0-60 1983 VW Rabbit Diesel Automatic

[jgoatautobahn]

I have an 82 with a four speed manual that currently doesnt run, so it was nice to see how fast one similar is as idk how fast mine is

[golf1diesel]

Golf 1 1.6D 4 or 5 speed manual:way better acceleration.

[bluebowtie01]

thats strange auto in rabbit diesel.

[djaca70]

Dig the Mk 1, rocco steering wheel.

[mikeyh01]

Sweet Clockometer

[Hotrodx199]

I love old diesels. 

[benchod94]

still better than a civic :D

[trev0rbr]

the problem there was that i didn't have the pedal down the entire way so it short shifted then i dug my foot in more, the automatics had a heavier pedal because of the kick down cable and there was actually a spring on the throttle lever that made the first half inch or so of pedal only engage the transmission made them drive smoother. anyways the heavier pedal made it hard for me to tell when it was floored. kick down autos drive really nice, i hate computer controlled transmissions tho

[tpvalley]

@trev0rbr

so when u select D the engine doesnt idle a little slower? like a dragging clutch?

[trev0rbr]

@tpvalley yeah it did drag the idle down a bit

[tpvalley]

@trev0rbr

so it cant be engaging the transmission until after first inch or so if its already engaged?!

the rise in rpm must be a torque convertor thing.

[trev0rbr]

@tpvalley

i don't really understand what you're saying, but when its in e it goes in to neutral at idle automatically. as u push the pedal down it engages, the engagement was adjustable on the front of the trans, just like any kick down cable is..\

[tpvalley]

@trev0rbr

if its at idle and out of gear then why, at idle when u put it in D or E do the rpm's drop a little?

not important just getting my head around it!

cool little car btw, I always wanted an automatic, only ever driven one once or twice!

[trev0rbr]

@tpvalley

ok i understand now, the rpms only drop when you put it in D just like any automatic would, when its in E its the same as being in neutral until u press the gas, and it would actually roll backwards down hills if u didn't hold the brake.

[fledgehog]

0:19: reason #45958295 that automatics are garbage and sticks are better :)

[trev0rbr]

@fledgehog

actually that was my fault because i didn't have the pedal pressed down the whole way, and then it shifted early so i pressed it down hard and it kicked back down in to second. automatics are def not garbage, more a pita to maintain, and not as much fun when driving through twisties but other wise they are great

[450xrida]

@fledgehog if you knew anything then you would know that an automatic can be built to be far superior to any manual

[71GSX455]

That is borderline dangerous for highway merging.

[mercmarc]

I miss my rabbit diesel that was a fun car, i could actually go do some mild off road jaunts and it could take it.

[sotaros93]

omg i fell asleep... what happened did he reach 60?????

[Straightup28]

you can put ANYthing in the gas tank and that car will still run :D

[SakoTGrimes]

I can't believe they offered that car with an automatic!

[Beldar4214]

Much better than the 50hp Diesel Ranger 0-60 I just saw... And that downshift killed the acceleration too. Quicker than I thought it would be, still.

[yourmotherrules]

haha i just saw that too :P

[crazykampes]

Nice!!

I had a 1982 Mk1 Jetta Diesel with automatic transmission, thanks for that vid! If you accelerate in "D" instead of "E" you'll have a smoother start (or doesn't the NA Rabbit Diesel have the E-mode auto trans? I am from Germany and my German Jetta had it)

@macdog: Yes, it could! My Jetta made 140kph / app. 90MPH :D

[trev0rbr]

yeah it had e and d. i dunno wha ti had it in for the video. the car could go pretty fast but the speedo only goes to 85, and it really sounded bad at those speeds, so i never went past 80

[macdog0000000]

im surprised that vw could even get up to 60mph

[kronicskater321]

JUNK

[trev0rbr]

now that i listen to that engine, i think my timing maybe have been too far advanced, it was very cackly

[tpvalley]

good acceleration for 50bhp! I want an automatic small diesel.

[shawtiee1085]

OMG that is slow......how do you go up a hill or pass someone on the highway? lol

its cool though ..

[wertyh11]

As long as you get at lest 40 MPG the hell with them obtuses.

You can always keep a fast second car to like a GTI or a R32.

And keep your jewel rabbit.

[trev0rbr]

yeah i've turned the pumps up on them before, it gives them a little bit more pep thats all. you can shim the governor and stuff too, but really its all a waste of time because the most you'll get is maybe 70 hp if you're lucky. if you want to fix one go with a big turbo and a big pump with a big exhaust, then they move.

[Hotrodx199]

Yeah if i had one of these i'd probably put a turbo on it. I'd be safer by doing this and turning up injection pump because if i just turned up the injection pump with no turbo i could get really hot.

[Hotrodx199]

Not bad for 50 hp. Just don't try passing someone, it won't work! Is there a way you can turn up the injection pump on these?

[WARD5KUSTOMZ]

i miss my old VW diesl. i had a 1980 Dasher

[deviousvolkswagen]

Ha, the tach does 0-12 hours in 12 hours :D

I had one with a 4 sp manual, but the Auto almost has to be slower.

Took forever to pass; you really needed about a mile or two of clear road :D :D

[dizzyarmstrong]

the 5spds are a little quicker

[erik1980]

Yeah my first car was a 79 of one of these but it was a manual. It was fun filling up at the truck stop :)

[MichaelN75]

ha, that's pretty slow, but like you said for the size of the engine it's not that bad (and the age of it)

[MichaelN75]

and now that I can see your comment about the bad shifting, it makes the car not too slow ha ha.

[trev0rbr]

i forgot to mention that in this video it shifted into third too soon up around 50, and i had to down shift again, otherwise it would have been much faster.

[Vredesbyrderdod]

I don't think people expected it to be quick.lol.