Transporter

A few months ago I fitted this rather lovely multifunction steering wheel from a mk6 Golf GTi. Most would be content with this much higher end piece of kit being used for the simple but important purpose of steering but not me. This thing has bling buttons and I want to use them as reaching half a meter across to the head unit is clearly far too hard for me so I started the job of achieving the "impossible" and tried to convince my T5 it should chat to a golf steering wheel. Before we get started though I'd like to point out that I have written down my whole process to achieve this job. As such there are some false turns and dead ends so make sure you read the whole thing before going shopping yourself. Alternatively just skip to the end and use the shopping list there. I have done this so others can carry on from where I left off should they wish to try an alternative root. Right research head is on! First off I picked up a multi function steering wheel conv...

Cruising Intro My first car, an Audi A4 1.8t SE B6, and a year spent living in the states had got me rather used to having cruise control. When trying to maintain speed on long drives with rolling hills or variable speed limits, make it almost invaluable and at a few quid short of £100 it seemed almost rude not to get cruise control for my T5. Comatibility To fit cruise control you need to get the correct kit for your year of van (T5 and T5.1 are slightly different), LH/RH drive and whether you have a MFD or not.  Other limitations are that you must have electric windows which means your J519 BCM Body control ECU will be of the correct spec. A quick check for this is to either check the part number is compatable (eg. my BCM '7H0 937 049 T' is compatible) or simply check the 'F plug' socket has pins in it. Finally it is rarely mentioned but you need to have a rear wiper and washer as most of the control modules are for vehicles with a rear wiper. If not ...

Intro Having previously owned a B7 Audi A4 S-line SE last edition, I had become used to a rather plush interior and I was having some problems with my T5 from the drivers seat. T5's are better appreciated from the outside than in. Much to my dismay this seems to be the case even for some modded vans I was finding on the internet. A wise man once said: " I'd rather live in a cave with a view of a palace than live in a palace with a view of a cave. " In fact it was Karl Pilkington and he is an idiot. The point he missed is that my T5 cave was clearly designed for a cave man and you still have to look at the inside of it whilst everyone else enjoyed the far prettier exterior. It's like a VW Dime bar only the crunchy inside is a mix of plastic and rubber that would do little for your teeth. So just like a Dime bar then. I'd like to stress that the interior isn't bad at all. It is perfectly functional and solid, it's just far from attracti...