[smclaren]

Great job there, Improve. Thats' a really impressive effort to find a solution.

Any chance of a video showing the solution in action, both off and on ? That may help the troops on the forum get their heads around what problem you are solving here ?

Probably be easiest with another person in the car taking the video.

A vid may help if you choose to commercialise the solution ?

 

[Brobb]

Thanks Brobb , I can't see why I couldn't ever ship one to you.

The best thing I can do at the moment is let any of our fellow Perth Touareg owners see what it's like in my car to build some third party feedback, the difference really is night and day.

That sounds like a great idea. I am looking forward to hearing more about the feedback and the driveability differences. I find the Touareg very capable but sharpening up its ability to stay on the torque would be a great improvement. I am staying tuned.

 

[improve]

Great job there, Improve. Thats' a really impressive effort to find a solution.

Any chance of a video showing the solution in action, both off and on ? That may help the troops on the forum get their heads around what problem you are solving here ?

Probably be easiest with another person in the car taking the video.

A vid may help if you choose to commercialise the solution ?

Great idea, ill see if I can get a suction mount with an adjustable arm for my HD action cam to stay focused on the dash.

 

[Oz Dude]

@improve - yeah, John is always super busy. Makes it hard when you need to ask questions of get info but he is an extremely knowledgeable guy and worth a follow up with.

Maybe ask the admin girl to give you an email address and you cna lay out for him what you've done / now have.

Oz

 

[Oz Dude]

I'm also wondering (interested) in what else your CANBUS sniffer could find to help solve some other issues...

Oz

 

[improve]

I'm also wondering (interested) in what else your CANBUS sniffer could find to help solve some other issues...

Oz

Let me know if you think of any. There is some solutions already out there from CANM8, such as the high beam interface to trigger an output once the high beam is detected which is very handy.

One that might be useful is finding the message for whenever the brakes are applied. This could then be used as a trigger for a 12v feed for a Tow pro elite for example. Instead of running a wire to the 7 pin trailer plug and using a diode to stop any back feed ect. Might just be easier to run a wire like most have done, but it seems to be pretty common that owners and the auto sparky installing the brake controllers run into issues finding a reliable 12v feed as the trigger to the Tow pro elite causing some initial teething issues.

 

[dragline1570]

Thanks Brobb , I can't see why I couldn't ever ship one to you.

The best thing I can do at the moment is let any of our fellow Perth Touareg owners see what it's like in my car to build some third party feedback, the difference really is night and day.

Improve i am very interested in a setup if possible ?
I presume a MY12 would still accept as the transmission is still the same ?

cheers Drag

 

[improve]

Improve i am very interested in a setup if possible ?
I presume a MY12 would still accept as the transmission is still the same ?

cheers Drag

Same TR80SD transmission, same AL1000 TCM 0C8 927 755. The canbus message relating to the actual gear selected info that the module is looking for will be the same across the entire 7P model range.

I will PM you soon.

 

[improve]

If you have a few minutes spare, video link below with the TC controller installed. Video making just isn't my thing

 

[Kbas]

Mate well done! How do you think this would effect the towing side of the equation? Is it an advantage to lock up earlier ( 3rd gear ) when towing? I guess if it were switchable you could have the best of both worlds. Very interested in this brilliant bit of kit.
Pete

 

[improve]

Mate well done! How do you think this would effect the towing side of the equation? Is it an advantage to lock up earlier ( 3rd gear ) when towing? I guess if it were switchable you could have the best of both worlds. Very interested in this brilliant bit of kit.
Pete

Thanks Pete! When towing do you generally have the transmission always in D mode? or say if you approach a large incline? might be a bit of a mixed bag response for that.

When towing, naturally more heat is generated and even more so whenever the converter is slipping. Less heat the better in my eyes however there is already times when the TC will be unlocked in 3rd gear depending on throttle position and engine load.
In original form, the converter is always unlocked regardless in 1st and 2nd gear, also sometimes in 3rd gear too (a good example of this is as soon as your transmission shifts into 3rd gear, if you apply quite a bit more throttle quickly (before the tcm has locked up the TC), if you were quick enough to apply more throttle, then the TC will not lock in D3 and you will notice this since the car accelerates better than it normally does, BUT more times than most the lockup occurs very quickly after the transmission has shifted into 3rd gear, also once it has locked up in 3rd gear it will not unlock, this is where the lag comes from when you need to accelerate from this point.

