gcp

Hello to all, and wishes for a very happy new year. I have just returned from a longish road trip over the holidays (details on the Yeti's snow prowess to follow in a separate post with pictures - I was well impressed!), during which I had a problem with my -recently tuned- Yeti. It started while on the highway, when I started noticing the revs rising slightly and then dropping when accelerating hard in 5th or 6th gear. I initially thought this was an issue with the new map not holding overboost properly. Turns out that the problem started getting worse and worse, until I realised that it was actually the clutch slipping. The probelm got worse (in retrospect, this was probably due to the constant slipping taking its toll on the clutch and overheating it), reaching the point that whenever I tried accelerating hard in any gear from 3rd upwards the clutch would slip significantly and the car would not accelerate. I need to point out that all of this happened while traveling to northern Greece, and with the temperatures dropping significantly (the problem started at about 3-4 oC, and temperatures dropped as low as -14 oC on several occasions). As soon as I diagnosed the actual source of the problem I started taking it very easy with the throttle to save the clutch and make sure I got home with no problems. The interesting thing is, though, that on the way back, and as soon as temperatures started rising above 5 oC or so, the problem disappeared. Similar conditions (highway driving, foot down in 5th or 6th) but no slip! I was wondering whether anyone has any ideas about what is going on. I am certain that the Stage 1 remap had something to do with it, as it seems too coincidental that the problem occured on the first trip I took right after getting the map. On the other hand, I had been driving the car for several days in urban and motorway conditions without any problems before setting off for the road trip. It seems like the combination of increased torque and low temperatures had something to do with it, but I can't be sure. I will, of course, be talking to the people at Revo to investigate further and hopefully shed some light, but I was wondering whether any of you have any ideas of why the clutch could misbehave at low ambient temperatures. Keep in mind that the car is 2 years old, with about 20k miles on the clock and not any particular abuse having been inflicted on the clutch...

Hahaha, no reason on my side to keep it a secret, it's just that a previous post I made on a related thread was removed, and it contained mention of the company. It was a Revo map, as they are represented in Greece and I feel more confident going with a "global" brand rather than the local tuners. I had previously enquired with Shark to see if I could somehow get their map remotely, but this was before the tuners had "cracked" the new ECUs and was informed that it would have needed to be physically accessed in order to tune it. I guess that remote tuning (through an STS) may now be possible, but I had already made up my mind to go with Revo (who also have local after-sales support), and the end-of-year sale clinched it. Hope this doesn't also get removed, though I fail to see any reason why it should be - I have seen several brands of different parts being mentioned on here with no problems.

Ever since buying the Yeti, I have been pondering on getting it remapped to give it a little extra oomph. As it turns out, it took me almost two years to finally do it, due to a number of reasons. I did not want to get the remap before the engine was properly run-in, and having moved from naturally-aspirated cars (my own 2nd generation MX5 1.8 and the wife's BMW 116i) I was initially extremely happy with the torque and power of the stock motor. But, as they say, you can never have enough horsepower, and I had started to grow accustomed to the stock power, and have always thought the the motor ran out of steam quite early in the rev band. So, when one of the reputable international tuning houses (name withheld, as I think a couple of my posts where I previously mentioned their name were removed for some reason...) came out with their end-of-year sale I decided to take the plunge. I took the car in yesterday and it was a simple plug-in-and-upload job through the OBDII port. I was lucky in that respect, as my car has one of the later Bosch ECUs that -up until last month- needed to be taken out and "benched" in order to unlock it. After the upload we took the car out for a spin, where logging and fine-tuning took place. I did not have the car dyno'd, as my boy-racer days are behind me and did not care that much about absolute numbers, but more about how the car feels on the road. A torque figure was mentioned at some point, but I guess this is an estimate based on the logs and thus is not very reliable, so I will refrain from mentioning any numbers. What is important to me is that the car now feels exactly like I wanted it - I couldn't help remembering Lee's (Yeti_Man) comments about how worthwhile a Stage 1 remap is. I can feel the torque pick up at 2k rpm, pretty much as previously, but the absolute amount of it is worlds apart. Cruising on the highway I now need to remind myself not to downshift in order to overtake, as the car just presses on in any gear and at any rpm. Finally, my main complaint with the stock mapping, i.e. the lack of power at the top end, is now completely gone. The car pushes and pushes all the way to the redline if one is thus inclined, though the gains all across the rev band make this mostly unnecessary. Also, judging by about 24 hours of experience, it looks like the claims on reduced consumption could also be valid -at least in everyday driving where speeds are dictated by the overall traffic flow rather than one's hooniganism- as the car can be driven much more comfortably with one gear higher compared to the stock mapping. Overall I'm chuffed and can't wait to see how the car behaves on a long-ish road trip we have coming up around New Year's. I'm quite sure this will only serve to highlight a couple of other areas that I think need slight improvements (namely stiffer ARBs and brake feel / durability, plus I am a bit concerned about what the oil temperature will do if pressing on during a Greek summer heatwave, so an oil cooler may be on the cards), but I'll try to restrain myself and not go entirely down the road that Lee and Richard have (can't really afford it...) One thing is certain, in terms of "bang for buck" this is one sweet mod!

