ipod preparation / centre arm rest

[Geoff_UK]

Hi,

First post - be gentle !!

I'm considering a GT Sport 2.0 tdi 140 as a lease car from work and I'm thniking about a couple of options to stick on it.

1. metallic paint - it's a given - got to have it !!

2. centre arm rest - for £120 I'm going to have it as it gives air vents in the rear for the kids.

3. ipod socket in the arm rest - is it worth doing, or can I have it installed in the glovebox after delivery if I decide I want it?

If I can get it installed in the glove box, am I right in thinking that it will still work via the radio on the dash?? Also, does it get some sort of cradle in the glove box, or does it just rattle around on the end of a wire??

Many thanks in advance.

Geoff

[Ben]

hi geoff, welcome to the forum. Take a look in the audio assistance thread via my sig and all you question will be answered.

Welcome to the site

[Teflon]

Hi,

First post - be gentle !!

I'm considering a GT Sport 2.0 tdi 140 as a lease car from work and I'm thniking about a couple of options to stick on it.

1. metallic paint - it's a given - got to have it !!

2. centre arm rest - for £120 I'm going to have it as it gives air vents in the rear for the kids.

3. ipod socket in the arm rest - is it worth doing, or can I have it installed in the glovebox after delivery if I decide I want it?

If I can get it installed in the glove box, am I right in thinking that it will still work via the radio on the dash?? Also, does it get some sort of cradle in the glove box, or does it just rattle around on the end of a wire??

Many thanks in advance.

Geoff

Geoff,

Armrest ........... I splashed out on the armrest and for my needs, it's next to useless. Too small, too low and not enough storage to be any use for anything. It's got a couple of packs of Wrigleys and a pen in it. It also seems too flimsy when the lid is extended. But it does look a lot nicer and if you need fresh air for the nippers........

iPOD socket .......... I looked long and hard before deciding that the standard VW adapter is just pants and a waste of money. It gets a pretty poor review by a lot of people - limited playlists, no track ID's and so on.

It might be a bit better now that VW are fitting MP3 compatible radios, so I suggest you ask a dealer to show you one in action.

I fitted an aftermarket head unit with IPOD, bluetooth and USB hard drive for the time being, but I'm really waiting for the Harmon Kardon Drive and Play 2, which they tell me will be available in the UK in November. Gets a good write up in the US, where it is on sale for about £150-£200. Original RCD300 will be going back in with one of these beauties. Take a look on the website. http://www.harmankardon.com/drive-1/. It is a proper iPOD display with album art and nav wheel plus bluetooth phone and it looks the business. And it is all wireless, so no need to pull the radio out, but if you want to do the job properly it will connect into the CD adapter plug on the back.

[ianiention]

I've just got a gti with armrest ipod connector.
When ipod is in car the first 5 CD slots map to the first 5 playlists on your ipod.
The 6th CD slot plays whatever you've selected to play on the ipod by using the ipod control.
You do not get any information in car about the name of the playlist or even the track name, just CD2, track 5.
I was a bit disappointed, its the most basic ipod connection you could have. But then it's better than an FM transmitter.
I've taken to selecting something to listen to then plug the ipod in and pick up the sound on CD6. I suspect the docking connector will break quite quickly as it's easy to miss align ipod and dock (on the move).

[kinbra]

Re: Centre iPod prep/arm rest, which iPod have you tried VW recomend gen`5 a friend says nano gen`2 works. I have a 2008 Golf Match and wondered if you know if a adaptor exists to convert iPod arm rest dock to usb player.
Kinbra

[kinbra]

Hi Geof
iPOD prep, ipod will only play tracks as a playlist on stero buttons 1-5 button 6 plays all selections. You cannot select a single track you can only go up & down a play list. Stereo will only display selection 1-5 no track- artist or album is displayed similar to the BMW MINI iPOD prep. It is of use only if you can memorise your play list & the order of the songs or you select want you want to listen to on the iPOD & then insert the iPOD into the dock. If you go on the mini website it will give you a demo of theiPOD.
I bought a Forty pound stero for my daughters SEAT from ALDI it plays M3player any music from a USB memory stick & mac card song title album & artist are displyed. If my Golf had the old style stereo i would replace it for a player with Mp3 USB function far better than the iPOD from vw.
Hope this is of help to you.