B7 Remote Starter Install - suggestions?

[Sharkfin]

I am looking for opinions and options to do this, it's been so cold up here that I think it's time to take the plunge. I've heard arguments that Audi's can't have these installed but no one has given an official answer. I was originally looking into the Viper units installed at Best Buy, but have no preference at this time.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?nrp=25&cp=1&seeAll=&id=pcat17071&_dyncharset=UTF-8&ks=960&sc=Global&list=y&usc=All%20Categories&type=page&iht=n&browsedCategory=pcmcat292200050016&st=categoryid$pcmcat292200050016&qp=brand_facet%3DBrand~Viper&sp=+currentprice%20skuidsaas

thanks!

*I have a tiptronic

[Der Konig]

Is there an issue with remote starts and manuals? Can't remember what your car is, but I don't see them on manuals often. Especially since our cars recognize when you are trying to start the car without pressing in the clutch.

[gavin_j]

You need that, a dball, and a 556u.

It can be done. A lot of people here will tell you not to.
Expect the all-in price to be a lot. What you linked is just a replacement remote.

Sent from my One M8 using Tapatalk

[FraggyA4]

The problem with getting it on a manual is that the remote start over rides the clutch pedal need to be depressed. This can be a problem is you forget to take it out of gear and then your car launches through your house when it starts.

[Sharkfin]

I do have a tiptronic....why it is so involved with our cars especially? They aren't push to start obviously so that shouldn't be an issue.

[FraggyA4]

I do have a tiptronic....why it is so involved with our cars especially? They aren't push to start obviously so that shouldn't be an issue.

You should be fine then, it mostly just manuals that it's challenging

[Sharkfin]

I like to get a few suggestions or feedback on experiences if possible.

[audihere06]

I do have a tiptronic....why it is so involved with our cars especially? They aren't push to start obviously so that shouldn't be an issue.
Because German.

[Audibot]

I would think remote start would be a nice option for VAG to add to their cars, especially as they're trying to expand their market more, including places that have more extreme weather than German (like the US or Canada). It would be nice to jump into a warmed up and ready to go car without freezing your ass off or sweating to death.

[FraggyA4]

The only other problem with it is VAG doesn't want you to idle their cars cold so they will probably never have it as an option.

[Sharkfin]

What is the difference between letting your turbo warm up before driving and letting the car idle, seems like opposite advice

[Audibot]

x2

[kegobeer]

Warming up a modern engine isn't necessary, it just wastes fuel. I believe you will actually cause more wear and tear by allowing the engine to run without the oil coming up to temp, since the temperature will rise much faster when the engine is under load (ie: driving). That's also probably why I've heard that, with turbos, you shouldn't go WOT until the engine is at normal operating temperature.

[Shanster]

Shouldn't you just turn the car on, keep it parked/stopped until the idling comes down and then drive (not under too much load) until the engine temperature is normal? Then have at it!

[kegobeer]

Shouldn't you just turn the car on, keep it parked/stopped until the idling comes down and then drive (not under too much load) until the engine temperature is normal? Then have at it!

The engine won't be at normal operating temperature after such a short amount of time. Some people do that, but it really isn't necessary. The idle is only high is to aid in getting the right fuel/air ratio for combustion, because a cold engine isn't as efficient at doing that. So, if you start up and drive off, your engine will get warmer faster, and be more efficient in burning fuel. At least that's how I understand it.

[Shanster]

The engine won't be at normal operating temperature after such a short amount of time. Some people do that, but it really isn't necessary. The idle is only high is to aid in getting the right fuel/air ratio for combustion, because a cold engine isn't as efficient at doing that. So, if you start up and drive off, your engine will get warmer faster, and be more efficient in burning fuel. At least that's how I understand it.

Yes, I agree, but I do it for transmission fluid purposes which is what is also warming up during that initial high idling. If I don't, I definitely notice how rough the car drives initially.

[drumnjuny]

stoked to see what comes of this! Good luck!

[gavin_j]

I don't have remote start in this car yet but I definitely plan on it and will certainly be doing it myself. Its not a terribly difficult install on this car. One issue though is that it requires you to give up a key. The "dball" or "dball2" module makes it pretty easy. One wire for data covers half of what you need like tach line, locks, and what not, though you still need to tap into a few. That module also accepts feedback from the factory remote so if you use the alarm portion, you can arm and disarm from your audi fob. It is pretty much never more difficult to install on manual cars forgiving the aspect of danger. Just one extra wire to the clutch switch.

Wear at idle is a concern and in the cold, the 2.0t takes forever to warm up without any load. The heated seats do not! Nor does the air conditioning if you use it in the summer ;)

I have had remote start on Volkswagens and its definitely more worthwhile on motors (VR6s in my case) that actually heat up sitting. I would be curious if the 3.2 in our cars is better that way.

