Gerrycan

If the map has seriously improved the driveability of your car as you say, and I am not just talking about any performance improvement, then it is money well spent. I think it just reflects the difficulties manufacturers have meeting all the emission and consumption requirements while providing a car that drives well. Tuners do not have those constraints. Look at all the issues raised in this and other forums with the 1.5tsi manual kangarooing, and to be fair it would not be just an issuing of a fix, the group would have to go through the whole WTLP validation process before any rectification could be issued.

I went through a phase for about a year where intermittently one nasal passage would get an inordinate amount of congestion while the other side remained clear. While it was very annoying I found that a simple saline nasal spray really helped me a lot until it eventually sorted itself out, but I think diligent application of the saline solution assisted the resolution. Over the counter nasal spray medications that 'dry' up the nose left it feeling odd, uncomfortable and sensitive, compared to the normal side. I have read that they can cause issues if overused. Sounds like you really need to persevere contacting your doc and maybe a referral to a specialist with your history. I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was eleven and it literarily changed my life for the better overnight.

Have to work over the next few days and it is quite physical so I kept my 'strength' session short but was still shaking with the effort at the end. Started with BEEP test which is shuttle running between two points 20 metres apart to a recording with increasingly short time between 'beeps'). Starts with a slow 10 laps of around 8kph, then the next 10 laps at 9kph and then each 10 laps it increases by .5kph (I think that's right). Very popular with sporting organisations and the armed forces for a fitness measurement . I did one about 3 weeks ago and was happy to achieve 7.1 (1 lap of the 7th speed increment) in windy conditions but today was pretty ideal and I got to 8.1. This time I remembered my heart rate monitor and apart from how I felt I know there was nothing left in the tank as my heart rate peaked at 191. I can run 7km and not feel as shattered after only 7 minutes of the beep test. Did a few pull ups, push and sit ups after. The general formula for maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age (which would make me 29 years old, which I most definitely am not) but it is only a guideline and it will depend on your general level of fitness whether it is appropriate. Scandinavian research has confirmed that the fitter you are the higher your max heart rate can be over the formula but it also works the other way if your fitness is initially poor. Anybody engaging in exercise as a beginner should get a medical check up first (never a bad thing anyway as you get older) and get qualified fitness instructor advice for an appropriate exercise regime. Start off light and build condition gradually, don't be afraid to listen to your body when it tells you it has had enough.

I mentioned in @mac11irl's running and bike diary that I had tried to adopt a more natural running style to overcome the bad postural habits I had developed over time. Seems to be working reasonably well for me although it is still something I have to concentrate on maintaining, it is not natural yet and I can easily lapse. I had an initial 30 second improvement on my 5km circuit which I was able to largely maintain, and rather excitingly there was a further 30 second improvement which may be a bit of an outlier for a while but there is a definite trend for the better. I really would like to get back to 5 minute kilometres, and the 6 seconds a km I need is going to be the difficult one. It only represents about a hundred metres improvement but according to the online reading I have been doing the best thing I can do at my age is some additional strength work. Not my favourite activity but I will see if I can fit some in, you know to test the science.

I'm surprised there has been no vandalism of vehicles occupying EV charging points for excessively long periods, especially the free ones. I'd drop the free points and simply charge for the electricity used and then charge double rate for the time parked connected and not charging. I'm pretty sure that people who abuse the facilities would be less inclined to do so.

I've Just tried to establish and maintain good life habits. I'll let you know how it works out in thirty years time Should be easy and taught at schools but the corporate behemoths whose marketing you are subjected to incessantly through life are determined to profit from killing you sloooowly and painfully.

