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Part of the ongoing mods on the Daffodil included looking at what to do with the air conditioning. With the new engine fitted the profi-diesel tubular manifold was rubbing on the air conditioning pipes against the bulkhead. This coupled with the fact that we couldn’t re-route them or bend them, along with either one of the pipes being suspect (of leaking) or the compressor being faulty confirmed that the air con was destined for the corner of the garage. Upsides are cleaner, neater inner wings, less weight and no air con in the summer, I can live with the latter. Looking around revealed some bodge ways to delete it, or you could buy a delete kit from Darkside, at over £100 plus vat/shipping. I took the Darkside route thinking it would be straightforward. No such thing. The alternator bracket is essentially a cut down Golf PD/ARL one, tensioner is a Golf one and a shorter 6pk960 belt. Thing was it doesn’t fit a Fabia. The alternator was 15mm too far to the right, the tensioner fouled the cam belt cover and it frankly was no good!!! I know other people just run a smaller belt round the existing tensioner with the ribbed part of the belt on the smooth tensioner, again not ideal, so some proper research started. Commence with the standard Fabia vRS alternator/air con bracket.. Cut it along where I have, then clean up the whole casting with the flappy wheel in the grinder, then the power file, some coats of paint and et viola!! You could of course leave the original brackets bolt holes empty in the block, but that won’t do, so cut the original bolts right down, refit into the block and fit two 16mm nut covers. Much better Now the tensioner is the OE Fabia vrs one, use an impact gun to remove the 16mm bolt holding the pulley wheel to the tensioner, remove the smooth pulley wheel and you’re left with the bare tensioner. Use the power file to remove approx 3mm from the outer lip, you can see where I’ve done it here.. This will allow sufficient clearance for the new pulley wheel. This is off a Mazda CX-7 2.3 16v petrol. Part numbers here to see. Make sure the pulley spins ok without catching the tensioner, refit the 16mm bolt with a dab of loctite and do it up tight with the impact gun. Fit the alternator bracket, tensioner and alternator, using loctite and nut covers to ensure a neat job. The belt you need is a 6Pk975, pennies off eBay, get a decent quality one though. I’m yet to find out if TPS list a 975mm belt to keep it OE. Fit the belt in the normal way, and that’s it. Job done, looks OE and will work properly for years to come. Cost wise the pulley was less than £20 and the belt £10. Bit of work granted but easy enough with normal tools. More soon!

Fabia vRS Mk Air conditioning delete kit. This is mostly a copy and paste from my project but if it helps others then that’s good. If you want to delete the engine bay side of the air conditioning on a Fabia Vrs there are not too many options. Looking around revealed some bodge ways to delete it, or you could buy a delete kit from Darkside, at over £100 plus vat/shipping. I took the Darkside route thinking it would be straightforward. No such thing. The alternator bracket is essentially a cut down Golf PD/ARL one, tensioner is a Golf one and a shorter 6pk960 belt. Thing was it doesn’t fit a Fabia. The alternator was 15mm too far to the right, the tensioner fouled the cam belt cover and it frankly was no good!!! I know other people just run a smaller belt round the existing tensioner with the ribbed part of the belt on the smooth tensioner, again not ideal, so some proper research started. Commence with the standard Fabia vRS alternator/air con bracket.. Cut it along where I have, then clean up the whole casting with the flappy wheel in the grinder, then the power file, some coats of paint and et viola!! You could of course leave the original brackets bolt holes empty in the block, but that won’t do, so cut the original bolts right down, refit into the block and fit two 16mm nut covers. Much better Now the tensioner is the OE Fabia vrs one, use an impact gun to remove the 16mm bolt holding the pulley wheel to the tensioner, remove the smooth pulley wheel and you’re left with the bare tensioner. Use the power file to remove approx 3mm from the outer lip, you can see where I’ve done it here.. This will allow sufficient clearance for the new pulley wheel. This is off a Mazda CX-7 2.3 16v petrol. Part numbers here to see. Make sure the pulley spins ok without catching the tensioner, refit the 16mm bolt with a dab of loctite and do it up tight with the impact gun. Fit the alternator bracket, tensioner and alternator, using loctite and nut covers to ensure a neat job. The belt you need is a 6Pk975, pennies off eBay, get a decent quality one though. I’m yet to find out if TPS list a 975mm belt to keep it OE. Fit the belt in the normal way, and that’s it. Job done, looks OE and will work properly for years to come. Cost wise the pulley was less than £20 and the belt £10. Bit of work granted but easy enough with normal tools. That’s it! Hope it’s a help to some of you thinking about doing the job. Matt

