Monday 14 December 2020

2010 Scirocco RNS510 Upgrade MIB Composition Media

 MIB Composition Media Upgrade

We upgraded the head unit of a 2010 Scirocco from the original RNS510 to the newer MIB Composite Media head unit. 

Also replace the original cigarette tray with an open tray so that we could fit the USB/Aux outlet for the App Connect plug in.









Saturday 19 September 2020

Adding Gel Pad to Motorcycle Seat

 The stock seat of my FJR1300 will tear your arse after about 1 hour of riding unless your butt is metallic iron or void of all feelings.

In order to improve the seat, it is recommended to install the gel pads. I bought the thickest available which is 2 cm ( actually 1.8cm ), a simple hand held stapler, industrial type staples and some simple tools. 

There are many Youtube video which teaches how to get the gel pad installed on the seat. I followed the general instructions. It was relatively simple to do for those mechanically inclined. Messy but it is rewarding.

The gel pad is supposed to be cut to shape as recommended but I chose to use the whole pad onto the seat. It is relatively the same size as the seat so cutting may not be necessary in my opinion.


Removed the seat cover and marked out the shape of the gel pad. I marked directly onto the sponge but made some mistakes so I mask the surface with masking tape and redo the position desired. 


It was recommended to use a cutter blade to remove the sponge material but I use my trusty dremel circular saw instead. Started from the center of the seat and work outwards. It is accurate to judge the depth required. 


I use a simple template to measure the required depth as I cut with the circular saw. It is a small plastic plate which I check the depth of the sponge removed. 


Halfway through the project. Constant measuring is required as we are cutting a curved surface. It is tricky but with a careful hand and detailed eye, we got the job done. 


The gel pad fitted nicely. It is important to put the pad with a close fit since the sponge would adapt slightly. Too big a cavity would mean there would be gaps and space. 


After the job, the gel pad fitted into the cavity. Some final sanding and filing is required to make the pad fit nicely. 
Almost there...remove the remaining tape and make final adjustment. 


Refitting the seat cover. Using the mechanical stapler is tough as the staples have a tough time penetrating the plastic base housing. Would have been easier if we had an electric or air operated stapler but as this is a one time job.....don't want to end up with tools that would eventually be a white elephant in the tool drawer. 

I am satisfied with the job done. Not perfect but nice as s DIY job done. 



Tuesday 15 September 2020

A Tear On The Side : Golf GTE Seat Repair

Must be putting on too much weight. My GTE Sport Seat side lumbar support felt like that was a tear in the sponge. I felt it thru the fabric material when touching it. Getting in and out of the car inadvertently would put much weight on the right side seat lumbar support I would believe. 

Had to disassembly the entire seat outside the car. Not an easy foam repair.





After removing the lower seat and releasing the fabric, found the tear in the sponge. The tear was caused by the lower seat frame rubbing against the sponge. 

This is inevitable on all sport seats. Fortunately, mine are normal sport seats and not the full fledged sport seats or bucket seats. Those would "dig" in between your legs when you get out of the car.....the ladies hate it ! Funny feeling I believe. Even I hate it !

The culprit is the seat frame support for the side lumbar. I added some sponge wrap around the frame to reduce the digging in effect hopefully. 


Under the seat foam assembly where the lumbar support bracket meets the foam, we find that the foam has a small plastic reinforcement built in the assembly. This should prevent the metal support bar from digging in the sponge material. Above pictures shows the undamaged side. 



The damaged side, we found that the plastic insert inside the foam seat was actually damaged. The metal support was digging into the side of the foam edge thus causing the tear.

Repaired the tear using contact cement aka rubber gum and added the mentioned sponge on the support bracket. 

Hope that the repair would last or else we would need a new foam seat assembly....not cheap I would think since there is a heater pad built inside.  




The part number is 5G0 881375....as embossed on the seat foam assembly. 



The seat pan...with the sponge wrap over the support bar. 


Hopefully, I would not have to dismantle this again...






Tuesday 21 July 2020

Tiguan DSG Shifter Upgrade

Tiguan DSG Upgrade : July 2020

Upgraded the tired DSG Shifter Assembly to a up to date Golf 7 GTI shifter from Volkswagen.  

We also replaced the black vinyl boot that came with the new Golf 7 shifter ( why VW do not provide leather boot on their GTI ? ) to an aftermarket leather boot with red threading.

The Tig now looks more updated.

The original shifter on left versus the modified GTI shifter

The red trim on the knob is nice ! 

Reuse the base plate assembly

Looking good ! 

The look and feel would give the Tiguan 5 hp more ! 