OMG that Bradex charger is not far removed from my old 4 amp Bradex version that I brought out from the UK, which must be close to 40 years old now. I'd only use it on basic batteries for which it was designed. Every full discharge (accidental or otherwise) of a lead acid has a measurable effect on its life and performance, EFM and AGM versions do handle that situation better but still best avoided. I remember my late brother-in-law got 12 years out of the original battery in his Rover 3500 P6 before it failed one day. Ideally a battery should be fully charged (with appropriate charger for type) and put back in the car and the battery voltage measured while under load cranking the engine. If it falls under a certain voltage during cranking then it is probably wise to replace the battery. I think it's 7.2volts at 0 degrees but 9volts at normal ambient temperatures. Batteries can still go on starting the car for quite a while even at at lower cranking voltages but there is going to come that icy cold day where it fails very quickly or there is a sudden failure and the car cannot be unlocked. Remember that the bonnet opening lever on a RHD Octavia mk3 is (stupidly) on the passenger side which cannot be easily accessed if the passenger door cannot be unlocked. I'm as tightarse as the next man but I don't begrudge replacing the battery after 5 years if I suspect that it is not performing as well as normal.

Good questions. BMI does need context for relevance. While I'm basically skinny, if I put on weight it can go to my midriff and that certainly happened in the summer of 1976 where I drank far too much beer during the then record breaking high temperatures. A beer belly (abdominal visceral) fat on a skinny person is not pretty and certainly not healthy even when young. I caught sight of myself in a mirror and vowed never again. Pure vanity for sure, but hey whatever works and so I currently run about 10% body fat and minimal amounts around the waistline. You have got to remember that Unwin is mainly dealing with either potentially or actually really sick people, they are overweight and still malnourished, with consequent issues with cholesterol, blood pressure and incipient or actual diabetes with their potentially fatal knock on effects for all vital organs. Unwin's dietary advice is spot on for them as it prioritises weight loss and nutrition but when a person achieves their weight and health goals then there has a to be subtle diet alteration to maintain a healthy weight otherwise they end up like victims of bulimia nervosa. The reason you were confused by my last paragraph was due to my missing out the word "complex" before carbohydrate. Sorry it was getting late. I need about 2200 calories a day or I lose weight and then my stamina suffers so I include complex carbohydrates to meet my nutritional and energy requirements. I try to minimise my consumption of white flour, white rice, sugar or plain pasta as they are highly processed foods containing largely empty calories with little nutrition or fibre. After all I am not just eating for me but also the one kilogram (plus) of my gut microbiome. I've been experimenting on my body for years and been up a few blind alleys, got lost a couple of times, but I'm pretty happy with where I am now. I try to keep it simple, find an appropriate personal balance, ignore hype and marketing but recognise good science (with supporting peer reviewed research) for any beneficial lifestyle adjustments

Not bad wear at all. If your car is like mine and not equipped with auto stop/start then it will not need a more expensive AGM or EFM battery and is only a 10 minute job to replace. IF you do have stop/start then their quote sounds suspiciously cheap for an appropriate battery and advisable to check what type they would fit. They would also need to do a little coding so add another 5 minutes to the task.

The type 2 diabetes/obesity correlation seems to have become very fashionable lately which is all a bit odd as I remember reading about it more than 40 years ago so I thought it was common knowledge like smoking and lung cancer (and the million other ailments). Coincidentally I recently watched a newly released Michael Mosely 3 part program called "Australian's Health Revolution" (or something like that) where he picked up on the terrible pandemic of diabetes and related issues in our Australian aboriginal community resulting from their adoption of the worst of western food culture and habits Basically he and an aboriginal health advocate picked 8 people suffering from pre and actual diabetic conditions and introduced them to a low carb ketosis (fat burning) inducing diet and exercise. The results for those who persevered over the two month ( I think?) program were remarkable with some subjects coming off many prescribed medications including insulin and delighting their family doctors who were part of the monitoring process. My personal favourite source for good health information with up-to-date accurate appraisals of medical advances, studies, treatments etc both domestic Australian and international is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation program called "The Health Report" which is hosted by an ex-pat Scotsman called Dr. Norman Swann. Quite simply the best of its type I have come across and extremely well regarded by many health practitioners. It is produced weekly in podcast format: Health Report - ABC Radio National My BMI is about 21 so my diet is necessarily fairly high carbohydrate, mainly (not wholly) vegetarian wholefoods, with high fibre, low sugar and low salt. Olive oil, herbs and quite a few spices keep it interesting. Make our own wholemeal bread (commercial bread has far too much salt), even our biscuits are homemade (wholemeal flour, rolled oats, chopped dates and apricots and our own hive's honey). I'm not saying we will never get sick but it has got to improve the odds.

