I'm seriously thinking about purchasing VCDS so that I can enable some extra options on my VRS such as HBA, TSR, Cornering fogs etc. I'm worried about bricking the controllers though as I am not experienced in using VCDS or fluent in German either ;-) My question is, can the controller settings be saved before making changes so that changes made can be easily reversed in the event of a mistake?

Yes you can save a scan which will save all the longcodes, then save an admap of each controller before you make changes, it’s not as simple as an ‘undo’ tab but all the info will be there to allow you to reverse things.

 

You can also pull up changes you have made, ie:

 

Address 09,5Q0 937 086 BR,channel ENG141647-ENG116594-Auflenlicht_Front-Tagfahrlicht Aktivierung durch BAP oder Bedienfolge moeglich,adapted from,

not active,

to,

active ,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Address 17,565 920 790 A,recoded (Long Coding),

from,

24AC001CEF84A6000188620B5001000880000000,

to,

24AC001CEF84A6000188720B5001000880000000,

(73430/031/00157),
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Address 09,5Q0 937 086 BR,channel ENG141647-ENG116593-Auflenlicht_Front-Tagfahrlicht-Dauerfahrlicht aktiviert zusaetzlich Standlicht,adapted from,

not active ,

to,

active ,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Address 09,5Q0 937 086 BR,channel IDE03638-ENG116676-static AFS light-Upper speed threshold,

adapted from,40.0 km/h,

to,

60.0 km/h,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(i have changed the format slightly to make it easier to read.)

Edited 10 February, 20197 yr by Gizmo

I'm sure that made sense to someone I was thinking the same and was worried about making a mess. Is that OBD Eleven any better? Or about the same?

 

(sorry for thread-jacking)

 

Nick

26 minutes ago, Maggle said:

...I am not experienced in using VCDS or fluent in German either...

 

 

33 minutes ago, Maggle said:

I'm seriously thinking about purchasing VCDS so that I can enable some extra options on my VRS such as HBA, TSR, Cornering fogs etc. I'm worried about bricking the controllers though as I am not experienced in using VCDS or fluent in German either ;-) My question is, can the controller settings be saved before making changes so that changes made can be easily reversed in the event of a mistake?

It's quite a learning curve of logic & translation, never fancied it myself, lots of guys will help you out for beer tokens.

 

@wg100 are you still helping out ? Northants ain't that far for you IIRC

17 minutes ago, NikTheGeek said:

I'm sure that made sense to someone I was thinking the same and was worried about making a mess. Is that OBD Eleven any better? Or about the same?

 

(sorry for thread-jacking)

 

Nick

It's the same if you are long coding and I highly recommend that you do, and don't try the apps. OBDEleven is slightly easier to use as there is a History tab which is easily accessible and shows the changes you have made. It also has a backup function to save adaptation maps and controller backups. 

13 minutes ago, themanwithnoaim said:

It's quite a learning curve of logic & translation, never fancied it myself, lots of guys will help you out for beer tokens.

 

@wg100 are you still helping out ? Northants ain't that far for you IIRC

 

Yes, I’m still available if people want to come over this way.

@Maggle wg100 did more than you are thinking of on my car, nice guy too. Certainly, the way to go if you're not wanting to do it yourself

I've got one and I've found it easy to use. Yes, the German side of things can be a pain, but not all the options / selection bits are in German. Plus, if you find a guide for a tweak you want to do, it's just a case of matching the letters with what's on the guide and what's on your screen.

 

As Gizmo says, you're able to save a copy of your 'map' before you do anything to your car. If you choose to sell it, or make a mistake, you're able to return it to how it used to be.

 

There are a lot of guides (including those on here) and a lot of people (again, loads of people on here) who can assist you with tweaks.

 

I 'invested' in one, as I plan to keep my car for a long time, so I'll be using it to keep an eye on how the vehicle is acting and if there are any reading out the ordinary. If there's something I can fix or replace myself I will, but if it needs to go in the garage, it'll allow me to tell them what needs doing and potentially save on diagnostic time.

