New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

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Der Finne.
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New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by Der Finne. »

Hello everyone, a new member from Finland saying hi! Thought I'd post some pics of my 6R, and some of the mods I've done so far.
(Thought about posting in the "Members' Rides" section but couldn't find many 6Rs there, most seem to post in this section? Please move this to the proper section if this is the wrong place.)

I placed an order for a new 1.2 TSI late in July 2010 and took delivery of the car about three months later on Oct 22th 2010. This is my first VW as all my previous cars have been Renaults. I've found Renaults utterly reliable, it's just that I got fed up with my local Renault dealer so thought I'd try another marque (and their service) for a change. Here's what I ordered and got:

2011 Polo Comfortline 1.2 TSI (77kW/105bhp)
6-speed manual
3-door
Candy White / Titan Black interior

Just wanted an uncomplicated and affordable everyday transport so didn't go crazy with ordering extras. Just a few options I felt might be nice to have:
- Sensor pack: parking sensors rear, cruise control, multifunction display
- Bi-Xenon headlights
- foglights
- factory-tinted rear side and rear windows
- front centre armrest
- RCD-510
- w/o model or engine badges on the boot lid


OK. Day One. My first ever brand-new car waiting to be delivered to me: :D

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Sadly had to leave my beloved Mégane 2.0 16V / RS lookalike behind: :cry:

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First 15kms without crashing, time to strike a pose:

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Day Two. Only managed 496km (310 miles) from new before the car needed some work! :wink:

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Just needed to get rid of those temporary springs obviously fitted just to transport the car from factory to dealership. Can't see any other reason why they would fit such 4x4 springs to an otherwise perfectly normal car... :roll:
I opted for H&R 25/40mm springs, and thought best to fit them when the car is new and all balljoints and bushes are still unworn. Naturally I loosened the bolts that the suspension arms pivot around, and only retightened them when the weight of the car was back on its wheels with the shorter springs in. This to protect the rubber bushings from tearing apart, which can happen if you don't loosen the bolts and let the suspension arms settle to their new position. Here the car right after having been lowered:

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Obviously the 185/60R15 temporary wheels are also meant just for the transport from factory to dealership, so off they came, too. The winter was well on its way, so I had some Michelin winter tyres fitted on five-spoke RS6 replica alloys (7½x17" ET35):

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Those 215/45R17 winter tyres look rather chunky, and sadly they in fact were too chunky: They caused some rubbing at the front due to their outer diameter being too large. :( But that's what the winter 2010/2011 was driven on, luckily no real damage was done in the end.

I had knowingly ordered the car with the basic plastic steering wheel since I didn't quite fancy the optional Polo leather steering wheel. I had other plans, like this Scirocco R-Line I ordered from Portugal:

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To liven up the interior a bit more, I also ordered these aluminium surrounds for the light switch and Climatic controls:

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Changed the roof aerial for a shorter one from a Citroën C5 (requires some modding to the thread of the aerial):

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Sadly I've no better photo but here's the R-Line steering wheel fitted:

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And to annoy all GTI snobs, also ordered a GTI honeycomb grille:

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Definitely not going to pretend mine is anything but a humble TSI, so off came the GTI badge:

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Cock. The honeycomb behind the badge is not symmetrical. :? So will need some sort of badge to cover that bit, but don't want to go the obvious 'TSI' route... Some ebaying later and I had come up with this:

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Didn't wan't to butcher the GTI badge at this point, so had to make my own backing plate for the ABT badge:

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I then glued on the badge to the backing plate using 2-k Araldite:

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One ABT grille if you please: :wink:

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With the winter approaching I also wanted a glovebox light. Paid three euros for this not quite OEM solution:

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The bottom line is it works, and rather well, too! It has a motion sensor so it lights up automatically when the glovebox lid is opened, and the sunglass holder blocks its "eye" when the lid is closed, so any stuff moving around in the glovebox won't make the light come on. Rather ingenious if I may say so... 8)

Also wanted to lose the plastic gearknob and gaiter and go leather. Found this rather nice and OEM-looking ICT leather gearknob and gaiter:

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I'm WELL past my 20's. but still wanted some bling, just nothing too garish (I hope):

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Here's the standard one (on the left) vs. ICT:

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I think the ICT one looks OEM enough. I wanted to make the electrics as OEM as possible as well, so ordered some original VW connectors:

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Removed the old 'knob and secured the new one with three set screws:

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To protect the skinny wires I first put two lengths of shrink tubing around them, then wrapped them in OEM-style fabric tape:

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Drove around with the illumination unconnected for almost a year until a few weeks ago finally got the energy to remove the centre console:

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I put in a counter-connector for the gearknob lighting. This way, if I need to remove the gearknob/gearstick for some reason, I can just undo the electrical connector without having to cut any wires. I soldered/heat-shrunk the positive lead to the 12V socket lighting lead, and the negative lead to the proper threaded earthing stud on the central tunnel. While I was at it, I also put in wiring for footwell lights. For some reason the Comfortline Polos destined to Finland don't have the footwell lights, whereas the German Comfortlines do. Odd.

