Looking to buy vag-com

[Kickerdank]

Hello I'm looking into buying a vag-com and was wondering which is the most recommended brand to buy. I have a 2003 passat 1.8t and a 2011 gti 2.0t

Seen this https://store.ross-tech.com/shop/vchv2_ent/ but not sure if the price is good or if another brand gets the job done for less.

 

[GolNat]

I got OBD11, works great for the price.

 

[GeorgiaBII]

Depends on what you want to do. If you just want to do a few tweaks and never touch it again OBD11 is probably the way to go.

BUT.

If you want to do some tweaks, And also plan on using your computer for logging and trouble shooting vagcom is really the only game in town. OBD11 will read codes and such but the deeper dive stuff it simply can't do as well or in some cases at all.

OBD11 really calls to the crowd that doesn't own a laptop and does everything on a phone.

Your Mileage May Vary.

 

[GolNat]

You can log in OBD11 but it’s not as straight forward and it’s cumbersome to get it into excel. You can also do live data. But like what was said it depends on what you want to do with it.

If you look around you can get unlimited VIN Ross Tech cables for under $140. There have been a few on here.

 

[CowTownRacer]

I've seen several Ross Tech Micro Cans on sale here and on vwv for under $140 recently. That's a steal and if you don't have one you absolutely should buy one of them.

 

[Kickerdank]

I've seen several Ross Tech Micro Cans on sale here and on vwv for under $140 recently. That's a steal and if you don't have one you absolutely should buy one of them.

Yeah I'm totally leaning towards vagcom but do y'all honestly think I should buy one second hand? I only own 2 VW.

 

[Kickerdank]

Also will I be able to tell if my gti has been tuned or tweaked with this tool?

 

[CowTownRacer]

Yes absolutely you should buy the vagcom. It's the most useful tool you can get for you vw.

 

[brat_burner]

I've seen several Ross Tech Micro Cans on sale here and on vwv for under $140 recently. That's a steal and if you don't have one you absolutely should buy one of them.

I just looked these up and says it's discontinued? Do you just DL the VCDS for free?

 

[CowTownRacer]

you download vcds from Ross Tech. You need to buy the Micro Can from someone used. But it will work with current VCDS.

 

[Kickerdank]

I just looked these up and says it's discontinued? Do you just DL the VCDS for free?

That was my exact thought as well and I did a bit of research it seems the micro can doesn't have as much functionability. Correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Kickerdank]

Can anyone who knows explain the differences and pro/cons of buying micro-can over a hex-v2 other than the obvious unlimited vins allowed by micro-can

 

[uglybastard]

Can anyone who knows explain the differences and pro/cons of buying micro-can over a hex-v2 other than the obvious unlimited vins allowed by micro-can

the level of complexities of ECUs increases over time. If you intend to buy a newer VW anytime soon, it would be an investment to buy the hex v2. if you're going to sit on the cars you have for a few years you might find it easier/better to get the microcan.

 

[Kickerdank]

the level of complexities of ECUs increases over time. If you intend to buy a newer VW anytime soon, it would be an investment to buy the hex v2. if you're going to sit on the cars you have for a few years you might find it easier/better to get the microcan.

Awesome thank you very much! So there aren't any other limitations to using the micro can other than it not being able to be used on newer vehicles? Thought I read somewhere it doesnt have all the functionality etc. Maybe that's what they were referring to.

 

[uglybastard]

it doesn't have some of the newer features like turbo mode (higheer sampling rate for logging), transport mode (setting your car to sleep, essentially to conserve battery), or the "clear all DTCs" function (clear all faults with one button).

if you're using this the way many of us do, you will not miss any of these features.