Thanks for all the replies but I've now been confused further by the realisation that OBDEleven is a much cheaper option. So a new question, for someone looking to enable some adaptations for their own vehicle, what should I buy.....VCDS or OBDEleven???

If you think you are capable and are happy to do it, make sure you really know what you are doing and you find a value in having your own manufacturer specific code scanner (a must IMO with modern cars) then yes, go for OBDEleven. For the price, nothing comes close to what it can do. If you are just looking for a one off set of changes, it’s easier to pay someone local to do it. 

@SashaGrace I understand why you say that but I'm sure there will be some changes I make that I may decide after a week or so of living with them that they are changes I want to reverse or tweak slightly, so I'm thinking it'd be better and less hassle if I could do it myself anytime I want?

Don’t get me wrong, I would always recommend OBDEleven, it’s just a case of buyer beware. Don’t use the apps, don’t even consider the apps, get the pro pack and only use long coding and you should be grand. Also you get to keep the scanner and that is such a boon! I keep mine and my spare Android phone in the car just in case and it’s such a handy extra to have with the car. There is nothing of any great value that VCDS can do that OBDEleven can’t do IMO.

45 minutes ago, SashaGrace said:

Don’t get me wrong, I would always recommend OBDEleven, it’s just a case of buyer beware. Don’t use the apps, don’t even consider the apps, get the pro pack and only use long coding and you should be grand. Also you get to keep the scanner and that is such a boon! I keep mine and my spare Android phone in the car just in case and it’s such a handy extra to have with the car. There is nothing of any great value that VCDS can do that OBDEleven can’t do IMO.

Thanks for the recommendation, seems like OBDEleven and long coding is the answer. I love this forum so much great advice!

Personally, the fact that OBD eleven only works with their Bluetooth dongle grated. Which is why I have CarPort. 

 

There are various different flavours of the same thing, but some are more suitable for beginners than others, some require Android, others Windows. 

 

 - Bret

52 minutes ago, brettikivi said:

Personally, the fact that OBD eleven only works with their Bluetooth dongle grated. Which is why I have CarPort. 

 

There are various different flavours of the same thing, but some are more suitable for beginners than others, some require Android, others Windows. 

 

 - Bret

Ooooh, not heard of CarPort, looks like a diagnostic tool though and not software that can make changes to the vehicle in terms of options etc.???

5 minutes ago, Maggle said:

Ooooh, not heard of CarPort, looks like a diagnostic tool though and not software that can make changes to the vehicle in terms of options etc.???

Sorry, done further research and it does do coding and adaptations in the Pro version but it's twice the price of OBDEleven it would appear

Is Delphi any good for anything? I have access to one at work. But I assume it won't do specific coding things like turn corning fogs on?

 

Anyway, assuming I'm IT literate (I do work in IT, so I would hope so) and assuming I have both Windows laptops a plenty and Android devices coming out of my ears AND assuming price isn't an issue, which is best? VCDS or OBDeleven? I suppose I'm a bit oldskool and would gravitate towards my laptop given a choice, but then I have several android tablets looking for a use.

 

I would love to know, from those that have used both, which they think is the best one.

 

The thing that puts me off VCDS is the whole German thing

 

Kind regards,

 

Nick

I have had VCDS for 6 months or so and have now found my way around most of it on both mine and other vehicles, I have not yet come across any German text, there might have been the odd German word for a controller or function but if there was then there was an English description.

 

Perhaps it was a problem on earlier versions.

38 minutes ago, NikTheGeek said:

Is Delphi any good for anything? I have access to one at work. But I assume it won't do specific coding things like turn corning fogs on?

 

Anyway, assuming I'm IT literate (I do work in IT, so I would hope so) and assuming I have both Windows laptops a plenty and Android devices coming out of my ears AND assuming price isn't an issue, which is best? VCDS or OBDeleven? I suppose I'm a bit oldskool and would gravitate towards my laptop given a choice, but then I have several android tablets looking for a use.

