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Anyway, dropped the Octy off for some work on the brakes, mechanic says, is the locking wheel nut adapter in the boot, yes I said, we go in the boot to make sure, it's not in its usual place, we take everything out of the spare wheel well, check under all the tools, not there, we check in the two little storage compartments each side (estate), not there, must be in the glove compartment, not there, centre console, not there, little compartment by the steering wheel, not there, what am I going to do, little bit of sweat breaking out on my forehead, just driven hour and a half. AND THEN IT CAME TO ME, I DONT HAVE LOCKNUTS ON THIS CAR. Good job the mechanic saw the funny side, he did a brilliant job.

So anyway, I got my car remapped at Angel Tuning in Banbury, where I'd previously had a remap. (Mondeo 2.2 TDCI) Tom (the owner/operator) asked me what I was looking for. I said I like the linear power delivery of the 190 engine, and basically wanted the power of a vRS 230, without compromising everyday fuel economy more than absolutely required. I know you can get more out of the 190TSI engine, but 230ps is plenty for me, as I'll be using it with no other mods to brakes or suspension. Tom said the changes he made were an increase of +41.3bhp (seems awfully specific, especially as no rolling road was used) and an extra 38.9ftlbs of torque, with the DSG response improved also. It all came to £395. Here's the part where people usually gush about how much more lively and responsive their car is after the remap. Phwoaaar!!!! 😈 However, given that I drive around like a pensioner most of the time, I've only really noticed the extra power a couple of times: Once when applying a little squirt of throttle in high gear, I felt the car push forward a bit more powerfully than previously. (This was in Drive mode) The other time was a quick accelerate from a set of lights down a local dual-carriageway to give the GPF a blow though. It got up to speed quite quickly, but without feeling a sudden kick of power, it was all very progressive and linear, which is what I asked for, I just noticed that I was going faster than I had expected when I checked my speed. (That was in Sport mode) Both of those events was with the car filled with 95 RON, as I wanted the map to be done on 95 so I knew it would run without issues on 95. I've just filled it with Sainsbury's 97 RON, so I'll see how that goes the next time I use my car. (I haven't driven it since Sunday, which is when I filled it up after a run.) I'm off to Wales on holiday soon, so that will be the acid test of what sort of success the remap is. Tom's told me if I'm not happy with it, he's willing to tweak it to suit my needs, which is fair enough. The fuel economy seems to have taken a little hit, but it's early days yet. I know it's easy to assume I've been razzing round enjoying the power, but I really do drive very economically most of the time. 👴 That said, the odd burst of acceleration when joining a motorway may use enough extra fuel to have a noticeable detrimental effect. Hopefully the long drive down to South Wales should give me a better idea of how economical the map is on a run, as well as finding out how the extra power I've got feels when driving around down there on the A-roads, instead of pottering round the West Midlands in busy traffic. If I come across a rolling road session opportunity, I might give it a run on that to see how it measures up. So far, I'm not unhappy with what I've got, but I'm not "Wow! Amazing!" over it either. Which, given I wanted to keep the linear power delivery and I drive economically, is probably how it should be.

What state are your tyres in? Maybe they have very little grip causing them to lock sooner than you'd expect and ABS to kick in

Other than posting questions on forums, you mean? 😉 Couple of questions... wouldn't reading the manual be quicker than waiting for someone to read it for you and post the relevant bit? Also, have you ever wondered if there are things your cars have been able to do that you nothing about, simply because you refuse to read the manuals?

My guess and it’s just a guess is that leather seats can mean you slide round a little more and therefore that’s why they contribute. However if that’s the case it’s less the leather and more the supportiveness and general ‘hug’ of the seat that matters. So I’d definitely test it out first before assuming it’s no good in any specific car.

