Scottish Audi owner in Kajaani

[nj-scotti]

email on the way. thanks

[HiTec]

I think you have been that Neste near Prisma. There is that take-away version of that pressure gauge. Have you been on ABC, there is pressure hose.

OT: you might wanna get to know this local BackWoods Customs of Kajaani ;)

[nj-scotti]

I managed to change the non-resonated centre pipes for resonated so now it's a little bit quieter. not quiet. but quieter than before. I also managed to push the tips back a bit so they look less "wheelbarrow" like.

Now I'm about to repaint my RS6 summer wheels. Before I spend 100 euros on paint does anyone know of some place near Kajaani or Oulu that repaints wheels quite cheaply? I also need to decide if i'm going to paint them avus silver or anthractite grey. any suggestions?

[nj-scotti]

Hello to anyone who may still be watching this thread. I'm still here in Kajaani, still working, still like living here and still spending 50% of my time working, 49% trying to stop my boys hurting themselves/each other and 1% changing things on my car.
At the end of winter I painted my wheels myself. I can't say I did a great job but it was better than some attempts that I have seen and they look OK from 1 metre away. Except the one that my wife damaged 2 days after I finished painting them.
I've also changed all my front suspension arms, drop links, tie rod ends etc for Meyle HD parts, which has really improved the handling.
I've fitted cruise control and Driver Information System (since the sport models don't seem to come with those as standard in the UK).
I also fitted HID (xenon) headlights.
Next I'll be changing to a double din cage (I haven't decided what head unit to use yet) and a B7 climate control unit. I need to finally collect spare seats near Oulu to take the heating elements out and fit those before it gets cold again. And I also need to fit that frost plug engine heater instead of the water/coolant heater I've had for the past 2 winters.
And now i'll go to put some things in the For Sale section....

[perrier]

Still reading and good luck whit those projects. Main question is, seats or heater first? ;)

[nj-scotti]

hmmm... I think the seats because the heater shouldn't take too long. The seats have turned into something much bigger now because I needed a climate control unit with seat controls. So I bought b7 unit (better unit. goes down to 16 degrees) so I'll need to add a 30amp relay to that. And because that unit I got is for a double din setup I got a double din cage (so that means I have to take the whole centre console out and cut a bit to make the new cage fit). And since I'll have a double din setup I need a double din head unit, so I bought a B7 Concert III and wiring loom. But now I want TV screens in the back for my boys so I want a kenwood or pioneer double din head unit for the front and headrest screens for the back. So I'll seel my concert III double din and Concert single din (maybe I or II?). The wiring loom for the seats is on the way from Kufatec now. So these heated seats have started a bit of a chain reaction :)
The new Defa heater sounds kind of simple by comparison. what do you think?

[jounii]

Unless you want to add battery charging unit (charge battery from the cable while warming up the engine)... and you had the cabin pre-heater already?

[nj-scotti]

hmmm.. that's a good point. Would that be another Defa component? I have the interior heater yes and haven't had any trouble with the battery so far but of course that doesn't mean I shouldn't be charging it, especially if we just do short journeys.
I usually buy my parts from the UK because they're much cheaper and my parents send a large box by courier every month or two (or the parts store sometimes sends directly to finland) but I can't find defa components any cheaper than locally (fixus etc).

[jounii]

Yes, it's separate defa unit installed between the power cables and connected to battery. Of course some people install a bit cheaper alternative from CTEK. It's not as plug and play, but does the same job.

[nj-scotti]

thanks mate. Are the defa or CTEK units available online somewhere or should I just get one locally? Actually maybe you can tell me if my battery is likely to suffer badly if I don't use one of these chargers?

[jounii]

If your battery is any good you're fine without too. With fuel based engine heaters the charging is more important if driving shorter trips as the battery is loaded a lot. Of course the charging increases the battery temperature a bit, so startup will be easier when the battery can delivery more power. There exists battery heaters and insulation too (battery keeps it's warmth fairly long, so insulating it will lengthen that), but haven't seen those in use myself. Warm battery chargers better and faster.

That said, the battery charger (or heater) aren't really neccessary, but probably will increase the life of the battery. Most cars don't have the upkeep charging anyway and they work fine :)

CTEK is quite common in most places, you probably can find it easily online too, I suppose it will be around 50 euros for basic model with upkeep charging features. Defa units not sure, the prices are pretty "fixed" unfortunately. Checked huuto.net (auction site) and there's one Defa charger (defa ylläpito laturi) for sale starting price 98 euros.

http://www.polarautovaruste.com/shop...ails.php?p=969
http://www.arcticheat.fi/arcticbatteryheater.htm

[quattro20v]

You can get both from www.motonet.fi and order them to your post office or with matkahuolto.

