Alright.. what's going on here? I don't know much about VWs, but I was under the impression that Passats were at least as quick (if not quicker) than Maxima's. But about two hours ago I was on my way home from a friend's house and a guy in a black Passat pulls up next to me. It looked pretty new, but other than it being a Passat, being black, and being really clean I couldn't tell you anything else. The guy revs his engine at me while the light is red. I kept my foot on the brake and revved a little bit. The light turned green and we went (I think I was at about 1500rpm or so when I launched, if anyone is curious, but I'm not positive). The guy's keeping up with me for a few seconds and then I start REALLY pulling on him and keep going until the next red light (don't even ask me how far this is, I'm not sure - maybe 1/2 mile). I stop and a second later I see the guy blow past, running the red light.

What's the deal? Am I totally off in thinking Passat's are fairly fast cars or what? Did this guy just not know how to drive (I couldn't tell if he was a auto or not)?

 

Wrong impression to be under... Base passats come with a 150 or 170 hp turbocharged 4 cylinder, depending on the year, if they are not chipped, a maxima should beat it easily. The V6 Passat is faster, 190 hp and like around 200 torque, but a modded maxima should still be able to beat it.

Basically the only Passat you should be worried about is a chipped 1.8t 5 speed, those things have 220 hp and 240 torque from a $500 upgrade. If it doesn't have a V6 badge on the back, its either really slow or really fast (you can only get good gains by chipping a 1.8t, those dont come with badges)

 

Well, no, not very fast at all...

There's a 4cyl turbo w/ 150HP, does 0-60 in a little over 8 sec.

There's also a V6 w/ 190HP, does 0-60 in about 7 1/2 sec.

Even a stock auto Max should skewer just about any Passat. Also, if you have any mods and he didn't, then all the better for you!

 

damn Spiff, ya beat me to it.

 

hehe

i think a V6 stick passat would give a maxima a good run... its about the same weight (maybe slightly heavier), and the hp and torque numbers are very similar..

the interior on those cars is to die for though

but the overall reliability sucks

i wanted to get one before i got the maxima

 

my buddy has a 94 Vr6 5 speed and he kicks my *** after 45 mph
its pretty fast little thing. but then again my car is slow, just got killed by a 95 maxima with a pop charger.

 

My lifting partner has a 2001.5 V6 Passssssat, he does nothing but complain about this car. Pickup sucks, handling is bad, rides like a boat. I drove it once and let me tell you, this thing has no where near the pull or ride that my 99 SE-L has. Were both Auto trannys too. He took my Maxima for a ride and couldn't believe how much harder my car pulled and how much more solid it felt. (AGX's in my max) Were both stock cars as far as engine mods go. I think ANY Maxima will distroy a stock Auto V6 Passat.

 

Watch out for the W8's 280 hp

 

This must be a coincedence! There was an add on tv last night about the new 4 motion(all-wheel drive) 270HP PASSat! I almost stained my self. I want some german engineering! (BMW)I think we all do.

 

I thought I read in one of the auto mags that that W8 is going to be a boat...HEAVY!!!! Heard they have gobs of torque though. I think it's mainly for luxury and less performance oriented. More for power, less for acceleration. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I dunno, but they did make it AWD for safety, but that also helps in the acceleration point of view, theres no tellin why they mad it, oh well, it has more power than me, so it is respected here (here as in respected by me!)

 

Hm.. then I guess it's time to race my friend with the Passat who's been talking ****. Anyway, I couldn't tell you if it was a V6 or not. I pretty much never saw it from behind, other than when the guy blew through the red light (@sshole).

 

i wonder what kinda jetta took me the other night (when i launched real bad with wheelspin due to lack of recent dragging- i was only dropping the clutch around 3-3500 offguard)
it looked stock but then it might be chipped which i guess a lotta vw guys do. but i have a ypipe i jus got on and im not sure if he would killed me by much more if i didnt have it. 1.8t?!?

 

I drove my friend's 1.8t a month ago - nice car. Then again, I don't see what the big deal is. It felt faster than the Maxima (and rightfully so, since it is), but I wasn't blown away or anything. Maybe I'm just hard to impress (it took me a while to warm up to the Maxima too). But anyway, I'll shut up - this is OT.

