Thread: D3 stuck on it's guts

Mine is still on its guts in my driveway. I rang around and got prices on a new compressor, varying in price from 550 for a second hand one to 1450 for a new one. I've ordered a rebuild kit from the UK and are going to have a crack at that first.

Originally Posted by Epic pooh

Do you have non factory flappy paddles fitted ?

Not paddles as such. I have a 4-button remote control fob stuck to the right side of the steering wheel near my fingertips. The buttons operate a relay box mounted in the engine bay near the brake m/c and gbox wiring harness connectors that switches inputs to a microprocessor that switches the upshift or downshift gbox signal wires to earth. The microprocessor is in the circuit to limit the "on" time of the button to 200 ms so as to not exceed the time limit on the signal wires if the button is held for too long, plus to exclude contact bounce from the relays. The other 2 buttons are setup to hold or release the sport/manual signal wire to earth but I don't use those, having a few times not cancelled sport/manual before moving the lever to neutral which then logs a gearshift mechanism fault that requires a restart to get sport/manual to work again. Up-shifting or down-shifting whilst in auto mode means that I don't have to remember to move the lever back from manual mode although gear selection is still subject to the whims of auto mode.

I had the offer of apparently a good price for a wheel from an RRS but it was still too expensive for the minor benefit.

That's an interesting mod Graeme ! I wish I was half as clever with such things ! Did you do it for ease of shifting or because the +/- is backwards (haha) ?

Originally Posted by Epic pooh

That's an interesting mod Graeme ! I wish I was half as clever with such things ! Did you do it for ease of shifting or because the +/- is backwards (haha) ?

Graeme, time to Market this to us members with a bigger paddle version ?

Brett...

Only the inserted microprocessor was my idea.

I generally like to up-shift early to use torque rather than revs as I always have done driving a manual but fitted this because I too often left the lever in sport/manual then later wondered why the box wouldn't change up. This way I just bump as required at the time then forget about gear changing.

I don't know how my buttons compare with real paddles as it is easy and discrete to press either button with a fingertip of my right hand but the hand does need to be nearby.

Originally Posted by discotwinturbo

Graeme, time to Market this to us members with a bigger paddle version ?

My initial thought was to mount 2 button switches near where the paddles mount and locate the remote behind the airbag but having to wire those switches to the circuit board of the remote instead of its switches would be quite fiddly, as well as the inconvenience of having to remove the airbag to replace the battery every couple of years even without considering the defacing of the wheel.

Any 2/3/4 channel wireless remote/relay kit will do the job and I can provide the baby module to ensure no prolongued activations or switch contact or relay contact bounce if anyone want to setup one. As this method doesn't use the paddle interface there's no requirement to enable paddles.

It might be worth inquiring about the cost of a used 2010+RRS wheel from a UK wreckers as an early D4 would only need the paddles enabled using a suitable diagnostic tool.

Nice idea Graeme, I totally get it, that behaviour using sport/manual annoys me at times too ... I would love to have that level of control over mine, would be very useful.

I am going to embark on some tech updates to mine for it's upcoming 10th birthday (GVIF, surround cameras, improved phone/bluetooth, airplay via wifi and 2-4 more USB ports) and have been toying with putting on a D4/RRS wheel with flappy paddles on mine using the conversion kit that is available from BBS. How much of that turns from gunna to done and over what period, we will see.

Originally Posted by Epic pooh

Did you do it for ease of shifting or because the +/- is backwards (haha) ?

Why the hell do car makers do the manual auto shift thing the wrong way? I wonder if theres an easy way to swap the manual shift to be the right way?