I must give thanks to guys here for a lot of patience has been shown, especially chimaera and silver1011. Whilst much of the info is known and or assumed, it is always good to see it in Black and......... Grey, in such clear, informative and concise terms as you provided. Sometimes it is good to know that what you know is right........ ^_^

Having spent a lazy afternoon watching YouTube, I have decided red on cream is the correct colour combo for this car! Not often I agree with you @shyVRS245!! ;-) Decision made. Need a change from Skoda and a S3 280 would just feel too much like my vRS - and I had a Mk 2 vRS before this one! Thanks to all of you guys for your thoughts & opinions, much appreciated. All I now need is the cash.....!

Boom! A few clicks and my SE is now an Elegance wannabe! Thanks to @MarkTB and @langers2k

Getting better.

Hey guys! I didnt know the right terminology. This thing is called LCD Screen. Searching further I found out that this is a common problem with Skoda Fabias. Solution: disconnect the minus of the car battery for 2 minutes, and try it again. Works like a charm! Admins, you can lock this thread now Thanks!

That will please shy245VRS because he has over 300bhp as well, not many know that! but his will be faster than yours because it will have lighter air in the tyres.

Here we go... Top trumps again. A Focus ST 250 isn't going to be left for dust on public roads at legal speeds by a remapped 245.

Just had notification that my Freedom Membership renewed today. A year has gone past so fast. £12 a year? Bargain!

Hello, I'm Alin, I'm from Cluj-Napoca, Romania and I like cars and computers. Please forgive me for my language related mistakes, English is not my first language. On May the 2nd I bought my 3rd Fabia, an MK2 facelift 2011 Ambiante Combi with a 1.6 TDI 90hp engine with almost all the gear I would dream of having in a car like this. I'm not sure what is standard equipment and what is optional, but it has Climatronic, heated front seats and windshield spray nozzles, Maxi Dot, ESP, auxiliary heating, 15" steel wheels initially, not has some aftermarket alloys, cruise control, hill assist, heated mirrors and I think that's about it. It does not have H7 headlights and fog lights. My first Fabia was a MK2 facelift from 2012, Combi, with a 1.6 TDI 75hp engine with AC but not much more than that and my 2nd one was a MK3 Ambition Combi from 2016 with a 1.4 TDI 90hp engine and no extra equipment. I hope I will learn a thing or two here, maybe share some of my own information with others.

A bit more OT, but i wondered if you spotted what happened in Scotland with Carers Allowance and the changes brought in. The Scottish Government have taken control of the first benefits they can and made an increase to carers, so twice a year they get a payment of £221. This increase is said to not affect other Benefits or Allowances they receive such as Income Support or Housing benefit. I imagine Esther McVey MP will be trying her hardest to have Nicola Sturgeon MSP choking on her cake or words. Next thing in Scotland is that no Private Firms are to be doing Benefit Assessments & Medical Assessments for PIP or the likes. Scotland is to create a new Social Security Agency. It would be good if they were to have 'Job Centres' where people went for jobs and not 'Universal Credit' centres that are Re-branded Job Centre Plus buildings.

pretty much what I said on page one of this thread...

