Audi TT Forum banner

Installation Procedure of R32 Aluminium Paddles!!!

34K views 40 replies 21 participants last post by  Theoquattro 
#1 ·
This is it folks, we finally have a documented and well-proven method of swapping the smaller, black, pastic paddles in the TT V6 for the larger, shiny aluminum paddles "stolen" from the VW Golf R32.

First let me give a huge thanks to Philippe from France, who managed to get us the paddles from his Audi contact at a reasonnable price, and for shipping them to us all over the world  ;D  Also thanks to Philippe, Dean and ANT for taking pictures of the paddles - special thumbs up to Dean for doing so while changing yours, cheers mate!!

So here it is finally: a fully-pictured and documented procedure of the swap.

First, here are a few pictures of the new aluminium paddles to explain what needs to be done in order to take them apart:

1. Here are the paddles themselves, unpacked:



2. Zoom-in on the right paddle:



3. Here, the left arrow points at the Torx screw which also acts as a "pivot", and the right arrow points at the "lip" by which the paddles stay within short distance of the switch:



4. The paddles ship with a protective layer of some sort, you can take it off now or leave it on (as Dean did ;D):



5. Use a Torx screwdriver to take the only screw all the way out:



6. Hold the paddle steady as the spring will push it out further:



7. Carefully pull the paddle back from the switch, keeping in mind not to lose the spring:



8. Here is the spring fully released:



9. Now you can remove the paddle, by pulling up then out to release the "tab" or "lip" from the switch:



10. Here's the paddle fully separated from the switch:



11. Now go to your car, turn the steering wheel 180° so that it is upside down, and unscrew the plastic paddles:



12. Slowly push back the plastic paddles from the switches, keeping in mind that spring again:



13. Here's a comparison pic between the aluminium and plastic paddles:



14. Hold the aluminium paddle upside-down and place it behind the wheel:



15. Slide the aluminium paddle into the appropriate switch:



16. Screw the aluminium paddle in with the Torx screw, and adjust tightness for more or less "click":



17. Repeat for other paddle, and Voilà !!



18. View from the side:



19. A couple of ANT's pictures (hope you don't mind!):





Thanks again to all who contributed to this effort, and happy paddling!! ;D
Dean/ANT, if you have any comments about this "how to" please let me know  :D

Take care
-Marc
 
See less See more
20
#3 ·
As a "How to do it" post, it couldn't get any better than this.
Well done Marc 8)
 
#6 ·
.......nice one Marc, well done! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Just a bit more info in regard to the tightening of the screw just for clarification.......

First thing be careful while tightening as the the thread just "bites" into the plastic mount.

Basically the screw is tightened to take out any slack/play in the paddle. Â As you tighten the screw move the paddle about a bit and when the "rattling" or movement of the paddle stops you're there.

Now from here you can adjust the pressure on the paddle but make fine adjustments to the screw as it does have quite different effects, about half a turn more will more than likely lock the paddles movement so be carefull! ;)

Enjoy!

Dean

P.S. I drove into work this morning completely in Manual mode, first time ever ;D Â The lack of the "click" sound and solid feel are a definate improvement! VERY plush [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
 
#7 ·
.......next up, removal of the "/off" and a bit of a polish! ;) ;D
 
#10 ·
.......will do :).......
 
#14 ·
Marc,
Merci for your detailed procedure (Dean, thanks as well), I was able to do the paddle swap in about 3 mn ! Piece of gateau :wink:

ANT,
Although I did not use the acetanol-polycyclate-rubidiol-rubagain-no-drinkydrinky that you recommended, the rubbing worked. The Off is off. Many thanks for your instructions. Now I'm off...

Hervé
 
#15 ·
Herve said:
Marc,
Merci for your detailed procedure (Dean, thanks as well), I was able to do the paddle swap in about 3 mn ! Piece of gateau :wink:

ANT,
Although I did not use the acetanol-polycyclate-rubidiol-rubagain-no-drinkydrinky that you recommended, the rubbing worked. The Off is off. Many thanks for your instructions. Now I'm off...

Hervé
.......what did you use to "rub" Herve?
 
#16 ·
This is fabulous - Top quality stuff! Maybe it would be a good idea to include the part numbers? I am still trying to locate them after trawling back through a load of posts on this subject. A friend of mine in France is going to get the paddles for me.

Thanks!
 