OK, that electrickery was fastforwarding to this autumn, but early this spring I needed to think about summer wheels. I like the RS6 five-spokes I had for the winter but wanted something different for the summer. After browsing through hundreds of designs I finally dediced for the TSW Spa in 8x17" ET35, shod with Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 in 215/40R17:

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With the spokes reaching from the outer edge all the way to the centre, the optical illusion makes the wheels seem even bigger than the 17" they really are. Which is what I like. What I didn't like, though, were the horribly bland TSW centre caps. The caps were only 45mm in diameter, but I managed to find some nice stickers to make my own TSW Spa 'Wolfsburg Editions': 8)

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I've also swapped out the standard instrument panel with the 7-segment MFD and digital fuel gauge for a one from the GTI. You know, the one with proper needles for coolant temperature and fuel, and the nice multidot MFD. Managed to get a brand new 'virgin' one through a guy who works at Continental/VDO (who make the GTI instrument panels). Even had the protective film still on:

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A trip to an authorised VW dealer was needed to have the Wegfahrsperre coded (sorry, can't remember the English word for the life of me...) and the correct mileage copied from the original instrument panel to the new. That took 45 minutes after which I was greeted with this:

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I have a Fiscon bluetooth connected to my RCD-510, and now I can start A2DP-streaming through the MFD menu:

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So, that about sums up what I've done to the car so far. I bought the car with the solemn intention of just driving it and not modifying anything (I've other project cars I can work on), but you how it is... :roll: :wink:

Oh, one thing: The 215/45R17 winter tyres I had last winter were too big in diameter, causing rubbing. Sadly the smaller-diameter original 215/40R17 size isn't available as a 'proper' winter tyre designed for Scandinavian winters with constantly icy roads, so I'll have to bite the bullet and go for 'only' 16" wheels next winter. The size will be 195/50R16 which is an exact match to the original tye sizes when it comes to outer diameter. I've always liked the optional VW Boavistas, so I was very happy to notice that there's a very close replica available in 16":

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I now have a set of those (7x16" ET35) waiting for tyres. And some original-looking VW centre caps to fool the unaware... :wink:
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NeilMcConville
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by NeilMcConville »

Could you give me some details on that steering wheel cause it'd love to get one myself :D other than that, very nice looking car mate, you've done so much to it already! What you think of them lowering springs?
Der Finne.
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by Der Finne. »

NeilMcConville wrote:Could you give me some details on that steering wheel cause it'd love to get one myself :D other than that, very nice looking car mate, you've done so much to it already! What you think of them lowering springs?
Thanks mate! :)

The steering wheel I got from a seller in Portugal through ebay, it was brand new (never been fitted to a car) and came complete with the airbag. Cost a whopping €250 including postage... :wink: That seller doesn't seem to have any offerings at the moment, but if you go to ebay.de and type e.g. 'scirocco lenkrad' you should find what you're looking for. :wink:
If you have a buttonless steering wheel in your Polo, then you'll also need a new matching airbag to go with the new wheel. But if your Polo has the buttoned wheel, then its airbag is compatible with the new wheel.
For some reason, my wheel/airbag came with the wrong type of internal wiring loom (meant for a buttoned wheel). Meaning that the horn didn't work right 'out of the box', but that was an easy fix. The airbag leads and connections (which is safety-critical!) themselves were 100% compatible.

The lowering springs I'm well happy with, even if they're only coupled to the standard (non-sport) shock absorbers. The front could benefit from the optional sport absorbers, but the rear is fine as it is. And the front handles quite well too, it's just that when going e.g. over speedbumps, the front 'yumps' a bit higher than normally as the front absorbers' fast rebound is a bit on the soft side for the stiffer springs.
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NeilMcConville
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by NeilMcConville »

Might have a wee look later on for a steering wheel then :)

Ahh, thats the same thing i was wondering, whether to upgrade the shocks or not, think it'd be a good idea but dont wanna spend the cash :/ you know of any good shock absorbers?
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Boyracer_2011
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by Boyracer_2011 »

Hey mate, love ya car. Was it easy to install them bi-xenon lights??
AJ_7
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by AJ_7 »

Welcome to the forums :) Great detailed thread on your progress too. I also have a 1.2 TSI in Candy White with the Boavistas and RCD510 options and its a fantastic little car. I love some of the modifications you've done, the steering wheel and the GTi instrument panel look brilliant!

Alex
Der Finne.
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by Der Finne. »

Thanks for the comments! :D
Boyracer_2011 wrote:Was it easy to install them bi-xenon lights??
I don't know. You'd have to ask the guys who installed them at the factory... :wink:
NeilMcConville wrote:you know of any good shock absorbers?
I drove a standard 6R Polo GTI today, and was well impressed by the performance of those original VW sport absorbers. So I'd probably go for them, or perhaps some Bilsteins if money's no object.
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NeilMcConville
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by NeilMcConville »

Hmm, i might price the VW ones just to see how much it'd set me back :/
Der Finne.
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2011 Polo 1.2 TSI - new toys arrived

Post by Der Finne. »

Today DHL delivered a package from Germany...

