Timmus Audi A2 Upgrades, Retrofits and Repairs

Greetings to all A2 owners,

For over a decade, I have been upgrading and repairing A2s. Having dedicated myself to just one model of car, I have intimate, specialised knowledge of the vehicle we all love. Countless reviews and recommendations are scattered across the pages of this forum. My hope is that, with incremental revisions, this thread will give A2 owners a clear and condensed overview of the services that I provide and how I deliver them.

Timmus was originally a childhood nickname, born from my sister's early attempts to say 'Thomas'. Upon joining A2OC, back when A2s were first starting to appear on the second-hand market, my nickname seemed a suitable choice of username. Even when I was building models as a young boy, I showed an enthusiastic desire to improve and innovate. Studying physics and engineering at university honed my understanding and developed in me the skills necessary to innovate and improve in line with established principles and with a due respect for correctness, caution and consideration.
I soon found that my understanding of the A2's electrics was an asset to the club. My lifelong and apparently innate fixation on detail and desire for the very highest standards of neatness, efficiency and safety has meant that I have acquired a reputation in the club for factory-standard perfectionism. I am known not just for my meticulousness and painstaking care for the work that I do, but also for my honesty, flexibility, cooperativeness and integrity with the people for whom I work.

Below is an overview of the range of services that I offer for the Audi A2.

Retrofitting of Optional Extras

With the exception of OpenSky and climate control, I can retrofit all of the original factory options, plus many others. If you've seen it in an A2, I can add it to yours. It'll be just like your A2 left the factory with that option...
  • Cruise Control
  • Instrument Cluster Upgrades...
    • Mini DIS
    • DIS
    • Colour DIS
    • Customised Clusters
    • Bulb Check System Deactivation
  • Audio System Upgrades...
    • Bose Premium Sound System
    • Rear Speakers
    • Bluetooth Wireless Music Streaming
    • Audi Music Interface (AMI)
    • Stereo Head Unit Upgrades
    • Later Generation Audi Stereos
    • CD Changer
  • Seat Upgrades...
  • Steering Wheel Upgrades...
    • Multifunction Steering Wheel (Many Different Designs)
    • Non-Multifunction Steering Wheels
  • Fog Lights...
    • Front Fog Lights
    • Twin Rear Fog Lights
  • Daytime Running Lights (DRLs)
    • Front Fog Lights as DRLs
  • Rear Electric Windows
  • Double-DIN Dashboard
  • RNS-E Integrated SatNav
  • Komfortblinker Indicators
  • Auto-Dimming Rear-View Mirror (3 Different Designs)
  • Bluetooth Phone Integration
  • Rear Parking Sensors
  • Optical Parking System
  • Heated Mirrors
  • Heated Windscreen Washer Jets
  • Headlight Washers
  • SideGuard Curtain Airbags
  • Speech Dialogue System (Voice Control)
  • Illuminated Vanity Mirrors
  • False Floor Boot
  • Twin Interior Boot Lights
  • Pop-Out 12V Boot Socket
  • Additional Keys
  • 12V and USB Charging Sockets
  • Anti-Hijack Locking
  • Beep-on-Lock Full Closure Confirmation
  • Aftermarket Dashcams
  • HID Headlight Conversions
  • Custom Requests
As time passes, more and more of the options listed above will link to further details. If you have any questions, please send me a private message or post in this thread.

Electrical Diagnostics, Services and Repairs

I have a complete understanding of the A2's electrical systems and have great experience of diagnosing and repairing most electrical problems.
TDI Engine Upgrades
Accessing My Services

I'm based near Lancaster, just off M6 J34. My workshop is where a majority of my work is performed, and everyone is welcome to visit me by appointment. I'm sometimes to be found at 'satellite stations' in the Midlands and the South East. I also perform work on A2s at A2OC social events, where suitable/appropriate.
Very occasionally, I also do 'retrofitting tours', where I travel between multiple A2 owners to deliver upgrade and repair requests at owners' homes or places of work. Please note that I do not drive for individual jobs; it’s much easier to bring your A2 to my workshop than to bring my workshop to your A2.
For Central European owners, I'm happy to travel/fly. I also have a base in The Hague, which serves A2 owners in the BeNeLux region.

