Gerrycan

I am not running without my watch yet but I am certainly running slower, but really not by choice. You may even have noticed that two days of the Women's Ashes series was rained off in Adelaide as some parts of the state's more remote parts received record breaking falls. Rain in January is very rare here and the ensuing hot and humid tropical weather has not made it easy for me. I have always perspired easily but I lost 1.2 kg in weight on my 5 km run today and that would have all been sweat, about 1.2 litres of it. Annoys me a bit that most other runners I see out do not perspire anywhere near as bad as I do. SO I have googled about sweat rates and associated sodium loss and it seems there is a huge variation in both between individuals. A five fold variation in sweat volume has been recorded and salt concentration can vary between 200mg and 2300mg of salt per litre, although the concentration is largely determined by genetics. Seems that low sodium levels can promote heavy perspiration and very patchy performances and there are a few other symptoms I've exhibited. Our national diet recommendations recommend only 3 grams of salt a day, and I have long preferred a low salt diet, so much so that when I eat out and have a really salty meal I can get a sort of hangover and bloated feeling (only one glass of wine honest). On a general level it has worked well for me with acceptable blood pressure reports but I think a few more grams of salt might be a good idea just at the moment.

@ords I went down the garage with my torch and checked it out straight away. No 'mit Silikat' on it at all. Just the G13 for refilling. Phew!

Is the cooling system silicate bag only fitted to diesels or on all models? I have a 2014 1.4tsi and wondering, if fitted, whether it should be removed at the next service.

1.4tsi is only direct injection so carbon build up on the inlet valve can be problem but I would expect it at a higher mileage and with different symptoms.

My nephew (in-law) in the UK is an open water swimmer, even does a few kilometres in winter with a wet suit on. Braver man than I am. I'll stick to risking the sharks in the warmer Australian sea thanks. Having said that last winter my wife and I went sea swimming, in wet suits and snorkel gear, to view the mass gathering mating of the Giant Cuttlefish at Whyalla. Very spectacular and special bucket list item ticked off, despite the cold weather. in the past I have done enough lap swimming for triathlon training to know that a) I am not very good and b) can never find the right speed lap lane for me so I end up getting in others way or others getting in my way. I used to wear a watch and I'd activate the lap timer at the end of each 100 metres and it issued a beep. My wife used to complain about the noise it made in the water even when she was at the other end of the 50m pool (in the faster lane of course). I've attended a couple of Aussie swimming championships (only in an official capacity not a competitor haha) and even seen world records broken and their speed through the water is almost incomprehensible. I would describe my swimming style as 'survivalist'

@I_am_Beki, If the engine can continue to run on for 15 seconds or so then I can understand your concern. What if touching the brake or throttle doesn't work? The next time it occurs and road conditions allow you might be brave enough to apply the clutch and see if the engine revs rise or just drop back to tick over. Does it happen every time you take your foot off the pedal, or is it an intermittent issue? If intermittent does it coincide with something like a DPF regeneration? More general question for the forum to answer is whether there is a 'throttle' cable link to injection actuator or is the 'throttle' actuation a virtual one from a remote sensor on the pedal?

May help others to assist you with some additional information. Mileage? What sort of servicing schedule is it on (annual, or needs based)? What are the actual error codes coming up? You have replaced the obvious electrical suspects so since it seems to manifest under higher loads/fuel demands then there might be the possibility of fuel starvation? Maybe fuel pump issues or blocked fuel filters? Mass air flow meter (dirty or malfunctioning)? Check air filter condition (easy check but very unlikely to be the cause unless it has never been replaced or been compromised). Turbo issues? Just random thoughts from an armchair mechanic I'm afraid. The trouble is there are many sensors on modern vehicles and any one of them could be playing up and confusing the CPU. It happened to me some years back with a different make of car and my mechanic thought it was an expensive component issue but I did my own research and fixed it with replacement of a relatively accessible and inexpensive sensor, no skill just luck as the problems seemed unrelated to the sensor in question.

