I'm Devin, this is my Passat

[DBVeeDB]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to introduce myself to the Passat community, as I have just purchased a 2008 Passat Wagon. I have been researching the car for about 1-2 months, and have even done a bit of posting in the B6 forums. I am not new to the vw thing, ive been to 3 h20's, owned and still own my big turbo, shaved bay jetta mkiv since late 2007, and am with my beautiful g/f who also owns a mkiv gti. I try to learn as much as I can and I have met some great people through this hobby. I dont plan on stopping anytime soon, and im hoping to expand my relations on to you guys. Most of you I've talked to have already been extremely helpful, so thank you. Moving on to the car...

I have always had a soft spot for vw wagons and Audi Avants, idk what it is, but their shape has such a nice set of lines and sporty look to it when executed well. Once I saw how affordable these things are second hand now, I started to dig deeper and got hooked.

Last Saturday, after checking out a local wagon, I drove up to Madison Wisconsin and test drove, then purchased my new baby...



She is a 2008 Wagon, 3.6L 4mo. Sport seats, Alum trim, 18 Samarkands, shift paddles, parking assist. All stock options, and it is Certified Pre-Owned vw. Came with floormatts, monster matts, gorilla gear, and a full size spare. Brand new tires and brakes too to top it off. So far I cannot get enough of this thing...



The driving experience in this blew me away. The transmission and powerband are smooth and strong, and the car barely feels like a wagon when you are driving it. No terrible blind spots, no heavy washy feel to the steering. All I could say is "wow" as I drove it home from the dealer. My favorite part of this car is the power + sound of the 3.6, and the interior quality/fit+finish. At night is a real mood enhancer, and has made driving enjoyable for me again.

My goal is to keep this car at an OEM plus level, with certain mods that represent my personal style and need. Its my dialy, my commuter, my winter car, and my hauler. But that doesnt mean its gonna be beat on or neglected. This is my new baby.

My plans are to start with small things. Tint, euroswitch, hr springs, some euro goodies, and possibly chip and suitcase delete to start. Down the road id love to go with votex valence, and possibly coils or air supsension. Right now, I cant stop enjoying this car.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for updates. I will most likely debadge the rear hatch tonight and get rid of this hideous dealer license frame(s)

-Dev

[coderedcomputing]

Damn, that is a nice wagon... and the camera work is quite good too!

[bartsitarski]

Welcome to the B6 club! She look beautiful! I see that you are in Lake Zurich, I am in downtown Palatine and do most of my grocery/target shopping in LZ. You will love the car, I'm sure. I love my 07 (minus the costant repairs to known issues). I have been taking all my VWs to Fox Valley on Golf since moving to IL 4 years ago. I took my 04 Jetta, 08 Rabbit, and now the Passat there. They are a top notch dealer, I always get great service. Enjoy!

[DBVeeDB]

Awesome, If you ever wanna meet up for a photoshoot lmk! My g/f and I love meeting local dubbers of all ages.

This car was oroginally bought at Fox Valley, and was sold to VW of Madison where I got it. I usually use autobarn, but I have a friend who is a tech at FV. So I will definitely bring it to him since he knows these cars very well.

thanks for the compliment on the camera work. It was hard keeping the raindrops off the lense tonight haha.

[3.6awdwagon]

Sweet ride bro... I'm jeolous....Sport seats!!!

[SickTRed08FSI]

Nice B6!!! Considering a 3.6L wagon for my daily driver.

[bartsitarski]

Awesome, If you ever wanna meet up for a photoshoot lmk! My g/f and I love meeting local dubbers of all ages.

This car was oroginally bought at Fox Valley, and was sold to VW of Madison where I got it. I usually use autobarn, but I have a friend who is a tech at FV. So I will definitely bring it to him since he knows these cars very well.

thanks for the compliment on the camera work. It was hard keeping the raindrops off the lense tonight haha.

Let me know brother... Always up for a meet and greet. I like the hot dog place on main and old rand.