Please be aware that I am my own secretary and that I can struggle to reply to private messages promptly when work is busy. Rest assured, no message goes unanswered and I will get back to you. Thanks for your patience.

My list of services is always increasing, and I will continue to update and expand this thread as needed.

Warm regards to all,

Tom
 
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Click to expand...
Best wishes Tom, I got a half new knee in August. Much better now but it just takes time.
Hope you make a swift recovery!

George
 
timmus said:
Good afternoon, folks.

The magnetic resonance image below shows my left knee from the side. The pink arrow is pointing at a small fragment of bone that has broken away from the back of my kneecap, leaving behind an obvious crater in the back of the kneecap.

View attachment 119993

The fragment of bone is still attached at the top by a hinge of soft tissue, allowing it to flip backwards and forward. When the fragment is sitting inside the crater, the knee joint works perfectly. However, when the fragment flips upwards, it drags within the femoral groove and catches on other structures, which is extremely painful.
Although it may seem that this was caused by a violent knock to my knee, it is actually caused during growth, hence why the symptoms started when I was in my late childhood. This condition is known as patellar osteochondrosis dissecans (POCD). I have lived with this issue for a long time, but its rarity means that I have only now (finally!) received a diagnosis.

Tomorrow, I am going to see a friend in the Netherlands for a week. Upon my return, I'm undergoing surgery to remove the loose fragment of bone and deal with the crater that has been left behind.

I am posting this here such that members are aware that my ability to work on A2s will be much reduced in the coming weeks. Some of my services will still be available, but I'll be unable to work on the cars themselves for some weeks post surgery.

Best wishes to all,

Tom
Click to expand...
Good luck, get well soon.
Best wishes Martin
 
timmus said:
Greetings to all A2 owners,

For over a decade, I have been upgrading and repairing A2s. Having dedicated myself to just one model of car, I have intimate, specialised knowledge of the vehicle we all love. Countless reviews and recommendations are scattered across the pages of this forum. My hope is that, with incremental revisions, this thread will give A2 owners a clear and condensed overview of the services that I provide and how I deliver them.

Timmus was originally a childhood nickname, born from my sister's early attempts to say 'Thomas'. Upon joining A2OC, back when A2s were first starting to appear on the second-hand market, my nickname seemed a suitable choice of username. Even when I was building models as a young boy, I showed an enthusiastic desire to improve and innovate. Studying physics and engineering at university honed my understanding and developed in me the skills necessary to innovate and improve in line with established principles and with a due respect for correctness, caution and consideration.
I soon found that my understanding of the A2's electronics was an asset to the club. My lifelong and apparently innate fixation on detail and desire for the very highest standards of neatness, efficiency and safety has meant that I have acquired a reputation in the club for factory-standard perfectionism. I am known not just for my meticulousness and painstaking care for the work that I do, but also for my honesty, flexibility, cooperativeness and integrity with the people for whom I work.

Below is an overview of the range of services that I offer for the Audi A2.

Retrofitting of Optional Extras

With the exception of OpenSky and climate control, I can retrofit all of the original factory options, plus many others. If you've seen it in an A2, I can add it to yours. It'll be just like your A2 left the factory with that option...
  • Cruise Control
  • Instrument Cluster Upgrades...
    • Mini DIS
    • DIS
    • Colour DIS
    • Customised Clusters
    • Bulb Check System Deactivation
  • Audio System Upgrades...
    • Bose Premium Sound System
    • Rear Speakers
    • Bluetooth Wireless Music Streaming
    • Audi Music Interface (AMI)
    • Stereo Head Unit Upgrades
    • Later Generation Audi Stereos
    • CD Changer
  • Seat Upgrades...
  • Steering Wheel Upgrades...
    • Multifunction Steering Wheel (Many Different Designs)
    • Non-Multifunction Steering Wheels
  • Fog Lights...
    • Front Fog Lights
    • Twin Rear Fog Lights
  • Daytime Running Lights (DRLs)
    • Front Fog Lights as DRLs
  • Rear Electric Windows
  • Double-DIN Dashboard
  • RNS-E Integrated SatNav
  • Komfortblinker Indicators
  • Auto-Dimming Rear-View Mirror (3 Different Designs)
  • Bluetooth Phone Integration
  • Rear Parking Sensors
  • Optical Parking System
  • Heated Mirrors
  • Heated Windscreen Washer Jets
  • Headlight Washers
  • SideGuard Curtain Airbags
  • Speech Dialogue System (Voice Control)
  • Illuminated Vanity Mirrors
  • False Floor Boot
  • Twin Interior Boot Lights
  • Pop-Out 12V Boot Socket
  • Additional Keys
  • 12V and USB Charging Sockets
  • Anti-Hijack Locking
  • Beep-on-Lock Full Closure Confirmation
  • Aftermarket Dashcams
  • HID Headlight Conversions
  • Custom Requests
As time passes, more and more of the options listed above will link to further details. If you have any questions, please send me a private message or post in this thread.

