Just picked up a 1999 Passat wagon, 1.8t, tip, CD. Now with 47 miles on the clock.<p>The Passat may be the close cousin of the A4 but the engine, drivetrain, road and wind noise are notably louder than my A4 1.8qms. I figure the road and wind noise are a result of the wagon configuration but I didn't expect the engine noise. My A4 idles so smoothly and quietly I sometimes glance at the tach to see if it's running... this will never be a problem in the Passat as I can feel the engine idling while my foot rests on the floor and if it's in gear I can hear the engine and feel pronounced vibration. Maybe it'll improve once the engine mounts loosen up. Dunno.<p>The tiptronic is pretty cool although the shifts don't occur as fast as I would expect. When I bump the lever I expected it to shift on the "push" but instead it occurs once the lever returns to the +- gate<br>neutral position. A quibble, yes but just something I noticed. Still, it makes driving the car fun... as fun as an automatic can be. Finally, an automatic I can live with! :-) It is a little soft off the line but I am comparing a stock 1.8t tip to my 235hp 1.8t manual. I had no problem dealing with the normal houston rush-hour traffic slice-n-dice. Plenty of squirt in traffic while keeping the engine under my self-imposed 4500 rpm limit until the engine clocks 600 miles. And, I'm sure the dealer put rot-gut 87 octane fuel in the tank... I'm sure it'll perk up with a fresh drink of 93.<p>The blue dash lights are nifty looking although I do prefer the nice glow of my red. Decent stereo. The A/C recirc button allows recirc mode regardless of of a/c mode. Great for shutting out stinky city busses. Passat wins here. <p>Steering and brakes are about the same but it's hard to compare them cuz the Passat is wearing all season 15" rubber and I'm running 16" 225 sport rubber.<p>Door locks are solenoid rather than vacuum activated. They actuate with a resounding clunk opposed to my silent (except for the faint pump noise) locks. <p>Equipped with DRLs. Yuck.<p>Wiper has a delay knob/gizmo on the lever to set the interval. My 97 didn't come with delay. I assume 99 A4 has the same feature. <p>Overall, I'm impressed with the car but it's no match for the refinement of the A4 engine mods aside. 16" rubber soon. .8 bar chip after the first oil change. Two thumbs up. <p>-- donp<br>97 A4 235hp 1.8tqms<br>99 Passat wagon 1.8t tip

Don:<p>What rubber are you running on the Audi? Any negatives because of the wider tyres?<p>Tomasz

I'm running 225/50-16 SP8000. <p>Only negatives are:<br>- it hydroplanes sooner due to the wider footprint but then the point where it starts to float is *way* beyond reasonable and prudent for conditions. When I experience this I'm blowing by other traffic. (rain-x rules!!)<br>- it tends to follow road imperfections more readily. I also expected this and it's hardly an issue once you know it does it considering the added cornering grip.

1.) What .8 bar chip are you going to choose and why the .8 bar?<p>2.) When do you plan on having it's oil changed for the first time?<p> a.) What type of oil are you going to change to?<p>Just wondering b/c I have a 99' 1.8Tqms w/369 miles on it. Thanks!<p>JT<p>

Refer to the "Other Audi Models" forum for a little trick... On how to remove the Passat DRLs.<p>Note: Let's not start the dreaded DRL thread again. It's been discussed to death in the archives. We appreciate your cooperation.<p>AJL<br>98 Passat 1.8T

>1.) What .8 bar chip are you going to choose and why the .8 bar?<p>Neuspeed or Wett. Not sure yet.<p>I'll be getting .8 because the wife does not like the on-boost surge of my car. I figure a .8 will be more tame than a fiesty 1.0.<p>>2.) When do you plan on having it's oil changed for the first time?<p>At 5,000 miles.<p>>a.) What type of oil are you going to change to?<p>Mobil 1 15w-50

Although I probably would not mind the "on-boost" surge, I still might consider the .8 bar vs the 1.0 bar. Thinking Wett, but we'll see.<p>I know it's debatable, but do you think I should have the oil changed before 5K miles? What is your theory?<p>I'd like to use Mobil 1, also. Do you think 15W-50 would be ideal for New England?<p>Thanks, Don!<p>JT 99' 1.8Tqms<br>

changing the oil is ok, but use dino oil until 10k miles. it won't break in properly with synthetic.

