clamberer

I haven't found one of the right type of valve online yet - I may ask my dealer.. On the vRS, does the PCV valve look anything like the one on P24 here? http://vwts.ru/engine/byt/byt_bzb_1_8_tsfi_eng.pdf When you said you had the intake cleaned, do you mean the runners on the plastic manifold, or the intakes on the cylinder head its self? How big a job was it? Cheers!

I think the term for such a temperature is "Mangina-Cold" As in "bloomin' heck, it's mangina-cold out here!"

Or she was heading back home the morning after the Christmas party.. walk of shame (or pride) anyone?

I've just got my Octavia (1.8TSI) back from a major service at the dealers and, among other things, there is a static fault in the ECU for boost pressure. I know this could mean a boost leak somewhere in the pipework, however I have noticed a few threads mentioning PCV valves getting gunked up or being faulty causing this problem. Is this something which can be easily cleaned (if so, how?)?, as if it is straightforward I'd like to give it a go before trying anything else. Here is a pic of the dealer diagnosis of the engine.. If you have any pointers on the other issues they would also be welcome! Cheers!

Was this on a MkII Octavia 1.8TSI?, and if so was it the main water pump in the block or the small electric one for pumping coolant to the turbo? As I've just been told that my water pump needs replacing, and that there is also some sort of boost issue and a problem with one of the runner flaps. I'm thinking it could be a good idea to see if I can kill multiple birds with one stone..

Cheers guys. Any experience on whether either the Vredesteins or Uniroyals suffer from sawtoothing much?

Apparently if a tail light fails, the car just sends a lower voltage to one of the brake lights to use that as a tail light - clever eh. Perhaps that's why you didn't notice it for a while?

1 AXE On a tree surgeon's pickup truck.

Likewise I say 'Aich', but use 'Haytch' deliberately on the phone so as to minimise chances of it being misheard as 'Eight'. If that fails then it's onto the NATO phonetic alphabet with 'Hotel'.

Whoops! Thanks for that - I just went outside and checked. They're 205/60 R15 V I don't seem to have the option to edit my opening post.

True, but I'm unsure as to whether I will keep the car for a long time or sell it before the mileage tops around 100,000, hence I could stand to lose a fair bit on a set of winters if I don't get the use out of them. I imagine any decent tyres of either type would be a bit of an improvement over my current budget ones.

Hi all, So I need some new tyres to replace the now worn out budget Landsails that my Octavia came with. Now I do like to go anywhere unimpeded by the weather, and winter is coming, however I don't think I can justify the cost of a set of dedicated winter tyres when my regular summer ones also need replacing. So I'm looking for some tyres with decent all round performance, including in the wet and cold. Ideally this would mean something which doesn't flounder too much at the sight of snow (I have found low rolling resistance fuel economy tyres to be utterly atrocious in the white stuff for instance) These could be summer tyres with a decent rubber compound and tread pattern, or possibly four season tyres if the economy and noise sacrifices aren't too great. I was tempted by the favorable reviews on Goodyear Vector 4Seasons, however they don't seem to be available in the right size and speed rating. looking for 205/65 R15 V

When you say "next to", would it be acceptable for the gritter to be in shot behind a fence in a depot?

I am currently living at home with family, hence the killer commute. I had originally planned to move closer to this job however I put that on hold due to a bereavement and more recently relocating didn't seem worthwhile if I didn't see myself being in this job for much longer. I am paying contribution to my mother while living here, although it does come to a lot less than the combination of rent and living costs would, were I living elsewhere. I am not paying anything off on finance, and student loan repayments only go out when you're earning over a certain amount. I do realise that to quit without any plan would be madness, leading too easily into a sedentary unmotivated unemployed rut. I have some personal goals/plans already should I choose to go ahead with quitting. This includes, among other things, plenty of mountaineering, improvement of my skills and of my personal fitness. On a professional side, I would attend as many cheaper lectures and young members' events through the IMechE as I could during my down time. I am trying to come up with a few more things which could be considered as developing me, both personally and professionally, and which would look/sound positive on a CV or in interviews. Any thoughts on other positive things which could offset the negative of quitting? I know it may sound as though I have already made my mind up, however I still have some doubts - hence me creating this thread.

Not wine, but I currently have a demijohn of my first attempt at homebrew cider fermenting away. Our tree was producing far more apples than we'd eat, so I figured why not. Assuming I read the hydrometer correctly, it should end up being something around 7.5% ABV. Time will tell as to whether it's any good though!