I have planned to put a starter in my B7 and had thought I would try the smart start system. I don't want to keep another fob so starting it from my phone is perfect. Either that or a system where you hit the lock button 3 times to activate the remote start. I haven't done it yet though so thats all the experience I have to share.

I got a quote once for a viper smart start install just for fun and it came to $1150CAD for my GTI. They bluntly said to me "You said Volkswagen right? So we'll add an hour labour for that." Everything I asked for would have come to roughly $330 in parts on ebay.....


I'd like someone who knows more to confirm this but: When you start your engine in a modern car. The initial high idle is just to get the cat warmed up enough to be functional Once the cat gets to minimum operating temperature, the idle comes down. Its all for emissions. That is not to say that at that point your oil / coolant temperature has risen enough. I still wait for the idle to come down but I believe that short amount of time makes next to no difference. I just wait for the coolant to level before breaking 3.5k rpm.

[jimrobbington]

Warming up a modern engine isn't necessary, it just wastes fuel. I believe you will actually cause more wear and tear by allowing the engine to run without the oil coming up to temp, since the temperature will rise much faster when the engine is under load (ie: driving). That's also probably why I've heard that, with turbos, you shouldn't go WOT until the engine is at normal operating temperature.
This. I only ever let the car idle when it's just plain fucking cold (0 or below usually) to simply get the heater warm. I always just start and go. But i never use over a couple pounds of boost until the temp needle is passing the 1/4 mark towards 1/2.

[audihere06]

I don't have remote start in this car yet but I definitely plan on it and will certainly be doing it myself. Its not a terribly difficult install on this car. One issue though is that it requires you to give up a key. The "dball" or "dball2" module makes it pretty easy. One wire for data covers half of what you need like tach line, locks, and what not, though you still need to tap into a few. That module also accepts feedback from the factory remote so if you use the alarm portion, you can arm and disarm from your audi fob. It is pretty much never more difficult to install on manual cars forgiving the aspect of danger. Just one extra wire to the clutch switch.

Wear at idle is a concern and in the cold, the 2.0t takes forever to warm up without any load. The heated seats do not! Nor does the air conditioning if you use it in the summer ;)

I have had remote start on Volkswagens and its definitely more worthwhile on motors (VR6s in my case) that actually heat up sitting. I would be curious if the 3.2 in our cars is better that way.

I have planned to put a starter in my B7 and had thought I would try the smart start system. I don't want to keep another fob so starting it from my phone is perfect. Either that or a system where you hit the lock button 3 times to activate the remote start. I haven't done it yet though so thats all the experience I have to share.

I got a quote once for a viper smart start install just for fun and it came to $1150CAD for my GTI. They bluntly said to me "You said Volkswagen right? So we'll add an hour labour for that." Everything I asked for would have come to roughly $330 in parts on ebay.....


I'd like someone who knows more to confirm this but: When you start your engine in a modern car. The initial high idle is just to get the cat warmed up enough to be functional Once the cat gets to minimum operating temperature, the idle comes down. Its all for emissions. That is not to say that at that point your oil / coolant temperature has risen enough. I still wait for the idle to come down but I believe that short amount of time makes next to no difference. I just wait for the coolant to level before breaking 3.5k rpm.
What's the point? Like you said the heated seats work quickly as well as AC almost instantly for summertime and we also have remote windows for that. Why spend $1200 on something that waste fuel for no reason when you could put it into performance mods and waste fuel for good reason. Or if its that cold get a block heater.

[gavin_j]

I have a 250w oil pan heater that I plug in when I'm at work. I would NEVER pay 1200 for a remote starter unless it heated the car up then drove it to the door for me. The $300 ish that it would cost for me to do it myself sounds good though.
Even though it takes five times a long to heat up at idle, it gets go cold here, running it a bit longer is worth it for me.

My point was more that I like to have the seats hot before I get in. At idle, barely any fuel is used. Also, it's a 2.0 I don't really care about fuel. Winter lasts long enough that I'm happy to pay to not have to sit in the cold any longer than I have to.

I miss abusing the starter on my passat. I would never scrape snow off the windows. Just start it and let it melt.

Sent from my One M8 using Tapatalk

[audihere06]

The OEM block heaters go through the freeze plugs and keep the coolant hot. Hot coolant=instaheat. The block heaters are pretty cheap from what I've seen. Or you could get really creative and run the heated seats on a remote...this would be cool.