That oil will be fine changed at that frequency. Well worth doing frequent changes for chain-related wear reduction, whichever oil you choose, I think. The gearbox oil could probably go a lot further, but a change every 50k miles doesn't seem madly extravagant. Not sure how good/bad the mk2 Fabia Haynes is, but again, not expensive to acquire in the grand scheme of things. All of the info can be obtained for free on here, on sites like workshop-manuals.com (if you can put up with begging pop-ups) or for a small fee - cheaper than a Haynes manual - you can download pretty much unlimited servicing/maintenance/repair/wiring/educational material from erWin Skoda in a one hour download window.

Not enough Popcorn in Tesco

You can get the advertised MPG is you are willing to drive at 55/60 on the motorway. But it's duller than dishwater to do so. However 70/75 MPG is possible at the usual cruising speeds if I put the 'speed donger' on at 80kph (!) and mostly lurk at 70ish. I also live in a really hilly area and most journeys are 20 miles+ , hence the great economy.

Agreed, have had the vRS for 18 months, so not in a huge rush. Will watch the market with interest. Just nice to have decided on what’s next. Need to upgrade the Citigo first to a decent, quicker, 2nd car for us. Then Mrs Dunc will feel no need to borrow my car. The Citigo is brilliant but the Mrs wants something a bit quicker, hence her repeated ‘borrowing’ of the vRS. I’m thinking Golf 1.4 TSI ACT c. 2014/15 for her first. Then Stinger for me. Plans eh!! Thanks all.

You lot are amateurs....... Fabia Estate 1.4 TDI S 75....

Yes I explained it? Nearer 97% to front. The crown gear system used on larger Quattro Audi's and some VW's is very different with a permanent 40:60 when no slip is present then increases front or back to suit traction. There have been many quattro systems

Asking prices and prices people can buy them for should be lower by Christmas or before 2019 with the 2017 cars sitting & not selling.

Finally got the Vibra Technics Solid engine and gearbox mounts fitted. Was worrying about the vibrations but i feel theres actually less than with the standard mounts and a hell of a lot less than with the standard mounts and powerflex dogbone mount. Gearchanges are also alot smoother and direct and taking your foot of the clutch is alot better and smoother now too.

That is about half what the going rate for a BREXIT expert is.

A few more photos taken today; Now I wonder if the facelift headlights would fit?

Hi, I fitted a Westfalia detachable swan neck to my Oct 2 Scout a few years back - I had never done anything like this before but didn't fancy paying someone to do it. I sourced the towbar from PF Jones on line and chose the Westfalia as it had the highest nose weight (thinking of resale value down the line), when removed you couldn't see any of the fixings poking out under the bumper and of course the VAG heritage https://www.pfjones.co.uk/skoda-octavia-scout-2007-2013-westfalia-detachable-towbar.html I opted for dedicated electrics at about £160 which means you get a loom that needs wiring direct to fuse box of the car (universal electrics are about £50 and means splicing into various wires in the boot and relays which I didn't want to do). I also went for 13 pin electrics. So, rear lights out first, then rear bumper off which I managed by jacking car to get to the torx screws (didn't need to remove wheels) and from memory there's a nut in the bottom of the rear quarter that also holds bumper on. Make a note of which parking sensor goes where if you remove them! With bumper off it's time to remove crash beam - on the pass side I had to drop the rear exhaust hanger and remove heat shield that hid 2 of the bolts, driverside is easier. Then the beam come off and fit the new one, no drilling required, it all lined up. I torqued the rear bolts for the beam but if you don't have one then I suggest you do them 'F.T.' I seem to think that there was some bare metal visible on car once fitted so I touched it in with an old paint stick Once reassembled, I mounted the control box in passenger side rear quarter and then ran electrics across the rear of back seat to driverside, down through the sill trims to driver side footwell. Following the instructions I unpicked various wires from fuse box, these wires then went into the Westfalia loom and the wires on the loom into the fuse box. Once done I coded with VCDS. If you go dedicated electrics get one of the fuse box wire removal kits from somewhere like this - it will be your friend https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078Z8YRVX/ref=asc_df_B078Z8YRVX56208052/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22146&creativeASIN=B078Z8YRVX&linkCode=df0&hvadid=256480317839&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17824480999787577435&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007266&hvtargid=pla-441374264280 VCDS info came with the fitting instructions including the bit on how to show the trailer when you select reverse when connected. Only fitting pick I can find is this - hope this is of some use and happy to answer questions if I can.

