AUSTRALIAN MEMBERS THREAD

[ben_faulkner]

I have seen there are a few Australian Caddy owners out there on the forum, we have it quite a lot harder out here with the price of parts and also not having access to any Tourans.

Would be good to have an Australian Members Thread where we could give each other tips and advice, where to buy from etc.

maybe this thread already exists? if so please point me to it, otherwise if you are an Australian member then please post in here!

[horace01]

Seem to me you just created one. Well done.

[ben_faulkner]

Just the 2 of us then, cozy!

[Euro Technika]

They say three is a crowd but Count me in
I'm located in NSW if your need some help anything VW branded.
But I think you will find that no matter where members are located the advise is great on this site for caddy owners.

[ben_faulkner]

Awesome, im in Sydney.

been trying to source some Touran parts, especially the centre console and seat bases but no luck so far. Been trying some places in NZ but most say that you have to buy the whole seat. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Also looking to find someone to do a remap for me.
local VW specialists want $1800 for it.
DNA tuning want $670 which is ok but still seems quite a lot.
Jailbreak Horsepower want around $700
and some random guy off gumtree wants $250 which almost seems too cheap?
from my very limited understanding of remaps dont they just plug a unit into the car and download new software? in which cae $250 is a fair price and $1800 is a joke.

Taking a trip to a few Wreckers this weekend so will hopefully come away with a few goodies.

[wai]

+1

I'm in Sydney too.

I've a MY11 Caddy Maxi Life TDI250

[horace01]

Ben I got my Touran bases of eBay.de (eBay Germany) they were like half the price than getting them from the UK.

As for the remap you are right in that they just connect a cable to your OBD port and flash load the software. There are some companies that actually remove your ECU and reprogram the ROM chip. Others will also do rolling road testing etc but these generally cost more. Regardless of the method you are not just paying for the software but also the R&D.

I researched remaps for ages and pretty all of them give the same results +\- a very small amount. In the end I went with DNA and am very happy with the results.

I personally would avoid the Gumtree offer unless the person doing it is fully insured to do so. There is the possibility they could do permanent damage to your ECU.

[ben_faulkner]

thanks horace, what exactly is the DNA kit? how easy is it to install? (i believe they send the kit out to you to do yourself?)

does anyone in Sydney have a VCDS?

also, i have looked on German ebay but dont really know what to search for (as it is all in German)

[horace01]

thanks horace, what exactly is the DNA kit? how easy is it to install? (i believe they send the kit out to you to do yourself?)

I don't know about any kit other than what I read on another forum, and that information was over 2 years old.

Keep in mind all these OBD maps are very generic. If you want full on performance go to a professional tuner who has full rolling road facilities. Base on your concerns about prices I suspect this is not an option for you so.....

In my case as the DNA Tuning rep lives in Melbourne he just came around to my house one day, took a copy of my current map via the OBD port. He then uploades this to the UK and the head office emails him through the new map a few hours later. He was back then next day and it was installed within 20 minutes.

This is pretty much what happens with the Bluefin maps that are available. Basically you buy a hand held unit and the rights to a remap. Using the handpiece you copy your existing map, then upload it to Bluefin via your computer. They then send you back your new map. You copy it to the handpiece and then flash your ECU via OBD.

I found the Bluefin map spec's to be a lot lower than most of their competitors maps. I suspect because it is a self install they keep them pretty tame and idiot proof. You can sell on the hand piece when your done. The new owner needs to pay Bluefin the full price for their own map and a small fee to uses the second hand unit. Which nicely brings me to my next point....

does anyone in Sydney have a VCDS?

The makers of the VCDS cables, Ross Tech, has a similar business model, so don't be afraid to buy a second hand one. Sometimes its the only way you can get them. They seem to sell out pretty quickly when they arrive at the various dealers. I got mine from http://www.hp.net.au/

I suggest you join http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums they pop up for sale on here quite regularly.

also, i have looked on German ebay but dont really know what to search for (as it is all in German)

Google translate is you friend here https://translate.google.com.au/

and these are the partnumbers
1T0 881 033 C Touran seat console Left
1T0 881 034 C Touran seat console Right





Here is an eBay.de search for you.
http://tinyurl.com/omfrvms

The hardest part is finding a seller who will ship to Australia.

[ben_faulkner]

you my friend, are the man!

i thought that the DNA upgrade was a bit tame to be honest, heard that you can get a extra 40bhp out of the 1.9TDi no problems. But yeah im not fussed about rolling road tests and all that, just after a good value bit of extra power so the van is not quite so van-ish.

[horace01]

i thought that the DNA upgrade was a bit tame to be honest, heard that you can get a extra 40bhp out of the 1.9TDi no problems.

DNA really? I actually thought they were one of the better ones hence why I went with them. Even the Ottinger tune, which is way more expensive, has only slightly better performance figures on paper. A Viezu performance tune seems best on paper.

[ben_faulkner]

i think the DNA one quoted an extra 28bhp?

anyway i got my prices back today for sourcing Touran parks from New Zealand: (all in NZ$)
centre console - $250+GST
wing mirrors - $245+GST
Seat bases - $200+GST

and then i got some prices for shipping:
Seat bases - $330
centre console - $995

WTF?

Horace, where did you get your wind deflectors from? are they stick on or the clip in ones?

[horace01]

Yes you are right 28bhp for DNA.

Link for wind deflectors http://r.ebay.com/JnwddE

They stick on with 3m tape that is already applied to them.

One issue is the fit at the front is not very good so they kind of poke out on the leading edge. There is no tape on this edge so I added my own. Didn't really work though because of the poor fit.

This front edge also tends to vibrate in the wind. The resultant noise was annoying so I used some tape that has felt on the outside, like you would put on the bottom of chair legs so as to not scratch you floor. This did get rid of the noise.

Think I'm just going to get some Team Heko ones.

[horace01]

Oh don't forget when asking for prices from overseas suppliers to have them quote and invoice you with no vat/gst/local taxes, as the items are being exported you don't have to pay these taxes.

Currently Australians don't pay GST on overseas online transactions unless it's over $1000.00AUD. The government is looking to change this to recover the lost
GST revenue....

[asr_933@hotmail.com]

I'm in Sydney too team! Why do you want Touran seat bases ben_faulkner?