Touareg Paddle Shift

[Moonan]

This is basically a duplicate of my post at ClubTouareg - it's great to share a good-news story!

(... for those who came in late - as the Phantom would say - Spockcat is a Touareg GURU in the US who moderates on CT and posts regularly on 'tex. In early 2005 he imported some steering column tiptronic paddle-shift parts from Europe and worked out the steps necessary to retrofit them to any auto Touareg. This option is apparently not available at all in the US. It certainly is not fitted to a lowly R5 in Oz. Spock operates an importation business and has made up some kits of Touareg etc gear for gadgetaholics which he sells on the net)


Well, I saw that Spock was (is) holding a sale on his paddle-shifter kits, and (as I explained patiently to SWMBO) it is not right to pass up a bargain... and I bought a set. US$340 shipped. Ordered on Sunday night, arrived Friday.

Using his website http://www.tm-techmark.com/tri.htm both for buying and installation instructions was a breeze.
The whole job took about 45 minutes, and then the challenge was to find a local VAGCOM on a Saturday afternoon in Newcastle. A couple of phone calls, and I found a most helpful guy called Ben Durie (http://bendurie.com.au), who operates a VW/Audi repair business at Teralba. Ben was happy to play at 4pm on a Saturday, and the VAGCOM operation was very easy. While he was at it, I got him to extend my "lane-change" blinker operation to 5 blinks.

It's all good.

(apologies for phone-camera image quality)




Now, for some mountain roads and off-road driving to get the most out of the paddles...

cheers,

..Neil

[brackie]

Good price and easy fitting. Who could ask for more? Let us know how they perform

[Moonan]

Well we went away for Easter, around 1000k over the 4 days. Through the NSW southern highlands, and down to a remote family campsite beyond Captains Flat, SE of Canberra...
The paddle shifts worked as advertised - that is: Excellent!
Some highlights..
1. Flick the (-) while in drive results in a change down that holds gear for 15 sec then back to D, unless... You make another change, OR you are going down a hill and relying on it for engine braking, in which case it holds until you hit the accelerator, then back to D.
2. Change down while in Cruise Control approaching the big dip to the Mooney Moonay Bridge on the F3: Treg holds ~115km/hr without runaway, and has more pull away for the climb back up after the bridge.
3. Change down any time one or two gears prior to any bend in a country road, and you not only greatly reduce your brake use, but also can avoid the automatic-driver's disease of braking into corners as you confidently drive right through the corner.
4. In low-range tiptronic - use the paddles on difficult terrain to hold the revs in the optimum torque band without taking hands off the wheel. Fantastic.