BHPian fluidicjoy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
It's been a long while since I got a chance to post any updates, or even complete sharing most of my older posts on this baby TSI. Life has changed since I'm no longer a college student, but now a part of the working class I also have a new car now, but a lot has fundamentally changed within me, but I'll leave some of that secret sauce for my other thread. I get to see and drive the Polo for 10 out of 365 days now, which is rough, since a lot of the stuff I've wanted to do on the car, often takes a day, or weeks at a stretch. From 2021 to 2024, I've spent some time with the car once in Aug '22, Dec'22, Dec'23 and it's more like an informal catchup, than a comprehensive check-up. Digital Car Rearview System
Adulting has been hard, but there's so much I have wanted to share. A strong reason I want to complete most of the posts regarding the older retrofits I've performed is that there are always hundreds more who want to replicate the same and gain the same improvements in their cars, which is inspiring.
A reason why it isn't as fun to share information anymore is because of how sheerly competitive, and commercial retrofits have become. Anything you share or post is used by someone else as a resource to milk money, even on an evergreen yet outdated platform like the PQ25 Polo. For the greater good, this Polo thread must go on and continue to provide great information which I've learned in collaboration, and inspiration from other car owners on this globe. I owe the success of my retrofits, to the hundreds of inspiring car owners on this planet. They've taught me and helped me imbibe a level of automotive perfection.
Coming back to the state of my Polo, it no doubt is one of the most technologically advanced Polos in our country while staying true to its OEM roots since there are pretty much no aftermarket electronics accessories on the car. Since day one, I've made a sincere effort to incorporate OEM features on this car, and this all began when this Polo had big shoes to fill in, the shoes of its elder sibling the Jetta. Only after spending lots of money, did I realise (or maybe not), that replacing a Jetta's comfort, and convenience, is not a possibility. That realisation sadly, doesn't stop crazy people from trying even harder though. The only limiting factor that remains is time, which is more precious than money and is best spent with loved ones. I'll make a nice post with a list of all the upgrades on my car.
Projects which were in the pipeline:
Since the Polo has been in my blind spot for a while, let's begin with Blindspot Monitoring or Side Assist.
After installing BCM Max and with a Maxidot Cluster, it is possible to enable Side Assist, Blindspot Monitoring and Rear Traffic Assist (RTA) on this car. This uses 5Q0 or some other compatible radar sensors installed in the rear bumper, flashed with suitable vehicle parameters to detect vehicles in the blindspot. Without the correct parameter, installing these is a waste of time and money, since even the Bumper and Bumper insulation will be picked up as a Blindspot object.
The blind-spot warning can either be connected to an LED light within the ORVM or housed on the mirror-shell. I eventually found ways to achieve both ways, and both of them work well. It's just a matter of preference, since Volkswagen themselves offer both variants in various markets. The second method, is the easier one, but it didn't exist for a long time.
The first method I tried used LED Housings in the Mirror Shell. This implied cutting a suitable hole, and mounting the LED lamp in the housing. While this looks easy, achieving a perfect fit is a task of patience and perfection. I was undergoing bed-rest after a surgery, and was short of strength, and this task didn't help with the recovery at all. To add insult to injury, I was only armed with a soldering gun to burn off plastic and widen the window.
A year later, I found these heated, tinted, blind-spot mirrors on Aliexpress, and it was interesting to see how they are designed. It's incredibly simple. Just etched glass with a symbol and suitable backlighting. The Chinese market is incredible, and I was quite surprised to find these.
I routed the Wiring for the Side Assist when my car was stripped open for the KESSY wiring, but I haven't installed the radars in the rear yet, since it seemed like a lot of work, for something I didn't need to begin with. Hopefully, someday, this shall see the light of day.
The key major challenge for this retrofit in my experience is adapting the Blindspot Radars in the bumper since there are no mounting points. The other fitment challenge is modifying the Mirror Caps for accommodating the Blindspot warning lamps since space is not at a premium here. A huge thanks to Dr. Patil for sharing his insights on this retrofit, since he had done this before me.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
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