Electrical Diagnostics, Services and Repairs

I have a complete understanding of the A2's electrical systems and have great experience of diagnosing and repairing most electrical problems.
TDI Engine Upgrades
Accessing My Services

I'm based near Lancaster, just off M6 J34. My workshop is where a majority of my work is performed, and everyone is welcome to visit me by appointment. I'm sometimes to be found at 'satellite stations' in the Midlands and the South East. I also perform work on A2s at A2OC social events, where suitable/appropriate.
Very occasionally, I also do 'retrofitting tours', where I travel between multiple A2 owners to deliver upgrade and repair requests at owners' homes or places of work. Please note that I do not drive for individual jobs; it’s much easier to bring your A2 to my workshop than to bring my workshop to your A2.
For Central European owners, I'm happy to travel/fly. I also have a base in The Hague, which serves A2 owners in the BeNeLux region.

Please be aware that I am my own secretary and that I can struggle to reply to private messages promptly when work is busy. Rest assured, no message goes unanswered and I will get back to you. Thanks for your patience.

My list of services is always increasing, and I will continue to update and expand this thread as needed.

Warm regards to all,

Tom
Click to expand...
Hi Timmus, just caught the A2 bug and I’m new to all this. Just a quick question. Is it possible to upgrade my heating controller to the digital one instead of the turning dial ones?
Cheers
James.
 
James Booth said:
Hi Timmus, just caught the A2 bug and I’m new to all this. Just a quick question. Is it possible to upgrade my heating controller to the digital one instead of the turning dial ones?
Cheers
James.
Click to expand...
Tom's en route to a wedding in the Netherlands right now, but I can answer that one for you - it's probably not completely impossible, but it would be very involved and difficult, not to mention expensive and impractical, and it's never been done that I know of.

Basically if you are in a position to choose between A2's or starting a search for the right one, you need to decide on which non-alterable features you want: four seats (split rears) vs. five (bench rear), manual heating controls (non-A/C) vs digital climate control, metal roof vs. OSS. All other options can be retrofitted.
 
Ahhhh ! Dude, I've just read this 😟 Thank goodness for MRI's eh !? Sorry to hear you have been suffering with this but, at least your on track now to getting it rectified. I'll contact you again in a week or so when your back in the UK. Sending you my best wishes for a speedy recovery. Kindest regards, Paul
 
Good to hear you problem has at last been diagnosed. Wishing you a speedy recovery and many more years of mountain climbing, Tom.
 
Proghound said:
Tom's en route to a wedding in the Netherlands right now, but I can answer that one for you - it's probably not completely impossible, but it would be very involved and difficult, not to mention expensive and impractical, and it's never been done that I know of.

Basically if you are in a position to choose between A2's or starting a search for the right one, you need to decide on which non-alterable features you want: four seats (split rears) vs. five (bench rear), manual heating controls (non-A/C) vs digital climate control, metal roof vs. OSS. All other options can be retrofitted.
Click to expand...
Well that answers that then. The only feature I really wanted was the OSS and it has that (thankfully working)
Thank you so much for the reply.
 
Hello folks,

Operation completed successfully. I was a total space cadet for some hours after the general anaesthetic, hence my somewhat vacant expression in the photo below, but am now back at home and starting the road to recovery.
Doubtless there are people reading this who've had much more serious knee operations and are therefore familiar with this stage. My knee is wrapped in thick bandages, which will remain on for the next 72 hours or so. I feel little pain in the knee joint itself, but the 4 incision sites are sore, especially when I try to bear weight on the leg.
Right now, going for a short walk along Morecambe promenade would be completely beyond me, and it's hard to imagine how I'll ever climb a big mountain again, but I know I'll recover and will then hopefully be more capable than before.

