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Yes, it's possible. I did it on mine (MK3 280 hp 2021 DNFE). I bought a new subframe, I don't remember if it was from a Passat or Arteon (Ref. 3Q0199369E), and it fits perfectly. I don't know if the one from the Golf is suitable. It's a time-consuming operation, but it's relatively simple. You just have to be careful to replace all single-use bolts and respect the tightening torques. If you're going to do it, I recommend installing subframe centering devices, such as those from Racingline or 034, to ensure proper alignment of the subframe. These photos are of mine as recently installed. Regards

I have now been driving for four weeks after I cleaned the inside of the touchbar and have not had any issue with the volume turning up by it self. Take it apart and carefully clean it with isopropyl alcohol. Let it dry and put it back together.

The pad warning light is just that .. a warning that the pads will need replaced. It's not a replace immediately light. So no malpractice at all and you'll probably get charged for the replacement and call out as it wasn't actually necessary

I realise it's not a photo, but I got buzzed 😎 (Needs sound): IMG_2972.mov Gaz

Well if you got an active connect services contract for navigation you have no real requirement to update the maps via the download. Its all automatic. The infotainment screen shows you the current release. Under contract map services you should get one monthly. If not under contract then they are made available twice a year. @MartiniB publishes the serial number. Obviously if you get them via the portal the webpage author may not edit that into the front web page. A helpful soul told us where to find that in the files after I'd been asking. The issue at that time was across Vag old mib3 maps were shown, with different file names by brand although all the same update. So now we know how to read the yyyy.mm and they can be placed by their update, date, not filename. Currently only Skoda files are the most update mib3 files which are interchangeable. That may change. Thus its best to look at @MartiniB links if you want the best updated ones rather than the portal of the Vag brands. If you have brand loyalty with offline maps you may be running with old navigation files that you can better. If you use connect services and pay for navigation map file updates and have the connect services set up correctly, then it automatic. MartiniB posts the threads here which cover all Skoda navigation models. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/7-audio-electronics-and-security/ Clear as a bell.

OT, but anyone looking at used Family / Taxi sized EV,s maybe want to check out the asking prices of used Polestar 2,s. Official Approved Used & the likes of Cinch & other Car Sales / Online sellers. PCP or buying. Long range ones & much cheapness. 2 former keepers with lots of them. ?? http://polestar.com/uk/preowned-cars http://cinch.co.uk/used-cars/polestar/2 There are many thousand that have been around Scotland at the airports as hire cars in the past years. Regularly replaced by newer ones.

Indeed a rather pathetic test which does not really do anything to enhance the case of EVs. Much more relevant and meaningful is the I-90 Surge they do in the US for 3,000 miles. The ICE reference car did it in 44.5 hours, the then Taycan 46.5 hours, about 4 % longer, and the cheaper than both Tesla model 3 LR took 48.5 hours so about 9% longer. Most of the EVs ie 5 of the 9, did it in less 50 hours ie with in about 11% of the reference ICE car. Time table in to the video at 3:31 which includes the car costs but not in journey fuel costs. Hopefully run it again this year and with new crop of EVs I would expect virtual parity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-CHiEdfODg

Exactly. I told Admiral that I was not playing that game.