Managed to string together a few runs but conditions have been warm, so today got out early enough to get some shade from seafront housing as I ran. A fairly determined effort got back 45 seconds of the 1:30 I lost form my 5.3 km run so I think it I can continue my 3 run per week routine I should hopefully get back the remaining missing minute in the next month. However, speaking with my son tonight about running and he was describing how taking a slower pace with his fireman colleagues during their training runs has increased his enjoyment of running. Made me realise I may be getting a bit hung up on my times and should try and 'smell the roses' a bit more. Reminds me of when I used to travel round Australia for work and I liked to go out for a run to explore country areas and major interstate cities. Times and distances were not really important and I really used to enjoy them, even when I got a bit lost, as I have got a truly lousy sense of direction. Probably the best way to regain that feeling would be to go out on my normal run without a watch (h/r monitor, gps). Not sure how I'd cope going cold turkey without instrumentation though

Since you were used to a 65 litre tank vehicle I can understand why the Octavia seems small by comparison, but I am still surprised you only get 430 miles before warnings especially with the longer journeys you do. I'd be expecting your 1.6d diesel to be getting (far) better than 50mpg on a run There use to be a few complaints from diesel Octavia owners that their warning light was coming on prematurely and that they could only fit 40 litres or so in. Is that happening to you? The tank is definitely rated at 50 litres and if filled to the second pump cut-off click is probably holding closer to 55 litres. The Superb with a 66 litre tank might have been more suitable?

If you are getting good consumption from your 1.6d then you should be able to get a fairly comfortable 500 miles from the 50 litre tank? A wish for a 75 litre tank seems overly ambitious.

Very unlikely that anyone in this forum has done it but I cannot think they would damage the suspension. I thought run flat tyres needed special rims to operate effectively. Worse ride and much more expensive, the only reason I could think to fit them is to have the ability to avoid a civil conflict after having tyres spiked. Over the years I have had more than my share of punctures but never more than one at a time. If you are doing distances in Australia then a spare tyre (even a spacesaver) is a better option than run flats.

I see the car is a 'Greenline' which is not something sold in my country so is the car a diesel or petrol, automatic or manual? More general question but wouldn't some sort of cruise control be a standard fitting in the UK?

Just went down to the garage and checked on my ordinary a/c equipped 1.4tsi. Basically the rear central vents work when the front vents are emitting air. Don't forget that the rear vents can be turned off by the adjacent knurled dial. Sorry for stating the obvious

Yeh, it's all relative though. It got up to 24 degrees later in the day, which is pretty cool for the time of year. Today the wind has a more Northerly component bringing the heat from the interior so 35 degrees max and only dropping to 24 degrees overnight. The temperature does not worry me too much except when there is also direct sunshine, it can be rather intense. Good for the PV panels though I did more early morning walking and swimming today which has markedly reduced the calve pain. I'll see what tomorrow brings as my casual work has been cancelled due to general fear of the expanding covid infections persuading people to avoid big events. Funnily enough not just government mandated restrictions.

I applaud your determination. I would not be able to run at that time of the morning, in complete darkness in a UK winter nowadays, and not sure I would have done it in my prime either. Not keeping a close eye on your times but I'd say there is some improvement occurring that will become more apparent when conditions and light also improve.

Interesting read. I thought that upgrading the bulbs would have made a more obvious difference in the photographs. A claimed 50% lift in lumens is quite significant. My mk3 is adequate in dry conditions but I simply have to slow down in the wet when less light is reflected back ( country driving, no road lighting even on junctions). I feel that the problem is that with headlights now being so integrated into the overall vehicle design/fashion/look, there is likely to be a compromise of their optical performance. I am a cheapskate driver and all the vehicles I have owned have had halogens, but the optical performance between vehicles on the same power bulbs has varied enormously. Worst ever was the mk1 Hyundai Santa Fe, 2nd worst was the mk2 Octavia. Best was a locally produced Ford Falcon, followed closely by a mk1 Kia Carnival people mover (of all things). I look forward to your additional comments but realise that you will have the post facelift headlight arrangement which was generally considered better performing than my cars pre facelift appearance.

I am no expert on the subject but the continuous fault on the wall of the tyre looks like it has been run under inflated at some point. They do not look great, personally I would be looking at replacing within six months. The exposed old but never used spares on some AWD vehicles have some terrible cracking on them from continuous exposure to the Australian sun. I would hate to them actually used. Having said that the mini spare tyre in my 2003 Toyota Echo is original and does not seem to have aged at all when I check the pressure every couple of months. I have a bicycle with 30 year old Dunlop tyres that I ride regularly for local stuff. They still look ok but I bet replacements will not last as long.

