abnormally hot engine

[1FSTBUG]

not sure if this is normal but after ive been driving my car for a lil while the engine and bay seem to get extremely hot (to the point that you burn your hand if you touch the hood). may just be because i drive it like a formula 1 any suggestions on how to keep it cool or if i have an actual issue with my car?

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by 1FSTBUG

not sure if this is normal but after ive been driving my car for a lil while the engine and bay seem to get extremely hot (to the point that you burn your hand if you touch the hood). may just be because i drive it like a formula 1 any suggestions on how to keep it cool or if i have an actual issue with my car?

What year is your car? The 1.8 Turbo does get HOT. How hot does it get? Do you have a Temp gauge in your car? I have a Scan Gauge that tells me coolant temp, intake temp, Boost and other important information. Search: gauge | Scan Gauge | AutoZone.com

Great Tool to have in a VW or any other car. Mine usually never goes over 190-195 before the Thermostat kicks in. My Audi TT did have an issue once and it did reach 208 before the Thermostat kicked in. There was some air in the coolant system which after bleeding out the temps returned to normal.
Do your fans kick as they should? A lot of beetles have issues with the fans so make sure they run correctly. Turn on your AC and the fans should kick in.

[1FSTBUG]

its a 2002 1.8t. i only have the stock gauges on the dash (which imo is ******* trash.....rpm, fuel, and speed) it gets hot enough to burn your hand on the hood though which i know isnt normal for any car. i do know that it kinda makes ticking sounds when i turn it off. my buddy had a stethescope thing and it was the coolant pump pushing coolant through the engine is what he summed it up as.