NHBubba's '09 Jetta SportWagon SEL

[BlaineWasHere]

Make that things fast... I would love to see a wagon at the track!

 

[nhbubba]

I'd love to take it to a track.. and I have some friends that would like me to take it to a track.

But alas I haven't got the money or the free time.

Really its not that different than a GTI or any other Golf variant.

 

[07Jetta2.5]

Good to see another Jetta on here. Lol, I didnt really care for jettamkv.com

This. The site is just soooooo slow.

Still waiting to see the HID's.

 

[g60_corrado_91]

hotchkis makes the apr bar.

Thanks for the info.

They are. The question was rhetorical. There was some debate and some folks on the 'tex told me I had Rabbit brakes and suggested I could go ahead and order those cheap 15" steelies and cheap snow-tires. But I was confused as I have a 16" spare. Why would VW spend more giving me a 16" spare if they didn't have to? Finally I put the car up on jacks, yanked the front tire and measured the caliper. They are the GTI/GLI brakes.

Now it seems that some JSW owners with the 2.0T report having the smaller brakes and others (like me) report having GTI/GLI brakes. There seems to be some question about what the TDI JSW has too. VWoA's website is zero help.


Nope. The APR bar is hollow. It is rumored to be the same bar as the Hotchkis bar(s). Seems APR rebrands them. For a while you could not get the Hotchkis bar except as a front and rear set. Personally I don't have much interest in a stiffer front, so only the RSB was of interest. However now it seems you can get the Hotchkis bars seperately. The only difference between the Hotchkis and APR bars seem to be the color. APR's are red, Hotchkis are black.

In the end I ordered the APR bar because NA-Motorsports had a helluva deal + a fair shipping charge. I got the APR bar shipped for less than I could find a Hotchkis bar.

The BSH bar is solid. Although reports I read suggested there is (or was) some fitments issues. There are none with my APR bar.

Very interesting that VW would change the brake size on the same engine models. And yup, I feel the same way with a larger front sway bar. I guess it would create more stability which may be good for road courses, but it may also lead to more understeer which is something our cars don't need more of. I think I'm going to go with the BSH RSB plus the endlinks when I have the chance! I haven't heard of any fitment issues, but I'll be sure to research for when the time does come I order it!

 

[germanbycar]

In my opinion my car is a Jetta in name only. But then a Jetta is only a Golf with a trunk. And my car is just a Jetta with a hatch. So...

JettaMkV.com has some pretty sweet forum software. But yeah, the action seems to be on this site.

Yeah, agreed. Nice ride.

 

[BlaineWasHere]

I'd love to take it to a track.. and I have some friends that would like me to take it to a track.

But alas I haven't got the money or the free time.

Really its not that different than a GTI or any other Golf variant.

I have the free time... just not the $$$.

 

[nhbubba]

Best cure for extra free time: Buy a house that needs some work.. then work in a field squeezed by the recession and have a boss pushing deadlines hard.

Very interesting that VW would change the brake size on the same engine models.

To be honest, I don't believe any of the JSW's with the 2.0T (the SEL trim) have the smaller brakes. I think they all came with the GLI/GTI brakes. The reports I've seen otherwise are always 2nd or 3rd hand: "My buddy has an SEL and says ..."

I haven't a clue about the TDIs.

It would seem logical to put the GTI/GLI brakes on all of the 2.0T cars and Rabbit brakes on all the 2.5L cars. The TDI trim could go either way.

 

[dsm1983]

I can't believe that they put the noise pipe on the JSW SEL too! The noise pipe is so "artificial" to me.
My wife's JSW TDI doesn't have a noise pipe though. Hmm...

 

[nhbubba]

My JSW has the 2.0T gasoline engine. It shares more in common with the GTI and Jetta GLI than any other model.

The 2.0L TDI is an entirely different beast and targets an (almost) entirely different car buyer. I'm not surprised in the least that there is no "noise pipe" in the TDI.

That said, my SEL seems like an odd-ball, parts-bin concoction anyway. It has the engine of a GLI/GTI, the brakes from the GLI/GTI (although the calipers are not red), the dual-zone climate control that was decontented out of the GTI, power driver's seat and 17" wheels regardless of package (where the GTI pretty much required 18"-ers to get the sunroof). Seems like they played a little game of mix'n'match when they cooked up my car.

Oddly it is just about exactly what I wanted.

I guess it shouldn't surprise me that they've discontinued the SEL in the US. ... No more JSW + 2.0T gasser!

 

[nhbubba]

First electrical gremlin!

I think I might have been bit by the feared VW electrical gremlin. I recently purchased a CiM electronic boost gauge kit. I got it at a discount and so jumped at the opportunity to order it, but did not have the time to install it immediately. A couple weekends ago I found the time to install it, but grossly underestimated how tough it would be to install or overestimated my skill at such things!

After a weekend of working on it between other commitments, I had the gauge installed in the dash, sender mounted in the engine compartment, and the illumination wiring hooked up, but not the main gauge power.

This weekend I got around to hooking up the power and switched power using the fuse taps. Now the gauge does its song and dance at startup. I also have not had the money or opportunity to buy a proper manifold tap, so it currently reads zero all the time.

Now for the problem. This morning I fired up the car and the dash lit up like a christmas tree. Just about every indicator and warning light came on.. then one by one they started to clear. Except the airbag warning indicator. My MFD now says "Airbag Fault".

Well crap!

Searching this morning it seems the prevailing wisdom says this happens when the ignition is turned on with an airbag component unplugged. I know for a fact that I did not do this. In fact I have never had an airbag component unplugged with the battery connected. I have, however, had the dash light dimmer and headlamp switch unplugged while the ignition was turned on.

Anybody think this could have triggered my lamp? I am doubting it.

I'm also reading about a TSB and a DIY fix for a connector under the seat. While tinkering with the fuse hookups I accidentally leaned against the seat position switch and the seat adjusted itself all the way back. I'm wondering if this yanked on the infamous connector under the seat..

 

[BlaineWasHere]

Sorry but, You bought a boost gauge without a boost tap???

 

[nhbubba]

Yup. No cash or time to buy the tap.. yet. Tap will have to wait until after the 1st of the year. ... Or for one like I want to show up in the classifieds section.

 

[BlaineWasHere]

Yup. No cash or time to buy the tap.. yet. Tap will have to wait until after the 1st of the year. ... Or for one like I want to show up in the classifieds section.

How much was the gauge?

I got mine for $90 shipped for tap, gauge, pod, and all wire/line.

 

[nhbubba]

You got a better deal than I did.

Gauge was $140 and did not include the tap.

 

[Teutonic Turbo]

If you paid $140, you obviously bought the CIM gauge and pod, which should come with the boost tap, which is nothing other than a short piece of hose with a plastic nipple at the mid point that attaches to the intake manifold. I have the same gauge and this came with my kit.