[audihere06]

I am looking for opinions and options to do this, it's been so cold up here that I think it's time to take the plunge. I've heard arguments that Audi's can't have these installed but no one has given an official answer. I was originally looking into the Viper units installed at Best Buy, but have no preference at this time.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?nrp=25&cp=1&seeAll=&id=pcat17071&_dyncharset=UTF-8&ks=960&sc=Global&list=y&usc=All%20Categories&type=page&iht=n&browsedCategory=pcmcat292200050016&st=categoryid$pcmcat292200050016&qp=brand_facet%3DBrand~Viper&sp=+currentprice%20skuidsaas

thanks!

*I have a tiptronic
Get a block heater. Much cheaper, much easier, works better, better for the car, instant heat.=win win

[Biged243]

Get a block heater. Much cheaper, much easier, works better, better for the car, instant heat.=win win

Yay another thing I get to research. I should be a noob and just have you hand me all the info. Lol

[drewgold]

A remote starter was installed in my car by the original owner. It's a manual, and yes, it's much more difficult for a manual. Apparently, to get around the clutch issue for the remote starter I have, you have to depress the clutch, start the car, then shut the car off using the remote starter, then remove the key. This puts it in a 'suspended' mode which allows the car to start without the clutch.

I didn't discover that I had a remote starter until I was messing around under the dash installing a boost gauge.
My thread here: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/595721-What-the-heck-is-this/page2?highlight=remote+starter

The car was CPO and the starter remotes were lost in the process, I decided not to order a new remote at $250 a pop! Frankly, I wish it wasn't installed but so far it hasn't caused any issues so I'm just leaving it alone for now...

[Audi_509]

Here is a old thread that has some reviews. http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/377693-Viper-Smart-Start?highlight=remote+start You might try sending Kristrokes a pm.

[audihere06]

Yay another thing I get to research. I should be a noob and just have you hand me all the info. Lol


Well I was curious myself so it took a little digging, and I discovered that apparently 1.8t doesn't have freeze plugs? But the 2.0t does, it has two different sizes. As per the ECS part it is 36.6 mm and 20mm to be exact. I believe the 36.6mm are under the exhaust manifold. That was the easy part. Now to the stuff that literally took hours of forum scanning to find. These are the two I found there's probably more but if it fits go for it.
Zerostart 3100034
Kat's 11420
A whopping $20 a piece... Now why would you even consider a $1200 remote starter after this.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I8XCHC/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687702&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002UNAU0A&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=024WVSG86ZSES9ZJ6H3M

http://www.amazon.com/Zerostart-310-0034-Engine-Block-Heater/dp/B002UNAU0A

[gavin_j]

I only found this out digging around etka but there is a feature I would pay a large amount for that I've never actually seen. You can get an auxiliary heater that sits tucked in the engine bay that burns fuel and heats the coolant. You get a separate remote to control it and it can enable the blower motor on your hvac. Google webasto heaters. Kind of like semis use.

I guarantee that this feature didn't come to North America and that really sucks. Canada is cold. If there were one option I would retrofit, it would be that. All the parts are listed in etka as "auxiliary heater" and you can see how to enable it on vcds. There's even two little lights for it beside the clock.

Best solution by far.

Sent from my One M8 using Tapatalk

[audihere06]

I only found this out digging around etka but there is a feature I would pay a large amount for that I've never actually seen. You can get an auxiliary heater that sits tucked in the engine bay that burns fuel and heats the coolant. You get a separate remote to control it and it can enable the blower motor on your hvac. Google webasto heaters. Kind of like semis use.

I guarantee that this feature didn't come to North America and that really sucks. Canada is cold. If there were one option I would retrofit, it would be that. All the parts are listed in etka as "auxiliary heater" and you can see how to enable it on vcds. There's even two little lights for it beside the clock.

Best solution by far.

Sent from my One M8 using Tapatalk
Do they make some that run on gasoline or are they meant for diesel? Sounds a bit dangerous, something else that could go wrong. Whats the price on something like this?

[gavin_j]

With extra fuel lines, wiring harness, remote and receiver, the heater itself, and whatever else plus complication of install. I'm sure its way more than most people would justify.
I know its an option for "4 and 6 cylinder vehicles" There are separate heaters for gas and diesel obviously but I have no idea what engines they were specifically intended for. Not that it matters really as long as there is room for the heater. It sounds dangerous but it has its own control module with safeties. These things aren't unique. Many many long haul semis have these to keep the cab warm.

http://c1552172.r72.cf0.rackcdn.com/526618_x800.jpg
ever wonder what that round hole is for? Its the exhaust for that heater.

http://grooveright.com/share/auxheat1.png
http://grooveright.com/share/auxheat2.png

[drewgold]

Well I was curious myself so it took a little digging, and I discovered that apparently 1.8t doesn't have freeze plugs? But the 2.0t does, it has two different sizes. As per the ECS part it is 36.6 mm and 20mm to be exact. I believe the 36.6mm are under the exhaust manifold. That was the easy part. Now to the stuff that literally took hours of forum scanning to find. These are the two I found there's probably more but if it fits go for it.
Zerostart 3100034
Kat's 11420
A whopping $20 a piece... Now why would you even consider a $1200 remote starter after this.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I8XCHC/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687702&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002UNAU0A&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=024WVSG86ZSES9ZJ6H3M

http://www.amazon.com/Zerostart-310-0034-Engine-Block-Heater/dp/B002UNAU0A

Hmm, interesting. My B5 1.8t didn't have a frost plug so I assumed that the 2.0t didn't either.