I fitted my own towbar @Scribbler, I already had towbar prep which made life easier. All the pictures are on my thread

Same as @MarkTB, or to be more precise - identical (according to both VCDS logs)

Sorted - applied a small dose grease to the catch mechanism, and it has been quiet ever since !

Lol, welcome to the club! Not a problem, happy to help.

That is EXACTLY why I got the 4drive - I had a tuned Saab 9-3 Aero before that was FWD and had over 300bhp and it struggled to launch and put the power down. My Saab mechanic always told me "you need AWD to put all this on the road" and it ****ed me off that on the traffic light grand prix I was owned by pretty much any a) AWD car or b) light car. When I got the Skoda there was no 4drive Cupra and the old (prefacelift) interior put me a bit off, but... Yet again it was a pain to launch the VRS. The whole axle tramp debacle annoyed the crap out of me, so after a long test drive with the 4drive, I had to have one. Around a track, FWD might be faster but on everyday life (rain and snow included) the extra power and weight at the rear helps immensely - it just is better to live with. If Skoda ever puts out an Octavia with AWD and a sporty package, they will have me back. The Superb is a great car but too big for my taste and not nimble anymore. The Cupra just loves to be thrown around, and drives much, much better than the Skoda when driven on the edge.

Best of luck Estateman in your retirement. I hope that you now find the time to do all of the things that you’ve wanted to. I don’t think that we’ve ever “spoken”, but I’ve certainly seen and read many posts with your input on them over the time that I’ve been on here. Anyone with your post count and wealth of experience, will have I’m sure, helped many hundreds of people on here. Best of luck to you and thank you for your invaluable input.

A couple more from the BSB

Of course it will.... while still returning 59.8 mpg....

Tyre wear, I'd removed my "summer" wheels/tyres last week and had a look, I've about 5-6mm left on the fronts (PS4-S) after about 7k or so. E-diff is good, traction nannies need turning off as much as you can with the button (ESP Sport is the least invasive setting) or the car just cuts power when launching. At the end of the day, it is a FWD car, launching off the line is never going to be super quick but the 245 does a good job of it at these sport of power levels. I had considered dropping in an IS38 or even a hybrid from Littco but came to the conclusion there's not really any point, In my opinion at least, these cars sweet spot is right around the 300-340 bhp mark. Get a downpipe, remap/jb4 and maybe some intake mods and just enjoy it for what it is. Oh, and better brakes.

After the invite to his house my dad hasn't heard anything and they haven't been out so I can only assume after hearing what it is and the reasons behind it they've decided it's a non starter.

I give up....

0 - 62 is not very relevent. It is completely dependent on getting the traction which FWD is crap at from a standstill. Hence the 4wd trounce them 0-62 and so do rwd to extent. The relevant times are 30 - 70 or 50 - 90. Most of the cars mentioned are basically the same with each another. Unfortunately Skoda isn't allowed the powerful versions apart from the 280 in the Superb, but even then they nicked 30hp off it. The Achilles heal of the Octavia is it's size and weight compared to Golf, Leon, Focus, i30N etc etc. I love it for its size and practicability having the original (and best!!) 230 Estate and the performance makes it a lot more fun. But if I want a more exciting drive and superior handling I use my Focus ST3 250. If I didn't need the size I certainly wouldn't make a VRS my hot hatch 1st choice, would be a a few down the list especially the ugly current one

Just a quick stop to check out the lights of the Gold Coast!!!

