Best products from r/tdi

Sure, you could put LEDs in, but you'd get the illusion of better seeing distance along with glaring every other driver on the road. Your lamps are fine, they just need good, high-performance halogen bulbs, not LEDs, which don't work and are annoying to other drivers. I bet when you put one of these high-performance H7s in, you'll like your low and high-beam performance.

I'd give either one of these a shot before springing for more expensive, and likely worse, LEDs:

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-X-treme-Vision-Headlight-Bulbs/dp/B00NMEEV9W/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=h7+philips&qid=1562034700&s=automotive&sr=1-3

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-RacingVision-Headlight-12972RVS2-Upgrade/dp/B01LWPJF1J/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=h7+philips&qid=1562034700&s=automotive&sr=1-6

The Racing Vision is slightly better than the Xtreme Vision, but both are WAY better than old, stock bulbs. The Racing Vision will last slightly shorter than the Xtreme Vision, so it's your choice. Personally, I'd go with the Racing's, as I prefer as much light as possible.

About $18 or $24 dollars to try, guaranteed to be WAY better than the bulbs you have now, won't cause glare issues, and free returns if you don't like 'em. Better than springing for $50+ crappy LEDs from China.

Also, make absolutely sure the headlamp housing is free of any haze, yellowing, or other age-related conditions. Even if you put the best, most insanely precise and powerful H7 bulb in, you will not get good results unless the headlamp lens is clear. Given it's a 2005 model, chances are it's already yellowed and dingy looking unless it was parked in the shade or garage all the time.

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Want proof that you don't need LEDs to see much further??

https://teknikensvarld.se/vart-test-avslojar-vilka-lampor-som-ger-bast-ljus-pa-bilen-181624/

The high-performance halogen bulbs all give at least 50 more feet of seeing distance! And that's over a brand new stock bulb. Your aged, used stock bulbs will have even worse performance because of dendritic growth on the filament, so you can easily expect 50+ feet of seeing distance at night with a simple $18 (or $24) upgrade. You won't be getting that with any LED on the market, as they have much poorer optical focus than halogens.

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Source: I am a lighting engineer who tries to save people money by recommending quality halogen products, not crappy imported Chinese LEDs, and I don't make any money off my recommendations. I don't use any Amazon ref links, as people who recommend LEDs generally do.

If you have the tools ahead of time (unlike me), I would say it's definitely doable in about an hour.

You'll want a wiper assembly tool like this one:

https://smile.amazon.com/Amon-Tech-Windscreen-Remover-Removal/dp/B01HJBM2WG/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=39LZHU7SU7KN6&keywords=wiper+arm+removal+tool&qid=1557626963&s=gateway&sprefix=wiper%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

I got mine from my local O'Reilly because I was determined to get it done that day. Otherwise, I would have planned ahead and ordered it.

Then to cut the ends off of the drain, I had to get a long-handled set of needle nose pliers from Walmart like these:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/8-Nose-Pliers-Sbln8p/34771013

I ended up just kind of pulling and tearing those little flaps off. My hands are too big and I couldn't even reach the driver side with scissors. It was so frustrating, but only because I was unprepared... The wiper assembly doesn't just come off, so I let it soak a few times with the PB Blaster. I honestly thought I was never going to get it, so I was pretty ecstatic when it started budging. YouTube is a good resource for this part if you're unfamiliar. Good luck! Let me know if I can help further!

Definitely don’t delete unless you plan to:

(1) aftermarket your exhaust and ECU tune. I recommend Malone Tuning. BuzzKen sells kits for hardware.

(2) Or, you could get a LiquiMoly DPF professional cleaning kit online. https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Line-Diesel-Particulate-Filter-Cleaning/dp/B00O82GAGE

(3) Go to a truck shop and have them remove it and bake/ultrasonic clean it and reinstall it.

Cost-wise, option 2 and 3 might be best.

Long-term, a delete and tune might be best for longevity if you live in a state where emissions inspections won’t happen.

Here is the link!

VLand
The music in the video is my favourite part.

If you’re using this video to install the vland tails, know that you don’t have to go to the lengths of removing the hatch light or upper- quarter panels all the way off. You can very easily pry the trim all around he hatch opening, just enough to fish the sequential twindicator cable through with a stiff wire such as a coat hanger or a grabber tool.

Also if you don’t already own one, pick up a trim removal kit on amazon from $7-$50 depending on brand and quality I did mine with an $16 one, super handy.

Good luck!

amazon trim kit

Pretty cheap one, but works great and holds the phone in place... you could double sided tape it too, but it stays put and you can just move it out of the way and still access your ashtray. I bought a 5v hardwire adapter kit for $10 and ran it to the fuse box...

Wireless Charger car Wireless Charging pad qi 10W Quick Charger Thin Wireless car Charger Charging pad Wireless Phone Charger 7.5W/5W Wireless Charging Station Dock glaxys9 Charger s8 s6s7 note8(C3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GZZX37F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pL7pDbT3877EC

I like the built in solutions, but most of the reviews say their phone slides off the charger constantly, so I went with this...

