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Yes, we've had some pretty large wildfires, fields, woods and building fires, had some fire engines destroyed and many fire fighters hospitalised, as has many other places across the UK. Almost an annual event these wildfires and so many are the result of people being careless when smoking, with barbecues etc.

Some rain due here Monday and today only suppose to hit about 30c after yesterday's 38c. I have never known anything like it in this country as the feel of the temperature here was more like Southern European weather. 1976 was the year Punk started rather than 1977 that many think. Anarchy in the UK was out and we had The Damned and The Ramones starting to knock out their hits. Last year of senior skool for me and already planning my escape to run away to sea to see the world. The Repperbahn, back forth across The Pond, Basrah, Oz and many other places on visiting route. Hope we don't get standpipes as part of water use restriction as that is a pain.

Mine would be the same as 2019 model year so good to know.

Pishing down here. After the glorious 12th which was not so glorious everyplace the weather has broken. So seasonal as pretty much usual. Every summer has not been as fantastic as the summer of 1976. Kiki Dee and Elton John. Don't go breaking my heart. Motorbikes, playing pool while the jukebox played and drinking and just a time when the price of petrol or drink did not matter. And on an apprentices wage plus some freebies from working in a garage.

It is officially @3:years / 30,000 miles in the UK for MK3 Octavia, but tuners like Awesome GTI they recommended 20,000 miles. MK4 Octavia are officially @2 years / 20,000 miles. I remember the thread that got a bit heated on the VAQ diff. I remember all threads I post in. But I think it was deleted because of abuse by a member and it was not me. It was a member that did not like this forum because we bullied him. Because we did not take what he said as being fact, because it was not.

The Sun shining on the righteous. Here one can now smell burning in the air. Stourbridge is only 19 miles away but I gather there are fires in Pershore too which is only 7 miles away. Wind us from the West currently so perhaps the fire that can be smelt is out west somewhere ie farm land or houses out to the west. Some of the grass is turning black as if self combusting.

Here in Chelmsford, we had lovely sunshine right the way through it all, not a cloud in the sky.

Die Steuergeräte sind komplett, der Kabelbaum auch. Der erste Außenspiegel komplett zerlegt Die anderen Teile für OEM Retrofit in den Außenspiegel sind im Zulauf. Gestern habe ich am Tisch die Steuergeräte aufgebaut. Firmware sauber neu geflasht auf beiden und einen für mich vermutlich passenden Datensatz aufgespielt. Der Octavia 3 hatte nie die 2Q0 Steuergeräte verbaut, dadurch gibt es keinen originalen 2Q0 Datensatz dafür. The control units are complete, as is the wiring harness. The first exterior mirror is completely disassembled. The other parts for the OEM retrofit in the exterior mirrors are on their way. Yesterday, I assembled the control units on the workbench. I cleanly reflashed the firmware on both and installed what I believe to be a suitable data set. The Octavia 3 never had the 2Q0 control units installed, so there is no original 2Q0 data set for it.

Take Firmware 253

Officially, in the UK, it is 30,000 miles or 3 years - whatever arrives sooner. This isn’t the thread I was thinking of @Evolution13 - I might have a dig for it. It wasn’t this old, and there was definitely an argument of some sort 😂 I do remember grabbing screenshots and quotes from various places.

I tried to use less than normal but I use very little in daytime as I am mainly using solar. App says it is calculating so don't know if I am judged as using less, presumabky find out tomorrow or Saturday. On Agile Saturdays half hours are predicted to be about 11p per kwh whereas Sunday is close to 20p per kwh so an hour of zero cost leckybwould be welcome. Here in Worcester eclipse was covered by dark cloud. It got dark early ie from about 7 pm and did not recover until morning sunrise. Bit of a loss of solar generation but I don't count on much after 1900 BST / 1800 GMT anyways when one is nearly 2 months from the summer solstice.

I have the PS5s on the car now - I can’t say the carcass appears to be any different to the PS4s they replaced. I think I had Rimblades on my first car, but I haven’t kerbed a wheel since I was learning to drive. I’d rather spend the extra time parking, even if I look like a fool, than chunk my tyre or wheel. Not practical advice in this instance, though. The Gemini has a very proud outer lip - I think it looks quite good, but it is more vulnerable to damage. Nothing is going to protect it from being clobbered. I do think something like Rimblades will help but, as @vRSAnt says, they aren’t miracle workers - they do also need to be applied properly to a smooth, fresh surface. I can’t imagine they’ll adhere well to a chunked alloy. I suppose you could put a 235 on there? That is on the limit, though.