1710516271660.jpeg


I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everybody who posted their best wishes in this thread or sent me a message privately. It's really lovely to be part of such a supportive community; some of the messages came from A2 owners who I've never met, which I think speaks volumes about the personalities that the A2 and this club attracts.

Just prior to my operation, I was in the Netherlands for 8 days, visiting a friend from my days of living there. Now that I'm not able to do much other than sit down, I shall reply to all the messages that've arrived in my inbox over the last fortnight or so. I don't wish to rush my recovery, but hopefully I'll be more mobile soon, as otherwise the boredom may kill me. Thankfully, there are 3 consecutive Six Nations matches tomorrow, so I shall spend the day shouting at rugby players on the TV.

Best wishes to all,

Tom
 
Last edited:
I knew the recovery period sat around would drive you nuts Tom. All the very best with physio etc....those big elastic bands really do work. 👍:)
 
Last edited:
Glad to hear it went well Tom :) From the picture, I take it you haven't suddenly developed a taste for tea or coffee? :D Presuming, they just didn't know that the important stuff to you was already in the jug! Wishing you a swift and complete recovery and I bet you'll notice the difference as soon as you get your climbing fitness back.
 
Proghound said:
From the picture, I take it you haven't suddenly developed a taste for tea or coffee? :D Presuming, they just didn't know that the important stuff to you was already in the jug!
Click to expand...
Haha! You're not the first to notice this. It's a hot chocolate, most of which was drunk by Jessica. As you rightly say, my favoured drink is in the jug.
For those who aren't aware, I dislike both tea and coffee (hot leaf juice and bitter bean juice, as they're comically called).

Proghound said:
Glad to hear it went well Tom
Click to expand...
Proghound said:
Wishing you a swift and complete recovery and I bet you'll notice the difference as soon as you get your climbing fitness back.
Click to expand...
Dave M said:
I knew the recovery period sat around would drive you nuts Tom. All the very best with physio etc....those big elastic bands really do work. 👍:)
Click to expand...
Thank you both. I'm not currently able to flex the knee, meaning I can't get my heel towards my glute to test whether the underlying issue has been resolved. However, the surgeon reported that, other than the loose debris, the knee was in good condition, so he seemed confident that my left knee should now be just as good as the right. Fingers crossed!
 
Great news Tom, it takes time and physio but in four weeks I bet it’s better than before the op. Make sure you keep up the painkillers!

George
 
Hi Tom, just seen the post so good luck on the recovery from myself and the family.
Your a pretty fit guy anyway so that will help a long the way.
Remember how you eat an elephant burger, in small steps so go easy.
Best Wishes.
 
timmus said:
Hello folks,

Operation completed successfully. I was a total space cadet for some hours after the general anaesthetic, hence my somewhat vacant expression in the photo below, but am now back at home and starting the road to recovery.
Doubtless there are people reading this who've had much more serious knee operations and are therefore familiar with this stage. My knee is wrapped in thick bandages, which will remain on for the next 72 hours or so. I feel little pain in the knee joint itself, but the 4 incision sites are sore, especially when I try to bear weight on the leg.
Right now, going for a short walk along Morecambe promenade would be completely beyond me, and it's hard to imagine how I'll ever climb a big mountain again, but I know I'll recover and will then hopefully be more capable than before.

View attachment 120741

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everybody who posted their best wishes in this thread or sent me a message privately. It's really lovely to be part of such a supportive community; some of the messages came from A2 owners who I've never met, which I think speaks volumes about the personalities that the A2 and this club attracts.

Just prior to my operation, I was in the Netherlands for 8 days, visiting a friend from my days of living there. Now that I'm not able to do much other than sit down, I shall reply to all the messages that've arrived in my inbox over the last fortnight or so. I don't wish to rush my recovery, but hopefully I'll be more mobile soon, as otherwise the boredom may kill me. Thankfully, there are 3 consecutive Six Nations matches tomorrow, so I shall spend the day shouting at rugby players on the TV.

Best wishes to all,

Tom
Click to expand...
So happy everything went well Tom! Wishing you a speedy recovery… if you get too bored I’m sure that bed can upgraded with lumbar support and heated pads 😃
 
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