleasant exception among newer gasoline engines, because it is designed more for torque than for high RPM.

The Ibi is actually very peaceful; I usually drive it without using the accelerator.

Best regards,

Jan.

As far as I know, the 1.8T still has a throttle body directly connected to the accelerator pedal, similar to the 75hp Golf.

Those days are long gone; only the very first ones experienced that.
He has EGAS, but the accelerator pedal is complete garbage. In the TDI, the pedal is quite stiff, but in the gasoline engine, as a TDI driver, you end up pressing it almost to the floor... grumble.
It's probably that the target audience for the Passat is too old to use a pedal-powered version, who knows...

CU Gremlin.

Yes, after owning the Touran TDI with a 2.0L 100kw (pump nozzle) engine for about a quarter of a year, I occasionally stall it. It wasn't any worse than the old truck I used to drive 25 years ago.

Launch.

Hi Gremlin,

I didn't know that! Thank you, now I'm up to date.

Hi Jan,

Okay, I once had an AEX Polo as well... but honestly, that car was great. I drove it for 100,000 km without a single problem (does the new exhaust that was installed at 60,000 km count?). However, they didn't put much torque under the hood of mine. I always drove it at relatively low RPMs, but I was never surprised by the lack of torque. It only had a rather modest 116 Nm (approximately).

Hi,

I test-drove a new A4 with ASZ (presumably referring to a specific feature or system) that belonged to a colleague, and I actually found the pedal to feel quite soft. However, as you've already mentioned, the "bite point" was barely noticeable. However, the same vehicle, with a mileage of 28,000 km, felt a bit more forgiving.

But being a little bit direct isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?

Back then, my Golf had a solid sintered metal clutch. Even though starting it was an absolute pain, for some reason, it never stalled. The tires would slip at the slightest carelessness, or it would jerk forward in a stuttering way, but it never stalled. Well, that thing only lasted about 30,000 km; then the city driving and traffic took their toll.
Well. Okay, then.

Greetings.
Thomas.

Hi,

@Matthias:

I'm not saying the AEX has amazing torque, but its design is geared more towards pulling power at lower RPMs. Of course, it's clear that this isn't comparable to a TDI, but for such a 1.4-liter engine, the torque comes on surprisingly low.

The engine only revs up to 5500 (where the red zone begins), and it cuts out around 5800.

For comparison, I don't see any TDI models here, but rather other small gasoline engines, such as small 16V engines, or this absolutely awful 1.0-liter 50 horsepower engine, where you don't really feel any acceleration, even though it might only have about one-third less torque on paper, but only much later in the rev range.

Overall, my AEX performed very well and didn't have a single problem. It was a very nice car that also consumed very little oil. The only thing was the... The path wasn't great; sometimes you ended up going backwards.

Best regards,

Jan.

Jan6K wrote:

... or this absolutely awful 1.0 50 HP engine, where you don't notice any power at all...

Oh, I haven't noticed anything like that in my Lupo yet... probably thanks to the tuning to 61 horsepower .

I drove a different Passat with a 96 kW engine today, but I don't know the engine codes for the company cars we have.
While it also had a fairly stiff clutch, this time the car started moving with a slight jolt instead of simply stalling.
It probably came with the copy from last week.