The planned post Christmas run did not happen due to more work and then a possible Covid infection which is eventually present in most of Australia but they lost my PCR test so I will never really know if I did. Being triple vaccinated symptoms were minor, if indeed it was covid. Long story short, I ran 5km the other day after nearly four weeks and boy did it hurt. I cannot believe how much condition I have lost. Ran again today and my calves were complaining loudly at my decision. Conditions were ideal early, sunny, a cool 18 C, and little wind and enjoyable. I run about 20 seconds a kilometre slower and I wonder how long it will take to get some of that time back. I cannot even use the excuse I had put on weight. Just goes to show that even doing up to 30k steps a day at work shifting stuff doesn't keep you match fit.

My Australian spec 2014 mk3 1.4tsi estate has a nominal 150mm of ground clearance and I have done quite a few k's on various dirt roads, so I'm almost surprised that a London based standard Octavia needs more ground clearance. For example:

Adelaide Australia and I've mentioned in similar threads that my local dealer first asked whether I wanted the cam belt replaced when booking our 2014 Octavia's 7th annual service. Since our car had done less than 80k km, and I reckon I can count the number of times the engine has exceeded 4k revs in that time on my fingers, I declined the offer. Dealer just said "fair enough, you are not the first and we have not experienced subsequent issues". I presumed they followed the service requirements and checked the belt for wear. Australia is considered a dusty country, especially where I live in the oft quoted 'driest state of the driest continent'. Annual yearly or 15k km services are the only option offered by dealers and seems reasonable with our sometimes high summer temperatures. Since we may now be keeping the car longer than intended I may consider belt replacement in the next couple of years or depending on inspection advice.

At the annual family Christmas present distribution my wife passes me a small wrapped gift from her boss. Somewhat mystified, I opened it to find it was my lost Garmin Vivofit! I knew I had probably lost it between some big gymnastic mats when assisting loading them onto a few trucks after a big competition set down, and somehow it was found and returned to the office. Still tempted to upgrade after all my research and my son has given me his now unused Samsung Smar****ch with integrated GPS and heartrate monitor to try. Apparently he has found a Garmin more suited to monitoring all his athletic activities, especially as it can be linked to a more accurate chest heart rate monitor. Confession time: I have sinned by not running for two weeks due to a very heavy workload leading up to Christmas and then a bit of a reaction to my booster jab. I should be able to get something in over the next couple of days though.

The idling consumption on both my MK2 1.9pd and current mk3 1.4tsi is an indicated 0.5 l/hr. I would not imagine the 1.6d would be any worse. When the aircon is active then consumption rises to 0.8l/hr or higher in extreme heat.

There is a quite a large compendium of stories of alternate fuels used in diesel based engines over the years: Going by memory the original Otto diesel was designed to run on vegetable oils. Hence those people running on old frying chip oil. Some years back a French light aviation company were promoting a turbo-diesel based engine running on aviation jet fuel (kerosene) , claiming I think a 60% reduction in running costs. An Australian based business is looking at creating a fuel from old tyres which when mixed with regular diesel was found to reduce Nox emissions and particles by about 30% when tested by a local university. Many diesels can run on natural gas but they prefer to have a small amount of diesel injected to aid the combustion process (especially when starting). Used by static diesel generators and local buses here. There are also companies who will 'convert' your diesel to have an additional lpg injection system with the diesel which is supposed to reduce Nox and particles and produce better power and economy (above the cost of the additional lpg injections). There was even a converted turbo diesel that successfully ran pure ethanol due its naturally high octane rating, claiming to achieve remarkably good power and economy I'm sure there are others, but that is all I can remember for now, and don't hold me to the figures I have tried to recall.

It gets good driving reviews here too. Australians were brought up on and love torque converters. My problem is that they are noticeably less efficient than a DSG and manuals

Any activity you enjoy is good for you, it doesn't have to be running. My wife is nearly 60 and just doesn't have the knees for running but still enjoys a brisk 10km walk around the local lake. She walks faster than I do and I have trouble keeping up . Her physio has recommended more cycling for muscle development support for her knees which is something we used to do a lot, but we are both working a lot more lately than we really planned for or wanted at this stage in our lives. I consider I am lucky that most of my casual work involves a lot of movement and I'm not stuck behind a desk and computer like my wife is. Been there, done that!