[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Hey TheLizardKing,

Could you please give an update on the Bilstein B6s? It’s been a while since you installed them, how much have you driven since? How’re they holding up? My Vento has done ~26,000km and while my stock dampers are holding up well, I’m not satisfied with the ride and “thud” noises on Mumbai’s roads.

Hi. Sorry for replying so late. The Bilsteins are a little on the stiffer side for my liking, frankly. Most of my driving is inside the city, and I don't have to tell you how bad the condition of Mumbai roads is. But I have no regrets, because on the rare occasions where I get to enjoy the suspension, it is a magical experience. Quick lane changes do nothing to disturb the car's composure, and I've forgotten the feeling of the front of the car dipping under braking and rising under acceleration. The "thud" noises do not really go away though. I suggest you experience them firsthand in another car (preferably a Vento) before taking the plunge. They're pretty expensive, after all.

Originally Posted by alen_yc

Hey TheLizardKing, Amazing thread buddy!
The efforts and enthusiasm are clearly visible through your posts.
I have a Carbon Steel Polo GT TSI 2016 as well, I live in Powai, I'd love to check your car out sometime in flesh, hit me up.
Hope you have many more Happy Miles with your car !

Hey thanks so much. Hope we will run into each other at one of the meets. I'd be happy for you to check my car out. Always a pleasure to show her off to fellow enthusiasts.

[DeKay]

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

Hi. Sorry for replying so late. The Bilsteins are a little on the stiffer side for my liking, frankly. Most of my driving is inside the city, and I don't have to tell you how bad the condition of Mumbai roads is. But I have no regrets, because on the rare occasions where I get to enjoy the suspension, it is a magical experience. Quick lane changes do nothing to disturb the car's composure, and I've forgotten the feeling of the front of the car dipping under braking and rising under acceleration. The "thud" noises do not really go away though. I suggest you experience them firsthand in another car (preferably a Vento) before taking the plunge. They're pretty expensive, after all.

You're right, I'll try experiencing them in a Vento before taking the plunge. Moderator Suhaas told me that you also have cobra springs with the B6 dampers, could you tell me what your experience has been like with this setup?
Does the car sit any lower than stock and how's the ride quality changed since you switched to cobras?

[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by DeKay

You're right, I'll try experiencing them in a Vento before taking the plunge. Moderator Suhaas told me that you also have cobra springs with the B6 dampers, could you tell me what your experience has been like with this setup?
Does the car sit any lower than stock and how's the ride quality changed since you switched to cobras?

Hi. Yes of course the car sits lower! That is the whole point of putting in lowering springs, isn't it? I haven't driven the new setup enough to give you any useful feedback, I'm afraid. The Bilsteins themselves are so stiff that I can't tell if the ride has gotten stiffer with the Cobras. I definitely love the lowered stance. But on the flip side, the rear mudflaps invariably touch the top of tall speed breakers when there are passengers in the rear seat.

[TheLizardKing]

So I realized recently that it has been a long time since I updated this thread. A lot has happened since my last post, so I will only put up the major updates.

Update #1 (Back to stock):

Perhaps the most important one. I have experimented a LOT with performance mods, including stiffer struts, lowering springs, a downpipe installation, and a TCU remap. Almost all of these have caused one problem or the other, some because of my own foolishness and unrealistic expectations, and some, well, I'd rather not go into the details. I reached a point late last year where I grew extremely frustrated with the situation, and decided to pull the plug on most of my mods. Thankfully, and this is the silver lining, VW changed its add-on warranty policy at around the same time. So with the help of the very friendly service manager at the (fairly) new VW Thane workshop, the car is completely back to stock and under warranty as on 29 January 2021. There have been two DSG failures in my friend circle recently, in similarly aged and run cars as mine, so it is a feeling of great relief to know that my car is under warranty.

Update #2 (75000 kms service):

The car underwent the fifth annual service at VW Thane, with the odometer reading at 53700 kms. I paid Rs. 10,954 for a routine service with no surprises. I have attached the tax invoice for fellow forum members' reference: 75k_Servicing_VW Thane.pdf.
I'd like to take a moment to recognize the service and facilities at the VW Thane workshop. It is by far the largest VW workshop I have been to, with ample parking, a huge office area with a customer lounge, and a large and well-maintained floor. It is also just 15 minutes away from my home, which is an added bonus.

Update #3 (Long drives):

So funnily enough, after almost three years of owning the car, I finally took it to the highway. I did a Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai trip in February, and Mumbai-Vadodara-Mumbai trip in March. The car returned a mileage of 19+ kmpl on both trips.

