Plans for my A2

Mihai

Member
Hello everyone!

I thought I would start this thread as a way to keep track of the progress with my A2, and maybe receive some advice along the way! Here was my original post about the car https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/just-bought-a-1-4-petrol-advice-needed.40846/ which has a slightly negative tone, because of my experience with the dealer at the time, so I thought to start fresh!


It is a brilliant black 1.4i Sport with platinum interior (cloth sports seat with jacquard lines). Initially I had my eyes on a black FSI with OSS and Bose, which however turned out to have the EML on...I still think about that car sometimes. However, although the one I got in the end doesn't have all the bells and whistles, I am very fond of it, and it's an absolute pleasure to drive. My girlfriend who isn't much of a car person but loves animals, affectionately named it "Little Snout".


Things I've done so far:
- bought Monroe Reflex shocks and Spidan springs for the front axle, and had them fitted along with new mounts and bearings at my local VW indie garage;
- had the split ball joint covers replaced (a kind member pointed out that it's not necessary to change the whole cast iron wishbone, which saved me a few hundred pounds!)
- had a cat back stainless steel exhaust system fitted by Infinity exhausts;
- the aircon stopped working last winter and, so my local garage diagnosed it and they changed the ventilation fan and the regulating resistor...the bill was quite a shock.
- fitted a bluetooth connection
- changed the headlight switch and climate buttons, which were covered with stickers that were starting to peel off, with hard touch ones
- changed the fuel cap button with a brand new one

Plans for the near future:
- rear suspension refresh (it is in quite a state at the moment, dust covers have broken loose from the bump stops, which are really knackered, and the bottom plates of the springs are missing)
- perhaps new wheels (I am currently on a set of 17" sports wheels)
- one thing that I'd really like would be for the mirror lights of the sun-visors to work again. Not sure exactly what happened there, there are lights fitted, however when I took out the sun visors one time I noticed there's no wiring whatsoever.
- perhaps Bose... (I wonder if someone could tell me how big of a difference it makes, and for what types of music. I have to say so far I find the ordinary Concert system already superior to what I've heard in most other cars!)

However, before I get to that, there are two things that worry me a bit, because I think they might break the bank: one is that I believe a clutch change is imminent, because the biting point is quite high; the other thing is that every so often I get quite a reluctant 1st gear. I find it particularly difficult to move the gear shifter to the left, from the neutral position. It's quite weird, I could go an entire trip without that being a problem, and some other time it keeps happening. I wonder if anyone could advise me on that.


Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
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It may be worth having the clutch fluid bled. I’ve managed to improve the biting point on a 1.4 by doing this. The 1.4 does seem to bite quite high anyway.
 
The 1.4 does seem to bite quite high anyway.

My 1.4 doesn't! The clutch pedal is pretty much all the way to the floor when it starts biting. In 60 years of driving I've never known a car like it. It's the one thing I''m less than 100% enthusiastic about with the car, since it means I have to sit further forward than normal.
 
- had a cat back stainless steel exhaust system fitted by Infinity exhausts;

Hope you found that as beneficial as I did with my 1.4.

Refreshing the rear suspension is pretty painless cost-wise, since access is pretty straightforward.

The time to worry about your clutch is when you find it starting to slip under severe load. A2steve's suggestion of renewing the clutch fluid may well be worth taking up though.
 
@steve_c Have you checked the clutch line down from the brake reservoir for deterioration or softness? It could be expanding before the slave reaches the clutch bite point, also the slave could be failing, contaminated, full of debris or just in need of a good flush / bleed.
 
@steve_c Have you checked the clutch line down from the brake reservoir for deterioration or softness? It could be expanding before the slave reaches the clutch bite point, also the slave could be failing, contaminated, full of debris or just in need of a good flush / bleed.

I haven't. The car's been like it certainly since I bought it on 69k miles four years ago. I've pretty much learned to live with it, but maybe I'll discuss it with my garage when the car's serviced in a couple of months time.
 
