ran my new 3.5 this past weekend at ocotillo, and it is hands down 10x better than the VW.
Great throttle response.
We left the tall 4th gear in our 091 for long dirt roads, but our vw never had enough torque to pull it with 33s....now we can putt around in fourth and go from Sunday cruise to a lot faster than I want or need to go in a few seconds...
With a close 2nd and 3rd, I'm guessing in the dunes we'll be able to go everywhere in third.
I can roll through the big whoops at just a few miles per hour with the kids and not have to worry about sputtering from sloshing fuel, and not have to worry about hesitation or loading up at the worst possible moment.
It idles great at about 800-950 rpms....
Except for the whole fan switch drama...I have zero complaints.
Hopefully this will be the last motor I ever own.
Thanks Don