5E is the model code for the Mk3, while NX is for the Mk4 (MQB Evo) variant. The reason you’re seeing the two for 2020 is that there was a crossover in generations. OPs car, like mine, is a MY2019 car, registered in 2020. For all intents and purposes, stick 2019 into parts finders and the like. IIRC both cars have the same differential, but the Mk4 adds the Vehicle Dynamics Manager in the mix - slightly different part numbers and slightly different software (control, calibration, etc), I would imagine. I can’t see the physical parts being much/any different. Someone else will know more. As far as OP is concerned, just let the guys use whatever. IIRC they only use VW kits for the differential stuff (but can use Millers for other stuff, if you don’t want Castrol).

Rimblades I think are a total waste of time. Expensive and then when it comes to a smack don't REALLY save the wheel from opinions I've seen and then trap crap behind them which spoils them anyway -but I've never actually bothered to own any to give a first hand verdict, just what I heard. Just refurbed mine before and then more careful ( and wife doesn't want to drive it anyway!) plus rim prot. You can definitely get a bit of rim protection with some tyres like one I mentioned. It wasn't Gemini tho it was the L+K mirror polished style octy ones on with the Conti's just fitted, same tyre size as vRS tho. Goodyear eagle f1 definitely offer a bit of rim protection. Contis about the same (LK alloy) a fair chunk of rubber at least . Uniroyals, somewhat considerably less if at all anything ( my back tyres )

Brake pad wear and therefore lifespan is very much a function of driving style and journey types. I personally find that garages always under estimate how long they will last; partially because they have to err on the side of safety - although this is open to looking like generating extra revenue. I usually change front pads at 72,000 miles, never had rear pads changed even after 162,000 miles in a previous car.

I was having random misfire without any warning on the cluster even vcds didn’t show anything, after replacing ignition lead (for the updated one with the heat shield around each ignition lead) and the spark plugs the misfire was still present after replacing the ignition coil the misfire went away, from the outside it wasn’t presenting anything wrong so if is still the original try to replace it

I just noticed pim (link above) are also doing 10% off with code HEAT10. £86 is pretty good from a reputable supplier.

ECP prices for parts, I've found that at least for some parts, you should check the Halfords price, I don't have anything other than the free "motoring" membership, and many times I've found Halfords to be much cheaper than ECP - which is where Halfords use to supply their ordered car parts. Maybe not in this case though, but always worth checking before placing an order. Edit:- not many places tend to match or beat PIM for genuine OEM parts - plus very fast despatch/delivery.

I've just remembered that the "safety data ref" on the labelling of both these products are different, so must be a significant "chemical makeup" between them.

It definitely isn’t every 2 years in NZ. I want to say 45,000km but don’t quote me. I have the prepaid servicing for 5 years. It’s included in that but not in the 3 year one from memory

Just replaced cylinder 4 with a £13 Bosch 0250403009 direct from Amazon. It was a Bosch 0250403007 that came out. Looks like Beru (another OEM) go for around £100 on ebay for the pressure sensing one. Bosch seem to be around £135. I find ECP expensive these days, even with an essential code/deal. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336472172965 Bosch seem to be around £135, but I see a full mixed set for £140: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286741811628 I soaked it in wd40 for a few days then got the engine to temp at removal. I might just have been lucky, but once it cracked, it was finger tight.

FYI: If you're updating a MEN2 unit and the firmware SD card is being rejected with an "SD/card reader error", try starting the update from the extended setup/service menu instead of using the normal "Update software" option under Setup. On my 2019 Skoda Fabia with MEN2_EU_SKGPx_P7381L / MU 8740 / HW 690, the SD card worked perfectly for playing MP3 files, but the normal software update menu kept reporting an SD/card reader error. The solution was to press and hold the SETUP button for about 5 seconds to enter the extended setup menu and start the firmware update from there. The exact same SD card and firmware files were then detected correctly, and the update to MEN2_EU_SKGPx_P0080L / MU 8755 completed successfully. The update also appears to have fixed my CarPlay audio crackling/distortion, which previously started after about 30–40 seconds of playback. Hopefully this saves someone else from repeatedly reformatting SD cards or assuming their card reader is faulty.

I believe traffication is subscription service, free for first year. If I recall correctly I think it cost £4.50 per year and you pay for it through the ŠKODA app. Look under PROFILE -> PAID SERVICES

Thanks for your input and advise much appreciated