Hey guys,
As the title suggests it's about the mods and upgrades on my Skoda Yeti 2010 2.0 TDI Elegance 4x4. This was posted on our Indian automotive forum team bhp earlier. Thought of sharing the same here with other Yeti owners internationally.
I have been customizing my Yeti since the time I bought it. Certain parts like the alloy wheels and audio/multimedia head units have been upgraded multiple times. Listing out the various upgrades and mods below.
- Bi-xenon head lamps with autolevel AFS kit (OEM) - Cruise control (OEM) - Auto parking version 2.0 (OEM) - Fatigue recognition (OEM) - Boot release button with Reverse cam (OEM replica) - Auto headlight switch (OEM) - Skoda Yeti wheel arch kit (OEM) - Shark fin antenna for Radio and GPS reception (OEM) - Pete's custom code Remap - H&R trak+ spacers for wider track and better stance - Muth Signal mirrors - Thule roof box kit with customized paint job and smart waxed - Thule roof bike rack - 17" Y spoke alloys with broader tyres - Customized paint job and smart waxed - Customized aggressor front grill - Customized Milotec/Hella DRL for Skoda Yeti - Head unit with CAN compatibility, steering wheel control, multimedia, OPS with reverse cam display overlap and active guide lines, Navigation, built in bluetooth, 8" HD touch screen, etc. - Customized Headlamp eyebrows from Superskoda - JL audio micro sub-woofers with custom moulded enclosure to minimise boot space wastage - Class D mono amp for subs A few upgrades done in the past but already removed/replaced are listed below - Aftermarket alloy wheels 17" and later changed to 17" Skoda Octavia II Vrs alloy wheels (OEM) with customized paint job - Bluetooth Highline kit for RCD 510 (OEM) - Navigation, multimedia & Reverse cam integration box for OE head unit RCD 510 - Light force Striker 170 HID xenon lamps - Blaupunkt Philadelphia 835 head unit Bilstein sport shocks are already on order with Pete's Automotive and expected to be fitted soon. Some more retrofits are planned. Will post them when it's done. The above list does not include minor tweaks and add ons like cluster needle staging activation, Pete's air checkers, OEM tail pipe fitting, LED position lights, etc. The list goes on! But all major upgrades are mentioned above.
OEM retrofits - auto parking, AFS auto levelling bi-xenons, fatigue recognition and cruise control were carried out by Mr.Sugesh, Vagtune Kochi. He has the experience and knowledge when it comes to VAG cars. He has access to the parts and spares at competitive prices too. I got the OEM bluetooth kit for RCD 510 from him in 2010 and that's when I met him first. He had just started with the VAG car OE upgrades with a few retrofits done already then. Now he has set up Vagtune and has quite some experience with retrofits. The above mentioned upgrades on my Yeti was done in just a day which is impressive and a challenging task. The only part I got myself and not from Vagtune was the Xenon head lamps itself which was sourced from UK, thanks to my cousin who helped me procure it. It is available in Vagtune also. Rest all parts were sourced thru Vagtune. I recommend him for VAG retrofits. He does retrofits which are so advanced also which even authorized service centres would not dare to do. How many of them have the in depth technical knowledge to do it in the first place even if they dare, is a big question! Guys who have approached them for such work would know what I am talking about.
Custom code remap and wheel arch kit installation were done by Pete's Automotive Kochi. Obviously who else would you go to for a remap! Its world class upgrades and service for your car. Milotec/Hella DRLs and Muth turn signal mirrors for the Yeti were sourced from Pete's and DIY installed after doing some customizing. Bilstein sport shocks are on its way and I am waiting eagerly for their call to hear that those bad boys have arrived. I love the way they work on cars at Pete's. The same passion and love you have for your car can be seen in the work they do. It's more like a hobby than work. Even many of the so called premium car authorised service centres fail to give you the satisfaction when it comes to quality of service. I am thinking of doing my car services from Pete's in future because I need genuine work and good care for my car when I give it for service and not just the "authorized service centre" tag. It's a blessing that Pete's automotive, Vagtune etc. are there for us VAG car owners especially from the south or from whole of India itself for that matter. Smart wax detailing is carried out by Express Garage in Kozhikode. They have Pete's franchisee. Amp. and micro subs were installed by Teny (not sure if I spelled it right), New Metal Effect, Chennai. They are masters in ICE installations. Instead of 1 big sub, I bought 2 JL audio micro subs from US, thanks to my brother who got it for me. They don't eat up the space in the boot like other subs because of their size. But same time deliver good sound too. Anyways im not a fan of just bass ignoring everything else in music so these subs serve my purpose and better. Head unit is latest edition DNS 810 from audio sources. I had used RCD 510 with OE premium bluetooth kit earlier. To get navigation, back up cam and multimedia I added the multimedia box (which is integrated into the RCD 510 using the same touch screen) but was not really satisfied with the outcome. Later I installed the Blaupunkt Philadelphia 835. Till I used that head unit I had a good impression about blaupunkt. May be because its windows based or may be due to the processor quality, I'm not sure, but I was disappointed with the head unit for a few reasons like hang up issues, audio settings like EQ and sub woofer levels respond poorly, even though box says it can read so many video formats it's hard to find a video file that the system would read, etc. I felt like fitting back the OE bolero radio for its sound quality n performance is beyond compare to this head unit. But since I wanted navigation and multimedia I had to look for other models. And finally decided to try out Audiosources head unit DNS 810 which is their flagship model for VAG cars. Presently using in my car n I would not say the sound quality is very good (not happy with the sound quality, its just okay). In the beginning it pretty much sucked. But recently I got a firmware update from them and now it's better than before and could sound better if you really sit n tweak its parametric EQ and audio settings. Still this stereo is not recommended for audiophile listeners. I used to be very particular about audio quality. I remember the head unit, I mean just the pioneer head unit (amp., speakers, wiring and subwoofers all excluded) purchased for my Skoda Octavia costed me 2000USD. And it did sound apart from the other head units. It was totally worth the price. Back then my priority was pure discrete sound quality and sheer listening pleasure. But now I need navigation, multimedia for my wife and daughter for watching their movies and cartoons, etc. on long trips. Priorities have changed and I din't mind sacrificing a bit on the audiophile in me for the enjoyment of my family. DNS 810 does have some hang up issues but its better after the firmware upgrade. The good part is the UI which is replica of the OE system and not the usual funny looking Chinese made head units UI. It has good CAN compatibility which shows reverse cam picture overlapped with OPS display, supports MFSW, cluster display to some extent, can play any common video or audio format, supports common maps like mapmyindia, iGo maps etc. If maps were available for the Skoda Columbus (VW RNS 510) head unit, I would have definitely installed Rest are mostly DIYs with help from my friends when it comes to fibre glass work, final painting and finishing work, decal and vinyl work, etc. with parts sourced from various online shops around the globe. Fitting Muth mirror, shark fin antenna, back up camera, installing various head units, etc. were DIYs. Some fine touches done by 0-100 Autoworx, Kochi. Manoj at Autoworx is really helpful if you need any custom mods done to your car. His work is impressive. Enough typing and now lets see some pics!
An earlier pic with my bike on top
