Getting noticed is in the details

“Gauging” interest in a new gauge pod design for the Mk4 platform

Jul11
2012 Written by savko

Knock-knock. Who’s there? 2002? Oh, man it’s 2012 and I’m actually talking about a product for a generation of VW Golf/Jetta/GTI that is over 10 years old now. Be that as it may, I’m certain that with the outstanding product availability for the 1.8T and VR6 for our beloved em-kay fours, there are plenty of you who are still toying with these cars to keep the 5′s and 6′s in your rear view mirror. I’m in the process of embarking on a production run of what I firmly believe to be, hands down, the best placement of two gauges for the Mk4. You may have already seen it on my site, here. I’ve had this idea in my head for years, and not until I went off the wall with the 1OFF GLI did I actually find the time to have it made exactly how I envisioned. After 2 more years of friends, customers, & Mk4 enthusiasts asking me about it, I decided…why not? As things stand, I know what it will take to have these reproduced. What you can expect is a 100% injection molded plastic piece that will replace your factory steering column trim piece that snaps in the underside of the OEM gauge cluster. You will be able to run two gauges in the corners of the dash, with wires and/or tubing across the horizontal section inbetween. After comparing to other dual pods on the market, and based on the design (which was intended to allow clear view of gauge data and not blocking the MFA if so equipped, and only slightly blocking the least important RPM and speedo readings), these will be priced at $125. What I need from you, readers, is feedback. Is this something you would buy for your project? Is this something you would rip out your old pod setups for? Talk to me. Tell your friends to comment, click like on Facebook, etc. The more sure I am of this being a hit, the greater chance you’ll actually be installing it someday soon.

Waterfest is 2 weekends away and I will be lending a hand to the guys at Unitronic with flashes both at the show, and personally after hours if it calls for it. If you pre-register with them here, you can get $100 off the total flash price at the show. If you sign up the day of, it’ll be $50 off. We will be equipped to do all 2010+ cars that require ECU removal. As I said above, I’ll personally be available after hours as well since these cars take quite a bit more time than the OBD-2 flashable cars. So if you’re coming for a Uni flash and we’re backed up, shoot me an email and I will take care of you. Save travels and see you in Jersey!

Posted in What's new?

Still kickin! News Update

Jun11
2012 Written by savko

Well greetings everyone. Hope the new leap year is going well for you. On the personal end, I’ve been sidetracked quite a bit but still managed to maintain things on the business end. I’ve picked up some new accounts and started making some plans for show season. I’ve already been to Southern Worthersee and the next one up is Waterfest in Englishtown, NJ.

I’ve decided to take some initiative and give everyone a heads up about what to expect concerning Unitronic software at this show. Obviously, the Uni guys will be in full attendance so make sure to stop by their booth and check out everything they have going on. They’ve been providing some of the better entertainment every year. As for the software flashing side of things, in recent years past, there have been no attempts to provide anything for customers with 2010+ cars. Why? Well, here’s the reason. In order to perform an initial software upgrade, we must get your ECU out of the car, split it open, boot pin flash, and reinstall. On average, this could take up to an hour and a half. Assuming there are 4-5 people who can perform this process simultaneously, over the course of the hours of the show, the total amount of cars that can be done is way less than if there are a line of cars that only require an OBD-2 flash.

That being said, I am going to be bringing every bit of tooling necessary to flash any car 2010 or newer. I am unaware of Unitronic’s plans to do the same, but in hopes of easing their load on flashing cars and allowing them to get as many OBD-2 flashes in and out throughout the day, I’m going to do my best to attend to everyone’s car that needs a little more work to get Unitronic software installed. Typically, the Waterfest discount will be $100 off so long as you pre-register, and $50 off during the weekend. I don’t have a fancy application form made up so best way to schedule something is via my email, at mycar@bysavko.com. The discount for 2010+ cars is applied to retail pricing + installation of $50. Therefore, to find what you would pay, go to Unitronic‘s site, find your desired file price, add $50 for install, and then deduct the pre-registration discount of $100 or the weekend discount of $50. Any customers with cars older than 2010 will not have to worry about the installation charge. If you have any questions or concerns about the process, do not hesitate to ask as I’m very open about how it all works.

In other news, the custom dual gauge pod I had made a couple years back is now being revisited to hopefully turn into a full production item. It’s a little early at this point but I’ve sent it out to an injection molder for prototyping. Keep your fingers crossed!

Posted in What's new?

Our last big drive to the east coast!

Sep12
2011 Written by savko

Less than 2 weeks til the always-anticipated H2O International in Ocean City. We were all on pins and needles all summer waiting for confirmation and I think we all felt a rush of air as we exhaled with relief. With what little time left we have I wanted to post a quick update mostly concerning what I’ll be doing all weekend. Well, other than the usual partying and making rounds with friends I only get to see a few times a year, I’ll be offering all of you 2010 VW and Audi customers a way to get a Unitronic flash at the show discount of $100 off retail. Perhaps some of you can recall requesting for such a service at other shows this year, especially at Waterfest which is still the most crowded event all year. The special attention required for you 2010 customers is that the ECU physically needs removed from the vehicle, split open, and “boot-pin” flashed, whereas all 2009 and earlier cars can be flashed simply through the OBD-II port inside the vehicle. Not only does this process demand more attention and care in the process, but it is also a bit more time consuming, and with lines of customers at every big show it isn’t feasible for most chip tuners to offer this AT the show grounds. I, however, will be able to take care of anyone looking to do this at any point of the weekend, outside show grounds. The only “catch,” if you will, is there is a $50 installation fee as this is not a simple OBD-II flash. Even so, the end pricing still comes to a respectable $50 off retail. If you have any interest at all in this procedure, shoot me an email and we can coordinate what will work best.

In other news, the 1OFF GLI is roaring again and ready to make the 9 hour haul from Ohio. I expect sometime after H2Oi there will be a newly uploaded video solely covering this car. See you in 10 days!

Posted in What's new?
← Older Entries