From the latest Octavia Owners Manual effective from July 2018 Note it says ONLY for top ups to a maximum of 0.5 litres between services. These are not specifications for a full oil change service. I keep repeating this, its important. WLTP compliant petrols, everything manufactured after June 2018 (and certain other engines before that date) have a gasoline particulate filter fitted as standard and so require a low SAPS oil if the particulate filter is going to last and not fill quickly with ash. 502.00, ACEA A3/ACEA B4 or API SN, (API SM) standards are NOT low SAPS specifications, however some 502.00 oils which also are ACEA C3 compliant are low SAPS, e.g. Quantum Platinum with QFX Check other brands carefully for low SAPS (GPF/DPF) compatibility before using 502.00 especially for full oil changes. The easier option is to use 504.00 oils for all petrol engines from 2018 onwards regardless of regime, that is a low SAPS oil. AFAIK 508.00 oil is not suitable for all petrol engines and should only be used when specified by current workshop service instructions/schedules as acceptable.

Loud clicks like you describe are usually caused by data errors, probably a bad contact to the SD card if they don't repeat when you replay the same bit. Try cleaning the SD card contacts, and plug it in and out a few times to try and clean the socket. Does it still do it if you use the other SD card socket? Does it only do it when you're driving, or maybe hit a bump? (could be triggered by vibration)

Adjusting the time on the clock and reprogramming the radio stations isn't a major issue, just disconnect the battery. An adjustable spanner (as in your picture) will be OK for the battery terminals, but the clamp that secures the battery to the tray upon which it sits is right down at the bottom of the battery (you should notice on your new battery that there is a lip all around the bottom of it, the clamp latches onto this lip). Access to the bolt that is used to slacken and re-tighten the clamp is a bit tight, and I think you'll struggle with an adjustable spanner. I used a socket set with an extension piece... This is the clamp, I'd guess the head size is no more than 10-13mm... One point to note, be prepared for a host of warning lights lighting up on the dash after you've replaced the battery and turn on the ignition / start the engine for the first time. Most of them will go out, but the steering wheel warning will require a short drive before it clears.

I'm waiting for the idea of the Superb's Owners Manual to pop up into that head of yours, everything that you should know about using the car and its maintenance is written there. In case you don't have it in print, it is easily available online (as a PDF document)

A little mod for my Spaceback

I left Rusty in the capable hands of Midas Car Care Porirua to get a resonator added to the exhaust. I love the Milltek's look and sound but at motorway speed there is a droning which is not conducive to long trips.

There is no grease on the piston/caliper to pad backing plate contact patches….or the "ears" of the pad which the pad slide on in the bracket grooves None from the factory & the VAG service books only talk about the fronts when doing servicing...& nothing about the rears... Basically get either a good quality copper grease..or splash out for Loctite LB8009 (also known as just heavy duty)..its way better than these new ceramic brake grease..I had the Mintex "ceratech" fail on me & bake on..causing more sticking...the Loctite is long term high temp to 1300C...stainless steel safe (pad spring clips), high wash out resitance..& high chemical resistance...& no metals..so won't affect the ABS sensors.. Unfortunately its a 250g tub is the smallest at cira £22....