The logic for the controller keeps the TC unlocked in 3rd gear, but only whilst the shift lever is in D mode. so only "D3" in effect. If the transmission lever is in S mode (S3) or you are changing gears manually with the tiptronic lever or paddle shifters (if your Touareg has them), then only (3) is displayed on the dash, during these scenarios the TC will still lock up in 3rd gear as per the factory TCM TC logic would have. Also rightly as you mentioned the other option is turning off the TC lockup controller when ever you like, then the TC can lock up in D3 as it would have if the controller wasn't there. The controller can be turned off and on at any point too whilst driving, I would just suggest not to do it whilst the transmission would normally be in D3.

 

[Brobb]

If you have a few minutes spare, video link below with the TC controller installed. Video making just isn't my thing

Great video. It definitely has more punch instantaneously in 3rd. That’s great for city driving. Seems to really get momentum going quickly. A guy here on this forum
Is working on a performance TCM tune.. I wonder if he will unlock the TC IN 3rd similar to yours.

 

[improve]

Great video. It definitely has more punch instantaneously in 3rd. That’s great for city driving. Seems to really get momentum going quickly. A guy here on this forum
Is working on a performance TCM tune.. I wonder if he will unlock the TC IN 3rd similar to yours.

I did discuss that with him some time ago when I was first searching for a solution, his aiming to unlock that functionality in his performance TCM tune which should be great if he can do that
I'm not sure if he will have the ability to have some control in the change of the TC's logic, such as turning it off an on easily or if the lockup logic change is applied to all D, S and M mode. or just one mode. It's always good to have some flexibility but I'm sure that's on his radar too.

I needed a working solution as soon as possible since I had a real dislike for the way the Touareg drives with the current TC logic especially for any city/local driving, it wasn't as enjoyable as it should be. No issues on the road trips and long distant drives though!
I actually find the rest of the transmission map perfectly fine the way it is now, in saying that we did not have the "fix" like you guys and gals did in the US.

 

[seafarer28]

Impressive performance demonstrated in your video, congrats on your achievement so far!

With some of us old timers still hanging on to our 7L/6speeds is your mod something that would suit our transmission withour reinvention?
Keep up the good work....
I spent a fair bit of time with the CANM8 high beam interface only to find in the end that it wasn't required after all with the 7L with BiXenons, even spoke to the manufacturer in the UK who in the end wasn't very knowledgeable as to where to tap into the CanBus system. Unfortuntely there was a lot of misinformation on this subject at the beginning on this forum.
TonyB

 

[improve]

Thanks TonyB!

Having not been in a 7L before, I'm unsure on when the TC locks up exactly, or what sort of gain there is to be had. Do you know what gear and what speed the TC generally locks up? and do you experience a noticeable decrease in torque when it does lock up?
It would require some additional work as the canbus message will be different to the 7P so I would need to tap into the powertrain canbus to find the traffic and reverse engineer the info relating to the actual gear selected on that model. It's not impossible though I would need a 7L to collect some data from first. Hardware should be exactly the same though.

 

[smclaren]

Great video, Improve.

You need to seed the market mate ... send a unit to a keen user in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne, so we can go check out the performance directly 😁

 

[Studiovape]

I did discuss that with him some time ago when I was first searching for a solution, his aiming to unlock that functionality in his performance TCM tune which should be great if he can do that
I'm not sure if he will have the ability to have some control in the change of the TC's logic, such as turning it off an on easily or if the lockup logic change is applied to all D, S and M mode. or just one mode. It's always good to have some flexibility but I'm sure that's on his radar too.

I needed a working solution as soon as possible since I had a real dislike for the way the Touareg drives with the current TC logic especially for any city/local driving, it wasn't as enjoyable as it should be. No issues on the road trips and long distant drives though!
I actually find the rest of the transmission map perfectly fine the way it is now, in saying that we did not have the "fix" like you guys and gals did in the US.