Yeah. I did a top-fill using a nifty tool from Amazon. I drained using the exterior metal plug and let it stop. Then removed the inner plastic tube and let it drain all the way out. While that was goin I removed the battery and intake box, removed the filter and cleaned the inner threads as well as the filter housing. Applied clean fluid around the new seal and replaced in the channel it sits in. I then replaced the inner tube drain plug and stuck my funnel and tube tool directly into the hole where the filter rests and filled 1L at a time. Then replaced the exterior drain plug hand-tight and let the transmission get up to temperature. Car was fairly hot from driving earlier in the day still so it was pretty quick to drain and get back up to temp. Let it run and then removed the metal plug to drain excess and then torqued it back in with the fresh washer. Easy peasy!

The tool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EH4V0Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_xVzKBbGV45VK5

This particular outlet is sold under a few different brands. I went with wifi units based off an ESP32, but hindsight, when I buy a new place I'm probably going to switch to Z-Wave equipment because it seems to be a little more robust, plus it won't crowd up your wifi access point and you don't have to worry about vulnerabilities as much.

Only real problem I've had with these is maybe every six months one will randomly disconnect and I have to power cycle it to get reconnected to internet. Nice advantage, I haven't gone full hog with home assistant stuff yet because these are easy and integrate with google home and IFTTT very well.

I just picked up these for my '13 JSW. A bit pricier than some of the other universal models offered on Amazon but at ~$150 they're still half the price of the OEM or comparable Thule/Yakima bars. I like the fact that they use a metal strap that wraps around the raised roof rails rather than just a clamp mechanism like some of the other universal brands. I've had them on the car for a week now and so far so good. There is a pretty audible whistle above 40 mph but I can't tell if it's from the crossbars themselves or the bike racks I have mounted. It's by no means unbearable but at 70+ mph is certainly noticeable with the radio off.

Cool, thanks. I think I'll use this so I can see bubbles and whatnot, like the small clear section in the factory lines. Would you happen to know if clear line has any major longevity issues compared to regular rubber line?

Nice! They look great! I actually have the same car you do but in silver... i'm also considering grabbing some news wheels and perhaps the diesel geek short shifter with the settlement check.

You should consider grabbing these window visors, relatively inexpensive and work / look great!

Honestly. Really well. Better than I expected for sure. Would recommend. Just to note in my case the vents were already broken, not caused by magnet use.

I bought these.

I replaced my cam shaft and lifters on my 05.5 brm at ~135k miles (now have 220k+) pretty much using this link and a service manual, if you're at all mechanical savvy. All-in I was about $800 in parts and accessories if I remember correctly. Definitely seek out a diesel guru from tdi club for a second opinion. I had a dealer tell me my car was totaled at the time.

To do the cam shaft you'll need some special tools. If you're looking at doing the work yourself, send me a PM. I have the tools and may be able to send them to you.

Edit this is the manual I referenced

Not sure what priorities you have, but my #1 need is visibility. So many dash cams hang down into your eye line. This model (or ones with the same form factor) are my favorite:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X528FNE

I put mine right behind the rear view mirror. I can’t see it, passengers can’t see it, and no one else notices it when the car is parked. You can hang it a little lower if you want to see the screen, but I’m happy with it invisibility recording.

And for what it’s worth, I’ve always wired mine to a source that turns on and off with the car. It records for a few minutes after it looses power, and I’ve never wanted more than that.

It's funny because it's true. Now if you'll excuse me I just got my triple square driver so I can un-jam the middle seatbelt in my Sportwagen.

I had a friend that works for VW help me replace mine (2000 new beetle with 1.9L TDI). You need a set of specific tools to do the job properly: https://www.amazon.com/Timing-Belt-Tool-Set-Tdi/dp/B003LUG11I

I will say anecdotally that my cousin ran rotella in his alh beetle, and it just so happened that while he was using it, 2 of his lifters crapped out. Engine had around 125k on it. Now, rotella is fabulous oil, and like I said, it's anecdotal, but my BiL owned the car for a few years (around 35k miles), and used liquid moly exclusively, and between his bhw swapped allroad, handful of mk4's (alh and bew), and my bhw b5.5, they've always ran much smoother with liquid moly, and never had any issues with it.

I grabbed this fog light kit from ebay and this euro switch from amazon. The setup works great.

I'm gonna suggest this as well. I got a tablet mount that attaches to the seat rail, I have a Motorola Xoom. Have all my customized gauges and it looks awesome. Tablet mount required some modification to get it to fully seat in seat rail.

http://imgur.com/Q84oESA
http://imgur.com/POb2xKY
http://imgur.com/0aGX7aV


BAFX Products - Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool - For check engine light & diagnostics - Android ONLY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NLQAHS/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Y2rDub1GZ1XAC

Arkon Seat Rail Floor Car Truck Mount with 18 inch Gooseneck for iPad Air iPad 2 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00585CLSQ/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_A3rDub100X8JA

I use a bluetooth ODB2 module and Torque on my phone. Not only does my dash speedometer report as much as 5mph slower than GPS measures, but when Torque reads the speedometer value directly from the CANbus it gets the same value my GPS shows.

The car knows how fast it's going, but the damn dash display fudges the number so I think I'm driving faster than I really am!

This is the one I'm using:
http://amzn.com/B005NLQAHS

Only issues I've had with it were not being able to read any codes on a Prius, but I kinda assumed that was a hybrid thing. Seems to work well for my VW.