My last Mk3 PFL Octy vRS (63 plate), bought it in May 2020 with 41K miles full Skoda history for £9250 private sale (of the century!). Sold to a car buying service in Feb 2022 with 51K miles for £13,750 ( £250 lower than WBAC website offer, but no quibble collected from home). It ended up in a Renault / Dacia / Citroen main dealers who put it on the market at £16,995, they then lowered price to £15,something and now still for sale down to £14,358. That will teach them for getting greedy at start, there is no way they didn't pay more than that off car buying ones hahahaha. I am semi tempted to buy it back as they do 2 years free servicing with used cars and warranty etc then what they don't know is that I still have a major service pre-paid for on a service plan for that car. If they drop price again, it could be the perfect crime lol

well i am like a dog with 2 d(%sjust been told the car is complete and is in transit and will have it within 4 weeks at the latest.mind you i will believe it when i get the keys for it in my hand.so i hope all of us get good news like me.model ordered was octavia vrs 4x4 estate,black diesel 2.00 ,200 bhp.may 21 2021.looking just over 14 months i have waited.i think i will pop dow to the local to have a couple of pints or more.

I live in Suffolk and yesterday made a trip northwards into the wild Norfolk countryside. Nearing Norfolk's major town I realised that the Satnav voice had adopted a regional accent. Norwich would normally be pronounced similar to how it is written "nor-witch". However I realised the Satnav lady was saying "nar-witch". Simply clever! tom

11.6V is the reading from your battery, 14.4V is from the alternator. Your battery voltage is far too low, if it's new take it back under guarantee but please stop making me repeat myself, there's something wrong with it.

It's better than forgetting where the locking wheel nut is for your Fabia, emptying the car out across the driveway, to find it in the 'emergency' bag beside a spare coil pack and wheel nut cover puller that you had set aside earlier thinking the locking nut adapter isn't in said bag.

This thread appears to be derailing somewhat, I think the OP has his answer anyway: Do it with tyres, not imaginary extra gears.

No just going off that they came up in a search for your part # https://partsfinder.bilsteingroup.com/en/article/febi/170554 and that gives https://www.amazon.co.uk/febi-bilstein-170554-Oil-Filler/dp/B08FXCPWRF

id love to hear what the satnav would make of irish place names

Ours was delvered in May 2021 and it reverts to auto after a short time in normal. I haven't checked this in sport mode.

Thanks for this. I can't afford to buy both. I think I am going to run down to my local back street tyre place and ask them to Jack it up as high as they can and measure the gap for a fee.

Plenty of info online Just for example:

Yep, tried that and it works. Also, if you press and hold the - paddle, it will jump down a few gears to the best one for acceleration...

I guess we're talking about the same post, lol... Mine is February 21, and I think I'm on 1806... Have to check - always forget it...

However that's terrible compared to a diesel, which for a long run on diesel will get 65MPG+ without doing much more than keeping it at or below 70 and looking ahead. I do agree that batteries are useful, but then if long journeys are rare, why not look at a short/long range EV for 99% of the journeys and renting an ICE vehicle for longer distance. The whole concept comes back to the same problem you currently have with all cars, which is too much weight. When on ICE you're carrying around an unused battery, if you're topping the battery up MPG tanks and if you're on battery you're carrying around a load of unused ICE and gearbox/transmission etc. The end story is poor MPG or poor range for a given amount of fuel/charge. If you look at it all, then you can find that people moving from great big heavy SUV with the aero/drag profiles approaching that of a brick to a normal car like an octy estate would make more difference than driving a hybrid SUV. Similarly people driving large cars who never need them would be better in a polo estate etc. Cars have got bigger and heavier and people have not looked at weight saving. It's huge alloys, big heavy brake calipers rather than lighter weight multi-piston designs, steel everywhere when plastic panels were used in the 80's and 90s (Citroen, Renault) and aluminium. The key issue should be weight and drag reduction to create more efficient cars, not greenwashing, by strapping a battery plus a glorified washing machine motor in an SUV then calling it self-charging hybrid technology (ICE powered you mean?). On an electric thread, it was suggested a mass based system of road tax would be a good replacement for the lost fuel duty, and I can see it would apply and help here too. I also posted this, which is food for thought... https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/opinion/354505/scrap-your-hybrid-diesel-campaign-might-just-happen I could be wrong, but I think the BIK advantage for hybrids is gone (or about to be). At which point a hybrid doesn't make sense as a company car driver any more vs an all electric ZEV.

This thread reminds me of one of my early cars, a Rover 90 P4 series which had a large knob in the centre of the dashboard that could be turned to put the car into 'freewheel' i.e. coasting. To re-engage you had to be in gear and pulling. The trick was not to forget that you had selected freewheel, I had one or two 'half-crown sixpence' moments with it 😁.

