red tdi somene explain (warning, contains traces of nuts)

DEVEREUX

im new to motors and would love some info on red tdi's meaning

is it worth paying extra for?

niceirishfella

Yes, more power.

Mr. Presentable

It's supposed to do with the HP of the engine. For example a base TDI Golf with no red would be 90bhp, one with a red I would be 100bhp and so forth. However, people and garages have been sticking red letters (and GT prefixes to the TDI) for so long now that it's an unreliable way of identifying the car.

VH

a red tdi badge is just that - a red tdi badge

jimmycrackcorm

It means it will run on Red Diesel (as in the North).

Zube

On the Golf it means:

black tdi = fast
red i = weapon
red di = weapon of mass destruction
red tdi = nuclear weapon

HPT

I used to drive a Golf TDI, I really miss it.

It was a 130bhp model and it had a red DI. These engines are quite suitable for remapping. I had mine remapped to 170bhp.
The TDI is 150bhp standard and you can always squeeze a bit more out of that too.

Edit:
So to answer your original question If you value the power then it's worth paying extra for the extra red letters as long as the car has the spec to match. The vehicle licensing certificate will quote the power in Kw, I think. Prob a good idea to make sure you get what you pay for.

Henry Ford III

Zube wrote: »

On the Golf it means:

black tdi = fast
red i = weapon
red di = weapon of mass destruction
red tdi = nuclear weapon

Very good.

p.s. These old engines are rough as a badgers arse. You get NVH thrown in for free.

Ferris

The 130hp Tdi is probably the best compromise with regard to performance and reliability. they need the correct VW oil these 1.9 Tdi's so a good service history is desirable.

As regards them being rough, they're a lot quieter from '02 on. My old one had great grunt, better than most diesels and better than my dad's 2L Tdi A6. I think i'd rather that over refinement. They're a reasonably quick car (not a rocketship but fun) and great for motorway driving but they're poor in the corners.

Zube

Zube wrote: »

On the Golf it means:

black tdi = fast
red i = weapon
red di = weapon of mass destruction
red tdi = nuclear weapon

I assume that post is dripping with irony because golf diesels couldn't be accurately described as fast. No matter how many red letters or gt in front they have.
Fast compared to SDI maybe

Dirty_Diesel

ronoc wrote: »

golf diesels couldn't be accurately described as fast. No matter how many red letters or gt in front they have.

You must be joking?

I've witnessed TDI's embarrasing many cars over the years.
My old B5.5 remapped passat vs turbo passats/golfs/boras/starbos/v-tecs/etc.
My friends remapped golf vs s14/R32/scooby/evo/ITR/etc

Ferris

Dirty_Diesel wrote: »

You must be joking?

I've witnessed TDI's embarrasing many cars over the years.
My old B5.5 remapped passat vs turbo passats/golfs/boras/starbos/v-tecs/etc.
My friends remapped golf vs s14/R32/scooby/evo/ITR/etc

I have to say that it would have been rare that a car would get away from my Golf. Like I said it was usually in the twisty's that it would have a problem.

A 130hp Golf will be as quick as 80% of the cars on Irish roads, which is probably fast enough to get you into trouble. There are fellas running around in them trying to beat boxsters, m3's and scoobys however and thats just plain silly really.

Henry Ford III

Dirty_Diesel wrote: »

You must be joking?

I've witnessed TDI's embarrasing many cars over the years.
My old B5.5 remapped passat vs turbo passats/golfs/boras/starbos/v-tecs/etc.
My friends remapped golf vs s14/R32/scooby/evo/ITR/etc

More to do with the ability of the drivers perhaps?

~Thalia~

I've a 130bhp 6 speed VW Passat TDI 2004. It is, a, ROCKET.:D

bazz26

Dirty_Diesel wrote: »

You must be joking?

I've witnessed TDI's embarrasing many cars over the years.
My old B5.5 remapped passat vs turbo passats/golfs/boras/starbos/v-tecs/etc.
My friends remapped golf vs s14/R32/scooby/evo/ITR/etc

No Veyron?

Slig

Golfs are overpriced no matter how many red letters they have. I dont see why so many people fork out so much money for such a common car.

