In a strange twist of events, I ended up with three Mk4 Jettas. The best running/manual transmission one is a 2.0 and will be my winter beater. One of them (the newest of the trifecta) is a 1.8t/automatic and I'm trying to figure out if there are any good parts I should harvest from it to improve my base model car. When the 1.8t models came out, the motoring press seemed to make a big deal about it, so I'm hoping for bigger brakes, sway bars, something. Anybody know for sure?
There are no stupid mk4 jetta questions, only stupid mk4 jettas.
Yes, the 1.8t should have larger front brakes than the 2.0. IIRC, the larger brakes won't fit under the 2.0 15" wheels if they are alloy (might not fit under steel either - I know the brakes on my TDI are tight even with the steel snow-tire wheels). The conversion involves swapping over the entire spindle assembly as the caliper mounts are different. (this conversion is somewhat popular with performance minded TDI owners since all TDI's got the 2.0 brakes). The bolt pattern is the same (5x100) for all Mk IV's.
I'm fairly sure the rear brakes are the same for all Mk IV's except the R32 (which is a different beast all together).
Front sway bar - not sure. I think they are the same, but I wouldn't put money on that. You'll need to measure them or go digging through the Vortex.
The rear sway bar is integrated into the torsion beam and I'm 99% sure they are the same across all Mk IV's.
The 1.8T might have gotten stiffer springs.
This is going to be the first thing: http://www.usrallyteam.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=112_240&products_id=2021
Then, probably Audi TT front suspension and a Shine Racing rear sway bar. I'll mix in some aggressive snow tires for a fun and nearly disposable winter beater
Shine generally doesn't recommend installing their rear bar without installing stiffer springs. It puts a lot of stress on the torsion beam and they've been known to crack.
Going with the TT front suspension is useful for maintaining good geometry if you are planning to lower the car, which seems counter-productive for a winter beater on snow tires. Otherwise, it won't offer much benefit for the cost and effort involved.
Having owned a Mk IV for 13 years and wasting no small amount of time reading about them on various forums and having autocrossed against a well prepped DSP GTI, the best bang-for-buck suspension for one is custom GC coil-overs that raise the car about 1/2-3/4" and stiff F&R bars (an adjustable rear, rather than the Shine style, so you can adjust how the car rotates - and believe me - it WILL rotate). Combined with normal 1.8t power adders and 18" 285/245 R/F A6's, that car was stupid fast on an autocross course. I'm still kicking myself for not buying that car when he sold it.
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