Info Wanted concerning A2's

499 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by lotus7, Nov 30, 2001

vokalwagen87

Discussion Starter · Nov 30, 2001

HI im a new member to the Vortex forums. i just totalled my 87 auto-x cabriolet on thanksgiving and am looking to buy
an A2 jetta. I am new to A2 cars so i need help. which fuel systems came on jettas, which ones are bad/good and on
which specific models/years can i find them. also, what trim models are offered, what engines are available , Are GLi's reliable ?
are GL's quick . what kind of 5-speed transmissions do they offer. ( my 9a 020 on my cabby was a tranny that most shops called
"unserviceable" ) do the A2's have 9a's ? ( i hope not )
What are some of the common problems with A2's , what dont you like about your Jetta. do i want a 2dr or 4 dr or is there no
difference ( besides the obvious ) . Do the motor mounts break every month like A1's . what can you compare the handling to?
how is the gas mileage, how well do they do in accidents.( my cabby was excelent).
Dang that was a lot of questions. i am pretty sure i will buy an a2 jetta , i just want to research a little more first.
thanks in advance.

See less See more

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

3WheelGTi

· #2 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (vokalwagen87)

first off, it depends what year A2 we are talking to determine which FI unit was used. I have a 92 GTi 16V, which has the CIS system, which I've heard is more reliable than the previous units. not sure if that helps, but i'll continue. also, the 16V's came with the 9a 020 tranny's i believe, they are short ratio... in terms of reliability, this is a vw, not a honda, so you know, things break. from the pictures posted on this site, these cars are fairly solid in accidents. GLi's are pretty quick cars, and GL's are all that slow, but hardly fast when stock. the 16V's are alot more tempremental than the other 8-valvers, which is why SCCA race cars almost exclusively use 8 valvers. boy, i jumped all over the place with this post. hope it helps.

See less See more

Save

Moosar

· #3 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (3WheelGTi)

My 1992 1,8L 8v is using the Digifant II type Fuel Injection. Never heard anything bad about them. I personally think it's a good system, although the only thing i have ever had to compare them too are the turbo diesels and diesels.

Save

Batan

· #4 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (3WheelGTi)

quote:[HR][/HR]this is a vw, not a honda, so you know, things break[HR][/HR]

I disagree with that one...

Save

Caleb

· #5 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (Batan)

I too disagree with that statement. I have had very good luck with my car and have had very little problems and all of which have been minor issues. I think that VW's are reliable and that is the reason that I bought mine. I needed something reliable for college. My mom drives a '87 Jetta with over 280,000 miles on it and we have put next to no money into it. I have never understood those who say VW's arn't reliable. Trust me I know what unreliable is, my last car was a '86 Nissan 300ZX. You get a new appretiation for cars after being under them every weekend for about 6 months straight.

Save

gti_matt

· #6 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (vokalwagen87)

quote:[HR][/HR]

CIS, CIS-E on early 8V cars, Digifant II on late 8V cars, Digifant I on 1991-1992 8V cars in California, CIS-E on 1.8 16V cars, and Motronic on 2.0 16V cars.

quote:[HR][/HR]which ones are bad/good and on which specific models/years can i find them[HR][/HR]

1985-most of 1987are CIS and CIS-E 8V cars. I wanna say that the CIS-E are the 102hp 1986-1987 GLI ones and CIS are the 1985-1987 85hp (non-GLI) and 1985 100hp (GLI) ones.
Very late 1987 through 1989 are CIS-E in the 1.8 16V GLI and Digifant II on the 8V cars.
1990-1992 is Motronic on the 2.0 16V GLI and Digifant II on the 8V cars with the exception of 1991-1992 8Vs in California which are Digifant I.
Mixed in there is the Carat (I think 1988 or 1989 and later?) which was an 8V but with 5 more HP from a dual-downpipe (again, except 1991-1992 California ones with Digi-1 and single downpipe). Canada got the Carat earlier (1986?) than the US. Not sure about the engine setup though on that one.
All are good, with the 2.0 16V being the best. 8Vs are also pretty good as well. Many people hate Digifant because it's less tunable than CIS, but in stock form Digifant is excellent, IMHO.

quote:[HR][/HR]Do the motor mounts break every month like A1's[HR][/HR]

Front mount is the weakest on the later A2s. Other 2 mounts are fine though, as is the early front mount (different from later ones). Front mount (either style) is easy to change though. Later mount is also pricier than early mount, but early mount is getting harder to find.

[Modified by gti_matt, 10:56 PM 11-29-2001]

See less See more

Save

3WheelGTi

· #7 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (Batan)

quote:[HR][/HR]this is a vw, not a honda, so you know, things break
I disagree with that one...[HR][/HR]

i had a honda prelude before my gti, and don't get me wrong, i like the gti ALOT more, but i never had to open the hood on my prelude. that's what i meant by saying that.

Save

eightvalvejettacarat

· #8 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (Batan)

quote:[HR][/HR]this is a vw, not a honda, so you know, things break
I disagree with that one...[HR][/HR]

me too, its all about how well you take care of it IMO

Save

lotus7

· #9 · Nov 30, 2001

Re: Info Wanted concerning A2's (eightvalvejettacarat)

I haven't seen an '83 civic since... I dunno when... But I see '83 Bunnies quite frequently. Hmmmn..
But then, 16v's didn't come with a 9A code tranny either.

[Modified by lotus7, 8:33 PM 11-30-2001]

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month