Vadodara trip

In fact thanks to the descent on the Pune-Mumbai route, I saw a mileage of 20.7 kmpl for the first time.

Pune trip

Having previously done these trips in the MPI, I really enjoyed the extra power and the convenience of the AT in the GT TSI. Cruise control was sorely missed. FASTag was a boon, really cutting down the travel time, and the roads were fairly empty thanks to the ongoing pandemic.

Update #4 (Sun-proofing):

The summers are only getting hotter with each passing year, and the AC in the GT TSI is not really known for being a chiller. In fact, passengers in the rear seat almost always complain about the lack of coolness. So just before the Vadodara trip, I went ahead with the following:

CR70 film for the front and rear windshields - installed at 3M Car Care Thane


Tinted window glasses that VW has provided in the recent facelift of the Polo - installed at VW Thane

I spent a total of around Rs 23,000, but it has made a HUGE difference to the comfort levels inside the car. The heat is almost completely blocked, and the AC does a much better job of keeping the car cooler. Highly recommended.

Update #5 (RCD340):

So after putting it off for a long time, I finally took the plunge and upgraded the head unit to the RCD 340. I purchased it from VW Coimbatore, and installed it myself. Android Auto was enabled out of the box, and did not require any VCDS coding as reported by some other forum members. Here are some pictures.

My unit has the latest firmware version 5532


Playing music on Spotify


Navigation is a breeze now. Goodbye, awkwardly mounted mobile holders.

[DeKay]

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

Update #1 (Back to stock):

Perhaps the most important one. I have experimented a LOT with performance mods, including stiffer struts, lowering springs, a downpipe installation, and a TCU remap. Almost all of these have caused one problem or the other, some because of my own foolishness and unrealistic expectations, and some, well, I'd rather not go into the details.

Hello TheLizardKing,
Would you explain what the problems with all these mods were? I've just recently gotten a downpipe + Stage 2 ECU+TCU remaps from eTuners for my Vento TSI. Should I be worried?

[TheLizardKing]

I had installed a boot lamp using our in-house DIY guru Gannu's as-always excellent thread (VW Polo DIY: Adding a boot lamp!) as reference quite some time back. However, I don't like to use LEDs and prefer filament bulbs. I was therefore not very happy with the level of illumination provided by the single lamp. And the lack of symmetry also triggered my OCD. So I purchased another lamp unit from AliExpress, and promptly forgot all about it. I found it recently while rummaging about in my cupboard, and decided to install it.

And the Lord said, "Let there be more light."

Those with a keen eye will remark that my OCD must still be in the triggered state. It is, indeed. I had installed the lamp on the left side first. When I started marking the cutout for the right side such that it was symmetrical to the left side, I discovered that there is a support rib at that location. So with a heavy heart, I had to move the position by about 35 mm to the right. So I am happy with the illumination but not the symmetry. You win some, you lose some.

Also, in case you are wondering how come the dome lights are not turned on even though the boot is open, it is a setting in VCDS. I always found it really silly that all the lights come on when I opened the boot, so I was chuffed to know that ze Germans had made it configurable.

[TheLizardKing]

So one of the exciting features of the RCD340 is that it supports OPS display. I remember reading forum member antardaksh's excellent thread (DIY: Installing OPS (Optical Parking System) in the VW Polo / Vento) on the same, and I have wanted it ever since. I reread it again recently after getting the RCD340. I came to the point in the thread where it says that older cars came with the OPS module from the factory, and a light bulb went off in my head.

So I ran down to my parking lot to check, and my 2013 MPI Highline indeed has it!

I needed a twisted wire harness for the CAN connections, which I made quickly using a trick I saw on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTJhrTTl-EE

I tapped the instrument cluster connector for the CAN signal, and Gannu's thread (VW Polo DIY: Removing / upgrading the instrument cluster) was a useful reference. Once I had the CAN harness connected, I just had to do the necessary VCDS coding and behold!

4K OPS display is now activated on my GT TSI.

I have left out the details because they are covered adequately in antardaksh's thread.

[Viraat13]

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

4K OPS display is now activated on my GT TSI.

Now this seems exciting and worth replicating. It has been a long time since we did matching DIYs and I think this would be the right place to start.

[TheLizardKing]

I recently completed some long-pending DIYs, have made a separate thread for the same.

DIY #10: Lock/unlock switch on passenger side



DIY #11: Courtesy lights on door panels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3DlEYor24U

DIY #12: Puddle lamps under ORVMs

[TheLizardKing]

1. Inspired by fellow forum member fluidicjoy's thread, I enquired at my VW workshop about the stone guard kit and will be getting the same installed soon.

