B7 TFSi Purchase Advice

[AlexGSi2000]

Morning,

After almost three years with my B6 A4 2.5TDi Quattro - I am now thinking about changing the car, due to milage & the fact I fancy a little change.
I have always been happy with the A4, it looks good, comfortable on long trips and handles really well (after a few upgrades).
The only one thing I have never been satisfied with is the power - a supposed 200bhp map only saw 185 on the rollers.

I should have researched the engine when I bought the B6 (as I am aiming to do now for the B7!) - Mine suffered cam wear failure which set me back around £1k in parts combined with a weekend of swearing.
The waterpump also seized a few months ago, which set me back £400 in belts & parts - 35,000 miles before the belts were due!

I have owned diesels for the past four years, but wanting to go back to the petrol fold.

I have looked at other cars, there are a few quick FWD cars out there - but nothing beats the quattro drivetrain. I dont think I could go back to FWD.
The other half recently purchased a Megane 225 - which spins up at every opportunity, I dont think I could live with that again - I got used to modulating the throttle on my Ibiza Cupra R years ago!
Power wise, I am realistically after 250bhp+ - happy to carry out a few modifications here and there.

I suppose my main question is - how do you guys rate the TFSi engine?
I have heared there are potential issues with injectors/fuel pumps?

Should I play safe and go for an earlier 1.8T?

 

[Giosabcsl]

Hi,

Personally with out going into detail too much. It would purely be based on your budget and nothing more.

Because for example the TFSI is a noisy but great engine. And easily tunable with a stage 1 chip, which will get you 250hp.
That said the 1.8T motors are strong on there own both share there own pros and cons.

The thing with the 1.8t is that you can buy one cheap and with the spare change spend some on it, mods etc
Were as the 2.0t quattro are the higher end of the price scale so you already starting off with a higher price yes slightly more HP out the factory but there is a few preventative maintenance things needed on the TFSI to make them smooth for a good 60-80 k miles.

Were as the 1.8t is less fussy.

So again with out going into it Budget is the key. Once that is determined with a realistic figure then one can help you decide.

 

[JudderMan]

If you get a tfsi change the oil pick up pipe immediately. My story is documented on here but in short it took less than a month of ownership to kill it and a 2k engine rebuild bill. Other than that it's sweet. Just needs a few tweaks remap, rs4 arb, wheels and it will be grand. Coming from an 8l a3 it feels like a brand new car and the engine is much more flexible even for a big car.

 

[Giosabcsl]

There is more to an oil pick up on the TFSI. Sorry to blow that bubble. A lot more actually. Which if any of them go you looking at severe engine damage.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Thanks for the input so far - I did think about the older 1.8T (an engine I am familliar with)
They suffer from pickup pipe issues too.

I kind of fancied something more modern engine wise - I dont mind preventitive maintenance and the odd replaced part here and there.

If I were to go 1.8T then I would more than likely find a good B6 190 (which are a lot cheaper) and swap over all my parts.

Which again brings the question 3.0TDi - is it worth considering?

 

[Giosabcsl]

The 190 engine would be my choice in the B6 for sure. Especially if you can pick up a nice quattro model as well.

The only 2 major things really on the 1.8 T is sludge and oil pick up. It has minor issues like coil packs etc but that isnt going to cost you the earth.

The 3.0 TDI is a peach of a engine especially in manual form. But again does has its own draw backs but probably put it 2nd in terms of reliability Being the 190, 3.0 tdi then TFSI.

Again it all is down your goal and budget.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

The 190 engine would be my choice in the B6 for sure. Especially if you can pick up a nice quattro model as well.

The only 2 major things really on the 1.8 T is sludge and oil pick up. It has minor issues like coil packs etc but that isnt going to cost you the earth.

The 3.0 TDI is a peach of a engine especially in manual form. But again does has its own draw backs but probably put it 2nd in terms of reliability Being the 190, 3.0 tdi then TFSI.

Again it all is down your goal and budget.

Cheers for the advice.
I have bought cheap cars in the past then found I need to spen abit on them - so would rather pay for a decent example - not going to be looking for the cheapest possible B7.

I have taken a look at the 3.0TDi - the layout looks very similar to the older 2.5TDi I currently own - so I guess a benefit when it comes to working on them.
What would the drawbacks of a 3.0TDi be? - Im fairly confident it would satisfy in terms of power due to the torque.