 



Sunday 29 March 2020

Golf 7 GTI Steering Installed on Golf 6 GTI

Mar 2020 : Golf 6 Steering Upgrade to Golf 7

My best customer bought a 2010 Golf 6 and did several upgrades. Among them,he wanted the new Golf 7 GTI steering. 

We upgraded it for him but the on-steering cruise control do not work ( yet ). We are working on this.

The mod is consider major as the removal and discarding of the old steering system is required. Some rewiring, knocking, hammering and screwing all done within the 3 hours required. 



Original Golf 7 GTI steering upgrade






Monday 4 March 2019

Tiguan Comfortline 2019 AID Digital Instrument Cluster Upgrade

4 March 2019 : Tiguan 2019 Advance Info Display cluster upgrade aka Virtual Cockpit Display


A brand new 150 km one day old Tiguan replaced the original analogue instrument cluster with the R-Line Digital Advanced Information Display cluster. 

We indent order these items and replaced it for the owner who is overjoyed with the new display.  He had owned two VW previously and is literally tired of the old analogue instrument cluster. 

The original set up

New trims are required for the AID 

Bare Analogue cluster 

Striping out the air-con duct trims as one piece
(not an easy task)


New vs Newer

AID vs Analogue 



AID Virtual Cockpit Cluster in place

First Time Switched On !


Coding and programming 

Task Completed

First Start ! All Done ! 


The Virtual Cockpit aka Advanced Info Display is the best eye candy plus functional information for the driver. 

The best mod ever ! Highly recommended for most MQB cars ! 

Friday 21 December 2018

CBX 2018 Beetle 1.2 Head Unit Upgrade : MIB2 Composition Media with Reverse Camera

CBX Upgrade of Head Unit : Beetle 1.2 TSi 

A customer have purchased one of the last unit of the 2018 Volkswagen Beetle 1.2TSi. 

The Beetle 1.2 is considered a Comfort Line model with modest equipment. Customer wanted a reverse camera for the wife and a bluetooth telephone for himself. As such an upgrade of the base head unit from Colour Media to Composition Media is required. 

The PQ MIB2 Composition Media unit comes with everything incorporated such as Bluetooth, Voice Command, App Connect etc. 

We also installed the original Beetle VW emblem camera onto the vehicle. 

Customer is totally satisfied with the upgrade.

The Composition Media installed
(picture taken with Night Mode on my new Huawei Mate20X)


The original Beetle emblem camera displayed on the MIB2
(same picture but with normal none flash mode)
Peeping out from the VW rear emblem latch handle in reverse


Saturday 1 December 2018

New Tiguan Lane Assist and Side Assist Retrofit

Tiguan New 2018 Retrofitting Lane Assist and Side Assist 


My old customer who had his 2008 CC retrofitted with Lane Assist and Side Assist years back, came knocking on my door. He got himself a brand new Rline 2.0 AWD Tiguan 2018. After 6 months of pure form original ownership, he got bored and decide to get back to his roots. 

His R Line Tiguan is already very well spec at factory. It has Adaptive Cruise Control which is only available on this model not even found on the top of the line Arteon 2.0 AWD ! Surprising but it is true. It has also Head Up Display but I find it of little use since the Digital Cluster aka Advanced Info Display is right in front of him displaying all the details required in various form. Why do you need a HUD ? Nice to have I would guess but IMHO, it is not necessary. 

As usual, retrofitting the Lane Assist requires his brand new flawless windscreen to be replaced. This is inevitable. 

Brand new windscreen for Lane Assist 

The special holder for the camera, rain sensor and rear mirror

Out with the old and in with the new ! 
New screen with the Lane Assist camera peeping out 
Lane Assist camera hides behind the new housing cover

Original rear mirror is reused. The new housing hides the camera.
 ( the wires are for the event camera - only place for the wires )

Next, we installed the Side Assist aka Rear Assist aka Rear Traffic Assist aka Lane Change Assist aka Rear Traffic Alert. So many names but only one function. 

Removal of the bumper is necessary to install the two radar sensors and run the wiring harness into the cabin. 

Factory prepared mounting position. 


Securing the radar sensor with bolts and nuts.

Factory prepared sound deflective material on the bumper for the radar sensors on both sides. 
Insulate against unwanted disturbance from other sources. 

The wiring harness is run thru the door harness to the mirrors

The mirror is partially dismantled to install
the LED warning indicator & housing cover

Three new options are added : Lane, Side and Rear Traffic

Calibration of the Lane Assist Camera

Lane Assist in operation ! Road Speed is seen by camera
and display on cluster and radio display panel

Speed Limit and Lane Assist /ACC also shown
on Head Up Display