(standing on a teeny-tiny itty-bitty soapbox)<p>15W-50 in New England? <p>Consider this "snip" from Mobil's web site:<p>- Mobil 1 Formula 0W-30, Mobil 1 Formula 5W-30 and Mobil 1 Formula 10W-30 flow down to -54° C (-65° F) and pump at lower temperatures than similar SAE viscosity conventional oils. <p>- Mobil 1 Formula 15W-50 flows at -48° C (-55° F) and pumps at temperatures as low as many conventional SAE 5W-30 oils. <p>Does your winer temp get below -55 degrees? If you're comfortable running conventional 5W-30 oil in the winter then 15W-50 synthetic should be no problem according to Mobil's published information. Seem reasonable?<p>(insert big opinion warning here!!) <p>Change the oil before 5K? In days of old... yes. Today? No. <p>I don't want to start a GIANT thread on this issue... it's been beaten to death time and time and time (and time) again. This is my opinion:<p>- The engine is a precision manufactured piece of hardware built, in what I'm told by someone who has been to the plant where they build the engines, in an amazingly clean environment. I doubt there is much notable trash in the oil that would warrant an early change. <p>- If you follow the mfg guidelines your gonna be driving it easy for the first few thousand miles so you won't be beating up on the oil anyway.<p>- Oil of today is very good and I don't buy the 3k mile change interval hyped by the oil change places. They are in the business to make $$$. The more you change your oil the more $$$ they make.<p>- It's been stated (and refuted) many many times that the factory fill has additives to help the rings and other parts seat. I dunno if this is true or not. Pick your favorite rumor. Please, let's not open this big slimy can of worms to discussion again.<p>- I changed my factory fill at 7500 per the 1997 guidelines and so far I've followed the factory 7500 interval with Mobil 1 synthetic. Now that I have a K04 turbo I'm going to follow the 5000 interval with synthetic.<p>- Consider that VW offers a 10/100,000 powertrain warranty on the 1.8t with a 5000 mile interval. Do you think VW/Audi would stick their neck out and warranty the engine for that period of time if they felt the oil interval was inadequate?<p>Oil change interval, oil brand, grade and when to change the oil for the first time is akin to discussions by opposing fanatical religious groups. I have my views, you have yours. <p>(stepping off of towering soapbox nursing a nosebleed... seems to have grown while I was standing on it)

<br>Porsche and some of GM cars are delivered with synthetic oil in the engine from the factory. Our transmissions have synthetic from the factory. My A4 has 17K miles with synthetic installed at the first change. It uses no measurable oil between 7500 changes. I've always done it, never had a problem. <p>Consider this from the Mobil site:<p>Q. WHEN CAN I START USING MOBIL MOTOR OIL ? CAN MOBIL MOTOR OIL<br> BE USED IN AN OLDER VEHICLE ? <p>A. You can start using Mobil Motor Oil in new vehicles at any time. Mobil Motor Oil can also be used in older vehicles with high mileage on them. As with any older vehicle, any leaks should be fixed to reduce oil loss. <p>

Try putting the tip in neutral and you will have the same quiet and smoothness as the A4--it is the drag of the tip that creates the vibration and sound. Once warmed up and broken in most of this goes away. I spent time in an a4 avant 1.8 and a Passat 1.8 -- both tip and I can tell you the Passat is quieter and smoother riding than the A4--The A4 had more wind noise--the Passat sedan is very silent at speed--it must be the wagon body style. All tests of the Passat praised the Passat quietness --but there is sometimes mention of the harshness of the engine with the tip.

That's what I figured with the noise. It's all new and tight. I expect it will smooth out and quiet down with time. The demo we drove originally had almost 8,000 miles on it and I didn't notice noise and vibration with it. <p>At speed cruising the car is quiet. My A4 has very little wind noise until I exceed 85-90.

I'll probably do the 5K intervals w/Mobil 1. I just have to pick which grade. Based upon what you sent me, 15W-50 sounds like it may be ideal. I'll do more research. As far as the first oil change, I'll probably go w/the 5K also, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Anyway, thanks again. Your opinion is of value to me. =)<p>JT 99' 1.8Tqms

i've noticed that some people seem to be very, very touchy about this subject. i'm not a petroleum engineer, but when i worked at the gm tech center, the engineers were positively against any of the slick type additives. now syn isn't exactly the same, but reading the notices of a slow break in for a4's, it seems like a good idea to wait. btw 99qms w/1200 miles (in houston) and loving it

You aint kidding... back when I had a GTI and frequented the GTI list there was a huge nasty flame war that went on for what seemed like forever. <p>I don't see why folks get so up in arms over it. Do what you're comfortable with and follow advice of those you trust. Unfortunatly, I've never seen conclusive evidence one way or another though tons of convincing arguments exist for both sides.