 

I would love to know, from those that have used both, which they think is the best one.

 

The thing that puts me off VCDS is the whole German thing

 

Kind regards,

 

Nick

It’s going to be German on OBDEleven as well. I would go for OBDEleven because it’s cheaper. I bought it intending to move up to VCDS if needed but I’ve not needed it! OBDEleven has done everything I’ve needed including some pretty complex coding. I’m thinking of skipping VCDS and going straight for VCP as I don’t see anything in VCDS that I need that OBDEleven can’t do. VCDS cables are also VIN locked these days unless you pay many £££ but there is lifetime support for as long as you own the cable.

right. And CarPort will do all of it if you want. I have no idea about the German issue, and I've no idea what it might be. The localisation of all the products is pretty darned good, but I probably wouldn't notice any German anyway, since I speak it fluently. VCDS itself is US-American, ross-tech is an American company. The modules generally have German names because that's what they're internally called and consumers don't need to see them.

 

There are some things you can't do with VCDS that you can do with VCP; there are doubtless others that you can't do with CarPort. There will also be things you can't do with OBD eleven. 

 

Pricing-wise; OBD11 goes for €65 (pro version with dongle). Requires OBD 11 dongle.

CarPort requires a cable at €30 and then €10 for simple OBD and €80 for the complete version, so totals at €120. No dongle, so if you already have an older cable, this should work. 1 year of updates included. 

VCDS for 3 cars is $200.

VCP is €240, then subscriptions are necessary.

 

 - Bret

I was in a similar situation a couple of months ago.

I'd replied on others for my Mk2 Octy, but thought I'd become a little more self-reliant with my new car.

I wasn't planning on offering my services - I had to learn the product myself and to be honest, I'd rather not be playing around with a car that wasn't mine, so the 3 VIN version of VCDS would be fine for me.

In the end I went VCDS.

 

It's powerful, exactly what it can do is unmatched by anything out there - there is a reason why it is seen as "the" diagnostic tool on the market and has a price to match.

I found the learning curve hard and I seemed to find a very secretive community - people who knew how to use VCDS, but didn't necessarily want to share that knowledge, plenty of people willing to do the bits for you however.

 

If you take the VCDS route make sure full scans are taken and everything can be "put right" should it all go wrong. But I've used it a fair bit, it will be used in the future. If I still with VAG I've got it for 2 more cars and if I don't, it'll always sell despite only having 2 VINs left.

12 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

It’s going to be German on OBDEleven as well. I would go for OBDEleven because it’s cheaper. I bought it intending to move up to VCDS if needed but I’ve not needed it! OBDEleven has done everything I’ve needed including some pretty complex coding. I’m thinking of skipping VCDS and going straight for VCP as I don’t see anything in VCDS that I need that OBDEleven can’t do. VCDS cables are also VIN locked these days unless you pay many £££ but there is lifetime support for as long as you own the cable.

 

I've not used OBDeleven. It does seem to be cheaper but it says it is a cloud app so it won't work without an internet connection. It also mentions something about credits that you have to buy. Are these expensive and how quickly do you chew through them? I'm always nervous of apps that take your money slowly. It's easy to lose sight of how much you're actually paying. At least with VCDS, I know how much it will cost from day one.

 

With the pro version of OBD11 you don't use the credits for long coding. So once you own the device you are good to go.  The credits are for the in app 'apps' to auto code things.  They are not recommended as you don't quite know what they are changing.  Any long coding can be more easily traced and returned to stock.  Therefore no credits needed.

As above, once you buy it there is no ongoing spend if you are long coding and not using the apps and I highly recommend you don’t use the apps. It is cloud based so you will need WiFi while you are working. I tether my cheap android phone to my iPhone when I’m working. I’ve not spent a penny more than the £35 for the device and £22 for the PRO pack.