podi - VW Mk6 boost gauge package presale!

GolfRrrr said:

there you go. i know it doesn't match the R blue needles but that the one I liked and had better fitting.

night picture

Click to expand...

looks good bro... :thumbsup:

I recently installed the Podi MKVI Electronic Motor Boost Stepper guage package. I had picked this up from a local performance shop. It was a new addition to their items, so they were also unsure of the install, along with the various features. I had done some research into boost gauges and it had come down to either the AWE vent gauge, or this Podi guage package. Included in the package are the following:


VW Mk6 Electronic Stepper Motor Boost Gauge Package (red needle, silver bezel)
Podi steering column gauge pod (Patent Pending)
100% electronic stepper motor based boost gauge (-30inHg/30psi)
Multiple LEDs used for backlighting (16 for dial, 4 for needle)
Red needle with selectable red/white color backlighting
User adjustable brightness
User programmable overboost warning alarm
Peak value recall
Anti-glare coated glass lens

Accessories:
Electronic boost pressure sender
OEM steering column cover pleather trim piece
Infrared remote control
Wiring harness
Vacuum tubing
Extra matte black bezel included if you choose to swap it on

** Please note that you will also need to use our CNC boost tap, or another product that allows you to tap into the car for a vacuum source, to install this gauge package.

There are also other items included in the package if you have a vehicle that you need to attach a vacuum line. These items are not needed.

For installation, you need the following:
Wire stripper/crimper
Utility knife
Ratchet w/ extension
10mm and 13mm socket
Flathead screwdriver
20 torx socket (or screwdriver w/ torx)
Package of butt connectors (18-22 ga) usually red in color
Roll of 18-22 gauge wire (to extend wiring harness to fuse box)

These are the installation steps that I performed after speaking to Winston@Podi and walking through the install and determining certain things work and some don’t. Approximate install time is 1- 1 ½ hours. This is for my MKVI 2011 GTI. You will need to disconnect the battery prior to performing this installation. I apologize for not having pictures. Am having problems uploading. Will try to have them added later.

1. Remove bolt (13mm socket) on the left side of the bottom of the battery. This will allow you to remove the silver bracket that retains the battery in place. After you remove this bracket, remove the battery from the battery tray.
2. You will now observe three bolts (10mm socket) holding the tray in place. You need to remove this tray to gain access to the rubber grommet in the firewall to route your vacuum line through the fire wall.
3. After removing this tray, you will observe a rubber grommet where the wiring is routed into the vehicle through the firewall. You will need to make a slit in this grommet to route the vacuum hose.
4. Find the boost line that attaches to the manifold. There will be a “squeezeable” fitting that you will squeeze and then pull away from the manifold.
5. Attach the CNC aluminum boost tap to the manifold. The end with the rubber grommets is inserted into the housing and the metal stabilization bracket is positioned against the manifold.
6. Reattach the “squeezeable” boost hose fitting to open end of CNC boost tap. This will leave you with the brass fitting for the vacuum line to be attached.
7. Attach the vacuum line to the boost tap and route it to the grommet in the firewall. I chose to route along existing wiring and under the battery box. There are channels under the battery box for this purpose.
8. Route vacuum line through firewall. If you cannot manage to do this by hand, you can tape the tubing to a wire hanger and use the hanger to guide it into the interior of the vehicle.

You can now start dismantling the steering column upper housing of the vehicle.

You will use a flat head screwdriver to gently pry the upper plastic portion of the steering column away from the lower half. This will also be connected to a “pleather” piece of fabric that is attached to the trim piece under the instrument cluster. You will have to gently/forcibly pull straight back to remove this piece. (it is in there solid, but it will detach)

Once you have these removed from the steering column, you will need to remove two clips from the underside of the factory steering column trim. The two clips are gold in color and will be reused.

Install these two clips on the supplied column pod. You can use needle nose pliers, but I just used my fingers.

Now onto the wiring.

You have two wiring harnesses supplied. One wiring harness is attached directly to the back of the gauge. This harness has several wires attached. Colors are as follows:

Red- switched 12V
Black- ground
Yellow-constant on 12V
Orange – to white wire in second harness
Brown- unused
Green- unused

The second wiring harness attaches to the electronic boost sender and colors are as follows:

Red- 12V switched
Black – ground
White – to orange wire in gauge wiring harness

You can do the wiring prior to installing the gauge in the pod. Wiring install as follows.