[BocaVdub]

Welcome to the madness Thats a beautiful wagon and I really like the Samarkands on it!! I live in Mount Prospect so hopefully Ill see you around and get to see that thing in person

[DBVeeDB]

Welcome to the madness Thats a beautiful wagon and I really like the Samarkands on it!! I live in Mount Prospect so hopefully Ill see you around and get to see that thing in person

Apparently we are getting hotdogs soon those pictures of the car in my post are taken about 400ft away from the aforementioned hot dog joint. haha

[jettamkIVvr6]

great choice man. car looks great. you're going to love the VR6 even more after you add a couple of miles to the car.
enjoy it

[najel]

Nice wagon!!
I think I have browsed through your Jetta thread before and was quite impressed. I see a good future for this car then too

Welcome to this part of the forum

[DBVeeDB]

awesome, thanks for looking through the jetta thread. I tried to give this thread a similar name, so that people could follow both cars if they so desire.

thanks again for everyone's welcome.

I have succesfully debaged the rear of this car the other night w/ my g/f. the rear looks much cleaner now. I also am now on my 3rd tank of gas. mpg for each was 23 and 21 mpg. does this soudn right to other 3.6 4mo drivers? mostly city.... I will try to get up some additional picturesof the car

Lastly, does anyone know how to get rid of this chrome hatch strip? Im assuming it is just adhered, but I dont want to pry it off adn find the paint coming with it, or 2 holes for bolts lol..

-Dev

[MICHAS]

Nice car, mate. Love the area that you live...Cheers!

[DBVeeDB]

Some more pics, now that the weather has gotten a bit better. Sorry, not freshly washed. I love the interior in this car..













How do I remove this chrome strip?




silver jetta = Mine
Red Jetta = Sisters

-dev

[thekmish]

Looks good Devin! I just bought my first Passat this week. Picked up a 2007 3.6 4motion. Black on black. Looking to do some of the upgrades that you stated as well. Looking forward to seeing your updates!

[DBVeeDB]

Hey guys,

Went out to a buddy's shop today and get my suitcase removed. I had a few ask to make a vid if I could. I will try to get some higher quality ones up later, but the blackberry will have to suffice for now. I personally love the sound. At idle, startup, and easy cruising it is almost identical to stock. G/f didnt even notice at first. Once you get into it a little more it becomes deeper and on decel, in sport or tiptronic mode you get some minor popping. But it sounds very raw, growl-like, and aggressive when you want it to. But reserved when you need to be low key.

Interior noise is also minimum. Great mod for what cost me almost nothing! Here are 3 videos. Sound quality isnt the best so I apologize. It reminds me of a r32 with open flapper, thats the eaiest way ot describe it.

Interior cruise/light throttle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/devinba...n/photostream/

Slow pull away (outside of car), about 1/2 throttle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/devinba...n/photostream/

And WOT pull away, outside of car:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/devinba...n/photostream/


Enjoy!

[Incrementalg]

I think 23mpg and 21 is pretty good for mostly city.

I wish I coulda scored a sport version. Luv the sport seats and the oem 18" wheels look great.

Congrats and looking forward to seeing more.

[DBVeeDB]

thats good to know, im going through gas like crazy, but Im also driving this thing all over. I have had it for 6 full days, and have put about 750-800 miles on it already. Plus the fuel gauge is very broad so its always moving but the increments are so small, its now wonder.

-dev

[thekmish]

Sweet!! I'm thinking of doing this to mine. What did it run you? Any chance you could post a pic of underneath the car?

[najel]

Still trying to take off the hatch chrome trim? I just saw this post over at Passatworld, looks helpful:
http://www.passatworld.com/forums/74...007-wagon.html

[Incrementalg]

I find that sport mode eats gas big time in the city. In stop and go, I'll keep it in D, then either sport or tip when out of traffic. Not as fun, but much better mpg and less herky jerky stop n go.

[SickTRed08FSI]

That sounds so awesome!!!

