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Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() | re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Congratulations Gannu! Your thread is the most viewed ownership report on Team-BHP with 8 lakh views ![]() ![]() |
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![]() | #947 | |||||
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Madras
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
Last weekend I had some spare time and decided to do a bench-test of the RLS unit I have (5K7 955 559 B) by taping it to the windshield. It worked well when we sprayed some water using a spray bottle; in the rains though, it might be a different story altogether! However, it seems that I have connected the +12V to the switched mode wherein when the car is turned off, the unit goes off. I need to connect it to a source wherein it receives power all the time. Only this will enable the auto closing feature after it is locked. Unfortunately, the VCDS version that I have (v12.12.0) doesn't recognise the RLS. BHPian graaja even sent me the .clb file for the unit but VCDS did not recognise it. We have a workaround in mind. ![]() Quote:
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Check out our Battery Bhai's thread for reviews. Quote:
Please leave the cluster's FE data aside; have you had a chance to test the FE using the tankful-to-tankful method? It takes a bit longer for the AC to cool the innards these days thanks to the horrid summers! Quote:
![]() Will be keeping this thread updated as always - short trips, updates, repairs and replacements etc. She's just a wee bit short of 1L on the odo: ![]() And many thanks to Paragbhai for helping me source this can through a contact: ![]() Will try to clean the MAF sensor this weekend; will post the findings here. Have some other work as well. | |||||
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![]() | #948 | ||
Newbie ![]() Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Chennai
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
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![]() | #949 | |
BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: India
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Back to batteries... Amaraon: Go, Flo, Pro ![]() |
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![]() | #951 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Pune
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... |
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
I am confused what rating to go for 60AH, 45 AH or something in between. | |
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![]() | #953 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later...
Yes: I have a nice, new, bright-green battery under the bonnet Since the discussion on this thread, and the Polo Maintenance thread. I went for 45Amp-hour. I did mean to double check the rating of the old battery, but it slipped my mind at the time. The guy was not enthusiastic to sell me a Pro instead of a Flo: he said, all you get different is a longer warranty. Ahem, I suppose that might indicate that it is built for a longer life! Crossposted Sorry, I missed that before. Confirming what the shop guy told me. Nice that he wasn't anxious just to make a few more ruppees out of me! Last edited by Thad E Ginathom : 21st June 2017 at 17:56. |
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later...
I just changed the battery of my car and the OEM battery rating was 60Ah. You have the Polo 1.6 TDI, right? If yes, then i think 45Ah may not be sufficient |
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![]() | #955 | |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
![]() Well... It starts the car, and with a "thad" more enthusiasm than the old battery did. | |
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![]() | #956 | |
BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: India
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
The smaller capacity battery likely has lesser cranking power (CCA), and it could result in the engine not cranking, especially in winters. The lower capacity battery is also likely to have less service life in your car. Having said that, I am surprised the battery vendor did not convince you to have 60/66 Ah battery installed in your car. Last edited by halfbytecode : 24th June 2017 at 23:32. | |
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![]() | #957 | |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
![]() Thinking about this, I suggest that there are two things that make starting a diesel engine harder on a battery than starting a petrol engine: 1. It just is, ie compression, and 2. Glowplugs. I don't even know what the glowplug light on the dashboard even looks like! Absolutely never needed in this climate. The new battery is starting the car in two ticks, enthusiastically and willingly. I think it's going to be ok. I'll let you guys know in a year or two if I'm wrong ![]() | |