Be nice - we've all had to learn this stuff at some point! It's difficult to give a definitive answer to that. There are a number of factors that influence how easy it is to start the car. A warm/hot engine is much easier to start because the oil will be warm and flows more easily, and it will fire up more easily, reducing the time needed to crank the engine. Ambient temperature is another factor: very cold weather reduces the performance of the battery (messes with the chemistry), so it will be harder for it to provide the power needed to start the engine. Hot weather is kinder to the battery. Automotive batteries are specified by total capacity, and by Cold Cranking Amperage (the maximum current a battery can deliver when cold): There are specifications for these parameters if you want to read into it more: you will see different numbers quoted for different standards. The vehicle manufacturer will specify a battery based on the requirements of the engine they have designed. Sometimes they will under specify for other reasons (weight, cost, etc). Diesel engines need bigger batteries than petrol, large engines need bigger batteries than small engines. The battery originally fitted to the Superb (including yours) has a capacity of 70 Ah and a CCA of 570 A. This means it can supply a current of 70 A for 1 h, or 35 A for 2 h, etc. Under cold start conditions, it can deliver up to 570 A to the starter motor: the battery would last no more than 7 minutes at this rating but it's highly unlikely you would ever hit this. The engine will usually fire within 1-2 s of cranking. The experience of many here is that this battery is a bit undersized for the car. The Varta E44 you've just fitted is 77 Ah and 780 A CCA. With no electrical consumers switched on, the car will use very little battery: only what's needed to power up the various control modules. Very few of us will ever switch on the ignition under these conditions though: generally the radio will be on, as well as the air-con system (if you have Climatronic and it's in Auto mode when you turn off the engine), because we're lazy and don't bother switching all these things off. If you have automatic headlights, these will switch on too once you turn on the ignition. All told they won't consume much power in the few seconds they're on before you start the engine. If you have a weak battery though, this could be a problem for you. When running, the alternator takes over most of the work of supplying power to the vehicle's electrical systems so the battery gets a break. Generally you can expect that the battery will be recharged within 5-10 minutes. It will take longer in cold weather though. When you turn the key to start the engine, there's a special relay fitted in the car called the load reduction relay which switches off everything electrical except what's needed in order to start the engine. This is there to help the battery while turning the engine over, but also to protect the other electrical systems from possible damage due to the high current flows needed to start the engine. As for a battery monitor, some cars have them, others don't. In older times, when cars and batteries were less reliable, it was quite common to see a voltmeter on the dashboard as you couldn't rely enough on the battery to be in good condition to start the car. Even by the 1980s this was largely a thing of the past, except for sports cars where it was seen as A Good Thing To Have(TM). What replaced it was a red battery warning light*, which will come on at a certain voltage level. It's normal to see it lit after ignition on, but it should stay off when the engine is running: if it comes on while you're driving there's a problem somewhere. *

Hey! I bought myself a RamAir cone filter with a hardback plastic 70mm O/D neck, it was a little tight to slip onto the end of the standard plastic pipe from the turbo, just be careful of the rocker cover breather pipe, the fitting can snap off....

From the title I expected glowing praise of stop start working seamlessly with DSG. Clickbait!

I think what you are describing is an active regen when your ECU raises tick over and injects an fuel on exhaust stroke to heat up the DPF. A passive regen is when the ECU does nothing extra but the soot in the DPF is burnt off due to high engine load.

Hi all. I thought I'd close off this thread by providing the solution that worked for me. Its a combination of this thread and others of the same ilk. As a Mac user I wanted a Mac solution. This is what worked for me. If you format a SD card on a Mac it writes a series of Mac related . (dot) files that the Columbus doesn't like. You must get rid of these. The cheapest fastest way of doing this is to download the free Clean my Disk app (its a younger sibling of the excellent Clean My Mac app). Here are my steps. Format your SD card using Mac's disk utility app. Format it using FAT 32 (for cards of 32Gb and below). This will add a few Mac specific hidden files that cause problems. Download the zipped update file to a a folder on your Desktop and unzip Open the root folder and copy across the root file and the two MIBN files (I'm referring to the 2017/18 maps - it may have been different for others) you should now have 3 files on your SD card, plus any pesky hidden Mac files Run Clean my Drive - it will show the junk files. The app has a setting allowing you to erase junk files as you eject the card. Use it. Once the card has been ejected lock it so that it cannot be overwritten or added to. This is an important step, but still figuring out why. Its a bit like locking the stable door...) Put into Skoda as instructions suggest. the update is recognised. It took about 25 mins for the software to update. It was a bit of a palaver to sort, but the key thing is to get rid of those hidden files, which incidentally you can see by Cmd+shift+. (dot). As I say it worked for me... Many thanks to Briskodians on this and other threads for their insights. Skoda - please update your instructions. Ash