About
Welcome to the Volkswagen Club of Victoria. We are Australia's oldest and largest Volkswagen Club, being in continuous existence since 1954. read more
Events
Download the clubs current events calendar onto your smart phone or home PC and never miss an event again! Sync your calendar with vwclub1954@hotmail.com
next event
17 may
VWCV General Meeting
Our general meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month. Meetings start at 8pm. Good meals at reasonable prices available. Plenty of on street parking.
following event
21 jun
VWCV General Meeting
Our general meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month. Meetings start at 8pm. Good meals at reasonable prices available. Plenty of on street parking.
Gallery Update
Day of the Volkswagen 2011 was once again flooded with some of Victorias best VWs!
Face book
The VWCV is now on Facebook. To join our page search for "Volkswagen Club of Victoria" and click "Like". A great way to get up to date information and last minute reminders on VWCV events. Or just pop on and say hello and show us your current project completed or not. Click here for a sample of what goes on.
Thank you
The VW Club of Victoria would like to thank all the sponsors and everyone who contributed to the success of the Day of the Volkswagen 2011.
Day of the Volkswagen 2012
days to
go
Judging arrangements and online show 'n' shine pre-payment will be available for the 2012 DOTVW closer to the event. View details
Next General Meeting
The next VWCV General Meeting will be held on Thu 21st Jun.
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The President's Report
May, June 2012
Greetings one and all!
Many of you will know Fran Oliver, one of our life members, and will be pleased to hear that Fran is recovering well after her recent operation. All reports are that she is doing fine and that she greatly appreciated the flowers the club sent her. We hope you are back on your feet soon, Fran.
As you will see later in the magazine events over the next few months are fairly light on so we need your help. Even if you don’t want to run an event we would still like to hear your ideas - email your committee and let us know what you want. Currently there is nothing planned for the Queen’s Birthday weekend as all the usual organisers are otherwise occupied. (I am hoping to finish my garage so that the splitty can come home and I can start to restore it.)
The next big event on the calendar is the VW Nationals in Sydney on 26 – 27 May with the show and shine on the Sunday. Although this is Sydney’s equivalent to the Day of theVW, it is a different style of event and well worth a visit if you are in Sydney. One of the benefits of having a show in Sydney is the large number of traders who attend along with the swappers.
After the Nationals it will be time to start to get ready for the VW Spectacular at Valla beach resort in NSW. Valla is a weekend get-together of like-minded VW enthusiasts. The highlight of the weekend is when the VWs take over the main street of Nambucca. So this means it is time to fix all those little things that we have been meaning to do since last Valla and in some cases the one before that. It is a pity we have to work.
This year we are starting to remind members early of the Annual General Meeting, which is in September. It is a funny thing but this is usually the worst attended meeting of the year. Maybe we should hold the AGM in conjunction with the Xmas party. Don’t be afraid to come along to the AGM. We don’t appoint anyone who is not willing to be on the committee but we are always looking for new blood. If being on the committee does not take your fancy then how about being an assistant to the committee. These positions don’t have to attend meetings as long as they have email.
Well that’s all for this month and I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events and General Meetings.
Michael Cronin
The Vice Presidents Report
Should you ‘chip’ your car?
Have you heard people talk of ‘chipping’ cars and wondered what it meant? Some may think this means throwing a rock at it but that would all end in tears!
The chipping I’m talking about started back in the late 90s, at which time a new silicon chip would be soldered into the vehicle’s engine control unit (ECU). (These days the process is more often referred to as ‘flashing’.) Depending on the make and model, this would vary the engine’s parameters to give enhanced performance. As cars became more and more technically advanced, this process became easier. There are two main software upgrade companies, GIAC and APR. The process now starts with a registered agent for one of these companies that will download your ECU parameters and individual code attached to that car, then email it to the company’s headquarters and a file for that vehicle only will be sent back within a day, ready for uploading to the car’s ECU. Various levels of power increase can be applied for, eg mild or extreme, depending on external fixtures such as exhaust, intercooler and induction. These programs can produce a significant increase in power and torque. For example, a new Golf R has an engine output of 188KW, whilst the Audi S3 (same motor and driveline) has an output of 195KW. By installing a first stage upgrade, the Golf R will now develop roughly 230KW-240KW. These cars are very capable of handling these power increases and more. By modifying the exhaust, adding a larger intercooler, increasing fuel pump size and adding a modified induction system, we can then apply for further upgrading at no additional cost. This takes you into the area of ‘extreme’ chipping (GIAC) or Stage 2+.
This procedure comes at a cost somewhere in the vicinity of $1000-$1350 depending on the company. This may seem a lot of money but a great deal of research and development by engineers is involved and these experts have the welfare of your car in mind. Some cars respond better than others. Petrol turbo charged motors respond more than say turbo diesel motors. For more information on cost and potential power increase, talk to an agent for one of these companies. For vehicles under warranty, this chip can be removed and stored and later reinstalled.
Unfortunately, 6 volt Beetles and Kombis need not apply!
Watch this column for more discussion of technical and social issues, and I do hope to see some of you at the Nationals. There will be a small convoy heading north early Saturday morning, 26 May.
Lloyd Davies
Vice President
The club would like to thank all the Sponsors of the Day of the Volkswagen 2011. Please support the people that support us!
Volkswagen Group Australia
