There I was, minding my own business and this guy in a silver Jetta decides he wants a piece of Maxima for breakfast. Now he caught me totally off guard as I was entering the freeway on ramp...I noticed as I was accelerating (at a normal rate), he was stuck to my rear bumper like I was towing him so I decide "what the heck". I punched it and put a little distance between us. He hung with me pretty well but never really pulled on me. This run was maybe only 1/4 mile long because my exit came up very soon after the place I entered the freeway. My gut tells me that I could have put more distance between us if I had stayed on the freeway to play but my speed limiter (wife) was in the passenger seat going nuts so I just got off and went to my destination (IHOP). The guy in the Jetta blasts past me as I was braking to exit...Something tells me he thinks he "won" but what really happened was, I just stopped playing...That kinda eats at me a little. I have no earthly idea what engine he had... I saw only his headlights & grille in my mirror.

How well do these newer Jettas run? Any match for an '02 automatic?

 

stock, NO CHANCE. BUT, theres a company (APR performance?) that makes a chip for the 1.8T and puts it well into the 14s.

 

jettas can be deceivingly quick, but they shouldn't be able to beat any 02 max unless modded. i hear the 1.8's run in the mid 15's. a simple chip, and that time is cut drastically. depending on how close he was to you, you may have been doing him a favor by cutting his wind resistance.

 

I ran an older and modded VR6 off the line a few months back and absolutely obliterated him. We were in a 35 zone with lots of twists and I took it up to 60 and quit. But then the guy whizzed on past me, freakin drifted the corner, got his back end lose on some gravel on the shoulder, and then drifted around another car!!!

I guess he thinks he won, but whatever. I quit racing long before that and didn't feel like endangering myself, him, or others. So whatever.

 

Drifting, huh? Real life Grand Turismo 3!!! I guess he thinks he can just bounce off the barrier and keep going
I usually flip my hazards on when I shut down after a run to tell the other car 'I'm not racing anymore'... It seems to be working so far.

 

A friend down the street just bought a GTI 1.8 ... It is suppposed to run a 15.3-15.5 stock.. Those are smaller than Jettas. But what the previous post said is true. A simple 500.00 chip can add 75 horsepower instantly... ,and a BOV, and downpipe , catback, and they are low 14's easily ..... Wish he had that kind of mods available..

 

A 6spd would have been a good way to start.

 

Didn't want one...