Thanks Darrell, I've spoken to Lee in the past and have been admiring his monster for a while now - it's pretty much the perfect all-rounder as far as I'm concerned. It's more my own paranoia than anything else, one of those "you never know what could go wrong" thoughts. I've read horror stories of engines developing fuelling issues and cutting out / going on "limp" mode after remaps and -no matter how rare- if I were to be unlucky enough for something like this to happen I would rather be close to home. When I push the engine I really push it, but on the other hand I'm also quite paranoid about taking care of it as much as I can (always take it easy when cold, allowing it to idle to cool off before turning it off, changing the oil every 6-7k miles) after having cracked a turbo in a 20VT Leon I used to own, so I doubt I should have any problems.

After several months of contemplating this, I am also about to take the plunge and get my 1.8 TSI remapped. I had a talk with Revo here in Athens last week, and as they have just announced an end-of-year sale I am probably going to have it done over the coming weeks. The main reason for opting for Revo is the reputation of their dealer in Athens, which seems to be more reliable than others. They claim a power boost to about 210bhp on 95RON fuel, and a torque increase to about 34kgm (not sure what that is in lb ft, sorry!). I had contacted Shark in the past, as they come highly recommended by many people on here, but as my Yeti is a later pre-FL model the ECU needs to be physically removed to be remapped, so I couldn't have an STS be sent by post to do it remotely. I'm looking for pretty much what the OP is, i.e. a fatter torque curve all over, with possibly some additional grunt at the top end where the factory tune seems to run out of steam. My main dilemma at the moment is whether to get the tune before Christmas, when I'm planning a longish road trip to enjoy the power gains, or wait until after the trip in case any reliability issues come up, which I would rather deal with while around Athens rather than in the middle of nowhere.

If nothing works, the next thing I would do would be to check the fuses. It's a long shot (I would have thought that the AFS motors would probably be on the same circuit with other things, so a blown fuse would manifest itself through more malfunctions), but still worth checking. It's hard to think of much else that could lead to both motors giving up the ghost simultaneously. A steering angle sensor maybe? I also think that the moving Xenons are one of the best features of the car, so much so that I usually turn them off when pootling around well-lit roads to "save" the motors from unnecessary wear. Paranoid, and probably completely pointless, I know...

The swivel function is quite noticeable on dipped beam as well, though -as previously mentioned- above a certain speed (from memory, it should be something like 20-30mph, not more). First thing I would do is check the Maxidot - it is indeed under "Assistants", there is a checkbox titled "Bend Lighting" which should be ticked for the function to work.

So , muddyboots, any first impressions on the Xenarcs? As you can tell I'm getting itchy fingers but would love to hear your initial experience with them before ordering...

I'm no VCDS expert, but having done a quick search it looks like taillight clusters have been replaced by similar LED items in a variety of VAG cars that have had them available for a longer time (e.g. R32 clusters for the Golf) and the fault codes have been successfully coded away through VCDS (e.g. http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showpost.php?p=597793&postcount=87). I would guess that something similar could be done for the Yeti, I would be surprised if your garage could not figure it out.

I also have a set of Vectors for the winter (using the OEM Contis for the summer to save the Vectors from the Greek summer heat) and can confirm that I am delighted with their wet weather / snow performance. I think, however, that the OP has a very specific request, namely better resistance against punctures. Clearly there is no mass market tyre that will be completely nail / shard resistant, but I think that increasing a tyre's chances of resisting puncture depends on a variety of factors - I would suggest a stiff sidewall construction and "hard" rubber compound. In my experience neither of these is a characteristic of the Vectors. If anything, I can feel the sidewalls are quite a bit more compliant than my summer tyres, and I'm sure that the wet / snow performance is in large part due to a softer compound. I think the OP's best bet would indeed be to look at summer tyres which -like for like- would have stiffer sidewalls and rubber than an all-season tyre. I'm afraid I don't have any specific suggestions between different brands / models. Depending on how far you are willing to go to avoid punctures, I'm sure that AT tyres have even better characteristics in that aspect, as they're made to withstand sharp rocks and the like when going off-road. But, again, this would only serve to slightly increase your chances of avoiding puncture and would do nothing against a well-placed nail on the road.