2. Even though I resolved recently to stay away from costly performance mods, I could not help myself when I heard that a Whiteline adjustable rear anti-roll bar is up for sale. I first read about this mod on Philip.Mathew's thread. This particular ARB has a rich history, and mine will be the FOURTH car in which it is being installed. Forum member haritabh7 first bought it for his Polo 1.5 TDI, and then sold it to Team BHP mod suhaas307 when he sold that car. Suhaas installed it in his heavily modded GT TSI, which he sold some time back. He then sold the ARB back to haritabh7, who had purchased a Polo 1.0TSI by then. Haritabh has since lowered his car, and the ARB didn't quite agree with the new suspension setup. And that is how it is now with me.

[Sahil00090]

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

So one of the exciting features of the RCD340 is that it supports OPS display. I remember reading forum member antardaksh's excellent thread (DIY: Installing OPS (Optical Parking System) in the VW Polo / Vento) on the same, and I have wanted it ever since. I reread it again recently after getting the RCD340. I came to the point in the thread where it says that older cars came with the OPS module from the factory, and a light bulb went off in my head.

Attachment 2147932

So I ran down to my parking lot to check, and my 2013 MPI Highline indeed has it!

Attachment 2147930

I needed a twisted wire harness for the CAN connections, which I made quickly using a trick I saw on YouTube.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=uTJhrTTl-EE

I tapped the instrument cluster connector for the CAN signal, and Gannu's thread (VW Polo DIY: Removing / upgrading the instrument cluster) was a useful reference. Once I had the CAN harness connected, I just had to do the necessary VCDS coding and behold!

Attachment 2147931
4K OPS display is now activated on my GT TSI.

I have left out the details because they are covered adequately in antardaksh's thread.

I am pretty interested in this, will this void the warranty? My car is 6 months old, 1.0 TSI HLP (M)

[Pegasus1134]

Hey there,

Looking at your DIY expertise, I felt this is the right thread to bump up.

So recently, I picked up a used 2016 Polo Highline and I noticed that the glovebox latch seems to be coming off, and the top portion is already broken.

Also the glovebox lid isn’t very well aligned with the whole enclosure itself, and seriously rattles over bad roads.

I know for a fact that VW will not be able to fix just the latch and make me order a whole new glovebox kit/lid, so I did a little bit of searching and found this:

https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-6rf857121ceh6-28499790/

Just the OEM lid at a very reasonable price which will certainly fix my latch problem and (might) fix the alignment, so I placed an order.

I found YouTube videos and some threads on how to replace the whole glovebox. But since I ordered just the lid, do you have any idea of how to replace this? Is it a tedious process?

Would be great if you could guide me on this.

[TheLizardKing]

I just realized that it has been a while since I updated this thread.

Update #1: New tires!

Thanks to my bad habit of being lazy about maintaining the correct pressure in the tires coupled with the low running during the lockdown, the tires developed cracks prematurely. They were installed in 2018 and ran for only about 22k kms. So it was time for new tires.

I was running on Michelin P3STs, and wanted to go for the P4STs. But thanks to government restrictions, the P4STs are not available in India in the R15 size. I am not a tire guy, so I asked around and did some online research before finalizing the Yokohama BluEarth GT. Special thanks to our in-house tire expert and D-BHPian Nikhilb2008 for getting me in touch with his store manager who helped me with the decision.

I got the new tires installed at Premji's Tyre Plus in Thane, which is just 5 minutes from my place. Installation was a breeze, and I was in and out in less than 45 minutes.

I haven't driven enough to comment on the new tires, but initial impressions are promising.

P.S.: I flirted with the idea of upgrading to R16 wheels just to install the Michelins before good sense prevailed and I was able to avoid a Vitamin M deficiency.

Update #2: Rear USB port

Taking a cue yet again from Gannu_1, I got a rear USB port installed on my RCD340 head unit. More details here (DIY: RCD 330, 340 head units - Adding a rear USB cable). Much tidier, and I can now claim that my car has pseudo wireless Android Auto.

[HMV]

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

…Once I had the CAN harness connected, I just had to do the necessary VCDS coding and behold!…

Is the VCDS coding necessary for this to work? I don’t have a VCDS cable, but I can source the 4K OPS module from an older Vento. Will connecting 4K OPS module and CAN cables make this work? My car is 2021 Vento TSI.

[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by HMV

Is the VCDS coding necessary for this to work? I don’t have a VCDS cable, but I can source the 4K OPS module from an older Vento. Will connecting 4K OPS module and CAN cables make this work? My car is 2021 Vento TSI.

Hi. Since it is a hardware change, you need to update the coding using VCDS so that the change is recognized by your car and the hardware works correctly.