Forgot to mention that belt replacement for my car is recommended after 7 years in Australia. The recommendation was pointed out to me prior the last service but to be fair they did not try the hard sell when I declined.

@varaderoguy's response is generally accurate as far as belt life is concerned but the reference to the water pump replacement is a less obvious action on a tsi compared to a tdi.. On the tdi the water pumps failures are commonly reported (see pinned thread) and being on the same side of the engine as the cambelt if you are replacing one then it is recommended to do both. The small tsi engine's water pump is on the other end of the engine which adds to the complication and cost of replacement. It is also far less prone to failure than the tdi's pump although it is not unknown. Mine failed at about 60k km after 4.5 years, but fortunately right at the end of a near 4000km holiday road trip where I could get away with just topping it up for the last 100km. There is a reported water pump 1.4tsi failure currently in the Superb 3 section, but as I say reports are relatively few. Our car's belt is over 7 years old and still looks in good condition. Our car is driven conservatively, only 80k km on the clock, and serviced annually. I have never heard of a belt snap reported here yet so I'm gambling that I can get away with it for another couple of years before replacing the belt or the car entirely for an EV.

Inspirations and perhaps a warning: While I admire the performances of elite athletes the fact that they have always been so above anything I can dream of attaining I have never really found them to be motivational. I'm a sucker for stories of what Australian's call "battlers". Achievers despite adversity, little support or others expectations. Classic example was the inaugural running of the Melbourne to Sydney Ultramarathon in 1983 with a then massive $10,000 prize. It attracted some of the world's best athletes most of whom were in their 30's, and also a 61 year old local potato farmer called Cliff Young who signed up still dressed in his work clothes and boots. To be honest he did not look 61, more like 70+ and apparently it took a bit of persuading for the organisers to take his entry seriously. At the start the other athletes flew off into the distance and he shuffled off after them to a fair bit of disbelief and ridicule from press and spectators. But Cliff had a plan, when the other runners stopped to rest at night, he did not stop but just shuffled on with just two hours sleep each night, sometimes less. Long story short he won the 875 km run by 10 hours and broke the old record by a couple of days. He did not know about the prize money and chose to share it evenly with the next five finishers keeping none for himself. When he was 75 he attempted the 16000 km run record around the circumference of Australia to raise money for charity but had to pull out after 6520 km because his only support crew member fell ill and had to go to hospital. He died when he was only 81, and I guess that is the warning that sometimes you can overdo it, but his story still inspires me that age is not an excuse to stop a sensible running/exercise routine.

@EdHilton in my opinion there is an increased risk of filling up with a 'bad batch' of E10 fuel so it does not surprise me that the poorer consumption you experienced was limited to the one fill. Ethanol absorbs water more readily petrol so if there has been any contamination in storage or transport then the two components will separate and become layered. There are a couple of things to consider if that has happened; - If the separation occurred in the suppliers tank then you may have either greater amounts than 10% Ethanol, so potentially much lower calorific value, more fuel burnt and poorer consumption. - or lower than the prescribed 10% Ethanol and the petrol component then falls below 95 RON rating and so again poorer performance and consumption. - I presume that separation can also occur in the fuel tank but I am not sure what effect sloshing during car movement has on the potential effects I've described. Pure Ethanol has a naturally high octane rating so adding 10% contributes about 3 RONs enabling the refineries a proportionate reduction of their normal anti-knock additives. In normal use the 10% Ethanol fuels slightly lower calorific values are barely noticeable and some Briskoda contributors even report improved consumption with E10 but I'm not sure how that works. General advice is to simply try to buy fuel from high turnover vendors. In fairness it should be remembered that even low ethanol fuels can go 'off' over time as the volatiles (up to 30% of the mixture) will disperse and the remaining fuel is slightly compromised in quality. I've seen recommendations as low as a month for petrol storage before deterioration occurs, although longer most professional storage facilities. Diesel is also hydroscopic and has been known to grow moulds over time. I have no idea whether the absorbed water has any negative effects other than initiating the separation, but presume not. These are only my opinions and I would welcome correction or confirmation from knowledgeable professionals.