[DBVeeDB]

About the hatch strip. Thanks for the link. GOOD TO KNOW there are holes behind it, I want it off completely, bot now that I know holes ar eback there, It'll stay on, and maybe get paint matched or shaved in the futuree

I dont really drive in sport mode, or haven't yet. The revs hang more, so I would imagine gas goes much faster. With the suitcase gone though, when the car sticks around the rev range it sounds great out the back.

Thanks for the compliment on the sound. I still cant get enough of this thing.

Gonna attempt to do the outer skyline taillight mod today.

[jettamkIVvr6]

awesome, thanks for looking through the jetta thread. I tried to give this thread a similar name, so that people could follow both cars if they so desire.

thanks again for everyone's welcome.

I have succesfully debaged the rear of this car the other night w/ my g/f. the rear looks much cleaner now. I also am now on my 3rd tank of gas. mpg for each was 23 and 21 mpg. does this soudn right to other 3.6 4mo drivers? mostly city.... I will try to get up some additional picturesof the car

Lastly, does anyone know how to get rid of this chrome hatch strip? Im assuming it is just adhered, but I dont want to pry it off adn find the paint coming with it, or 2 holes for bolts lol..

-Dev

21 and 23? i barely get 16 in the city. i get as bad as 12-14

[gtaylor0]

My MFD says about 20/city but my guess is more like 16-18 and it's worse in the winter. But the car is so good, I don't mind a bit.

[Incrementalg]

You gotta drive in sport without the res...especially in a parking garage. The stock setup sounds awesome in parking garages, so I bet yours would be more so.

Can't tell you how many people turn their head when I'm driving by in a garage. I think they expect something other than a VW wagon.

[jettamkIVvr6]

You gotta drive in sport without the res...especially in a parking garage. The stock setup sounds awesome in parking garages, so I bet yours would be more so.

Can't tell you how many people turn their head when I'm driving by in a garage. I think they expect something other than a VW wagon.

Are you under warranty?

[Incrementalg]

I am under cpo warranty. Good thing because it paid for a new engine, several suspension bits and cat converter.

[3.6awdwagon]

Yo Dev...got a chance to hear them clips on my home pc.... Sounds so sweet. Def a mod in my future....

[thekmish]

Call me stupid . But by removing the suitcases you mean removing the resonator boxes at the back of the car? And really welding some 2.5" pipe in their place to get that sound?

[DBVeeDB]

The 3.6 4mo system, in this order:

Manifolds > 1st pair of cats > flex pipe > Second pair of cats > 2 resonators (separate parallel pipes) > merge section > suticase muffler > split > rear mufflers on each side > exhaust tips out the back

the bolded sections is what I removed. It is a 2.5" piece of pipe welded in the muffler's place. With a hanger attached for support. The suticase had a hanger on it originally. The new pipe nees to be on a slight angle, close to 45 degrees, roughyl, depending on where you make your cuts to reomve the suticase

[thekmish]

Awesome! Thanks for the info!

[lazermkiv]

niice..people definitely dont expect a wagon to sound like that

[FriskyDub]

Hi Devin, I'm Kris

Now that I have seen your Jetta I know I will be anticipating anything you do with the 4motion

And nice tone you got there on it already. I like

[DBVeeDB]

Hi Devin, I'm Kris

Now that I have seen your Jetta I know I will be anticipating anything you do with the 4motion

And nice tone you got there on it already. I like

Hey Kris, thanks for the compliment. I hope I dont disappoint.

After I got home tonight I decided to give the car a quick wash (in 40 degree weather ) to get some of the chicago salt spray off. I just got my euro clear corners in the mail and couldnt put them on a dirty car. I snapped some quick pictures afterwards to show you all the end result.





And the other week, I also did the skyline mod on my NA tails. I like the outside rings only, so this was a great, free mod.





And here she sits at home, next to her older sister



thanks for looking and stay tuned for updates. I will be picking up a set of wheels this week. Things are moving fast with this car, and I found a deal I couldnt pass up. It will be a while before they go on.

-Dev