Leaderboard

All about the Snowdrops (@ Calke) today 🙂 I honestly never realised just how many varieties there are!

Based on Fisker simulations. Ideal conditions assume solar irradiation of 5.4 kWh/m2/day and steady commuter driving. Actual results vary with conditions such as external environment and vehicle use.   

And there is so much room to continue the improvement of electric batteries as well as solar panels. As I said 10, 20, 30 % improvements in capacity whilst cost is dropping by 20 and 30% means the deathnail of vehicles burning hydrocarbons which are struggling to improve whist their cost remain high and their future in the mass market will only be for another decade or so when linked to a hybrid EV with the capability to drive as pure electric for at least a few miles and by then it will be difficult to find petrol as the stations close down for lack of custom. Breath the clean air.

I don't think anyone's talking about changing the laws of physics - just tech improvements to achieve greater efficiency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar-cell_efficiency

Toronto to Calgary in an Ocean

Be careful, you know wht Englishmen used to say: the left side is the right side and the right side is the wrong side

Solar panels currently only about 20% efficient and battery prices falling like a stone plus both are advancing technically with energy density improving more than 10% per year. Solar panels expected to leap to around 50% efficiency soon with new materials. My solar panels are making some good power in early feb, jan was crap though.

... and therefore self-identified as Audiots!

The descending mist and sunset were a lovely combination earlier (taken with Samsung Galaxy S23)

Post Brexit Kopacek will only ship to the UK items that are accepted by Royal Mail, so as that rear spoiler is too large for Royal Mail they won't ship it to you.

Hello Briskodians, I would like to offer a repair service for some types of electric window motor module as fitted to a few Skoda models, as well as one or two VWs. At this stage it applies only to two specific, exact part numbers fitted to the driver's side front door, as follows: 6Y2959802 Fitted to later Mk1 Fabia, from around October 2004. 6Y1959801 Fitted to Very early Mk2 Fabia and Roomster until end of October 2007; as well as 9N3 Polo and a few Transporters. (And some late 9N Polos I have learned). Private Message me a VIN if you'd like me to check whether your car has this part number fitted. (As described a few posts below, either of the above part numbers + suffix A on the end can also be repaired. Also happy to try with units of the subsequent generation, with part numbers 6Q1959801F, G, H, or J.) Note that both of these are driver's side units, the difference in part numbering is due to the orientation/positioning of the motor module on the panels they mount to. These parts suffer a type of intermittent, progressive failure where they 'sometimes work fine, sometimes don't work at all'. Eventually they just completely stop working. This is what I can fix for you. I will test your faulty unit, confirm the problem, repair it to full working order and post it back to you for £59, total. You'd post it to me - less than 1Kg so can be sent for around £4.25 on a tracked24 service purchased online at Royal Mail. I would aim to turn it round within 2 days of receipt, and send it back tracked24. This is the what the part looks like: Central locking via remote will still work in the absence of the window module, so you will be able to secure the car as normal while it is away. Obviously you'll want to ensure that both front windows are fully shut, as in the absence of the driver's side module the passenger side one will not operate. New units are no longer available from Skoda/VW, and ebay 2nd hand ones with these part numbers tend to go for big bucks. I will charge you just £59 including return postage. Cheers, Pete Edit 30/08/25: To get in touch, please click on my username which will take you to my profile, with contact info.

Just got my insurance renewal through from Privilege and despite having full protected NCB or 9+ years & admittedly one accident claim + two windscreens (stones/cracks) they hiked the premium from £452 to £1,118! So I used Martin Lewis' website and went through there and with the above, and got Full legal, guaranteed hire car, windscreen cover, foreign use etc, I got a quote from Aviva (with a £300 XS) of £568. A Whopping 65.25% saving by NOT auto renewing! 😲 So shop around.

Hey folks

My 2007 1.2 12V used to go into limp mode occasionally under heavy load (eg blasting through roundabouts) until I changed a coil pack which appeared to have been cracked and "repaired" with a soldering iron. Changing the plugs also stopped the uneven idle it always had, to the extent it would often cut out idling in traffic.

I will be doing a pre-MOT inspection on ours tomorrow, will take a few pics for comparison.

I don't auto-renew but when I had my renewal notice my chin dropped to the floor another £38 per month. I called up all the recommended insurers on my computer and gave them the same details as my current policy. Most wanted more, only one could match it so I stuck with my current insurer. It would seem that a lot of unfortunate drivers lost their vehicles in flooding incidents so we must pay.

