Broomster

Hi Malcster. Thanks for replying. Sorry I didn't say so sooner. Turns out its the same VAG part number after all for SEAT as well, and they had one in stock. The good news is that its a new number for the Roomie, and a new part, which is much easier to fit and lasts the life of the car. Useful link. I sent it to the service reception guy at SEAT as they are going to service my Skoda in future. Cheers Steve

With the demise of Marlborough Skoda in Isleworth, I have tried to get my local Seat dealer to fix my brake light switch, but VAG in their infinite wisdom now have different part numbers for Skoda/Audi and Seat/VW, so they can't order the correct part. Nearest dealer is miles away, but VAG won't allow dealers to divulge part numbers to each other. How childish is that? Nor will the nearest Skoda deal tell me over the phone. Anyone know the (current) part# for a brake-light switch (the one behind the brake pedal) for a 2007 1.9 PD Roomster, manual? Thanks Steve

Beautiful is as beautiful does I say. The Roomie is a classic example of form follows function. Of course, this does not apply to my girlfriend, who is lovely to look at but not as practical. But then I don't need her to carry lots of stuff very often.

A brilliant story! WOuld love to see a photo. I think you just need to paste the URL of your image. To post the URL, first you have to put it on an online site like Flickr or Facebook or the gallery page here. Then, when you are displaying the image, right click on the image, select "properties" and then select and copy the URL displayed where it says "address". Click on the "insert picture" icon (in the toolbar when editing your post) and paste the URL into the field and like magic...

Personally, its already quite firm enough on the 16" wheels. Low profiles dont add anything extra in the dry with this kind of car and just make it less grippy on snow.

True, the Ignis is fun around B roads, but the low gearing and need for revs made the one I tried a chore on anything approaching an A road or motorway. I suspect the "tweaked" Roomie has a lot more in-gear thrust as well. Fun, but only in a limited way. Apparently an upgraded rear anti-roll bar sharpens up the handling quite a bit on the Roomie and makes it quite a serious Q car on a back road too.

I dont have a major problem with mine, though as others have said road camber has quite an effect because of the asymmetric track front and back, though its not brutal. However I can't "let go" or the car will follow the camber which is typical of cars with low profiles. I have also hit some major potholes and so far it has not changed too much. I dont consider this mild effect to be a problem as it changes with load, speed and road conditions. Tracking wont make a lot of difference - that only affects toe, not alignment. This will affect steering wheel alignment, turn in sensitivity, tyre wear and may affect suscetibility to camber, but would not cause it to pull on a flat road. My question is what affect if any does having a passenger make? Having all the weight on one side compresses one side of the suspension and tyres more than the other, and as suspension compression affects the geometry, this will cause a drift. Other things to check are: An incorrectly fitted (or damaged) rollbar or worn spring - check that the car sits level on a flat level surface. Check that the front suspension bushes are tight (this is a known issue on roomies and they dont always wear evenly). Check that you dont have a binding caliper (daft I know but it would cause the problem if one brake was partially on, though I would have thought it would smell of burning) Check that tyres both sides have the same wear pattern. If one is worn on the shoulder and the other is not, there is a more serious issue but it would explain the pull. More serious issues would be a bent suspension arm. Very hard to do this in practice without other obvious signs of damage. Those things are built to take a lot of punishment and the wheels/teyres would normally go first. At the end of the day, no monocoque design is ever perfectly straight out of the factory, and small amounts of asymmetry are allowed for in the design. Try all the above and if not happy take it to someone that can do a full geometry check.

I think this is a case of "they all do that sir" and its certainly true on cold days when the grill contracts compared to its mounting. I stopped worrying about it, decided to ignore it, and sure enough I can't hear it any more An 07 plate with 23 K is light miles. My 07 has 19k, mostly motorways. Somewill will get a bargain when I trade in, though it won't be for a few years yet. Rattles aside I love the Roomy. Cheers

Even at 5mph a wing mirror would not have stopped you - depending on which way your wheels were turned you may have banged wheels. Even so, not sure how you could bend a track rod so easily. Get it checked as soon as possible though.

Really impressed with your work - sounds like a worthwhile conversion. Does it make any difference to the fuel consumption?

Mines accurate if I do a lot of motorway driving. It seems to get confused when I do a lot of local short trips and it gets a bit more optimistic.

I wasnt going any slower than the traffic flow, plus some swfit overtaking. I normally average 52mpg on the motorway and a bit more if there are lots of 50MPH restrictions. A bit less in bad weather or if I decide to set cruise a little higher...

With a following east wind on the way from London to Dorset at the weekend, my 1.9 TDI managed 68.5 mpg average (previous record 60.5 mpg from Birmingam NEC to London with light traffic). On the way back it managed 50.3 - although the wind was reduced a little it was still blustery and head on. Still, an average of 59.4 is pretty darn good considering the conditions (250 miles of mixed motorway, A roads, B roads and town driving). It really brought it home how much wind resistance affects economy. Steve

Well done, good choice. Get the larger diesel for the best performance, economy and traction in snow. You will need winter tyres for extreme weather, and it does not have the ground clearance of a 4X4 but its quite easy to drive with all that weight on the front wheels. Really its no different from any other FWD car and Skodas manage to work all the way through Polish and Czeck winters which are always bitter and very cold. You will only have problems if the snow is too deep. I dont have roofbars and dont miss them. The boot is capacious. However anthracite is by far the nicest colour - mine is silver but I am quite jealous. As to the ride, its not like a French car, but loaded up it rides and handles extremely well. Empty, it rides more like a hot hatch, but actually corners like one too. You can really hustle this car on a twisty road, much to the surprise of some supposedly sporty car drivers. Finally, congratulations for living in such a nice location. I was in Concarneau for a wedding last year and have friends near Dinan. Yet to explore further south, but fancy visiting Vannes next time. Steve

Just try cleaning the contacts with some emery paper.