[AnkitPrashar]

Originally Posted by ventoman

Chethan, I would rather remove the HU once the Witson HU comes onboard.

well i think the Witson HU should fit seamlessly in the vento. The HU sizes in both the cars (or for that matter majority of all VW cars!) is the same.

as far as the connection goes, i think it will be exactly same as that of the polo since vento also doesn't have any steering mounted stereo controls.

Taking out the HU is very easy, you just have to put a screw-driver edge (preferably the edge covered with a cloth) at the bottom of the center fascia plate and pull it and it comes off easily. Though this does take some effort to do it, take it to any audio shop and the guy would pull of that fascia plate in a jiffy. After that all you need to do is unscrew the 4 screws (which by the way require a different L-key type screwdriver, commonly available at any audio shop.). The car should have 2 standard 12 pin connectors black and white in color. As long as thats the case you can be sure the Witson HU will work just fine!

[ventoman]

Finally managed to spend some time with Vento this saturday and did the below.

1) Tyre Alignment and balancing by Tyre empire after completing 1k.
(as recommended by Tyre empire whilst changing to Michelin Primary LC)

2) Upgraded headlights to Philips Extreme power at Junction, Jaya Nagar.

3) 3M CR70 film for the front windshield at Junction, Jaya Nagar.

4) 3M SP20 film for side and read at Junction, Jaya Nagar.

& last but not the least,

5) WITSON HU arrived from china on saturday morning. That was fitted at Junction, Jaya Nagar as well.
5a) Stock speakers went to the bin and were replaced by Hertz energy comps on the front and Polk Audio coaxials on the rear.

Detailed review & pics of each of these upgrades will commence shortly.

Originally Posted by AnkitPrashar

well i think the Witson HU should fit seamlessly in the vento. The HU sizes in both the cars (or for that matter majority of all VW cars!) is the same.

as far as the connection goes, i think it will be exactly same as that of the polo since vento also doesn't have any steering mounted stereo controls.

Taking out the HU is very easy, you just have to put a screw-driver edge (preferably the edge covered with a cloth) at the bottom of the center fascia plate and pull it and it comes off easily. Though this does take some effort to do it, take it to any audio shop and the guy would pull of that fascia plate in a jiffy. After that all you need to do is unscrew the 4 screws (which by the way require a different L-key type screwdriver, commonly available at any audio shop.). The car should have 2 standard 12 pin connectors black and white in color. As long as thats the case you can be sure the Witson HU will work just fine!

AnkitPrashar,
You are a STAR!
Witson HU fitted exactly as the OEM one and everyone around at the time of installation were amazed at the features, that this kit offered. Some reckoned it must have costed around 60-70k!
Great find mate.

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Philips Extreme Power is available with Dinesh@9945552146.

Chethan,
Thanks a ton for directing me to Dinesh at Junction.
I found him to be a thorough professional and hence ended up doing all the work with him.

[naveen.raju]

Dude, post the pics of the mods.

[GTO]

Congrats on the torque-king, Ventoman! I have a thing for classy, under-stated, well proportioned designs and the Vento is much to my liking. So much so that, my buddy and I spent 10 minutes around someone else's parked Vento yesterday, discussing the design!!

[srishiva]

Good mods. Please post the pics ASAP. The only look I don't like is from the rear. Hope darker colours can change it a bit. Otherwise a handsome car.
As far as the HU goes, I am really interested to know the quality of audio. Please shed some light on it.

[ventoman]

Thanks for your wishes and Apologies for the delay.

Attaching some pics of the Witson HU

All of them are shot in the night mode. I will post some more pics later for day view.

1) Boot Screen


2) Main Menu


3) Navigation (in night mode)


4) SD Card


5) USB


6) Plays avi and mp4 files (tested so far) from SD/USB.


7) Bluetooth - Paired with HTC Hero in no time.


Menu to retrieve phone numbers.
Thumbs down -> as it is struggling to go through my phone's contact list. .