@Graham Butcher Is that it then, it is not possible in the UK to get 1 kWh of power from the Solar and the roof of that car? I am pretty sure your guessing will be wrong.

FSII pads are very different in shape between inner and outer, part numbers from LLL diagram/table.

Lllparts confirms the elongated pad goes on the outside. https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/skoda/CZ/FAB/225/6/615/615015

@LesCM19 difficult to see what's going on from your pictures, but if I were doing the job I'd make sure to get some correct bits on there and remove a whole lot of rust before fitting any new bits. Especially where pad ears touch stuff.

For FSIII calipers that's true. But... It is an M8 allen head bolt (6mm key reqd) through parallel stainless tubes on FSII. Tubes and bolts (and rubber sleeves) different lengths between upper and lower positions.

The key word is Research-Cell, the time from first research cell to production volumes is unpredictable (and some research cell designs will likely never make it to production because of cost and/or manufacturing issues) - there is even one research cell with an efficiency close to 90% that uses nano-cell technology.

So much more pushing the laws of physics for battery tech too..... https://www.ey.com/en_in/automotive-transportation/why-are-all-eyes-on-lmfp-an-lfp-battery-with-a-manganese-booster Current LFP, such as the latest CATL battery and where it is expected they will be in the next generation in a year or two. Much more powerful but actually cheaper.

“Rough road package” was an option in the UK as well only for some models- but not very common at all - 15mm higher plus several additional plastic underbody trays compared to standard.

no, the +15mm higher version, might be considered to be PPD here? Schlechtwegepaket in German, have to dig my car info PDF out to be clear on what PR codes are installed.

When VAG use increased ride height springs they tend to be stiffer than the standard ride height equivalent because the car's centre of gravity is raised, so the stiffer springs help to keep the car stable. Because cars with increased ride height might be used off-road or at least on poorly surfaced roads, the stiffer springs also help the car's suspension from bottoming out. If you increase the ride height but use the springs from the standard ride height car (by using a lift kit) the springs will be too soft. You could fit stiffer springs but these might not be available aftermarket, as aftermarket tends to only sell what they can sell a lot of. Even if you did find suitable stiffer standard ride height springs (to go with the lift kit), the standard ride height shock absorbers might then be a little under-damped for the stiffer springs.

Every day is a scchoolday! Ever since I bought our Karoq I have had the autobrake activated, and every time I switched off the engine the parking brake applied. I haven't used the car for a few days, but I drove it today, and I tried experimenting with turning off the autobrake, and on turning off the engine the parking brake failed to apply. I have a friend who has a relatively new Audi A4. e went for a brief trip, and I was surpried that when he switched on he switched off autobrake and manually switched off the parking brake. On getting back he wsithed on the autobrake then applied the parking brake before switching the engine off. I was very confused why he did this, but I didn't think I aught to ask why.

As someone who lives on the coast - half a mile from it and about 200ft above sea level - I can assure it is not a red herring, salt air adds to any problem of rust even if it may not be the primary cause.

On which basis the dealer should have paid you six grand with the car!

Better to pay 2k on a large portable solar panel or two, 400w, 600w, and a portable battery, like my Allpower s2000 Pro, or ecoflow or Bluetooth like Byorn Nyland has in his drive until they die tests. Portable, use at home and in the car, prices are tumbling, down by a third from last year.

LLL is handy for catalogue info, to look up the correct part numbers of any mk1 bits https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/

Hi Shaun I have a 2013 Superb with sound system too, and my amp is under the passenger seat (it’s a Panasonic unit). Hope this helps Regards Dave

In order to obtain the 1,500 miles you would need to be able to expose the car to direct sunshine for the maximum number of hours in a day and do your driving after sunset, avoid your car being subjected to shade and or dull overcast days, they say quote "With the Fisker Ocean’s revolutionary full-length SolarSky roof, you can harvest the sun’s rays to generate free energy to support the vehicle’s battery-powered motor. When fully exposed to the sun, the Fisker Ocean Extreme’s SolarSky can produce up to 1,500 clean, emissions-free miles per year, and under ideal conditions may increase to beyond 2000 miles³ – all powered by pure sunshine."

This is another thread will help others if they do a search on the forum about Kopacek.

