What did you do to your MK7 today?

aditud

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2017
Location
Pittsburgh
TDI
2015 GSW SE 6MT
Just finished the MIB1 to MIB2 conversion a few days ago. Big improvement (bigger, higher res screen, better sound with the MIB2 amp, and of course, App-Connect)!

Now I have the car that wasn't meant to be: the NAR 2016 GSW TDI.

 

Blue_Hen_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Location
Slower, DE
TDI
owned: 96 B4V, 06 Golf, 12 NMS, 15 GSW
I hope you get some use out of it. I had it in my 2016 GTI (just sold yesterday) and I never once used App Connect. I navigate with Waze on an iPhone and with CarPlay's refusal to support Waze, it was useless to me.


Also, if you want some nice sound, get the Helix soundbox. I have it in my GSW and had one in my GTI as well. Great upgrade.
 

aditud

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2017
Location
Pittsburgh
TDI
2015 GSW SE 6MT
I hope you get some use out of it.
IMO, the lack of the USB port alone was pitiful enough. I would have paid a few hundred bucks just for that. But, of course, it's not supported by MIB1. I first tried one of these $40+ genuine Apple (otherwise they'd fail quickly) 30pin to lightning adaptors to work with the MDI cable supplied by VW; it works both for charging and media connection (infotainment sees the phone as an iPod), but I found it very annoying that the bluetooth connection is dropped once this iPod connection is established. Also, I went through a brief period two years ago in which I wanted to leave Apple for Android. So I diligently replaced the adaptor (and the VW cable) with this (OEM?) MDI to USB cable (you can get one off Amazon for less than $20). Man, did I regret trying to make my new Edge s7 work with MIB1. Questions on forums, tried different solutions etc. It would do weird things (such as calling own number). Until people just told me to calm down and accept the fact that MIB1 was just not Android friendly. Went back to the iPhone but this cable (in which you plug a regular iPhone lightning cable) only charges the iPhone, no media connection (even though bluetooth now works).

So, just having a working USB connection is a huge upgrade for me.

Right after I had everything in working order (after the remote session with Jack), I grabbed one of these 1ft black lightning cables (made by Anker, very good reviews on Amazon). First thing I do now when I get in the car is plug my iPhone in and rest it in the cubby. CarPlay connects and that's that, I don't touch my phone (I got the short cable partly to curb my bad habit to always physically handle the phone) until I leave the car. I use the Music app directly from the touchscreen, that's a huge thing for me. Used to make calls with "hey Siri" but that didn't go too well when, for various reasons, it got too loud in the car. Now I long press the voice button on the steering wheel and it appears this never fails, no matter how loud it gets in the car. I never used Waze (had it installed and removed it) and I've yet to use Apple's Maps with CarPlay (I've only had it for three days, after all), but I'm sure it can be useful. Same evening I had app connect activated I went to the SXM website and replaced the old radio with the new one. With the MIB2 amp the sound is better, not just what comes out of the phone, but radio too. The screen, well, while not as great of an upgrade as going from 5.8" low res to 8" high res, is still much nicer.

Overall, I'm just very happy with it. It is true that I may have psyched myself into wanting it so badly (since 2015, when I had decided to wait for the 2016 tdi's, after reading about MIB2), but, now that I do, it doesn't feel anticlimactic at all. I hope it never will :).

Lastly, my wife has app connect in her 2017 Jetta 1.8tsi and that car's not nearly as nice as my GSW :D. Felt like a great injustice :).

Edit: I will look into the Helix soundbox. As I am into the 8" screen. Problem is the 8" comes with Nav button, and the modified one (has that button replaced by "Voice" or smth) sold by eurozonetuning is $800 including bezel and vents. That's almost as much as I paid for my entire retrofit.
 
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jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
Just finished the MIB1 to MIB2 conversion a few days ago. Big improvement (bigger, higher res screen, better sound with the MIB2 amp, and of course, App-Connect)!
Now I have the car that wasn't meant to be: the NAR 2016 GSW TDI.
Yeah. OK I'm jealous. I started the thread and like 3 people pulled the trigger! ***!


Sounds like money well spent? Every time I borrow my moms '17 tig I immediately wire up my phone and totally spoiled by real time maps and traffic updates.

Tax season I think I'm gonna spend the money. I'm all setup with hitch and trailer/wiring, now I need this toncomplete the road trip experience!
 

aditud

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2017
Location
Pittsburgh
TDI
2015 GSW SE 6MT
Yeah. OK I'm jealous. I started the thread and like 3 people pulled the trigger! ***!
Yes, your thread got me back into this :).

I was inquiring and reading all about this upgrade since I first saw paul_elstak's thread on golfmk7 about two years ago. At the time it seemed like no one in the US had done it, nobody was even close. Then I came across the youtube video from DAP where they emphatically declare this as a way over the top upgrade, so they wouldn't pursue it (now, to be fair, the video was posted in September 2015). In time, I forgot about it, moved on.