Hello I just became an owner of a spanking new Octavia vRS mk 4.5 and I'd like to share my first impressions but before that a bit of a background story. Last year I was looking for a new car to replace my Ford Mondeo Titanium S from 2009. It served me well but it was time for something newer. I guess my criteria mostly were that the car had to be practical but also a bit sportier than the previous one. Initially I was looking at Cupra Leon Sportstourers (also estate) but I was eventually mesmerised by a velvet red Octavia RS mk4 liftback. I thought I got a pretty nice deal on it as it was just barely used (~3000 km), so no new car tax to pay for me anymore, and it had ton of extra equipment as well. I was super happy with it. Then in February the facelift was announced and I admit that I didn't think much of the RS facelift at that moment. I was definitely thinking that the front lights were cooler on my current RS, I mean the fog-lights were a separate unit and the front bumper was also much more aggressive and edgier. Also nothing really bothered me too much about the infotainment system. But....as time passed the design of the facelift had started growing on me and in addition some of the improvements here and there (a bit more power, newer infotainment system). And by July I managed to convince myself that I want the facelift RS, so I ordered one! It arrived at the end of September. However, by that time I still hadn't found a new owner for my mk4. I had some offers but nothing good enough yet so I asked the dealership to wait a bit and give me more time to sell my mk4. Then I finally found a buyer and told the dealership as well that I'm now ready to receive the new car. But I guess I jumped the gun there a bit as the deal to sell the old car hasn't been quite finalised yet. So that means that I'm in a unique position where I currently own a mk4 Octavia vRS and a brand new mk4.5 Octavia vRS and they are both velvet red! But it's a good opportunity to compare them. So finally, here are my thoughts on the differences: The specs Both of my cars have a ton of extra equipment but there are slight differences (just some quality of life extras really). I really liked the extra features on the old car so I mostly copied them when speccing the new car as well. But most notable ones: Both cars are liftbacks Both are velvet red mk4.5 has 20 extra horse power but cannot test it yet if I can actually feel the difference (still break-in period) Both have DCC, Adaptive Lane Assist Both have Suedia (leather) seats (as part of Challenge Plus package on the old mk4, separate option on mk4.5) Both have 19" wheels (Altair on mk4, Elias on mk4.5) Both have a Heads Up display Navigation was a separate option on mk4 but I think it's part of the base RS spec now. I couldn't spec preheating for mk4.5 in my region (wasn't available in the spec sheet and still isn't in the configurator) I added Canton sound system on the mk4.5 (yet to review it properly) Exterior The biggest difference between mk4 and mk4.5 is the front part of the car (as you've probably seen from pictures yourself). As I also mentioned above, it took some time for the new design to grow on me but I really like it now. The rear lights are also a bit different (the shape/light bar of the turning signal is now horistinal and straight, see picture). Also the stripes/trails within the rear lights seem to be illuminated (more). The design of the 19" wheels is different. I don't like the aero cover (or however you call it). I think the Elias wheels look much better without it so I removed the covers. However, beware that if you decide to remove the covers you need to purchase a set of centre caps and lug nut covers. Otherwise it's a bit ugly still. the vRS logo is different, I think the new one is better in the sense that you can actually understand that it says vRS (I remember one of my friends asking what VIRS means and the old logo can absolutely be misinterpreted that way) Door sill protectors have "Octavia" written on the, not vRS. Interior Interior design is mostly the same but there are more and less noticeable differences: The biggest difference (literally) is the size of the infotainment screen. It's 13" on the new one vs 10" on the old one. However, the larger screen size is in any way disturbing. The upper edge is still below the dashboard and isn't blocking the view in any way. Coupled with the upgraded infotainment system it's a really nice upgrade. Some of grey coloured pieces (door handle, the plastic around the gear shifter, rotating knobs on the steering wheel) is dull/matte whereis it was shiny on mk4. The design of the wireless charging pad/compartment has changed a bit and it feels like it's holding the phone a bit better in place. The icons on the physical buttons have changed a bit. Infotainment system/Virtual cockpit That's the big change on the inside and in short, the improvement is huge. The infotainment system is very responsive. The new style feels a bit more modern The digital instrument cluster is a more customisable as well (The right arrow on the steering wheel now switches between different display modes eg map, trip info, gear info (D, S, M), while the left one chooses between display style (with tacho and speedometer or without) No custom vRS animation on the instrument cluster when entering the car anymore, it's mostly black with SKODA fading in. 😞 The gear information (D, S1-S7 etc) can now be displayed with a huge font between the tacho and speedometer (vs being displayed in the bottom left corner on mk4). That's super awesome now. The normal gearbox mode (D) will still display only D and not D1-D7. The Adaptive Lane Assist button is now gone from the steering wheel but the option to switch to it from ACC is now hidden in the same menu (left upper button on the right side of the steering wheel). When I first saw that the button is missing I thought that they forgot to install it and actually had to double check that it's there. There's now always an indicator bar visible in the speedometer dial that shows how much range you have left to go, so now you can select something else to display in your speedometer dial. The physical button for selecting your driving modes now toggles through driving modes, that's nice! There's a ton of customisable shortcuts at the top and at the bottom of the screen (eg can set shortcuts for car, assists, lane assist, heated front windshield at the top; media, phone, navigation, android auto/carplay shortcuts at the bottom) The widgets on the infotainment screen are slightly less customisable but that doesn't really bother me: there's a couple of templates that you select from when creating pages/screens, previously you had more freedom here. I wish the HOME button was slightly bigger though. It was easier to press it on mk4 infotainment screen as it was actually a separate "button" on the left of the screen in mk4. Now it's an icon on the screen. The style of the integrated navigation system feels more modern but haven't used it that much as I'm more of an Android Auto user. Audio As mentioned, my new mk4.5 has Canton sound system. My initial reaction is that's it's not much of an improvement (still), let's see if I can figure out some good settings for it. I did have to check whether the subwoofer (squeezed into the spare wheel compartment) actually worked. Yeah, you can feel and here the vibration when you open the boot but not that much in the driver's seat. I do hope that the only result of the subwoofer won't be the body panels falling off in the back and that I can at least feel the bass when that's happening. There is an extra setting to adjust the subwoofer in the Sound menu. So in short, default settings seem a bit lacklustre but I still need to play around with settings before drawing a final conclusion. Some missing features/changes I've encountered some inconveniences on the new mk4.5 (not a deal breaker though) I think the biggest feature that's missing on the mk4.5 and that I found quite useful as well is the lack keyless lock/unlock on the rear doors. In other words, when you previously could unlock the car by just pulling the read door handles and it would unlock (and could also lock it using rear doors) then that's now gone. You have to take an extra step to touch the front door handle. Another annoyance that I found is that the speed limit warning is turned on each time you switch on the ignition. Unfortunately that's done so to comply with legislations (manual says so). However, Skoda did add a shortcut to disable it quickly (same button and place where you can disable Lane Assist). However, not all has been perfect! When I logged in with my Skoda account into the car and added myself as the main user, it wanted to load some settings which I assume were from the mk4. It did load my seat position but also a lot of icons appeared in the infotainment menu that were just loading (had the loading animation). Perhaps there's a more clever way to solve the issues but I eventually deleted and recreated my Skoda account. I took the car for a first proper drive over the weekend and had a yellow/amber "Emission control system fault" icon appear in the instrument cluster. No errors/warnings in the infotainment menu (status is fine there) as well and car drives fine as well. I plugged in my bluetooth OBD scanner to see what it comes up with and it reported fault codes P2080 (P2080 Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor Circuit Range/Performance Bank 1 Sensor 1) and P2084 (P2080 Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor Circuit Range/Performance Bank 1 Sensor 2). So now I'm taking it back to the dealership. I hope it's just an improperly installed sensor (as per repair manual it seems that both sensors are wired into the same connector) but let's see. That's it for now. Feel free to ask questions and I'll try to answer them. And some pictures as well:

Hi, Skoda Superb Mk3 280 4x4 I know that on the Golf R, the front subframe can be replaced from the steel one to an alloy one. I seem to remember someone telling me that the Golf one won't fit the Superb. I see there is an alloy version of the subframe for the Passat R and Arteon R Are these the same as the Golf ones, so no alloy one from another model will fit the Superb? Thanks,

Whilst fixing an ABS wheel speed sensor a week or so ago, I noticed that Carista reported an issue with the glow plugs on cylinders #2 and #4. I hadn’t had any problems with starting, but then it is summer and I’d fitted a new battery last year, but I decided that for the small cost (£37.70 delivered) I’d fit new glow plugs. This was a fiddly rather than difficult job. First one needs to remove four T30 screws that hold down the fuel pipes that run over the glow plug wiring, then open the plastic conduit that carries that wiring with a flat blade screwdriver to get sufficient play in order to pull up the plug caps. I used a pair of long nosed pliers to gently pull up the plug caps as the wires look quite delicate. With the wiring lifted up there is just enough room to remove the plug caps - #4 is particularly fiddly. I vacuumed the cavities before undoing the glow plugs, then used a long 10mm socket to remove each in turn. Some of the threads were a bit squeaky, but a bit of WD40 spray helped. The new plugs were easy enough to re-fit and torque up to 18 Nm. Of the old glow plugs, the impedances of #2 and #4 were clearly out of tolerance; #1 and #3 were fine, but I changed them anyway. Carista reset the fault and everything is fine. Hopefully I won’t have to do that job again for another 95,000 miles.

In case you've got a DSC gearbox. - Ignore prices as table is a number of years old

ETA: sorry I forgot at the start - Hi, welcome.

Are you sure it has power steering fluid? I'd have thought it would be electromechanical.