#17 ·
NB: I created a new login (with this new forum, my last don't work anymore) --> if you sent me IM, please send them again, to this new one
---------------------------------------
Finally done on mine....after delivering the others..LOL..

It took 15 mn , with the time to "clear " the / OFF", with aceton, and take the pictures....

and un screwdriver torx of 15, is just needed...

1) this the first pic I did (you know it allready... :lol: )



2) Opened



3) to clean the paddle "+" : to erase the symbols "/" and "OFF"..... it 's the longest work.....!



4) the set, ready to...



5) paddle"+"...clean...!



6) Board "original"....



7) with cheap plastic paddles.....not very smart on a TT of 50 KEuros....



8 ) unscrew torx (15), ...



9) and open it from the "hinge", and be very careful not bringing the small spring with...



10) then bring the alu one, in the contrary movement, , starting by insertion of the small "ergot",



11) then, the spring on, then the hinge...



12) screw it back... and not too strong to leave the "click", when you press it, to change gears....



13) same on the left side, turning the wheel...



14) that's all done.....!!!
between photo n°6 and n°14 , ...11 mn....with the time to "shoot"pics on each operation....



15) new look , on rigt side with just ...a "+"...



16) left side....



17) outside view ...



18) upon view,



19) outside too.....



20) I just have to sell on E-bay a pair of new TT V6 original paddles.... :lol: ...!



21) we won't have anymore this touch of class ... :(



....."l'esthètique TT est corrigée"....anything is in order now....

Aluminium is a basic design on the TT. I don't understand how...Thinking Ingeneers of Audi, have forgotten this detail...
 
#19 ·
Herve said:
.......what did you use to "rub" Herve ?
<pretending not to get the pun> Rub ? Did I say rub ? :oops:

Have you noticed how much faster the car is with the new paddles ?
.......sorry, no pun intended, just wanted to know your procedure and tools? :?

Cheers

Dean
 
#20 ·
Dean,
Sorry for misunderstanding, not English mothertongue, I was suspecting something funny with "rub" :)

My "technique" was to carefully put a drop of aceton on the paddle then rub it hard with my thumb nail wrapped in a rag. It took about half an hour for both signs "off" and "/".
Changing direction can be a plus, since the brushed aluminium has those tiny grooves on its surface. I was tempted to use a soft brush on a Dremel but could not face the idea of permanently damaging the aluminium finish...
 
#21 ·
Excellent work guys :D

Can't wait to fly back to California & slap these babies on.. Paris is nice but a little too cold for me :p

Thanks again Philippe for the paddles!
A+
Marc
 
#22 ·
Herve said:
Dean,
Sorry for misunderstanding, not English mothertongue, I was suspecting something funny with "rub" :)

My "technique" was to carefully put a drop of aceton on the paddle then rub it hard with my thumb nail wrapped in a rag. It took about half an hour for both signs "off" and "/".
Changing direction can be a plus, since the brushed aluminium has those tiny grooves on its surface. I was tempted to use a soft brush on a Dremel but could not face the idea of permanently damaging the aluminium finish...
.......cheers Herve, but where did you get the aceton from? Will standard nail varnish remover be of a similar substance producing the same results? Any chemists out there? :wink:
 
#23 ·
Marc_in_the_US said:
Excellent work guys :D

Can't wait to fly back to California & slap these babies on.. Paris is nice but a little too cold for me :p

Thanks again Philippe for the paddles!
A+
Marc
It has been a pleasure to meet you in Paris, last Saturday.. [smiley=cheers.gif]

Are you allready back in US....?
Got Your visa, in Paris Embassy...?

And Thank you again for my new Boot Rack Quattro Gmbh....
(ASAP, I'll report the installation of this new Aluminium part...)
 
#25 ·
ADB said:
Did I miss a Group Buy on these :cry:

I remember a couple of posts saying the price went from a few pound to a few hundred? Is this the case or can someone give me a reasonable price?

Thanks

Andy
.......Andy, have you missed some chunky posts! Do a search on "R32 Paddles" and you will probably find that in the UK the price grew from £35 each to £144 + vat each. Then our kind French TT Forum member Philippe came to our rescue and ordered some for us in France at around £100 for the pair delivered to the UK as the price stayed the same in France.

You could probably IM Philippe and see if he would be kind enough to do the same for you but maybe the price has now risen in line with ours?

Good luck.

Dean
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top