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![]() | #958 | |
BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: India
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... Quote:
Apart from that, there could be a number of other issues too with the usage of a smaller battery. | |
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![]() | #959 |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Madras
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later... She has finally breached the 1L km mark: ![]() Man, quite a feeling it is! ![]() Now that I’ve spent a significant portion of my life inside my ride (if one were to assume that she was driven at an average speed of 50 km/h throughout her life, that’s like 2000 hours or 83 days or 2.78 months I’ve spent with the car; probabilistic calculation but you get the point), let me list down the good things and the not-so-good things about her. The things I love:
The things I loathe:
BUT, *touchwood* she has been extremely reliable to this day! She has never broken down, no component failures (not taking into account the wear-and-tear parts such as brake pads, battery etc.) and no replacements under extended warranty. I just pray and hope that it continues that way. I've always prescribed to the timely service schedules and have followed the replacement of critical parts as per that. And with these German cars, a little bit of extra TLC goes a long way in ensuring a trouble free ride. Ask my friends and folks, I treat her like a part of my family and not just another four wheeler to transport people from point A to B. A lot of BHPians subscribe to that school of thought. The detailing session: As much as I’d want her to look spotless and gleaming all the time, the limited closed parking space at my workplace (at the shipyard, it is even worse – absolutely no tree shade!) and the daily wash-and-wipe using the same ol’ piece of cloth by the apartment’s friendly cleaner, resulted in a lot of swirls developing over time and the sheen was eventually lost. She was last detailed during the scheduled 75k service at the VW service center by their 3M folks and the result was just okay. I am not a detailing guy nor do I have the patience and stamina to endure a detailing job. I prefer handing her over to a good detailer and let them work their magic. Since the 1L mark was special, I decided to get her detailed from an extra special place – someone who knows his stuff better than the rest of the folks and are usually very dedicated and has that attention to detail. Every city usually has one or two of such shops. I found one through our Team BHP Chennai directory (not a surprise really) – DriveClean owned by Gurubaran. (link) Initially, Guru was known to visit the owner’s residence and do the detailing but he has setup his garage at Nanganallur (GMaps) 2 years back. So I called him up and spoke about my requirement. He asked me to get the car to his place after giving him a confirmation call a day before I visited the place. Fixed up the appointment for a Friday so I could complete my shipyard visit on Thursday and Guru can work on the car for 2 days and deliver it by the weekend. I wasn’t really worried about the budget at that time. But, what made matters worse is that one of our ships under construction at the shipyard was being painted (speaking of which, the ship is a floating dock for the Indian Navy and the hull paint has a warranty of 25 years! That is unlike the paint that is usually applied on other ships) and I had parked the car some 150 m away from the ship in a shaded area. I came back after a few hours and the fine misty particles of the paint that was floating in the air had stuck to the outer surface of the paint on the car including the front windshield! And it wouldn’t come off easily. It wasn’t really bad that one would notice it but if you were to rub your hand over the paint or the windshield, you could feel it. I knew Guru’s work just got intensified several times over! And I told this issue to him while we spoke and he said it can be taken care of. I felt a bit relieved and drove to his place on a Friday morn. He had sent me the co-ordinates of the location. We promptly reached the garage around 8 AM and Guru was there. There was an Audi A7 and a Q7 parked there for repairs. We exchanged the pleasantries and he attended to the car quickly. He did a walk-around and inspected the car closely noticing all the flaws – swirls all over the panels, few minor scratches (inevitable in Chennai’s mad traffic!), re-painted front right fender, the paint mist which had stuck on the hood and the windshield etc. He said it would take about 2 days tops and would try to wrap it early if possible. The work done was as follows: Step 1 – Foam wash with KochChemie Magic Fleur aromatic foam shampoo. ![]() Step 2 – Painted surfaces clayed using Bilt Hamber medium auto-clay. Step 3 – Swirl removal