Check at 165,000 miles and then every 20,000 miles. VW removed the advise to replace the timing belt a few years ago. Spark Plugs? I have a 2016 1.2 TSI at 90000 miles and car is still good. Thanks. AG Falco

I test my fire alarm every year. Recently also installed 2 additional smoke alarms in addition to the 3 standard: heat alarm in kitchen, smoke alarm in first and second floor. A new interconnected one in converted garage, where the consumer unit and Tesla gateway lives. This is so that if things burn due to poor install while pulling 10+ kW for hours overnight, whole house will know as soon as smoke happens. Another interconnected one above the 10+ years old solar inverter, at very top of the loft, above all the solar panels. I have also got home wiring upgraded to latest wiring standard, mainly new metal consumer unit with RCD on everything. I also have this in each consumer unit https://envirograf.com/product/enviroburst-auto-fire-protection/ It's all about risk management. Nothing is ever risk free. Holistically, with main emphasis on climate issue, BEV and heat pumps are so much better than ICE cars and boilers. There is no perfect risk-free solution.

As above. The car would have been fine for the rest of your trip. There were very few warning lights on the car that are “stop driving immediately”. Even the check engine light is rarely linked to anything that critical (usually just a malfunctioning sensor)

Definitely not the same as mine then. I will get the tie rods checked.

keeping an eye on this post as my car is having a similar issue , sounds like the tyres are been scrubbed on the road but as you say its only at parking speed . its going into the mechanic on monday evening so will let you know what he finds.

Roomster 2006-2010 (with 288x25mm front brake discs) TRW Left front brake caliper 6Q0615123 Right front brake caliper 6Q0615124 Roomster 2011-2015 (with 288x25mm front brake discs) ATE Left front brake caliper 1K0615123E or 1K0615123EX Right front brake caliper 1K0615124E or 1K0615124EX Roomster 2006-2010 parts catalogue https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/skoda/CZ/RO/481/6/615/615025 Roomster 2011-2015 parts catalogue https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/skoda/CZ/RO/699/6/615/615025

I can't tell you if it affects the handling in any way (I assume it won't be noticeable), because I did it at the same time as installing Bilstein B16s, and of course, I'd say 99.9% of the change is due to the B16s. The reason for the change was (aside from the irrational part, because I loved the way this aluminum part was made) better access to the DSG filter and, above all, to be able to properly clean all the oil that spills when changing it, because with the metal subframe, it wasn't easy to access. After changing the oil and DSG filter, I noticed some stains that I wasn't sure if they were due to poor placement or debris that had been left on the top of the subframe. In the end, they were debris. Regards

Thank you steve though I had a dud lol.

Energy storage, regardless if it’s battery, petrol tank, whatever, is only as safe as the controller handling the safety parameters. Misconfigured controller will cause fire/explosion. Until proven otherwise, any battery that is charging and goes into failure state (eg fire), the root cause will most probably to do with the controller. (BMS) Unable to separate this relationship is like unable to tell fact from fiction.

The FLP greater safety is about its better resistance to damage, primarily. Overcharging, like over filling ones fuel tank with petrol, is about the Battery Management System internal for the battery system and perhaps the charger itself. I am all for greater checking of lithium, LFP, charging systems. I have more Lithium and LFP battery devices, from about £10 to £1k and non of the have shown anything but faultless charging dynamics with no hint of overheating. There must be hundreds of millions, if not billions, of lithium powered devices and as with EV fires compared to ICE fires the numbers only confirm the general safety of these produce despite the occasional zealot digging out the odd incident.

If it's possible it's always best to check a new part works and is the correct item and fitting/fixing as much as you can before you commit to the parts replacement, I've even had the wrong part or label in or on packaging, or just the wrong part sent (or ordered by me in a common moment of confusion and/or lack of glasses). I'm all for saving time and hassle by ordering low cost parts but then to fit say a switch to find it's untested wiring or connector at fault, far more of a PITA with the thin fragile wiring and connectors on these cars. Good luck, let us know how you get on (whilst directing your son how to replace the part whilst you drink the tea while it's still warm and eat the last of the biscuits, and if you're my age then have to go for another pee).

@MobileChicane I'm looking at wiring info for the fan control module, trying and failing to see how the radiator thermoswitch is involved on an A/C equipped Citigo of this vintage. You may find that either there physically isn't one, or that it isn't wired up. Not sure. Parts catalogue suggests it's there though.

Same here. They often seem to offer a discount at this time of the year, so my subs have been extended to November 2026. Let's hope the online map updates work this time as my maps still say August 2024!

Since the car has A/C, a quick and easy test of radiator fan operation is to run engine and demand minimum temperature with A/C switched on, bonnet open. That's assuming the A/C is actually operable/cooling successfully. At the sort of ambient temperatures we currently have, the radiator fan should start up at low speed within a pretty short time. Keep fingers away while waiting to see! I was just looking at wiring info, and the resistor for low speed fan operation appears not to be within the fan motor, but instead at a 3-way connector pair where 3 wires become 2. When the resistors were housed inside the fan motor assembly they were a bit infamous for failing, leaving only high speed operation thereafter.

