Hey guys,
Lately I've been driving my '98 Audi 1.8T more (I bought it not too long ago) and finally came to the conclusion that the engine is indeed REALLY hot after normal driving. I mean it's WAY hotter than my E36 BMW engine after the same drive (and hotter than any other car I've owned). Once I open the hood to the Audi, you can literally feel a heatwave coming at you and radiating from the engine. However, the temp sensor on the speedomoter is right in the middle and coolant levels are normal so the car isn't overheating. I've replaced some cracked hoses in the engine bay and now I can see why those hoses would crack over time b/c the temperature is so high in the engine bay. Anyhow, can any of you enlighten me and let me know if your engines also run hot so I know if this is normal for these engines?

TIA!

Turbo's get hot.

Yup, understood that turbo engines get hot but but the intake manifold was super hot too, is that normal since the intake manifold is on the opposite side of the engine? My last car, which was a '04 WRX STI wasn't nearly as hot though after driving it hard. I guess I'll have to go to a Bay area Audi meet and ask someone else to pop their hood.

Yeah, excuse my memory, but you were in on the chip gb right? You'll get a hell of a lot more radiant heat off the engine after a chip too. Nothing to worry about.

get a FMIC and your intake manifold will not be hot anymore. even acting as a heatsink in direct contact with the engine, my intake manifold is only 20-40 degrees above ambient temp after the front mount IC i installed. with that tiny heat soaked side mount it would get extremely hot.

and yes its normal. let the turbo cool for a minuit after you get to where your going.

whyd you go from a STI to a 1.8t?

thats what i was saying.. when i get rid of my 1.8 im getting an sti... and probly another audi

and your cat being like right in the engine compartment. that kinda adds to it too

my friend has a wrx and it runs soo nice, much better than my 2.8 on any scale, but ive never riden in a sti, i can imagine its pure bliss.

my friends is a beast. 380 to the wheels. that thing can move

Why do you guys even compare? Where you lack insane power with the Audi compared to a wrx/srt/whatever you make up for in style.