I'm afraid I'm being a victim of marketing, but that 20% discount is really tempting as I'm already thinking about buying these... Must... resist...

Thanks for the info muddyboots, I'm really interested to see how much of a difference these could make. Tbh I hadn't seen these, I had my eyes set on the Silverstars but -judging by a previous post of yours I found- it looks like the Nightbreakers are the successor of the Silverstars (and another 30 euros or so more expensive apiece...)

If you do take the plunge, please share your impressions! I am very happy with my bi-xenons (especially compared to any of the other cars in the family stable), but can't help but wonder how much of a difference the Osrams would make...

Ahhhh, it all makes sense then. Thanks everyone for clearing that up!

Interesting... Then what does the cluster (marked in red) do? I thought those were the sensors for the auto-dipping mirror...

Looking at this picture and comparing it with my own, it looks like the difference does indeed have to do with the auto-dipping mirror. I am guessing that the cluster behind the sunroof knob in the picture above contains the sensors for this, which seems to be what forces the cat's eyes to be fitted further forward. As previously mentioned, my Yeti does not have this but does have the pano roof fitted, and the cat's eyes are fitted further back - and are fully functional.

Here you go! I have confirmed that the "cat's eyes" only come on when the headlights are on (at least in dipped beam, will have to check if this also works with just the sidelights on). I do not have a rain sensor or a dipping mirror fitted, but I do have the auto lights. Not sure how that affects mirror positioning compared to the other options. Unfortunately it was already quite bright in the morning so I could not take a picture of where the lights shine on, but I can confirm that they illuminate the area just ahead of the gearlever.

No worries, I'll try to snap a couple of pics and post them tomorrow morning if I remember

I also have a panoramic roof in my Yeti and also have the cat's eyes. I remember them shining down around the area of the gear lever and the little cubbyhole in front of it, but not sure under what conditions (ambient light, headlight configuration etc) this happens. I will check it out over the next couple of days and try to snap a few pics as well.

Something about this post feels a little out of tune...

I have actually bought the bars in question, but I'm afraid I have not used them yet, so can't comment on anything apart from my buying experience and what came in the box. Delivery did not go smoothly, the bars arrived about a week later than originally quoted (hence did not have the chance to use them, I had to get creative with the interior layout to haul the load that I needed the bars for). Do keep in mind, though, that I am located in Greece, which may have had something to do with it. The bars seem to be of pretty good quality, as do all the fittings. They come with a channel that is compatible with the T-fittings widely available for fitting racks, roof boxes and such. I went for the black finish, which no longer seems to be available. Just as well, I guess, as the durability of the finish is the only concern I have regarding the bars. As you may have already figured, I only have very occasional need for the bars, so I'm quite happy having spent much less for a "slim" profile set compared to the big-brand alternatives. Edit: Forgot to mention that the "lock and key" consist of slightly flimsy plastic affairs, shaped kind of like a large hex screw head and corresponding plastic key. Not much of a key at all, if you ask me. I tried contacting the seller to see if there is any way I can replace that with proper lock cores from Thule or another manufacturer, but have not had any communication from them. If someone is willing to give it another shot, I'd be very happy to hear if this is possible!

Living in Greece (which I guess is quite close in terms of weather to the South of France), I have also fitted Vector 4Seasons as we rarely get the type of weather that would merit full-on winter tyres to be fitted. Additionally, even in winter temperatures are commonly above the 7oC mark where winters start performing better. Unfortunately I have not yet had the chance to test them on snow, as we have had a very mild winter this year, but I can also attest to their wet weather performance. I am, however, planning on switching back to my old, part-worn summers in May or thereabout to get me through the summer, as temperatures are usually above 30oC (and often above 40oC) in the summer, and I am worried that the softer compound of the Vectors would not cope so well. The idea is to then go back to the Vectors as soon as we start having some rain and lower temperatures come October.

If only it were LHD, and we didn't have ridiculous import duties over here... You would have already gotten a cheque in the mail Yeti_Man! I do hope you'll reconsider selling though, I doubt Beti will find as good a home, and you will definitely be missed on here. Out of general interest, what will you be driving if you let Beti go?

Quite a bit of info on the subject here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/300210-wing-mirror/ Hope it helps!

Yeah, I remember that! The link was: http://www.club-yeti...p?t=1191&page=9 and the post link is: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/264187-lower-fog-lights/ As mentioned above, the consensus was that it is indeed a Photoshop job.