Well I finally bought my first car, something I swore I would never do. But due to fuel prices it is time to park one of the trucks and get something that is a little more gas frendly. Sorry, I am sure these questions have been posted and I will try to do more research on them but due to a small time frame I will see if anyone can give me some help. I just bought an 01 a4 1.8 turbo.
I need to find a new climate control unit due to the one that is in it now does not seem to work properly. The buttons click like they are working but nothing chages, the fan speed stays the same and so does the temp. Can anyone tell me a place where I might be able to find one, I am not a big fan of dealers. Also the driver side passanger window doesn't work. When you put the key in the outside door lock and turn it to the left the window roles down and turned to the right it roles up so I know the window motor is good. Does the power to the window go to the drivers side switch and then go back to the passanger switch? Is there a way I can test to see if I am getting power to the switchs? Also what shop manual do you recommend for this car? Also the car says to run 91 octane, will it kill the car to run on cheapo gas, due to it being 25 cents cheaper than midgrade?

Thanks

 

lol where to begin

http://autopartswarehouse.com
http://purems.com
http://germanautoparts.com
http://bahnbrenner.com/
http://034motorsports.com
http://www.innerauto.com

dont know if they sell what your looking for haha but they sell alot of parts so im sure one of them will have it...and theres plenty more you can goto...just got to search man...

 

I have done some searching for the climate control unit, but unless I am misreading it they only sell parts that have to do with the function of the climate control not the actual control unit itself. I'll keep looking though.

Thanks

 

Then you might have to just goto the Audi Dealership, some parts are just ONLY sold at the dealership...but yeh just keep searching on google, and if you cant find anything then back to the dealership for you my friend i have been in your situation but just not with the control unit that your looking for...

sorry man

 

Thats what I am afraid of, the dealers down here are a freakin rip off. I will keep looking and hope I don't have to go visit them.

 

To answer your fuel question, run at least 91 octane in that car. With the 2.8L V6 you can get away with 89, but not the turbo engine - keep it at 91 or 93 would be even better. And make sure you're religious with your oil changes, using only high-quality oil - none of that "Fred's Oil Company motor oil" crap. Mobil1, Valvoline, Castrol, Royal Purple, Amsoil - that's where you want to keep it. No Fram filters either - they're crap.

 

I run 87 in my car only when im broke. Its fine. Really you just loose the preformance. I know somone who puts that is his 04 1.8T he talked to alot of people to find out it does not actually hurt your car you just loose a bunch of power.

 

If you're running chipped it's a seriously bad idea though. Even though the engine will pull timing, you run more risk of detonating at increased boost on sh*tty gas. Besides, for the difference in the cost of the gas, why screw with it? Even at $.25/gallon difference, is $4 worth running crappy gas? If so, a Sentra may really be more along the proper line of vehicles to shop for. Higher octane gas often is cleaner as well as more power-friendly, so the long-term deposit buildup on your valves and combustion chamber domes will likely be less by using better gas. The paltry difference in cost (and in the long run, it really is paltry) isn't worth it. Run what you should. If you're broke, get good gas anyhow and a) drive sedately and stay as much out of the damn boost as possible to save on gas, and b) don't go places that you don't have to go, until you get paid and can gas up. Stick to work/home/school and that's it.