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...containing more packages...

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...containing some nice OEM goodies for the Polo:

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That is:
- VW pedal caps in brushed stainless steel (8N1 064 200)
- Audi A3 stainless steel tailpipe trim (8P0 071 771)
- VW led licence plate lights (1K8 943 021 C = 1 piece)
- Audi wheel bolt covers (321 601 173 A Z37 = 1 piece)
- VW keyfob (000 087 908)

According to German forums the A3 tailpipe trim should be a direct fit for the 65mm Polo tailpipe. It's slightly more beveled than the VW accessory available for the Polo, making it look sleeker. And the Audi one was over 20 euros cheaper than the Polo one! Might be that I won't be trying to fit this until next spring, though, as there's not much point in installing it for the approaching winter.

The led licence plate lights, however, I did already install. Here's new led version in the foreground vs. old incandescent bulb version in the background:

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Swapping them over is a matter of two minutes. Some people report the failed bulb warning (cold diagnosis) lighting up on the instrument panel after installing these, but luckily mine doesn't seem to trigger the warning light. I've only had them on for a short while yet, though. I'll still have to plug in the VCDS to see if they produce an error message (warm diagnosis) in the fault memory.

Some licence plate comparison photos coming up once it gets a bit darker...
AJ_7
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by AJ_7 »

You have got such good taste, not only have you got the same car as me, 1.2 TSI 3 door in CW. You have the same Audi exhaust trim and the same VW keyring as me! Strange!! :mrgreen: If you must know what the exhaust trim looks like before you fit it, see my pictures below :) It's a no-brainer alternative to the OEM exhaust trim VW offer, it's cheaper and looks 10 times better. Also adds a mere growl to the exhaust note :) I also plan on adding the LED number plate lights and maybe now those pedals now i've seen them... :twisted: I'd be intrigued for you to let me know how you get on in terms of the error messages with the LED number plate lights as well, so if you could keep me posted on that i'd be grateful :D Also, post a picture of your car to the Polo of the Month competition on the MKVIII Polo section, i'm pretty sure you'd win :)

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Der Finne.
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by Der Finne. »

AJ_7 wrote:You have got such good taste, not only have you got the same car as me, 1.2 TSI 3 door in CW. You have the same Audi exhaust trim and the same VW keyring as me! Strange!! :mrgreen:
Right back at ya! :wink:

Just braved the slight drizzle and went out to take some photos of the new led licence plate lights. Also took a few comparison pics of the old vs. new. Tried my best to make the different pictures comparable in terms of exposure and white balance, quite tricky with a mini-compact without the possibility to lock white balance of exposure. The following pictures were only paintshopped for a resize and a slight sharpening.

First with incandescent bulbs:
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In fact this is already a comparison since the LHS bulb is a 'blue' Philips Bluevision, the RHS bulb an ordinary one. Quite a considerable difference between them, eh? :roll:

Then the LHS light swapped for LED:
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Then both led:
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Both led, this one taken a little earlier when it was a little lighter:
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Closeup of the lights:
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One more:
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I'm very pleased with the hue of the light; Pure white without a hint of the cheap blue that most Chinese replacement led bulbs have. I did have a pair of such replacement led bulbs in those original lights for almost a year, but one of the bulbs started to flicker, that's why I bit the bullet and ordered these OEM versions.

As for error messages, I'm happy to report absolutely none in my case! :D
I let the car idle for over 15 minutes with sidelights on, and the bulb warning light didn't come on. Also scanned the fault codes with VCDS: again nothing.
Just remembered that I had in fact disabled the cold diagnosis for licence plate lights earlier (when I had installed those replacement led bulbs). In VCDS it's Address 09: Central Electronics -> Byte 11 -> Bit7 if I remember correctly. Funnily enough the cold diagnosis seems to be activated when the bit is set to '0', and off when set to '1'.
AJ_7
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by AJ_7 »

They look so good :) Thanks for the pictures, they're clearly a lot better than the incandescent bulbs. Things like these should be fitted as standard on modern day cars! Keep up the good work :)
AJ_7
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by AJ_7 »

If you get error messages cropping up, an adapter is available to stop any errors. Just thought i'd give you a heads-up just incase :)

http://www.kufatec.co.uk/shop/product_i ... ---VW.html
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NeilMcConville
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by NeilMcConville »

Here mate, is it possible to switch the wing mirror covers between polos cause my sister has a black polo and i want black mirrors....ne ideas?
AJ_7
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Re: New member - 2011 Polo 1.2 TSI

Post by AJ_7 »

NeilMcConville wrote:Here mate, is it possible to switch the wing mirror covers between polos cause my sister has a black polo and i want black mirrors....ne ideas?
Yeah mate you can it's a pretty easy job. You can swap with your sister or just get yours resprayed or vinyl wrapped. Vinyl wrapping yours maybe the most viable solution as your sister's black Polo may look pretty gash with white mirrors.. :)
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