I'm not a 1.5tsi owner just a 1.4tsi but you probably need to provide more details about the issues and if you have reported them to Skoda while it is still under warranty. Is it manual or DSG? The inference in your post is that it is manual, but best to clarify. When you say it is noisy >70mph is that the engine, wind noise or something else? What gear were you in when attempting 139mph? The top two (or three gears if DSG) are overdrive ratios for better fuel economy, not really suitable for top speed attempts and not recommended on public roads anyway 😉. Can you be more specific about the intermittent buzzing at idle? Does it seem to be from within the cabin, or from the engine itself? Is the noisy idle (engine?) apparent inside and/or out of the car? I am a bit confused that despite the apparent lack of power, and the clutch judders during a rapid first gear pull-away, that you can also experience wheelspin in dry conditions. Are you sure you are not confusing the clutch judders with axle-tramp? Octavias seem to prefer either Michelin PS or Goodyear asymmetric for traction according to others. The clutch could also be playing up of course, rare but not unknown. According to one saga in this forum, Skoda are not good at acknowledging potential clutch manufacturing issues preferring to blame the driver for abusing it. From memory, the complainant of the slipping clutch got the parts examined by an independent expert and took Skoda to court and won the day. My tyres are less premium and it certainly possible to wheelspin in first gear as there is not that much weight over the front tyres (compared to heavier diesel engines)and it all gets a bit jerky as the nannies cut in. ACT only works over 1500 rpm and when less than 25% torque is required, in other words light cruising. Does it work in those conditions and what sort of instant consumption does it display in those conditions? You know , flat road, top gear at say 60 to 70 mph it should be showing (way) better than 50mpg. The steering definitely 'sounds' to have issues. I have experienced noise with hydraulic power assist systems near full lock but never with electric power assist. My 1.4tsi is, and always has been, a bit jerky, especially in first gear, when cold and puttering along the drive in first gear to the road but once on the public road and using more throttle and other gears it resolves within a 200 metres, so I can live with it. If it is a cold start thing it is difficult to demonstrate to dealers unless worse than I described and would have to be left with them overnight. When I left mine with them they said they did not experience it, possible as their exit was down hill, but it was all too hard after that and not a big enough deal. What have Skoda dealers said when you have reported the problems?

@lol-lol , recharging "free at work for many". Your employer happens to specialise in this field but is that really true for others? Agree with the rest of your other points though.

Bonus all the domestic and work demands have allowed a niggling problem the time to heal without too much conditioning loss.

I did say "my limited experience" as my cars do not have stop/start so I my battery replacements are the far cheaper basic lead acid with limited warranties. I usually get more than 5 years out of them and I don't lose out on as much petrol savings as you may think as I'm quite prepared to turn off the engine manually in situations where I know no movement will happen for a while. Annoys the wife no end when I do it

Anecdotally it seems that cars (not just Skoda) with stop/start are susceptible to shorter-than-expected battery life. Lot of caveats, like it will depend on driving conditions, whether subjected to abnormal battery depletion (accidental or otherwise), whether the car's battery management system is working properly, or just possibly the battery fitted was defective, but if the latter was the case then it would probably have failed earlier. I'd be surprised if you could not find a better deal on line than what the dealer is offering but in my limited experience the warranties for new batteries are rarely longer than 3 years. I think that batteries are excluded from the car warranty, like brakes and other 'consumables'.

Not really, the boost is only noticeable on light throttle. Heavier applications of throttle drown the effect. Sure you are not describing axle tramp? It is possible on a 1.4 in first gear when pushed. Clutch engagement is always smooth for me..