A lot of the taxis in Portsmouth were Octavias when I lived there, including a number of diesel vRSs

Quite a range of replies from both sides of the fence - thank you for your responses. This is one of the things I am worried about.. I do feel as though I have reached the appropriate point to move jobs, and that my time with my current company is coming to it's 'natural' end. Surely if one is likely to quit within a few months anyway, the details of whether that is straight into another job or not doesn't make a huge difference to one's 'stickability' or ability to tough it out.. If I'm going to quit I'm going to quit - the rest is academic isn't it? I'd see leaving my first graduate job for another job after barely a year as being worse in terms of 'stickability' than my proposed path: Leaving it after a more acceptable 2 1/2 years when the role has taken its natural course, taking advantage of leaving at this point to reflect upon career path and achieve personal goals and development before continuing on the next stage of my career.. Though I guess as you say, many potential employers may not see it that way In response to suggestions about "pulling a sickie", taking time off for stress, or requesting a sabbatical, I'm not sure how serious or tongue in cheek these were.. I personally would not feel comfortable taking one of these options only to hand in my notice upon returning. I wouldn't feel honest doing so, and I don't want to mess my current employer around. What are your circumstances? (if you don't mind me asking), and how is it working out for you? Personally, I am without ties, no dependents etc. I am on the first rung of my graduate career, so within such engineering roles there isn't really such thing as a major "step back", apart from being forced to go back to non-grad roles.

Basically, I've got to such a point that I want to change jobs, however , I am extremely tempted to hand in my notice without having another lined up. My rationale is that I am fed up with my current job and hate the 50+ miles of commute each way. I don't think I can hack another winter of this, as the lack of sleep, lack of sunlight and loss of motivation are leaving me rather run down and the winter hasn't really started yet. Additionally, I see leaving this way as a positive opportunity to achieve some personal goals in my down time (I would frame it as such to potential employers), To give me some thinking time to decide fully on what I want to do, and to apply myself more fully to finding another job (as I currently have so little energy to do so in the evenings). I have potential activities lined up for the time off, so as not to fall into a pit of unemployed procrastination and laziness. As some background, I am a graduate in engineering with two years of experience, and I have sufficient funds to last me a good few months (although I'd aim to get another job sooner than that. So I know it's better to be applying for jobs from a position of strength i.e. being in employment, but how much of a bad idea would leaving without having something lined up be? Would leaving like that ring big alarm bells for potential new employers? Or, if it is framed in a suitably positive way and I make an effort to develop myself during down time, could such negatives be offset?

Just saw: V8 0 MPG On a Range Rover.

Had to swerve to avoid the reinforced 4" (or so) diameter hose from a tanker lorry laying across the carriageway. The tanker in question was parked on some hatchings at a junction quarter of a mile on, with the driver busy inspecting the storage tube that he had obviously not secured the end of! Also, while not strictly things falling off lorries, does anyone else get a little annoyed when following lorries stacked with straw bales? The farm workers in question seem to love stacking the things as high as possible and smashing branches off overhanging trees so they fall into the road behind/following vehicles.

I like to climb things..

Oh, and does anyone else think that having "Vogue" badging/spec on a Range Rover sounds somewhat clashing, as though its removing any sense of ruggedness or purpose? (I suppose that rather depends on whether you think of the Range Rover as purely a fashion item or a practical prestige 4x4 that should primarily belong in the countryside)

While it doesn't translate to anything bad, I always thought the Peugeot Bipper sounded daft. Also, dare I say it, but while the Skoda Rapid may be a capable car, it is rather lacking a "hot" model in its range to suite its name..

Your employer might try to opt for the cheap option of getting big chunky uncomfortable safety glasses that fit over your prescription glasses.. Or you might be lucky and get a decent pair of prescription safety glasses.

I haven't read all of the articles, but I imagine that the wheel size is only part of the equation. As the comparisons are for different trim levels, there will be a certain weight of extras between the entry level and high trim models - e.g. heated, electronically adjustable leather seats will weigh more than unheated textile ones. Also, how much of the difference from the wheels is a result of differing weight, and how much is from rolling characteristics? How much is to do with wheel width (and therefore area in contact with the road), and how much is from wheel diameter/overall diameter/tyre profile?