Roll on the 360-degree camera with IR for clear viewing at night!

Have I missed pics?? 🙄 We need pics!! 😁 On my Giant (analogue bike) I've a frame clipped pump: On my e-bike, I've got a micro-pump which just fits in a Roswheel frame bag: HTH Gaz

7 years on and nothing changes and many have no idea what the cars lights do or what others see when they have lights on. I love where those that live on the dark side of the moon need all the lighting they can get. Where there is no lighting and hard to see they can put on Full Beam, Dipped beam and front and rear fog lights and reversing lights to their heart is content. That does not mean that just because when they select reverse they should have the Front fogs come on automatically regardless of location or need. If they want Front fogs on to reverse and nobody is coming towards them then switch both on rather than a pair on and then one or other on as they reverse and steer. PS New annoyance to go with the usual, more and more EV's on the road where the driver has no idea the car has Headlights and Rear Lights that will not reduce the pathetic range their car might have so switching them on is Simply Clever and do not assume 'Auto' means there are Side light / Position Lights and even Dipped Headlights on.

Efficiency is key, as explained on FullyCharged:

It was calculated using the last refuel at £1.83/l and electricity at 7.5p/kWh. There was no need to recharge for the return journey - after 61 miles the battery was at 10%

It sounds to me like @Keypurrwants stop/start to work and it isn't? There are many conditions for stop/start to work not just battery state of charge, try looking on the infotainment where there is a menu explaining what conditions are not being met.

'Coasting' with a vehicle with a DSG and 'Coasting' function is a different thing, as in it is enabled and the gear indicator that is in D7 goes to D (some cars ECO because you need to have that selected) the car goes to 'Coasting' with the gears not engaged until you touch the accelerator or the brake pedal. You need to look at what engine and DSG you have, a TSI a TSI with ACT, or TDI's, a Dry Clutch Or Wet Clutch DSG. They are not all the same... And manuals are different. http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/494029-is-15tsi-coasting-in-d-mode-while-normal-mode-selected http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/494047-coasting http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/451452-coasting-in-normalsport http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/386035-dsg-coasting-in-eco-mode http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/456858-eco-mode-coasting This is a diesel so different from the Kamiqs here but still there is 'Coasting' also ACC. Getting to know what you have makes sense. This being a manual. Kick him out the car ....Maybe get a Yeti to suit him.

Small correction. The guys who complained were from Greece.

Exactly the same for me. Happy with that too

The next job started on a whim, and does nothing to improved the looks, performance, or reliability of the Caddy. In truth it could be said to be a pointless waste of time and effort, except it makes me smile, which is the whole point of this project really. My history with Morris Minors has led to something which is becoming a tradition with my builds, which is that I try to incorporate a part from a Minor into every project. On my Ibiza I use a Minor light switch for map switching, and on the Caddy I had the idea to fit a Minor horn. The horn fitted to 1950s Minors was a huge steampunk thing, with a deep, klaxon-like sound, just what the Caddy needs. I still have a few Minor parts in my lock-up, so the next time I went over there I retrieved this. I last owned a Minor almost 20 years ago, and this horn and another had been sat in the lock-up ever since. It looked like it too. More in hope than expectation I stripped the ends of the wires and connected 12v, but my expectations were proved correct, and no sound ensued. That would have been just too easy. Before taking the horn apart, I gave the casing a good clean. Inside, there really is not much to go wrong. A bit of attention from some sandpaper on the contacts, followed by a drop of oil on the armature shaft, was all it took to restore function. Whilst the casing was apart it was given a couple of coats of satin black Hammerite. The screw holding the casing together was quite rusty, as it was entitled to be having not been undone for perhaps 60 years. It was presumably a Whitworth or BA thread, and I did not have a direct replacement. Instead I drilled and re-tapped the mounting bracket with an M5 thread so that I could use a nice stainless countersunk screw. The wiring was tidied-up with some convoluted sleeve, and a new connector, before I reassembled the casing.