Many people do not correctly change the brake fluid at the correct intervals. They bleed the brakes but do not bleed the clutch either through lack of knowledge or incorrectly assuming the clutch and brakes do not utilise the same reservoir. Four years you are due a fluid flush / change now anyway.
 
Many people do not correctly change the brake fluid at the correct intervals. They bleed the brakes but do not bleed the clutch either through lack of knowledge or incorrectly assuming the clutch and brakes do not utilise the same reservoir. Four years you are due a fluid flush / change now anyway.

I've now checked through my service record. My clutch was bled along with the brakes both in 2017 and 2019 when the car had its major service. Let's not continue this discussion any further, since it's a swerve off Mihai's thread.
 
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Yes Steve not trying to hijack the thread just adding in the possibility of poor maintenance playing its part. Perhaps the bleed / flush may help @Mihai gear selection.
 
Perhaps Bose... (I wonder if someone could tell me how big of a difference it makes, and for what types of music. I have to say so far I find the ordinary Concert system already superior to what I've heard in most other cars!)
The A2's audio system is divided into two separate 'pieces'; the head unit, and the speaker package.

The Head Units
The head unit is the thing that you see and touch. The Chorus, Concert and Symphony are basically all the same, except some play tapes, some play CDs and some play both.

The Speaker Packages
There were three speaker packages available in the A2...
1) The 4-speaker system features standard speakers in the front doors only.
2) The 8-speaker system features standard speakers in all four doors.
3) The 9-speaker Bose system features uprated speakers, tweeters, a subwoofer and external amplifiers.

All head units can be combined with all speaker packages.

Bose is the best speaker package. The head unit needs to have a minor software change made in order to work correctly with the Bose system, but there's otherwise nothing different about the head units fitted in Bose-equipped A2s than in non-Bose A2s. Whenever I do Bose system installations for fellow club members, a replacement head unit is not part of the equation; I simply need to ensure that the necessary software change is made.
I have the Concert 2 head unit installed in my A2, in combination with Bose.

Bose is an excellent car stereo. Outside my work on A2s, I design and build recording studio audio systems, so am spoilt by regularly listening to music on serious precision equipment. Before I retrofitted Bose to my own A2, I didn't play the car stereo much; by the time there's any volume behind it, the bass is distorting and the treble has become shrill and piercing. I used to have a list of 'banned albums' that I wouldn't play in the car. Bose changed that. When I'm away from home, it's wonderful to have a source of quality sound with me, wherever I go.

If I only ever listened to BBC Radio 4 in my car, I'd consider the Bose system to be the greatest waste of money. But if you like listening to music while you drive, whatever genre it might be, the Bose system is a wonderful upgrade.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Hope you found that as beneficial as I did with my 1.4.
Yes, it made a big difference, and it's a great recommendation! In fact it was amazing to see how every bit of work I had done on the car has made it noticeably nicer to drive. Seeing as the clutch is not slipping, so no need to worry about it yet, I went ahead and had the rear suspension changed. At this point, the car drives like a dream. Now it's time for the fun upgrades: I'm waiting for Timmus to fit me in for a certain audio upgrade... ? I thought, as a musician, that's something I can't not have! (and just as I bought the Bose, one of my tweeters started making some strange noises, so great timing).

I also met @Proghound the other day, and had a great time chatting with him, as I got the set of Ronal wheels he was selling! I think I might make those my winter wheels.

Thank you for all the replies and wish you all a great weekend!
 
It was a pleasure to meet you @Mihai, likewise I enjoyed our chat and a look at your lovely A2. I hope the wheels don't need too much fettling to work for you.
 
Might be worth having a look at this thread regarding BOSE installations and musical tastes etc.
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But I'll agree to @timmus' advice that if you're only listening to talky tapes then it's not worth it, as the standard units are pretty good on their own.
 
Might be worth having a look at this thread regarding BOSE installations and musical tastes etc.
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But I'll agree to @timmus' advice that if you're only listening to talky tapes then it's not worth it, as the standard units are pretty good on their own.
ah, that's brilliant!! In fact I was just listening the other day to "Also sprach Zarathustra" and it really showed the limitations of the standard 8-speaker system... Can't wait for Bose!
 