How would one remove a frost plug?

And those axillary heaters look bad-ass!

[drewgold]

I only found this out digging around etka but there is a feature I would pay a large amount for that I've never actually seen. You can get an auxiliary heater that sits tucked in the engine bay that burns fuel and heats the coolant. You get a separate remote to control it and it can enable the blower motor on your hvac. Google webasto heaters. Kind of like semis use.

I guarantee that this feature didn't come to North America and that really sucks. Canada is cold. If there were one option I would retrofit, it would be that. All the parts are listed in etka as "auxiliary heater" and you can see how to enable it on vcds. There's even two little lights for it beside the clock.

Best solution by far.

Sent from my One M8 using Tapatalk

Have you seen this? Looks like someone who retrofitted one to a B8 2.0t
Very interesting...

http://youtu.be/uh7RsFwTAcs

[audihere06]

A screwdriver and a hammer. Hit one side till it turns then pull it out.

[audihere06]

Have you seen this? Looks like someone who retrofitted one to a B8 2.0t
Very interesting...

http://youtu.be/uh7RsFwTAcs
Looks like a majorrr pain in the bitch to install. Probably really pricey too.

[gavin_j]

Yeah I have. I watched that earlier while I was looking for pictures. The B7 version looks a bit simpler from what I've seen. I don't know if you could source all of those parts from a north american dealer but either way, too many dealer parts to be cheap. You could get a webasto kit with a remote for less. Still over a grand and will likely not integrate as well.

Has anyone used circulating water heaters before? Not just an inline hose heater but one with a pump? You can get those for $100

[gavin_j]

Here is an interesting video. Though nothing to do with installing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmAPoSmfxE0

[your daddy]

i have 2w900fm compustar in my 6speed. i put it in in 2010.

[Sharkfin]

Glad we are getting the conversation going, seems like that Viper thread is informative as well - so I'm going to bump it.

[gavin_j]

Sorry. Very off topic. I have installed a few remote starts. Just not in a b7 yet. What do you want to know?

Sent from my One M8 using Tapatalk

[2006a4sline]

Sharkfin.. What you wanna know? Yes I have remote start on my B7, yes it's a 6mt and yes I installed it myself, but I'm also a master technician wouldn't recommend trying it yourself

[Audi_509]

Just got a estimate for a Compustar alarm with remote start (blade) and total price is $679.

[Jason12692]

I know that in Michigan no shop will install a remote start on a car with a manual trans because the shop can actually get sued if your car is in gear and jumps forward and kills someone..that's what I was told by the install techs. On a side note there is a pretty sweet one that we sell from keystone at oreillys that is activated using a smart phone. I believe you have to make a monthly payment to have it but you can start your car using your smart phone basically anywhere you have service because they use a satellite

[gavin_j]

Both compustar and viper do their own phone type service. I know that here, vipers basic service (no gps tracking) is about $50/year.

$679 sounds pretty reasonable as long as you trust the installers.

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[martin0079]

I'm actually surprised no one mentioned the fact that with the high pressure fueling and the engine cold you can wash out the rings. Obviously this doesn't occur right away or anything but overtime I am assuming. It is the reason I don't idle my car when cold.

Maybe it was just a myth I don't know, but the car I bought in New England ate oil and the car I bought from North Carolina doesn't. I still can't believe I have a 2.0t that doesn't eat oil lol.

[your daddy]

thats not how the engine uses the high fuel pressure. it doesnt fill the chamber with gas. its injecting injectors directly into the combustion chamber, overcoming the engine compression so it can have a perfectly timed, and sprayed fuel charge.

[A4SANDBEER]

TO BE CLEAR : the best method for cold start on the 2.0T is to let it idle until the intitial revs come down and then drive conservatively until the temp comes up???

ive been letting it idle on cold start until the temp gauge gets halfway to the 1/4 than drive off

[audihere06]

TO BE CLEAR : the best method for cold start on the 2.0T is to let it idle until the intitial revs come down and then drive conservatively until the temp comes up???

ive been letting it idle on cold start until the temp gauge gets halfway to the 1/4 than drive off
Yes or get a block heater and be a boss for cheap.