I came from. Mk7 Golf R and while I wasn’t expecting the 180kw 7P to compare, I was impressed with the handling and power. But the power seemed ilusive sometimes, especially accelerating out of medium-low speed corners exactly as you described. I think the lack of interest or responses is more down to some folks just accepting things as they are and not having had better or different in the past to compare to or I’m my case miss.
I’ve been thinking about this issue for a while and recently had a remap hoping this would solve it in some way, like you I found it wanting.
you have articulated the issue perfectly.
Next question, can I get one of your units installed on my 2013 7P 180 😀?

 

[Brobb]

I did discuss that with him some time ago when I was first searching for a solution, his aiming to unlock that functionality in his performance TCM tune which should be great if he can do that
I'm not sure if he will have the ability to have some control in the change of the TC's logic, such as turning it off an on easily or if the lockup logic change is applied to all D, S and M mode. or just one mode. It's always good to have some flexibility but I'm sure that's on his radar too.

I needed a working solution as soon as possible since I had a real dislike for the way the Touareg drives with the current TC logic especially for any city/local driving, it wasn't as enjoyable as it should be. No issues on the road trips and long distant drives though!
I actually find the rest of the transmission map perfectly fine the way it is now, in saying that we did not have the "fix" like you guys and gals did in the US.

I am definitely curious to see what he comes up with. I think you guys have a similar brain that can understand and dissect the coding. Its impressive. Good work. I have the CNRB...How different do you think it will be than mine? I do have mine flashed back to stock transmission coding by Joe. Which is really pretty great other than the problem you are working on. A big asset to the community. Thank you.

 

[improve]

I came from. Mk7 Golf R and while I wasn’t expecting the 180kw 7P to compare, I was impressed with the handling and power. But the power seemed ilusive sometimes, especially accelerating out of medium-low speed corners exactly as you described. I think the lack of interest or responses is more down to some folks just accepting things as they are and not having had better or different in the past to compare to or I’m my case miss.
I’ve been thinking about this issue for a while and recently had a remap hoping this would solve it in some way, like you I found it wanting.
you have articulated the issue perfectly.
Next question, can I get one of your units installed on my 2013 7P 180 😀?

Whilst the engine remap certainly gave a boot load of more torque, it simply cannot stop what the TCM commanding lockup and the effects that has. Once locked and the rpm has dropped, it's just too bad for a few moments whilst waiting for the engine rpm to increase again where a reasonable amount of boost is made. The controller solves that part thankfully by keeping the engine rpm where it should be. Feels a lot more like a sling shot coming out of the corners now when you actually want and need to be accelerate. It also feels a lot less "rigid" and tight which is probably the best way to describe compared to having a locked TC at such low speeds and rpm.

Where are you located? I've ordered enough parts to make 5 kits to begin with but I wont have them ready for a few weeks yet. I've got some OEM canbus wire on the way and colour coded wire for the rest to make it visually easy to install the module. I'm working on some instructions with clear photo's too but its really not difficult to install this at all.

 

[improve]

I am definitely curious to see what he comes up with. I think you guys have a similar brain that can understand and dissect the coding. Its impressive. Good work. I have the CNRB...How different do you think it will be than mine? I do have mine flashed back to stock transmission coding by Joe. Which is really pretty great other than the problem you are working on. A big asset to the community. Thank you.

There will be some differences, since the CNRB uses the smaller GTB2056 size turbo so naturally you "should" have less lag compared to the 180kw CRCA engine that is in most of our Touareg's here.
If you happen to have VCDS, have someone monitor your torque converter status to see when it's open / slip or closed. (closed = locked), also vehicle speed and engine rpm to see when the TC generally locks up. If its happens early on in 3rd gear I have no doubt that you would prefer it not locking up at such low rpm's. The best and easiest way to TEST to see if this is something you would like is by disconnecting the N443 solenoid wiring temporarily to get a feel of how the car drives specifically around 3rd gear when the TC can no longer lock up.

You will get a transmission fault after a few key cycles / engine starts with the wiring disconnected (does not impact how the car drives after the fault occurs) so you will need to clear the P2757 fault code at some point with VCDS once you have reconnected the N443 solenoid wiring. It is easiest to disconnect the N443 solenoid wiring at the 8 pin connector on the RHS of the transmission which is pretty easy to get to.