Today I had some extra time on my hands, and had the "brilliant" idea to try and do a gear linkage cable adjustment, to get rid of the sloppy first gear. I took the gear stick gaiter off and noticed someone had already made a whole before, so I could use that workaround and not take the whole centre console off. Unfortunately, someone before me had also broken the black locking pin for the gearbox (urgh!) so I had to use dieselgeek's more complicated method for doing this with a broken pin (
).

Some tense moments passed... Now, for better or for worse I can engage all gears reliably, and I would say 1st and 2nd feel better than before. However, when in neutral the gear stick seems to be slightly tilted backwards. And the gears that go down on the stick, need slightly less movement than those that go up (at least that's my perception). My question is...is this something to worry about? Should I try and do it again? Or should I ask someone more skilled?

Cheers
 
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Drive it for a couple of days. Then if not comfortable go through the adjustment process as before just make sure you follow the instructions to the letter.
 
The latest instalment in my A2 adventures was having the Bose retrofitted by none other than @timmus . This was where I saw the magic of the A2OC community more than ever! First, I got the Bose set from @Erlingtheelder, who was very helpful in arranging the most convenient way for me to collect. Then, I managed to get a booking in Tom's busy schedule, while he was working on A2s in the South East, from Ian's place. When I first heard that the retrofit was going to take six hours I was a bit surprised, and realised I had clearly not appreciated fully the complexity of retrofitting a Bose system in a way that in the end is identical to cars which had it from factory.
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I presented myself at 8am in Leighton Buzzard and what a treat it was to spend a full morning with Tom, seeing him at work, chatting, and asking all the questions I could think of. Everything went smoothly until the very end, when my stereo had a very original fault - it would not connect to VCDS. The retrofitting was complete, I had all the speakers and the amplifier, however the Concert unit would not send the right signal for the Bose configuration. While Tom was trying to get "inside" the stereo somehow, Ian @Proghound made an announcement in the Market section, and within the shortest time, @slumdog came to the rescue and donated a concert unit!

I came back one week later, got to see Ian and Tom again, and left with an incredible sound system in my car! And functioning check straps. Oh...and just as I was about to go, Tom spotted something wrong with my rear seats (they were not attached properly to the floor, the previous owner had gotten them out of sync) and him and Ian fixed that in a few seconds.

All my thanks to Tom, for his work and perfectionism, and extra time he spent on Friday, to Ian for his hospitality and help with finding a Concert unit, and to Parmjit for kindly providing it!


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100000 on the clock and one year of ownership for me... enjoying it more and more! And what an amazing thing the BOSE is, anything from Mahler symphonies to Radiohead sounds just great!!
 
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Well...it is possible! Behold the platinum Bose grills...from black ones! Thanks to the brilliant advice from Tom @2work and a can of Volico paint.

First I covered the Bose logo with masking tape, cut to the exact size with a sharp kitchen knife (in absence of a Stanley knife). Then I primed the the grills (I used Halfords white plastic primer). Lesson learned: don't spray to close or you'll be spending your time poking at the little holes with a straightened out paper clip, to get rid of the excess primer.

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I applied two coats of primer and two or paint, sprayed from different angles. I replaced the grills in situ using the same kitchen knife (blunt side). It was very easy and didn't require taking the door cards off (one of the many things I learned chatting with Tom @timmus).
 

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Well done Mihai ? That looks a very good match, I can imagine you're pretty chuffed with the result.

Now we know the Volico paint works on BOSE speaker grilles and, from Tom @2work's experience, that their Twist paint is identical to the original (I've seen his resprayed rear cupholder :)) So, this looks like a good alternative for anyone currently searching in vain for Twist BOSE grilles.
 
The Volico paint strikes again,

Fantastic results @Mihai. The Bose grills look terrific. Very well done. The paint dries quite hard and shouldn’t require a clear coat.

Absolutely brilliant results, you must be over the moon with what you have achieved.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
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