I then somehow totally missed George Ab's thread from May 2017 where he was describing his successful conversion attempt. I have no idea how I missed it, but I did.

Lately I have been almost exclusively checking out this forum (after all, I got a TDI) and about a month ago I came across your thread and the first few replies, pointing at George Ab's thread, for example. I came alive! I had all the parts gathered in less than a month, and in a bit over a month since I saw your thread I have MIB2!

It's crazy to think I could have had this upgrade done over a year ago! Better late than never, I guess.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
I hope you get some use out of it. I had it in my 2016 GTI (just sold yesterday) and I never once used App Connect. I navigate with Waze on an iPhone and with CarPlay's refusal to support Waze, it was useless to me.
The iOS 12 update (probably coming out end of next week) includes Waze and Google Maps support for CarPlay; I'm looking forward to that myself.
 

Blue_Hen_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Location
Slower, DE
TDI
owned: 96 B4V, 06 Golf, 12 NMS, 15 GSW
The iOS 12 update (probably coming out end of next week) includes Waze and Google Maps support for CarPlay; I'm looking forward to that myself.

That would have been excellent when I bought my GTI two years ago and before I sold it last week. ;)

It's good that Apple finally got their head out of their arses though. Regardless, this iPhone will be my last for awhile. I like to vote with my wallet and my next phone will be an Android (after three iPhones in a row) in protest of Apple being douchenozzles for the past several years regarding 3rd party integration.
 

aditud

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2017
Location
Pittsburgh
TDI
2015 GSW SE 6MT
The iOS 12 update (probably coming out end of next week) includes Waze and Google Maps support for CarPlay; I'm looking forward to that myself.
That’s great! Don’t care about Waze but I like google maps.

So, once I update the iOS on the phone, the google maps app will show on the infotainment? No need to update mib2 software, I hope.
 

hillmatic

Active member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Location
Bay Area
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
That’s great! Don’t care about Waze but I like google maps.
So, once I update the iOS on the phone, the google maps app will show on the infotainment? No need to update mib2 software, I hope.

Correct its the phone and the app restrictions that prevent it from being shared with the infotainment unit.

Android already has waze on their version of carplay, released 6-8 months ago.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Yeah - CarPlay / Android Auto is nothing more than the in-car hardware saying "yep - you can talk to us; here's what the display resolution is."

And then the phone does all the work from there; the icons and everything you see on the display from CP/AA are all from the phone.
 

jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
Ordered me a zerostart inline heater and a oil pan zero start 500watt pad.

Gonna string them to a rv outlet with cover, that's I'm still pondering where to Swiss cheese the front bumper and have it not be ugly.


Somewhere someone did it, not sure if it was a mk7 though...

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
Why do you think that you'll need the oil pan pad in addition to the coolant heater?
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Almost 6 quarts of oil does take a long time to heat up, even our TSI hardly gets the oil up to temp (190F) on my 7 mile drive to work in the summer.
 

jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
My concern is that insulation and plastic cover over the aluminum pan itself.

I'll trim some padding out and snake the leads through, but will the heat upset the plastic or foam?

Maybe I'll bench test it if I get time and see what I end up with. It can always be added later easily.

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
 

chrislane31

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2015
Location
CT
TDI
mk7 Golf TDI
Full clutch/brake fluid flush and Euro short shifter install. Wanted to get rid of that stock fluid that just sat around in the car for over a year.
 

sportwagen3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2017
Location
MD
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI SE
Full clutch/brake fluid flush and Euro short shifter install. Wanted to get rid of that stock fluid that just sat around in the car for over a year.
Any tips on removing the shift lever? I tried to get it off one time and it seemed stuck and would barely budge.
 

chrislane31

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2015
Location
CT
TDI
mk7 Golf TDI
Any tips on removing the shift lever? I tried to get it off one time and it seemed stuck and would barely budge.

My buddy was doing the brake.clutch fluid flush and had to remove the intake for the slave, so I just had him do it, sorry.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
My concern is that insulation and plastic cover over the aluminum pan itself.

I'll trim some padding out and snake the leads through, but will the heat upset the plastic or foam?

Maybe I'll bench test it if I get time and see what I end up with. It can always be added later easily.

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk

hopefully the oil heater is thermostatically controlled so it doesn't heat the oil any more than NOT of 190-250F.

To make you feel better some "GTI/R bois" track their cars and routinely see 260F oil temps with their plastic TSI engine pans, you may be over cautious.
 

Discovery

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2018
Location
Montréal
TDI
Mk7 SportWagen
Nice! I will be interested in what kind of fuel mileage hit you're going to take and I wish that we weren't required to have front license plates here in MD...
Well I don't drive to save fuel, but so far on highway I noticed a increase of 1L/100km. Basket empty. I removed it to seal the joint with caulk.

 

jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
I need to find me some decent cross bars for all these vacation projects.

Suggestions?

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
 
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