I like the car- only has 32k on the clock, spotless underneath and will run it into the ground like all my cars, one small section of road is not putting me off enough to spend more money on a different car thanks

Ho all, juts to share the upgrade done on a Skoda Kodia Audio system. Point: - the radio has few adjustment -the radio done't have Low audio signal output - the radio has no subwoofer output. The approach is the same used on other car: - add a prolunge on the Quadblock 52 pin connector - reduce the higl level signal (only from fornt) into low signal - enter inside a DSP (Digita Sound Processor) for set up the sound as prefered - DSP generate Front / Rear / Sub - Add on 1 or 2 amplifier. In my case a 6chanel amplifier - Reconnect the output signal from amplifier to original wiring and original loudspeacker - Ass a Subwoofer - Add a remote controll for subwoofer All the photo here.... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1878164309266742&type=3

If you're going for the standard ride height rear shock absorbers, I suggest you match them with standard ride height front shock absorbers. After all, the difference in ride height between increased ride height and standard ride height is only about 15mm. Perhaps try the rear modification first, as not only are the rear shock absorbers cheaper than the front but there's a lot less labour to change the rears.

I know I'm late to this thread but those seats look great 👍

Many thanks for the information. I had a knock on idle, which I traced to a split hose. Didn't know what the part was called to be able to order a replacement.

I guess the metallic lining can deteriorate, but it shows the wisdom of testing it now and then. However, remember you can turn off the KESSY system when you lock the car ( such as overnight or in dodgy areas) by locking it with the key fob and then touching the dimple within a second. The indicators will flash twice, and you have to open the car with the key fob next time. It's all belt and braces anyway as the key fob will stop sending a signal if it is left stationary for a few minutes (for recent cars). Chris

I've seen the odd mention of Ad-Blue heaters and level control not registering when topping up but that's about it. The latter is usually when it's absolutely empty with only a few miles left. Having owned both starting at a similar milage (90k) the 150 is a much nicer car.

Something I noted from my mk2 estate. If the boot was not fully closed the washer and wiper is inhibited. So it may be something to do with the boot closed microswitch.

Generally it's a single pump that does front or rear washers depending on polarity of power to it.

So in the end I took it yo a petrol station and used the air machine there, its been fine since so I don't think there was a puncture. Good to know I can use the pump without the sealant if needed, I'll always try that first as it's not always a puncture issue.

That'd certainly be the most cost effective option as otherwise you're into replacement MIB unit as well as LTE antennae

You are wasting your time. He is not able to do anything on his car by himself. It is called "the syndrome of two left hands".

My car has just been for its first MOT. Prior to that, I took it in for my trusted independent garage and tester to look at the discs as I was very unhappy with their condition - they appear to be badly corroded and look like ****e. (As previously mentioned on here, I intended that he should replace them with non-OEM items). I was surprised when he told me that he was certain that the rear brakes would be up to scratch and that he could not see any point in replacing them. In the event, when I went for the scheduled test, the brake readings on the test equipment were perfect! He confirms that rear brakes in general only provide 25% of the braking, and on a lightweight car like a Kamiq - especially an automatic - they do sod all. He advised that I should continue to apply the hand-brake from time to time to clean up the surface of the discs to address the cosmetic aspect, otherwise I should ignore what really was not an issue!

If anyone is being put off the idea of using this service due to the 'downtime' or inconvenience of having to visit the car twice, once to remove the module, once a few days later to refit the repaired original, I may be able to offer a slightly different arrangement. An exchange system where part of the price is refundable on receipt of your original. You let me know you need a replacement/repair job, either by posting in this thread or private message. Include full car details (year/model/number of electric windows) please. If I have a repaired and fully functional unit suitable for your car, I'll let you know. The initial price will be higher than for a repair, but there will be a proportion of the price that will be refundable once I receive your original, non-working motor module in return. It will have to be that exact module (the original your car was built with), so I know which car it suits. You would pay up front, receive a working motor module in the post from me a couple of days later, swap that into your car and send me the original in the post. This way you can get in behind the door-card just the once, to remove original and fit replacement. £119 for this variant, with £60 of that as a refund to be returned to you once I have your original in hand. So final cost to you will be £59 plus your postage cost for the return. I think the added convenience of this for you, my customer, may be attractive? If I have your unit type available, it'll be already packaged ready to post, so I should be able to post it out the day you message me if it's before about 4pm and we can sort payment out promptly (mouse over my username on the left to get a pop-up including 'Message' option) .

Attached in case anyone else needs them. Print dimensions courtesy of this page Vas-6430.pdf