Thanks Nigel - will ask for further diagnostic info. Parents are always to blame 😁 In his defence, son is automotively quite savvy. My mid-life crisis was a Caterham, which he helped me tinker with mechanically. He can pop the bonnet and knows what he is looking at with a reasonable level of detail. Tyre changing is not an issue, etc. Key reason I am involved is that he and his fiancé have a first-floor flat with assigned car parking spaces, but no real room to work on the car without potentially getting in other people's way and no power source anywhere near.

Thank you all. Yes, it seems to be working fine now, after the joystick 'wiggle' but if it happens again I will try some contact cleaner. Many thanks. 😊

If he's stationary in traffic before he puts the heater blower on get him to turn off all over noises (infotainment, TwatNav, phone, etc.) and listen for the rad cooling fan(not) cutting in and you'll have more of an idea. As well as having the heater on he could reduce the load on the engine but not running stuff like air-con and having blower on full, it won't stop the car getting warm but it might help keep it a bit lower for a bit longer. I think part of your problem is that you done the service rather than previously showing and letting your son do the service as that way he'd learn more about the car and not have this long term issue, ya gotta blame the parents. 😁 When my mates youngster two lads had their runabout they didn't know how to put the spare wheel on and had to get the help of a mechanic at a nearby garage, they were strapping, healthy lads (footballers) and the Daewoo Matiz had small wheels with three wheel nuts to each wheel. One later had an overheating car, you could smell the heat, the fact there was barely a drip of oil on the end of the dipstick didn't help.

The “coupling rod” (item 7 ) is a drop link. It couples the anti-roll bar to the strut. With only one side of the vehicle raised from the ground the tension in the anti-roll bar will force the strut and hub assembly to move as you had released the lower ball joint. This will allow the strut/hub to move as you have described. Raising the other front wheel off the ground will stop this from happening.

The trip info appears in classic view for sure. However the failed light warning is exactly where I would expect to see trip. It also looks like you have full ACC? That might affect what I said earlier.

I think the trip might be presently hidden by the front turn indicator fault I presently have.

That sounds as if the pistons were on their way out before the glow plug replacement - what was the issue that triggered the decision to change the plugs, hard starting - or something else?

Sorry folks to drag this out even longer, but I really feel that it is essential to point out to the oracle of all knowledge and maybe one of the most blinkered people here, that he has managed to totally ignore the huge point that in both of those car park fires, there was zero fire suppression systems installed. Not that they would have actually put the fires out, but they would certainly have had a slowing down effect on the spread of the fire, the running fuel fire was more than likely due to the delay in actually getting any fire fighting equipment to the actual point of the fire, not the car park, but to the actual fire itself, which in both cases was on the third floor of a multistorey carpark, both of which were designed with no sprinklers and with zero access to fire appliances, meaning that they had to get fire fighters and hoses up 3 floors before they could even start tackling the fire. This itself took some time to accomplish, and needs to be added onto the 10 minutes that the fire brigade took to arrive Name me one multistorey car that has been designed to allow vehicles larger than transit vans to access them, let alone fire engines, which would have been able to get to the fire before firefighters on foot dragging hoses with them could. So to suggest that the collapse of the structure and the loss of the cars and building was all down to the wicked Dino juice running along the floors is just showing his total bias and cannot accept that the presence of electric cars within the fire itself made things considerably worse, as they just cannot deal with them in an affective manner. They burn fire hotter then fossil fuel and they just have to leave them to burn themselves out which is far longer then a ICE car.

My current Kodiaq has passed 2 years old. I just buy oil and filter and ask my very close (500 meters) general “fix it” garage to change my oil. That’s all a dealer does for a basic service. Air filter. Easy. Pollen filter. Easy. Check tyres. Easy. Check brake pads. Easy. Check tyres. Easy. Check wipers. Easy. I do not need a Skoda chipmunk to send me a video underneath the car to tell me it’s not falling apart. It’s all a big game to put money into Skoda dealer coffers. It’s a joke.

