GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: jaceyboy on 01 November 2022, 17:37
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Help!
Is this the correct thing to buy to be able to change things with the car? Ive not idea about VAG Com :lipsrsealed:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1153573842251008/
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Yes, but that looks like a clone VCDS to me, given away by the serial number.
https://forums.ross-tech.com/index.php?threads/12908/ post no 7
They're £400 new for the unlimited VIN version so £40 would be ringing my alarm bells.
Got my 10 vin enthusiast version from here https://www.mi-uk.com/product-category/ross-tech/
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Cheers yeah thought it looked cheap, must be a knockoff
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Go for the £225 one with 3 vins (https://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCV23.html) then upgrade the number of vins as needed, that's what I did.
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Bare in mind if you buy the 3 vin version, you have to pay to upgrade to 10 vin, then pay again to upgrade to unlimited vin.
You can't go from 3 vin to unlimited in one "upgrade", you only upgrade up to the next tier.
2nd hand VIN limited leads can't be upgraded unless your the registered owner, which is unlikely if your the 2nd owner so you have to pay to have it reregistered in your name before upgrading.
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I have just used Carista on MK6 just bought to set up digital speedo, activate the needle sweep and to use fog lights as cornering and its super easy to use, it cost £24.99 off Amazon and you get a free month subscription, which is set up on Apple Account as a subscription (iPhone IOS) so dead easy to cancel in good time.
Ran a diagnostic scan of the car also, zero faults, and that's me done, well worth £24.99 and if ever need to use again, its £9.99 for a month
If just making customisation think there is a bunch of preferences for the MK 7 and plenty of YouTube videos.
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The Carista dongle was the first thing I thought when I read the first post too. Depending on how involved with settings you want to go the cheapo Carissa does lots and can be transferred to other car brands(?) too I think.
How much is OBDeleven these days?
You’re not tied to using a laptop with those two above options.
Mind you I’m totally out of touch with VAGCOM/VCDS nowadays. I’ve not had a car that supports my old cable since 2019. The cable itself I’ve had since my mk6 days where I used it for doing a few things, then a few things on my early mk7’s and after that it went in the drawer.
When did VCDS start limiting VIN’s? My old cable was from before those times so I think is unlimited, I’ve just looked on eBay and was surprised how much the old cables like mine sell for due to the unlimited use. That’s a job for the weekend!
As for the £40 cable - how do they get away with all the Ross Tech logos on the knock off cables?
My old cable has nothing more than a cheap sticker to show it was supplied by Ilexa in Cornwall who had a Ross Tech reseller licence so I can see why it’s a minefield out there with cables.
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Carista is a very good tool and covers a lot for the cost. The fact that its on a mobile also makes it more user friendly as you can just carry the dongle with you and scan when you need to.
There are lots of modifications that can be done and I have used it on previous cars. My sub has just ran out, but I will be renewing to make a couple of tweaks on the new car.
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VIN limited cables came in a few years ago, theres more support for newer vehicles and are faster supposedly.
Old cables fetch good money as they are, as you say, not VIN restricted which is fine if you haven't got or not looking to get a newer model VAG in which case it may not work.
I think Ross-Tech are in a never ending battle reporting counterfeit leads.
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Thanks madstaff.
Yep, my cable didn’t seem to work on my TCR (not that I was going to change anything on that car) unless I was just being inept, and definitely doesn’t work on my mk8.
I can’t be bothered to upgrade to a newer cable as literally the only thing I’d change would be switching off lane assist permanently, but that task only takes two seconds to disable at each start up so not really worth the bother as it’s merely a reflex job - push start button, push end of left stalk, click ok.
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The Carista dongle was the first thing I thought when I read the first post too. Depending on how involved with settings you want to go the cheapo Carissa does lots and can be transferred to other car brands(?) too I think.
FYI folks regarding Carista or any obd plugs, they often do more harm than good when making those changes to your car. Plenty of reports of them changing a single digit in a random control module and flagging up an engine light, which takes extremely talented auto electricians hours to find the source of.
So just letting you know there's risk with them due to how generic they are.
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VCDS is really the best option, not the easiest to use as it's so powerful, but it's basically dealer level diagnostics.
I've scanned a GTI before using Snap On diagnostics and it's reported no faults, plugged VCDS in and it flagged up a fault code.
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The Carista dongle was the first thing I thought when I read the first post too. Depending on how involved with settings you want to go the cheapo Carissa does lots and can be transferred to other car brands(?) too I think.
FYI folks regarding Carista or any obd plugs, they often do more harm than good when making those changes to your car. Plenty of reports of them changing a single digit in a random control module and flagging up an engine light, which takes extremely talented auto electricians hours to find the source of.
So just letting you know there's risk with them due to how generic they are.
thats why you use coding and not apps, because if something goes wrong you know exactly what to change back