New car woe....

[Possu]

Picked up an 87,500 mile 1998 Passat 1.9 TDI (110bhp) today.

The car does not have A/C or Climatronic. The dials for the fan & heater dials etc are practically invisible at night. Should they be backlit at all when the lights are on? You can just about distinguish them as there's a red reflective surround.Is there a bulb I can replace?

How do I access the fuses? I know that they're to the right of the dash, behind a cover - what cover is it & is it obvious? Failed to find it so far.

Edit: car's fitted with 195/65 x 15 all round, I've seen some with 205/60 or /55 x 15? Are these on more powerful models? Will wider tyres have an impact on fuel economy or handling? I ask as the car currently has steel wheels topped off with nasty looking non-VW wheel trims, so ugly I dare not post a photo of them - I fancy a pair of alloys in standard sizes - anything in particular I should go for or avoid?

[Lex Luthor]

Picked up an 87,500 mile 1998 Passat 1.9 TDI (110bhp) today.

The car does not have A/C or Climatronic. The dials for the fan & heater dials etc are practically invisible at night. Should they be backlit at all when the lights are on? You can just about distinguish them as there's a red reflective surround.Is there a bulb I can replace?

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173929



How do I access the fuses? I know that they're to the right of the dash, behind a cover - what cover is it & is it obvious? Failed to find it so far.Open the driver's door and pull off the panel on the end of the dash



Edit: car's fitted with 195/65 x 15 all round, I've seen some with 205/60 or /55 x 15? Are these on more powerful models? Will wider tyres have an impact on fuel economy or handling? I ask as the car currently has steel wheels topped off with nasty looking non-VW wheel trims, so ugly I dare not post a photo of them - I fancy a pair of alloys in standard sizes - anything in particular I should go for or avoid?If you're a boy racer you probably want to fit 18 inch wheels.;)
Why not buy the proper wheel trims from eBay, or a set of the correct alloys from those who have bought 18s...

[Possu]

Not a boy racer, got bike's for that. :D

What's a fair price for a set of standard size 15" alloys? I've not bought car wheels before & have no wish to pay over the odds.

What do you recommend re: tyres - looking for mileage & reasonable grip.

[Pimped-Passat]

What do you recommend re: tyres - looking for mileage & reasonable grip.

I have been buying Goodyear NCT5 Eagles for my Passat and they have served me well. I've got 205/55R16 on VW Sport Alloys and the last set did an amazing 31,000 (motorway) miles and I reckon there was at least another thousand or two miles left in them.

I bought 4 in one go and never switched them around as they seemed to wear pretty evenly at each corner.

On my second set of 4 now with no problems.

Local place charged me £290 all in.

I didn't think this was bad for branded tyres..!

Cheers
Mark

[Lex Luthor]

Nice looking set of 16s here: eBay item :300084283845

[Pimped-Passat]

Same as mine.... Get a bid on..!!

[GTW]

I've a 110TDI too. Went from 15" standard steelies to 16" alloys just over a year ago.

If I were to be really critical I'd say I'd seen a marginal loss in mpg. Definite improvement in lateral grip, but then I'm still running standard suspension, so it's probably only the difference between a tanker and a criuseliner:Blush2: in any case.

Gaz

[Possu]

Any loss in mpg if switching from 15" & 195's to 16" & 205's?

I've seen some wheels on eBay mentioning ET35 or 40mm offset. Does the ET35 refer to offset & is there anything specific to an R-plate ('98) 110bhp TDI that I should be looking for?

Those wheels on eBay look tempting.....

[Lex Luthor]

Any loss in mpg if switching from 15" & 195's to 16" & 205's?
Yes but it will be small.
It's a trade off between looks, ride, handling and practicallity.


I've seen some wheels on eBay mentioning ET35 or 40mm offset. Does the ET35 refer to offset & is there anything specific to an R-plate ('98) 110bhp TDI that I should be looking for?All B5 and B5.5 are the same, as are A4s and A6s, but not golfs.

[Possu]

Thanks for the replies, all appreciated.

Fuse box located.

Ventilation controls now backlit.