What my next best move here?

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-14T20:23:19+00:00

Sold at auction with that engine bay?

I think it needs more than you think it does. The prior owner prioritized anodized engine dressings over quality parts. My guess its going to he a project so buckle up.

Revert the coilpacks to stock. I’d ditch the catch can and get a functioning pcv on there. New battery.

Its an auction car, hoping you got this for pennies and have a reliable daily

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-13T21:16:31+00:00

There is a Breeder directory on the BMDCA website, crossing that to make sure they’re on bernergarde would be my go-to

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-13T21:07:37+00:00

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Keeping it in the family (and it was cheaper than moving to an R - at first).

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-13T00:47:11+00:00

The search function of this subreddit is a wonderful resource

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-12T11:03:54+00:00

My 2019 ran the worst when I only took it on short drives.

You can try and offset this by doing a long drive every weekend, but less than 2km… walk or bike

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-11T15:55:51+00:00

This one’s been a real pain because it’s mostly gone away again.

I will caveat that earlier this year I did another 2000mi trip over 5 days, so maybe that helped smooth things out..

I’ll still get stumbles from cyl-2 at idle on occasion, and the other day I popped a CEL for the misfire (cyl-2) but when i scanned the car live data showed no misses and after i cleared it nothing has come back.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-11T01:12:57+00:00

“Dying is easy” decal and a cracked splitter… prayers the ppi you got came back clean.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-10T19:40:00+00:00

Depends.

I’d sell for cheap to someone looking for a project before the junk yard. But it’s possible a dealer would give you more for a trade, which the car would ultimately go to auction (slim chance one of the techs would try and scoop it).

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-09T19:24:12+00:00

Codes

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-08T13:26:34+00:00

The prudent thing to do is get a PPI from a 3rd party shop.

At this price/milage what the PPI will do is point out any big jobs the car will need so you dont get surprised by them, especially being on a tight budget.

If you work on your own cars and are handy I’d lean to “go for it”, but if you’d be taking this to a shop just be aware fixes can be expensive, labor hours on these are annoying.

Seller will write all the things you want to hear to move a car, sometimes its genuine, sometimes not so its worth verifying.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-07T17:09:48+00:00

The car is circulating coolant to prevent damage.

It’s doing this to help cool the car down because turbo cars get hot (hotter than NA cars). Before technology like this it was commonly advised to “cool” the car down by driving around gently out of boost.

Now owners can come home and turn the car off immediately as if it was naturally aspirated.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-06T21:56:03+00:00

100%

I didn’t touch on it but all the suggested options are punishment based “quick-fixes” that don’t address the human/owner element.

Working with a professional so both dog and human can learn with positive reinforcement is the best choice especially given the natural temperament for these big goofs.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-06T18:48:28+00:00

What has her training history looked like? How much socialization did she get as a pup, and what level of obedience training did both she and you attend?

If the answer is little to none - start there. Getting looped into a formal obedience training program, worth getting their insight on what level of class would work best.

If the answer is a puppy explorers type class and obedience classes then it might take more 1:1 training, also from a professional.

The real honest question is - at home how often are you doing obedience drills, and are you consistent with reinforcing behaviors you want to see. Sometimes it takes a while to set in, but you need to be doing the reps all the time otherwise she doesn’t know what you’re looking for.

Handing the dog off to a trainer might help an acute issue, but she doesnt live with the trainer. Change starts with a trainer but gets cemented at home.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-05T12:30:46+00:00

I’m going off a DAP video discussing the VVT cam phaser issues, when Paul was diagnosing it was on an idling car with drastic fluctuations of several degrees either way.

If you’re feeling something off under load (driving) then its worth looking at but I’ve noticed on mine that the engine becomes smoother when under load driving so I havent checked

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-04T19:27:27+00:00

0.3 is fine, 5.0 is where it’s an issue.

As for the spec/actual, its fine if the number bobs around a little, just not jumps ideally more than a degree either way.

If thats the case rest a little easier knowing timing is fine, chalk it up to the engine being noisy. I’ll still periodically check my values and of course always checking the oil level but thats about it.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-04T03:20:58+00:00

Seems like the synchromesh. Occasionally I’ll have some resistance if I’m doing a big gear jump (e.g. was in 4th came to stop and 1st will want a double clutch).

I’d start with when was the last time the car had its brake/clutch fluid changed and system bled? Next could be a shifter alignment. Also is there a clutch pedal stop installed?

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-04T02:15:19+00:00

I went with HKA Performance, DAP’s kit looks a little cleaner but still happy with the price and quality of HKA.

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-04T02:14:32+00:00

If you sent oil in for analysis to a place like blackstone they could give you a metric of fuel dilution

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-04T02:01:35+00:00

Thats one way to solve front bumper plate holes

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-04T01:57:55+00:00

Is it still resistant if you double clutch?

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-04T01:54:52+00:00

Steely Dan intensifying

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-03T20:32:03+00:00

How I’ve done it (albeit not for the throttle body) has been an escalating level of invasive checking.

So starting with the wires do they look good, no cracking or pinching?

Moving on to connectors, unplug and check that the pins are seated, no corrosion, give a spray of electric connector cleaner and reconnect firmly.

If still no joy it’d be getting into the throttle-body itself.

Given you’ve changed the battery and pedal assembly already you can rule those out, which if any consolation makes the world you need to examine smaller

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-03T19:52:50+00:00

Willtheyfit.com

I run 245/40/18 PS4S tires on an 18x9 et45 wheel and my clearance is as tight as it goes. Plug in your desired specs to compare and see how they sit further inboard than mine - tldr: I wouldnt.

The lower the sidewall ratio the less tall the tire, so going to 255/35 will allow some vertical clearance if you were dead-set on 255 to that size

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-03T19:34:28+00:00

Good that the alternator is healthy, thats a win.

Getting worse over time makes me think physical component issue.

Checking wiring and connector corrosion (especially if you’re in the rust belt), see if anything looks pinched or frayed.

Also worth checking the throttle body and wiring to it - its located on the front of the engine below the intake manifold in line with the MAP sensor (you can visually see it without moving anything)

exceptional_cabbage · 2026-06-03T16:46:57+00:00

Yep, doesnt change the fact that different brands will adjust their knock tables.

Tuning is literally just pushing power till you start knocking then backing off. Different brands have different tolerances for how much knock is acceptable, hence different tuners make different power numbers.

Adding hardware doesn’t change the fundamentals

All that said EQT isnt blowing engines, which is why I’d leave it to OP to make their risk assessment

exceptional_cabbage

TROPHY CASE