[jasso]

aren't really neccessary, but probably will increase the life of the battery.

Batteries are quite cheap. Wouldn't give much of a thought for small if any increment to battery life. But peace of mind on freezing cold mornings when trying to start the car to get to work is worth the money spent on charger.

[nj-scotti]

thanks for all the advice. I'll look into those options and get one before this winter. Maybe by the time I've made the car properly ready for Finnish winter I'll find myself in Germany buying a left hand drive Audi :)

[jasso]

That's like the standard procedure :) You fix, build and spend all your money to your car and after it's finally ready, you sell it with ridiculously low price. But hey, that is what this hobby is about - fixing and building, not just watching it getting dusty :)

[nj-scotti]

haha. or in my case, I do all of that and then can't sell it because it has the steering wheel on the 'wrong' side!

[Thuppu]

Yeah, that can be a issue. :P

[arto s]

So RHD is in only among japanese cars? During the past year there have been a few newly imported Toyotas, Nissan Skylines etc., with the steering wheel on the wrong side, seen around here..

[nj-scotti]

Thuppu - Only until you guys learn to drive on the "correct" side of the road :P

Arto - British, Australian/New Zealand and Japanese mainly. But you usually get Japanese imports here because of the low cost,especially if the buyer gets the chance to buy something like a Skyline quite cheap. My car is British and I brought it with me from Scotland when I moved here because I didn't have to pay import tax since I owned it for a year before moving. If I had known well in advance I would have bought and drove a LHD audi for a year before I moved. As it is I still have a car that's worth a hell of a lot more here than it was in Scotland.
I wish I could understand why Finland still insists on crazy import taxes on cars from other European countries despite the EU ruling that it's not lawful. If I bought a car in Germany and drove to the UK I would just pay to have it tested as roadworthy and then pay something like 50 euros to register it with British registration plates. There have been a couple of cases of people successfully reclaiming the tax money in Finland I believe but I can't find details in English.

[Wez85]

Hi, i recently joined the audi club and i noticed that we have same cars except my version is LHD:) interesting modifications in your car! I also noticed that we both live in kajaani and after thinking a while i've seen you driving around in kajaani:) sorry about my english, it ain't the best but hopefully you understant what im writing. I bought my car last week. I like it too but i agree with you, it should have at least one turbo..supercharger maybe:) ...oh and welcome to finland and especially to kajaani!

[nj-scotti]

Hey, great to hear from you. I actually didn't see another 3.0Q for such a long time in Finland and then a guy started work at Kainuun Etu with me and he has the same. Now you do too. They are becoming rather common it seems :)
Your english is soooo much better than my finnish so no need to apologise mate. Maybe you want to meet some time so we can both complain about not having turbos or superchargers?

[Wez85]

That would be great=) I was wondering that if we could meet later. I haven't seen any 3.0q in Kajaani. Oh, and i have removed the 3.0q stickers behind my car so you can't recognize it. My car is black by the way and has black 18 inch rims. Maybe we need to set up a meeting some day=)

[nj-scotti]

oooohh... there's a good chance that I've looked at your car in appreciation then. Black with nice rims would be my top choice and I've considered doing a black vinyl wrap.
I'm cycling tonight but I should be free to meet another night no problem.

[Mr.Crossfire]

I wish I could understand why Finland still insists on crazy import taxes on cars from other European countries despite the EU ruling that it's not lawful.

That's because it is such a great way to get tax income. After all, most of the finns need a car as the distances are long, only a few cities where the public transport could be a realistic option.

[nj-scotti]

Good point and I do see the value from the government's point of view. Ultimately the taxes gained this way are spent on public services and so benefit the public. It just stings that the same car here has to cost so much more than in other countries.

[Wez85]

I saw your car today. Nice looking by the way. I was driving linnantaustie road when you came by..maybe you remember my car too..the black on with black rims. Later on I took my dogs for a walk and then i saw your car about 150m away from my home. So i walked past of your car. It was parked in front of white brick house.
Nice car you have!

[nj-scotti]

yes, i thought that might be you but wasn't totally sure :)
that's my wife's parents house by the way in Kuurna. I'll PM you

[nj-scotti]

Can anyone recommend a good courier service for me to send a bicycle (in a box) to the UK? thanks

[jounii]

Options are very limited for larger packages. Someone might have experience, but my experience is that shipping from Finland is always expensive. Ask DHL or check if Posti's services can deliver larger boxes. Don't even ask FedEx - small 2kg package costs so much that I suppose it would be easier just to buy a new bicycle in the receiving end with the money.

[nj-scotti]

Good idea checking with Posti. It's cheaper than I was expecting. A lot hinges on whether the package is under 15Kg though :)
http://www.posti.fi/english/pricesandinstructions/