I don't like them from an engineering standpoint, and in those terms they are definitely a bodge, there are much better, appropriate, even elegant solutions out there. Grayston make helper springs, a secondary coil spring that fits inside the existing one, I used them for 13 years on my MK1 Octavia and they were great, they are also simplicity itself to fit, as easy as changing a rear spring which is dead simple. And on that note, had I known then about the range of springs fitted, their colour codes etc and also just how much the OE springs sag with age I would have fitted new uprated versions from Lesjofors which is what I have done on my MK2 Octavia and the Yeti. It sounds like the OP's springs are already sagging, fitting spacers between the coils really is not a good idea in that instance, the springs once sagging break rapidly enough on their own without assistance, all of my Skoda have had multiple broken springs, touch wood the Lesjofors replacements have not to date. There are aftermarket "airbag" type spring assistors that can be inflated up for towing, I never found anything available for my Octavias or Yeti though, hopefully someone will know different. Finally the best I have ever experienced, the simplest and most user friendly came as standard on all my Sierra Estates (in Ghia and 4x4 trim) they had Boge self levelling struts, I think they were integral with the rear dampers or maybe it was seperate, they would "pump up" with the spring deflection when heavily loaded or in my case suicidally overloaded and bring the car back to level, I could load the thing with concrete blocks, bags of sand, cement, whatever until it was dragging its ar5e like a dog with worms, right down on the bump stops, drive it a few yards over a few bumps and it would come level again, also the suspension was never stiff or harsh loaded or unloaded. Its a shame no manufacturer fits them nowadays or that they are not available as an aftermarket fitment.

I fitted them on the back in probably 2 minutes each side including jacking up. Really easy job.

A little update. The dealership have had the car for a week and whilst they replaced the relay and then a switch to ensure the fan near the condenser ran properly - they still can’t get the a/c to work consistently. Apparently there is a UK Skoda technical centre to which they have sent all the details and technical data. Those guys are able to review it and make suggestions. They’re also able to contact the factory in the Czech Republic in order to try and solve the issue. And if they can’t then I guess it is time to replace the whole unit or maybe the car!

Mine is also built 2.0 TSI - Side assist, canton, double glazed windows, family pack etc. Ordered 7th of October 2021. Around 2-3 weeks delivery.

The iV is worth it if you are a) a company car driver and b) do a lot of short journeys and occasional long ones. I have one. Most of my journeys are sub 30 miles including my work mileage. My my current electric tariff i average about 6.5p per mile on the electric. I can get to local towns and Leeds on electric and most if not all the way back as well. I get 14p a mile back on business miles so it works out ok but I don’t do many business miles. It doesn’t charge very fast but I’ve had no issues using only a 3 pin plug and charge it up every time I use it. We occasionally do trips to the coast (200mikes) or UK holidays (maybe 7-800 miles) in remote places where we need to petrol engine. I have found worse case is about 45mpg on petrol only. The shorter the trip the more the battery helps to reduce consumption but it still acts as a MHEV when fully discharged so that’s pretty good. I’ve never charged it away from home personally. If you were buying it with your own money I wouldn’t bother as it’s a costly car and you could get similar mpg from a petrol - the extra cost of the iV would make up and less MPG for many years!! It suits my journeys very well but I did think long and hard about it. I really wanted a Focus estate but a MHEV one was still going to be over £100 a month in BIK tax plus contribution of £130 for the spec I wanted whereas the Octavia is £15 tax plus £145 contribution ish. So I pay about £160 a month for it but the comparable focus would have been £230 at least. I went for an SEL model with a couple of options so I have a really luxurious car for a bargain price compared to some of my other options. Also it has 205bhp combined so it’s also easily the fastest option for the money I was willing to spend. You’ve just got to be honest about how you use a car and do the numbers for your own situation. My car would not work well for someone who commuted 60 miles a day, had nowhere to charge at work and paid for the car themselves - a diesel or petrol may be better.

used market is nuts. my late built mk2 octy is currently "worth" about a €1000 more than what i paid for it in 2019. problem is everything used is also worth more now, so i still cant afford to change it. its not just cars though, profiteering is going to kill everything soon though and we are gonna have a major recession. eg - i saw that someone had their house up for rent during the irish open this week for 15k! they obviously didnt get it and so got nothing other than a bill to pay for their own holiday abroad which they thought would be covered by the killing theyd make for the golf. result their spending power just got a kick in the nutz which will have other knock effects into the near future.