VH

Dirty_Diesel wrote: »

My friends remapped golf vs R32

i've seen it all now:)

lightening

I was toying with the idea of a diesel golf, so I test drove one with lots of red letters and was not impressed. It felt dog heavy, sluggish and handled badly. I was told it would be as good as a GTi. Its wasn't.

Dirty_Diesel

Dirty_Diesel wrote: »

You must be joking?

I've witnessed TDI's embarrasing many cars over the years.
My old B5.5 remapped passat vs turbo passats/golfs/boras/starbos/v-tecs/etc.
My friends remapped golf vs s14/R32/scooby/evo/ITR/etc

No dead serious.

8.5 seconds to 60 is not that fast..

What power was the remap putting out? Was it proven on a rolling road?

I'm very dubious about those claims. a remapped TDI beating a Scooby and Evo. Give me a break:pac:
They must have had their hand brakes on.

cancan

Dirty_Diesel wrote: »

You must be joking?

I've witnessed TDI's embarrasing many cars over the years.
My old B5.5 remapped passat vs turbo passats/golfs/boras/starbos/v-tecs/etc.
My friends remapped golf vs s14/R32/scooby/evo/ITR/etc

Pure comedic gold!
There is a bit of a disconnect between how fast TDI's are and how fast their owners think they are.

Go buy a proper fast car and come back to us.

HashSlinging

I've a remapped 2.0 Tdi and I can "keep up" with a WRX till 160 thru the gears etc, coming off a round-about for e.g... after that its bye bye TDI.. . corners ...forget it.. although I bet if we were to continue driving I'd catch up. Soonn enough they would have to stop (after about 70 miles) to refil. HAHAHAHAAHA Unless it was a scoob with the air intakes, (in blue) which give an extra 1 mpg. If it has gold alloys its worth another 1 mpg..

:rolleyes:

ustari

in mk4s Ive always had the opinion that you have the sdi and the 110,130 and 150 tdi, the last two being six speeds. Am I right in saying this or am I missing out on an engine?

Climate Expert

Ignore red d's and i's. Fairly meaningless for the most part.

and yes a tdi golf with 150bhp is fast but like all these things its relative.

GAR9999

Re: The vehicle licensing certificate will quote the power in Kw, I think. Prob a good idea to make sure you get what you pay for.

The power in KW is also stated on a sticker which can be found in the spare wheel well, 130 BHP is 96 KW I think.

SouperComputer

The red letters mean nothing that can be relied upon nowadays, mainly because there's been so much messing around with them by VW, owners and importers.

The acid test is to look at the engine code on the sticker in the spare wheelwell. Anything other than that is simply cosmetic.

tossy

The colour of letters means nada!

Diesel engines available in the golf/bora range were

1 x SDI engine

TDI engines were

90 non pd

110 non pd

100 pd
115 pd
130 pd
150 pd

Zonda999

tossy wrote: »

The colour of letters means nada!

Diesel engines available in the golf/bora range were

1 x SDI engine

TDI engines were

90 non pd

110 non pd

100 pd
115 pd
130 pd
150 pd

May be looking at a golf in the not too distant future.I wonder would a 115 6 speed or a 110 5 speed be a better buy...

SV

HashSlinging wrote: »

I've a remapped 2.0 Tdi and I can "keep up" with a WRX till 160 thru the gears etc, coming off a round-about for e.g... after that its bye bye TDI.. . corners ...forget it.. although I bet if we were to continue driving I'd catch up. Soonn enough they would have to stop (after about 70 miles) to refil. HAHAHAHAAHA Unless it was a scoob with the air intakes, (in blue) which give an extra 1 mpg. If it has gold alloys its worth another 1 mpg..

:rolleyes:

Jealousy is a terrible thing.

Keano

I recently got a 1.9 TDI Golf (no red anything just plain TDI).

It picks up nicely.

It will never outrun a Subaru or an EVO but it does the job for me!!

tossy

Zonda999 wrote: »

May be looking at a golf in the not too distant future.I wonder would a 115 6 speed or a 110 5 speed be a better buy...

I would go for the PD 115 over the non pd anyday,not as economical but much smoother and generally a better engine.

DJ Hafez

115bhp models are very very very hard to find. Have been lookin for one for ages because insurance on the 130bhp is out of my price range