 

I dont know my wife has a 2000 v6 passat fully loaded with tiptronic
and i beat on it all the time. Her car feels muck quicker then my 98 max. She hasnt gotten the confidence to race me yet, but man has she learned to shift that thing. And with the tiptronic you can just wail threw the gears without any lag what so ever. Also the tranny learns the driving pattern of the owner.

 

All I can say is that this Passat was slow as hell. I got up to around 75mph (this is a long, straight non-highway road) before I hit the red light and the guy was nowhere near me (probably a good 2 1/2 - 3 car lengths behind me by the time I started breaking). The guy was pretty clearly trying too, at least that's the impression I got from the finger he stuck out his window and he blew the red light.

Oh, well. I have a friend with a year old tiptronic v6 Passat. I'll find out if this was a fluke or not soon enough.

 

Hehe, my wife also has a 2000 Passat 1.8T tiptronic. I feel it is pretty quick too! At altitude it is better than the NA V6 that's for sure! I think it would have been a close match when we were both stock, now I am boosted ... I don't think so!

 

A 1.8t is NOT faster than a Maxima. Only if its chipped, which most of them AREN'T. In order of decreasing quickness, in stock form, it goes, Maxima, V6 Passat, 1.8t Passat. Yes, the V6 Passat is faster than the 1.8t, cuz it has 2 more cylinders (duh). And if you have a 1.8t with tiptronic, that thing will be a dog, with crazy turbo lag at low rpms..

 

I was under the impression the 1.8t was actually the quicker car? Regardless, a lot of "peppy" four-cylinders feel faster to me than more powerful v6's. It didn't have the pull of the Maxima, but it just felt faster.

Like I said, I'll find out sooner or later when I tell my VW-loving friends to either prove what they're saying about their cars or shut the **** up.

 

At 5000 ft above sea-level it is! Also, while the V6 has more power, it is also heavier so the difference isn't that great, espcially from a roll. From standstill, the 1.8T sucks! Throttle seems like it's dead when you mash it!

 

Similar thing happened to me earlier today, but w/ a silver '02 Passat, I couldn't tell if he was deliberately driving fast or if he just got so damn lucky that his 170hp 4-cyl Passat was turbocharged

I know for sure the 4th Gen Max's have at least 2 advantages over an '02 Passat, one is the # of Cylinders (6 for Maxima, std. 4 for Passat, and a 20hp advantage, stock)

Hmm... either my SE needs to be tuned or it's time to race my brother w/ his Passat

 

Sounds like they can't brake for s@!t either!

 

The W8 IS a boat and doesn't come with a stick shift. But then again, thanks to H.N.I.C.95, we now all know that auto and manuals are the same car and equal in speed.

 

As previously mentioned, APR sells an ECU upgrade for Audi/VW 1.8Ts. For around $500, you can expect 200 hp and about 240 lb./ft of torque. (The 1.8T is a torque monster in stock form anyway - my coworker's anniversary edition GTI w/ the 1.8T and a 6 speed pulls like a freight train.)

APR apparently sells a Stage III turbo kit for 1.8Ts as well, which apparently produces "290 hp at the flywheel while retaining stock drivability" (APR's quote).

You can tell the Jettas w/ 1.8Ts by the badge on the rear deck.

 

My buddy used to have a '00 Jetta GLE 1.8t before he rolled it. That car was fairly quick. He pulled on my VG, but he didn't run away from me. However, if he had ever gotten it chipped, it would have been a different story!

 

i'm not sure i agree with you guys about the 5spd V6 passat not being quicker than the stock maxima.

i test drove a 1999 2.8 passat 5spd before buying my 98 se 5spd and i thought it was quicker, and a little tighter in turns...

my college roomy has a 2.8 Audi A4 Quattro (same engine as the passat, but a lighter car) and that can definitly kick my **** stock... although he constantly complains that he should have gotten the 1.8 and chipped it.

maybe, its just that the A4 is much quicker, i drive that lots and only drove the passat once before buying my max, and as the facts show: i liked the max better in the end.

 

I was about to post this watch out for the new W8's, they have top end. One of the Marines I work with owns one and he was telling me when he went back to seattle how he floored it and took it past 130 and still pulling. This is VW's new W eight figured engine and it has lots of Horsies.