8) DVD (plays on the move after shorting one wire)

Touch the screen to invoke controls



9) Radio


10) Setup Options


11) USB option tucked neatly inside the Dash
(ipod connectivity from the front of the HU, via miniusb-ipod cable supplied)


Some more photos to follow tomorrow.

I hope I have made up for the delay.

[motorhead5]

need some exterior pics as well to see your new sun films. Hows night drive with new bulbs?? And did you go for that planned long drive? Hows your experience so far?

[ventoman]

Some more pics as below

12) GPS during the day


13) Reverse camera.
(not yet fully integrated. searching for that missing wire)


14) Where the new Hertz tweeters have gone in..
and on the right corner is the GPS adaptor


15) Overall dash feel





Some exterior photos after the sunfilm

[naveen.raju]

Dude.. your car looks super cool. Specially the HU. Wish it had better interface clarity. But goes well with the car. Good choice. Few questions:

1) Does the last exterior shots of car have the front windshield sun films. Can you post a better pic of the front sun film?
2) How is the visibility from inside with the front windshield sun films? How much did you pay for this alone?
3) How much did you pay for the HU?

Enjoy your car mate. BTW, how much did you clock till now? I managed to clock 1000 clicks.

Cheers.!

[evilshantanu]

Very informative thread!
Thanks @Ventoman

My Vento TDI Highline would be arriving in January, noted down the number of Dinesh, would need his help a lot if I plan to go ahead with the mods

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

Very informative thread!
Thanks @Ventoman

My Vento TDI Highline would be arriving in January, noted down the number of Dinesh, would need his help a lot if I plan to go ahead with the mods

Great news.! What color is it? Waiting for your report too.

[srishiva]

Very good mods, very clean and fitting very well.

Can you comment on the audio quality? What output options are present on the HU? I guess there would not be a video out.

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Great news.! What color is it? Waiting for your report too.

The color is white, it is expected in January, when in Jan is still a question

[ventoman]

Thanks for your wishes. I am extremely happy with the mods done so far and can't wait to get into the car every morning.

Originally Posted by motorhead5

need some exterior pics as well to see your new sun films. Hows night drive with new bulbs?? And did you go for that planned long drive? Hows your experience so far?

Have added some exterior pics. more to come shortly.
Night drive has improved a lot with the new bulbs.
Taking the long pending highway drive tomorrow (700kms). will post a detailed summary on sunday when I come back.

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

1) Does the last exterior shots of car have the front windshield sun films. Can you post a better pic of the front sun film?
2) How is the visibility from inside with the front windshield sun films? How much did you pay for this alone?
3) How much did you pay for the HU?

Enjoy your car mate. BTW, how much did you clock till now? I managed to clock 1000 clicks.

Cheers.!

Thanks.
1) Yes it is with the front windshield sun films. will post a pic shortly of the front. But you wont be able to notice much difference, as it is a transparent film added more for reducing the heat inside and to reduce glaring in the night.
2) visibility remains the same. However the heat inside the cabin after parking in the sun has reduced a lot. Also the glare in the night has reduced slightly. I paid Rs.5500 for this incl installation.
One downside is that the reflection of the dash is more predominant on the windshield, especially on a sunny day. You can notice the tissue box reflection in one of the pics.
3) HU costed $350.

I have clocked 1700 so far. will hopefully touch 3k in the next 2 weeks as a couple of long drives are in the pipeline.

Originally Posted by srishiva

Very good mods, very clean and fitting very well.

Can you comment on the audio quality? What output options are present on the HU? I guess there would not be a video out.

Audio quality is better than the original HU and since I have modified the speakers as well, it sounds much better now. But I wont compare the output to the ones from Pioneer, Alphine etc. I feel the need for a good amp and subwoofer which would be added in the near future.
Btw, it does have a Video out.
True VFM with a slight compromise on the sound quality!

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

The color is white, it is expected in January, when in Jan is still a question

Congrats..so one more white Vento coming onboard shortly.

[evilshantanu]

@Ventoman:

Slightly off topic, but I read in some forums that the VW TDI engines suck on lubricants till first 5000 km, have you observed anything of that sort till now ?