I've got an older 1.4tsi manual and another totally different manual car and have to adapt throttle use between the two because they have differing characteristics. The Octavia lifts the revs automatically, but briefly, to around 1500rpm as I lift the clutch which means I have to feed in throttle to offset the rev loss that occurs from both the brief boost and the extra load. My other car does not the brief clutch lift rev boost so the throttle balance at clutch bite point is very different. That is when both engines are warmed up. It took me a while to identify the Octavia's 'automatic boost' and my throttle control was a bit off initially and you may be experiencing the similar?

Running Shoes: There are kids that can run over the stony beach at Brighton like it was sand and others who look like they are walking on broken glass. Needless to say I fell in the latter category. This meant that my running prowess at school was considerably hampered by the standard issue school plimsoll (of the time) which consisted of a thin plastic base with a semi-breathable artificial shoelace-tied cover. In my case they were cripplingly bad. Years later my seminal moment was buying a pair of then very fashionable Reebok runners. That is so long ago that they still featured the British flag prominently on the box. They felt like slippers and at last running did not hurt! Best shoes I have ever bought and lasted for years but later editions were cheapened down so I jumped brands For many years of running I was an Asics devotee but increasing prices and another apparent quality reduction means I have become an agnostic. Literarily "If the shoe fits, at a reasonable price, I'll wear it" I do have foot problems with classic symptoms of mild plantar fasciitis, the first few footsteps in the morning are always pure pain and reminiscent of my youth on Brighton beach. I did have a major flair-up of the condition a few years back, which side-lined me, and did everything to avoid surgery (anecdotally only 50% success rate) and I found that using a low heel running shoe on grass rectified most of the issues. The brand was Merrill and I found their last in that shoe suited my foot profile really well, unfortunately that model has apparently been dropped from their range. I buy a Neutral shoe (I am not quite flat-footed) with a wide fitting to avoid pressures on my arthritic big toes (self inflicted with a bad landing attempting a somersault dismount off gymnastic rings) and currently favouring New Balance and Brooks. Whoever has the best sale prices at the time. I am fussy but cheap! One thing is for sure, even though I have had a few running induced injuries (foot fracture, both Achilles tendons, sprained ankle over the years) my feet are a lot better now because I have persevered with running than if I had just given up. My wife and I manage to walk a few kilometres barefoot along the beach most days, needless to say it is a sandy beach

Very interesting, I did not know there were solid state options already in production but reading the specs the larger battery package option is still about 550 litres and weighs 450 kg which is both bigger and heavier than I expected for the technology. Durability and design simplicity claims are impressive though. What is the price premium over conventional lithium and does it handle multiple deep cycles well (I'm expecting 'yes')?

'Athletic life' is a bit of a stretch but I like to think I have remained active, necessary because most of my working life involved relatively sedentary office jobs. My son is a very active and fit firefighter and having to wear heavy firefighting equipment in hot Australian weather means his boots are a fungal heaven but says using methylated spirits has kept it under control. Hopes it works for your wife, it usually takes two or three days before noticeable improvements. You can substitute rubbing alcohol but they will both sting on application if the wounds are raw. I think it is effective because apart from the antiseptic effect it dries the area between the toes as it evaporates.

Here is another promising new Australian developed battery chemistry that is exiting the laboratory and going into production. Graphene Enhanced Aluminium Ion. They are not claiming any greater energy density, other than over rival Al-ion competitors, but that it can be charged and discharged at 60x time the rate of lithium ion without any temperature issues, it is virtually a super capacitor. No lighter than equivalent lithium batteries they claim it saves the 80 kg of temperature management equipment a typical 100kwh system requires. Other advantages are no rare metals, easy recycling and no fire risks. They have entered into an agreement with Bosch to build production facilities. Initial production will be button cells followed by lithium ion compatible pouches for auto applications. Bosch to produce Aussie EV battery tech - carsales.com.au