VW TDI help

[flight doc89]

My 2003 Beetle TDI needs a new head. For you peeps with TDI experience: while this is getting done, is there anything else I need to be looking at having done while it is apart? For instance, head studs instead of bolts, random OEM items that should be deleted (EGR, etc), that kind of thing?

Alabama doesn't do emissions testing.

This car is purely for efficiency, not looking for performance upgrades. If something makes the car more reliable or efficient, I am interested. Power doesn't matter.

91k miles, stick shift.

If, by any chance, somebody has a clean head for sale, I'm interested.

 

[te72]

Eh, strictly speaking for efficiency's sake, I would try to make the car as slick as possible, and have as little rolling resistance as possible. I couldn't bring myself to drive a 2nd gen Beetle, but I can see the appeal of 40-50mpg. Make sure the car is clean and waxed, get some skinny tires that aren't especially grippy, make sure the car is maintained nicely, and you should be good to go.

However, I've found that making more power does not always mean decreased efficiency. Being able to get the car to cruise speeds with minimal effort from the ENGINE seems to be key to good mileage. Put that TDI engine in a heavy car like a Supra, and I bet you'd get worse mileage than if you were having fun with a well tuned Supra engine, simply because of how much harder the underpowered TDI engine would have to work.