If air-conditioning is coming from home grown power then happy days. Worry is if air-conditioning power is coming from the grid. This makes cities become even more heat islands where the city, outside of course, can be 4c hotter than the countryside would be. I had a quick look at heat pump install, one with dual function to heat and cool but I don't want to spend thousands on a house I will probably leave in a year or two. Like EVs I think the subsidy has to be covering a lot of the cost. I have a high efficiency newish boiler and with Octopus fixed 12M tariff at 5.71 p per kwh the whole setup is very cheap to buy and run. Saving on gas used with the new boiler compared to the old and reduction in tge maintenance contract means it paid for itself. Need to get heat pump to the same place ie cost a mere £1k a year for both install and running.

Absolute tosh for the claim regarding coolant loss! The engine cooling is a closed (sealed) system - provided the system is free of leaks and is not subjected to overheating or excess pressure, coolant loss should be close to zero. Apart from a scheduled coolant change, I have never had to add coolant to either of our two Skodas.

I was with Chris Knott brokers for a few years and last year they couldn't find anyone to insure me (I'm 78) I went with Admiral for £700 (I live in central London and park on the street). After a year of only having to bill me, they sent this year's premium, which was an increase of £100. I did a GoCompare and ended up with Aviva for £400. Admiral called and said they would match the offer.

How much is a new engine exactly? There is no such thing as "for life" this applies equally to oils and things like cambelts. The manufacturer cannot possibly test every single operating condition. I always regard" for life" to mean just past the period of any extended warrantee you might be able to get on the vehicle. In the UK that means 100,000 miles as an example. You need to understand your own use case for the vehicle and act accordingly. Long motorway drives one up with the cruise on v 4 up with a caravan on the back in the Scottish highlands. (hypothetical examples folks!) I'd far rather have the cambelt inspected annually and be told at 80,000 miles I need a new one than to plough on and have it fail at 100,001 miles. But this is just my opinion and others may see things differently.

I managed to do it from 1896 straight to 1985 (with engine on) and had no issues. Took a good 25 minutes and was worried at the CPU update because it took ages but all okay! Let’s see how this version is compared to 1896.

The speedometer (in km) is showing on the right dial, it couldn't be any clearer.

These things happen. The first thing I would do is get some clear Gorilla tape to seal over the damaged fog light. This will stop any water ingress. Then, take a look underneath/through the engine bay/through the towing eye hole and make sure that the bumper is securely on - I.E. no major cracks, no majorly damaged fixings. Looking at the damage you should be okay, but it pays to check. Similarly, inspect behind the bumper and make sure nothing is damaged - again, doubt it, but do check. Regarding the headlight washer, my honest solution would be to plug the end, cover in Gorilla tape and zip tie somewhere out of the way. If you turn the headlights to off, the headlight washers will not activate, at any point. Hopefully someone can advise on whether fixing the washer nozzle properly is a viable option. If I'm honest, with potential damage to the bumper, I'd be inclined to seal the washer system off, apply tape, and drive the car as normal. FYI - most dealers can get parts next day. I would be more interested in replacing the fog light on Friday (it can be done with the bumper on), in order to safeguard the electrical system. The washer, IMO, is a nonissue. I've had an arch liner crack into four pieces the day before a France trip, and the battery die on my Octavia a week before a Scotland trip. It's sods law, but you'll make it. My plan would be to make sure the car is structurally sound, then electrically sound, and then worry about the washer. Look at the silver lining - you are very fortunate you didn't crack the headlight! Those things are expensive.

Yeah... I go to Halfords for screen wash and that's about it. I wouldn't trust them to open my fuel cap. I always like to go to an independent place. Especially when swapping tyres from one set of wheels to another, it's always been the independent places that have carefully wrapped up the wheels for the boot.

GoogleFu suggests they represent Italian sorties, whether to attack or assist isn't clear.

A few from this afternoon at Coningsby...... Not sure of the significance of the ice creams on the side of the Lancaster (I'd never noticed them before despite many previous visits!) 🤔

Last night's full Moon............

Problem solved, the seat just wasn't back far enough. It flipped up fine once I put it right to the back.

A friend of mine who owns a tyre supply and fitting company says that what sets Davanti apart from its competition is that they charge more than the competing brands for budget tyres of similar quality and spend a lot of money offering all sorts of incentives to independent garages to push their products. That is their pitch to retailers. As for their pitch to consumers, if you bought a tyre with the brand name Ling Long, Sailun, or Jinyu, you would be fully aware you were buying cheap Chinese. Whereas Davanti is a name chosen to make you think, consciously or not, of Italian high performance and so seem to justify a somewhat higher price. But you are still actually buying Chinese, just paying a bit more for it. That's not to say their tyres are bad. They do, however, offer many different tyres and the reviews differ about their ability.