using Menzerna Fast Gloss 400 compound using Rupes random orbital polisher and Bosch rotary machine with multiple passes. Step 4 – Final cut using Menzerna Final Finish 3000. Step 5 – Application of paint sealant using Rejex polymer sealant. Step 6 – Windshield clayed using CarPro white fine clay bar and polished using CarPro Ceriglass. Step 7 – Wheels cleaned and brake dust removed using KochChemie Triple Acid Star. Step 8 – Engine bay degreased using Chemical Guys Grime Reaper Extremely Strong (!) degreaser. Sprayed, brushed and wiped down. Dressing applied after that. Step 9 – Interiors cleaned using KochChemie Mehrzweckreiniger interior and special cleaner. Step 10 – Dashboard and door panel trims cleaned using CarPro Perl. Pads used – Menzerna heavy cut foam pad (red) for cutting, Menzerna medium cut foam pad (yellow) for polishing and Menzerna soft cut foam pad (green) for finishing. And the results speak for themselves: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Total price paid for the detailing session - Rs. 6000. With great detailing comes great responsibilities! Guru requested me that once a car is detailed, extra care has to be taken to ensure that it doesn’t lose the sheen quickly. He suggested the following: - Do not wash the car for the next 2 days, no matter what. - Wash the car as rarely as possible limiting it to once every 3 months. *gulp* - Use a duster to get rid of the day-to-day dust accumulated on the car. - Wipe the individual panels after dusting using a waterless wash concentrate diluted in a spray bottle and a good microfiber cloth. - Do not let bird poop lay for long on the panels. This will eat the paint. Keep a few microfiber towels and a spray bottle with an all-purpose cleaner in the car to do some quick clean-ups. The only downside of this entire detailing session is, the paint particles on the rear windshield is yet to be cleaned up – Guru had earlier remarked that he cannot use the machine on the rear windshield as the defogger lines may come off due to the vibrations and requested me to bring the vehicle sometime next week. But I am immensely satisfied with the work done on the car by Guru. He single-handedly did all the work and says detailing is his passion. I can possibly understand. Oh and turns out he’s a BHPian too and had registered in the forum way back in 2007 but does not post now ever since he’s associated with DriveClean. Thank you so much Guru! Other notes:
Pending upgrades: There isn’t much work to be done now but I’ve got these things lined up when I get some spare time (which really is a luxury these days): a. I might change the stock alloys to 16 inchers and the tires to the 16” Primacy 3ST make (unfortunately, the P3ST comes in only 205/55 profile suited for the Polo). I am a big fan of the Primacy 3STs after having used the current set for nearly 60k with just 3 punctures and no defects, incredible wet grip, supple ride quality with a reduced road noise. These tires have been subjected to some abuse over bad roads and no roads and they have taken the brunt quite well. b. I’d love to get the speakers changed to the Focal IC165VW set. It’s a straight swap without any cutting or splicing of cables. When I intend to replace them, I’ll also get the insulation applied in the doors, hood and boot. Will approach a professional audio installer here in Chennai or Palakkad (there are plenty of these little known guys here in Kerala who does a wonderful job in audio-related works!). c. Felt lining the glovebox – after having driven the Lexus lineup recently (link in case you missed the article), I loved the subtle things that added to the luxury of the cabin. Padding the glovebox was one of those so I ended up ordering a piece of felt cloth from Amazon (link) and it was just the thing I was looking for. Now to find some time to get it done! d. The stock boot liner is also a bit flimsy and I intend to get it replaced with a thicker ply (maybe 4 mm) covered with a speaker-box carpet and the VW OEM handle from the Golf and the likes (image). This is the part: ![]() e. I will be swapping the rear drum brake with discs shortly. And if my research goes well, I might end up changing the stock ABS controller to the one that supports ESP and TCS. There's some work involved w.r.t changing the terminals on the connector, changing the stock mounting bracket and a couple of new brake lines. So I guess that would be it. For now. Cheers guys! ![]() Last edited by Gannu_1 : 25th June 2017 at 11:22. |
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| re: VW Polo GT TDI ownership log EDIT: 9 years and 178,000 km later...
Congratulations on hitting one of the biggest milestone in a cars life. Speaks a lot on how you maintain cars. Need to learn a lot from you and your MODS/DIY's. ![]() Quote:
Using Diesel Purge Last edited by Gannu_1 : 9th July 2017 at 11:31. Reason: Removing the 'Sir' bit. Not needed. Thanks. :) | |
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