achristo

Hi again Many many Octavia owners have reported bad road noise and I haven't noticed any solution in the forums. Some tyres are better than others, camber settings have an effect etc but no final solution in the way of " Yeah, did this or that and now the car is like most others, not like an Airbus on touchdown any longer" Is it time that -perhaps if Briskoda could provide us with a voting button, we should create a petition and fire it off to magazines and Skoda to see Skoda actually fixing what is a problem? Just a thought...

Hi, Got a VRS with FSDs/Eibach (by the way, car still way to bouncy) and it leans soooo much in corners...better since I upgraded the suspensions but still far too much for a "hot-hatch". Have you noticed something similar or have you found a solution that doesn't imply buying an upgraded rear anti-roll bar? Let me know if you have Alex

I think the car's ECU "adapts" to the very first 10 mins of driving before deciding on a mixture. I find that if I drive hard as soon as the engine is warm then I won't get much more than 33-34Mpg on the motorway at 80-85ish. However, like today, if I just cruise to the M'way then I get much more, did 94 Miles this PM at 80-85 all the way and averaged 42 MPGs...funny cars.

Yes couldn't agree more, the Smart and the FIAT (not sure about the Fabia...) have far better seats, one car was 8,000 Euros and the FIAT £1,700 before mods...madness compared to a brand new "modern" car that should have benefited from much more ergonomics design, one would have thought so anway.

We had (and still have) a FIAT Marea Weekend 20v as well as a Fabia something diesel or other: FIAT with Yellow Koni, Red Eibachs, large front sway bar, stiffened bushes etc (for crap track days, but super cheap) less noisy (especially road) and less crashy that the Octy. Skoda Fabia diesel, very noisy to get going like most diesels but once going quiet, road noise there but nothing like the Octy. For the record we also have the use of a Smart City thing (2 seats, looks like a ball cut in 1/2) and at 80 Mph that is also a LOT less noisy that the Octy...maybe you should get one, see by yourself?

yes there are other factors. Like any other Golf the car understeers far too much for my liking, it is really front heavy and despit fitting Koni-FSD/Eibach springs it still understeers far too much. A bigger rear anti-roll bar would help or just a different car now. Also, the front seats are just so narrow that it hurts to drive after a while (1hour+). I am of average size but my wife is petit (47Kgs, 1m63) and she barely fits her bum in the flat section of the seat. Are they made for under-10s? Finally, the seats (again) offer very poor shoulder and mid-back support which tends to pull on the neck and shoulder muscles making long journeys very tiring unless "sank" in the seat ( I just need a cap and a subwoofer then) which then makes the lower back suffer. Just can't win with that car. We also own a FIAT Marea and frankly that understeers less and offers better seats. I had a Mondeo 2l (basic trim, unsure of model) at an Airport not long ago that was much more dynamic and just a better drive. Looking back, any new test drive for new cars will have to involve a day or two at my usual rate i.e 300-500 Miles because the 15 min I had with the dealer just gave me a great experience for the best features of the car but no time to suffer the harsh reality. The car just isn't great.

Hi, I drive a OctyII VRS which is -by the way, the worst car I have ever had I think. Done 40K miles in 18miles and got rid of the factory fitted Continentals after 3K miles because of the absence of wet grip/traction. Since I have had 4 X Toyos and the traction/grip was much better. Noise still INCREDIBLY loud on most surfaces. I have since downgraded the 18inch standard wheels to 17inch with 45 profile v 40 profile on 18inch. Tyres are Eagle F1s. Handling is better on most surfaces because the car doesn't bounce of very road detail anymore but noise is still awful! I guess the issue -as raised by many members, is the actual type of surface we get given in this country...no tyre will help. I guess SKODA could help by fitting better wheel hubs and bearings but then again it may only help on the most dramatic circumstances... The car will be gone the day the 3 year contract expires...and I won't look back...

I disagree about that last comment We'll all just be taxed for speeding over 70 Mph to Gordon Brown's content. Oh hang on, that is called speed camera isn't it?

Hi there, yes VRS MK2. Skoda's reply: "Legal speed is 70Mph so the wippers are within spec"! Well in that case refund me the other 70 MPh please or

Hi, alex again here, I travelled to Belgium last weekeend and it rained a lot. I noticed then that my wippers are good for up to about 70 Mph, then useless because just not fast enough! Anyone else found that their wippers had that slow lazy swing? I imagine it probably is a fault with the motor in mine... Cheers Alex.

replies are good. No, incredibly hard to get any power down, especially on the wet...

Hi, If you own an Octy II VRS please don't reply just yet. I need to know who'd want a LSD (Limited Slip Diff) retro-fitted to their car by V.A.G or recommended 3rd party? Why? A friend of mine own a FIAt Coupe Turbo, tuned to 290 or so BHP and the power goes down! It just does, on the front wheels... Why is it that VAG couldn't get it right then? Please let me know and we might try to bargain in that direction? Many Thanks Alex

Hi, Had my VRS Mk2 Octy since July, average mileage at 15K Miles. The factory fitted Continental lasted that much (impressive) to the detriment of any driving enjoyment and constant wheel spin. Just bought the Goodyear GSD03 (Eagle F1) at

Makefish mate, any news on the exhaust? I heard from a Honda user (Civic R) that the Miltek Exhaust are known for motorway speed ear crushing noise at 3K Rev-4K rev. Is the new exhaust any better?

hi There, I had it done in the UK. You are quite correct, the people are Volvo specialists but also do VAG cars. They put your car on a laptop and run some acceleration, throttle etc tests and then send the results to Holland. A few hours later RICA sends a new map by email. I will have to take the car back to that place and see I find a resolution or a refund I guess... Cheers Alex

Hi, Had RICA remapping done a week ago, done about 1500 miles since. Very mixed feelings about it: 1- Performance/MPG varies every day! It seems that the chip kind of has mood swings with days with HUGE power and OK MPG, some days with normal power and normal MPG and some other days it's all bad 2- Best I got in terms of top speed is 160Mph on the speedo, on a "normal" day i.e. not one of these days when the mid-range power is just psychotic. 3- Best MPG I got going to Paris on Friday was...wait for it...48MPG at 80- 85mph pretty much stable, no stop from Bristol to Dover. Worse was yesterday with 2h10min from Dover to Bristol...18mpg. It cost me

They fitted continental on my new Octavia VRS...they must go, soon! Very noisyand the grip is only average. Not impressed...

I had Eagle F1 on my previous car and they aren't too bad. The wear is average, the grip is OK on dry, not great on wet and the walls are very soft so you don't get a good feel through the steering. My cars do 40-60K per annum ( I am a rep) and I have tried most tyres. My call -but this is just my call, is that Pirelli is the best, by far, followed by Michelin Exaltos although they were hard/noisy.

If you like driving buy Pirelli. You'll never go back to anything else, especially if you drive wet B roads, expensive to run...but...