First post here. Been following this thread since mid Sept 2021 when I ordered my SEL 1.5 TSI Estate, and was starting to regret my choice! Pleased to report I have been told it will now be in the UK in 4 weeks. It's been 90% complete for months so happy it's finally done. There is hope, people 😀

I don't trust it; it's tried to send me through a private farm just because the track showed up on the map, and through a road that has been closed midway along for years . One of the reasons I didn't bother renewing the connect subscription when the free year lapsed. Now if only my Motorola phone would connect reliably with Android Auto I'd be sorted...!

They value offered was about right, on bare metal ignoring all else. Eg my options are worth zero, theirs are worth 6k type of value. It’s the massive overage on approved used thats crazy Renault offered way more, it’s all about the cost to change of course and oddly I’m not necessarily after a newer model. But I’m dam sure I’m not handing the keys over for an older car and money. I use the valuation tools to get a value on the plate I’m thinking of. Basis that’s what it’s worth a week later if I had to distress sell it.

It is like e-Bikes, if you love cycling & can carry on for the foreseeable future maybe do not try an e-bike as push bikes are never quite the same as they were. I ruined my hobby that i had for decades by going to e-bikes as it is a whole different thing.

Just thought I should update my car. I can’t help but think the estate superb has. better looking profile than the hatch ! Well now I have the estate version in black ! Really pleased . Got this on the 19th. ‘16plate, auto, only done 29 k had to have glow plug circuits and new glow plugs renewed ,thankfully the dealer agreed to pay. I hope to hold onto this for sometime. I’ve heard stories about the dsg auto box being a failure ! Any thoughts on this ?

Not sure if I’ve put this on yet but I’ve now fitted a roof rack and bike holders (Yakima flush bars in black and Thule ProRide mounts) My 1.4 iV SEL estate in petrol blue with optional wheels (still 17 as I wanted comfort but the standard wheels are awful).

Hi @Jakester I contacted these people waiting for response Lightrofit - Audi & VW Retrofit Specialist | Facebook

Had a catch up with a fellow enthusiast yesterday. The work he has put into his ex Thames Valley police Omega to bring it back to spec is outstanding.

Yes, i can understand this, as much as its great that Skoda were taken under the VAG umbrella, this is the problem with big companies, you can become the sacrificial lamb

@foxmeisteractually VW Group already knew they had issues with their inhouse software before they ever allowed new vehicles out to customers with the faults that they knew they would have to fix, but they had cars to sell, money to get in and customers to suffer for their greed.

I mostly just did it to futureproof. I only needed 5 PoE ports (2x APs and 3x cams), but now we’ve moved I’m running 11 cables to wall outlets around the house as well as the NAS and server bits in the rack, I needed to get a switch to go with it and as I was being lazy I just got a Ubiquiti one when I ordered the SE. I only went with the PoE version in case I add any extra cameras/APs or devices in the future, probably could have saved a bit by getting the regular one, but this way I don’t need to worry about swapping it out and tidying up the cable spaghetti if I go nuts and put a couple of indoor cameras in the ceiling to watch the cats and add an AP to cover the garden or something. I think I’m justifying it more to myself than you at this point. TL;DR - more money than sense.

I use the eufy camera systems for site security. No subscription, 2K, night vision good. Floodlight option if needed. Long battery life on the cameras. I use three 2 pro cameras (battery) and two floodlight cam pro (mains) setups.

My dream car is the Aptera. Sort of combines a couple of my life experiences: so imagine my first car which was an Isetta 3 wheel bubblecar modified to encompass the extreme aerodynamics and seating position of one of my early passions which was gliding. Not a production car as yet, only being offered as a kit car and no rhd version mentioned, but I just love the principles behind it.

By far the easiest way is to simply replace the coolant expansion tank before there's any chance of the silica bag breaking down - quick, clean and easy job to do yourself. Tools required - new OEM expansion tank (make sure 'without silicat'), turkey baster to empty tank, suitable hose clip pliers (available online) approx. 500mls G13 or G12++ coolant to refill tank.