Use a butt connector to attach the Orange wire in the gauge wiring harness to the WHITE wire in the electronic boost sender.

Then use butt connectors to connect the remaining wires to approximately 2 feet of 18-22 gauge wiring to be able to route to the fuse panel located on the left side of the dash.

Once you have these wires all connected, you can route the gauge wiring harness up through the steering column and into the gauge pod prior to inserting the gauge. Attach harness to gauge, and insert gauge into the pod. Is a pressure held gauge. You can adjust the gauge to make sure it is level at this time.

Reinstall trim piece with the “pleather” fabric onto the column pod. You will then reinstall it into the dash. Just push the trim piece forward into the dash and it will snap into place.

To install the column pod, you will notice it has to “posts” towards the rear of the pod. You will need to insert them into the mounts on the lower portion of the column or the pod will not sit properly. Once you do this, the upper portion will snap into place.

You can pick a place under the dash that you will be zip tying the boost sender unit along with excess wiring. This will determine how much vacuum line you will need to trim. After trimming the boost tubing, attach it to the boost sender unit.

Route the two red wires, two black wires, and one yellow wire to the fuse box. If you look at the fuse panel, you can see the metal housing above that is silver in color. Use any of these points that have a metal nut and attach the two black wires (ground).

This is where you will have to test your fuse panel to make sure what slots are what power. If you count from the top row of the fuse panel and go from the left side.

Row five from top, far left side is constant 12V power (top slot is hot)
Row six from top, far left is 12V switched power (top slot hot)

Podi advises to install both red wires into the slot for 12V switched power and the yellow wire into the constant power 12V slot.

I went back and forth with this portion of the install several times as well as talking to Winston@Podi. If I installed it as instructed, the gauge would not stay on after turning on the vehicle. The needle would flash once and then remain on -30 inHg.

It was determined that I could splice the two red wires and the yellow wire together and then use the 12V switched circuit in the fuse panel to install all three wires. This then enabled the gauge to work properly.

You can now pick a spot under the dash to secure the excess wires and boost sender. Make sure that it is not in a place that will have foot traffic. This unit needs to be tucked up under so it is also protected.

Turn the vehicle on. You will see the gauge do a needle sweep to 30psi and then back to your vacuum reading while the vehicle is at idle. Mine is around -12inHg while at idle.

Your Podi boost gauge is now installed. Again, I am sorry about the lack of pictures. I will try to upload those sometime this week.

This gauge is awesome. You can adjust the brightness and change the color of the gauge to either white with red needle or red with orange needle. You can also set the boost level warning and it will cause the boost gauge to flash the opposite color if the boost goes over this level. You can also see the highest level of last boost using the remote also.

All in all, this is a high quality gauge and the customer support by Winston@Podi was top notch. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a top quality gauge. This is also the first boost gauge I have installed and it took me less then two hours to complete. Now that I have installed it, I could say if you have installed a boost gauge in the past you can probably install it under 45 minutes.

*when you reinstall your battery, and turn the vehicle on, you will more then likely get warning lights. I had tire pressure sensor warning, traction control warning, and power steering assist warning. This is due to your ECU recalibrating. Take the vehicle for a drive and let the car recalibrate. These lights went off after less then a block of driving.

you guys can put this as your signature and whatnot but heres the question haha.. is the boost gauge specifically meant for people who install nitrous in their cars, or do they make use of it just if they have a bunch of mods?

This particular gauge measures the boost PSI and the vacuum inHg. nothing to do with nitrous.

but whats the point of having it? it looks cool

helps you keep an eye on your boost pressure to make sure your engine is performing properly. Most of us that have them have been tuned by one manufacturer or another. My car is Revo Stage 1 tuned.

ohhh i see. thanks

Thanks Beatcop818! I have been busy and STILL haven't been able to install it. About how long would you guys say this install takes? Would like to get an idea so I know how much time to set aside. I'm a newbie when it comes to installing or messing with boost and electronics. Thanks!

have there been revised install instructions for this? going over the past pages and i'm iffy on buying this, with all the problems some people had...

also, any way to buy the gauge pod separate?

I had no problems at all with the install, its pretty straight forward. And I'm sure if you check their site they might have just the pod for sale.