Guidane needed on reverting a modded Mk IV to stock

[finaltable]

I sold my Mk III about two years ago when my wife was pregnant with our 3rd child. I am now approaching a point wherein I can add a 3rd car and want a Mk IV this time. My preference is a stock Mk IV turbo sport roof; unfortunately, a large number of the turbos out there have been modded. I neither want, nor need, a car whose exhaust can be heard 3 blocks away or has 600 hp. While I will keep my eye out for a stock Mk IV when I am ready, it is my guess that I may have to get one that has been modded and undo the upgrades to turn a race car back into the refined touring car my Mk III was. If that is the case, I need to know what upgrades to avoid trying to undo, e.g. suspension or dual to single turbo conversions.

Thanks for any info. I look forward to posting pics of my new car when I get it.

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by finaltable

I sold my Mk III about two years ago when my wife was pregnant with our 3rd child. I am now approaching a point wherein I can add a 3rd car and want a Mk IV this time. My preference is a stock Mk IV turbo sport roof; unfortunately, a large number of the turbos out there have been modded. I neither want, nor need, a car whose exhaust can be heard 3 blocks away or has 600 hp. While I will keep my eye out for a stock Mk IV when I am ready, it is my guess that I may have to get one that has been modded and undo the upgrades to turn a race car back into the refined touring car my Mk III was. If that is the case, I need to know what upgrades to avoid trying to undo, e.g. suspension or dual to single turbo conversions.

Thanks for any info. I look forward to posting pics of my new car when I get it.

Interesting question. The first I'd recommend staying away from is any car with extensive modifications to the electronics. The less the better, to me, since undoing the modifications AND dealing with intermittent issues from questionable wiring jobs (eg. soldering, no shrink-wrap, etc.) can be very tedious.
To me, single turbo upgrades aren't necessarily bad - especially if it's good work and a relatively small turbo.
A loud exhaust is pretty easy to undo, but quiet aftermarket exhausts for the mkiv have a limited selection.
Please keep us informed about your search for an mkiv!

[finaltable]

Thanks. In the back of my mind I thought electronics mods would be a bad thing to try and undo. My concern about power is primarily related to efficiency. Generally, more power = less mpg, and while I am not looking for a Prius, I have to make a trip that is about 250 miles round trip every other week and would prefer to get better than single digit mpg doing it. I make the trip now in a Chevy truck and can at least make the round trip on one tank of gas.

In the area of exhaust, I am willing to bet that if I found a car with aftermarket exhaust I could probably find someone willing to trade their stock exhaust to me straight up.

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by finaltable

Thanks. In the back of my mind I thought electronics mods would be a bad thing to try and undo. My concern about power is primarily related to efficiency. Generally, more power = less mpg, and while I am not looking for a Prius, I have to make a trip that is about 250 miles round trip every other week and would prefer to get better than single digit mpg doing it. I make the trip now in a Chevy truck and can at least make the round trip on one tank of gas.

In the area of exhaust, I am willing to bet that if I found a car with aftermarket exhaust I could probably find someone willing to trade their stock exhaust to me straight up.

The nice thing about a turbo car is when you're off-turbo, you're running a 3L n/a. A big single turbo gets into boost *later* than the oem twins (in the rpm range), so in theory you could actually get better gas mileage ...especially highway mpgs ... with a single'd mkiv.