roaddetective

Well here is an update to my clutch slip problem. Took the car to the VW Specialist in Swindon this morning. They got straight onto the car and have just phoned me up with the BAD news. The Helix clutch slip was not down to a bad clutch, or a leak from the rear engine oil seal. It was down to the gearbox oil seal leaking onto the clutch. They also found when stripping it down, that I have the small classic leak from the water pump. The new DMF has heat marks on it now, along with the new Helix pressure plate from the slipping problem. So I have to have the water pump fixed, along with another new Helix pressure and drive plate. Added onto the bill will be another new DMF. At least they said they will give me a 20% discount, but the bill will certainly be well over £1000. I will know the exact amount when I pick up the car at the end of the week. So last year I paid £650 for a Racingline stage one remap, along with over £1700 for a Helix performance clutch, new DMF, Braided line and Billet Block, Slave Cylinder. Now I have this new big bill only a few months after. OMG, I must love my car!! Hope you guys are having better luck than me with your cars.

I just pushed the foam pad between the bracket and floor with the end of a screwdriver without taking the bracket down. Shame in my case that was not the cause of my slight rattle. Still have not found the cause even now.

As you might have read one of my posts above, I am not the sort to drag race or torture a clutch. It was nicely run in over 500miles and is really smooth now, even when moving away at low revs. What does help with the expected stiffer pedal, is the braided hose and bleed block I had fitted at the same time as the Helix. I also don't really feel any extra bite, partly I suppose down to the block and hose I guess. I remember last time I was at that garage, they mentioned an Audi owner who had a Helix clutch fitted and did not like the bite, the stiffness and vibration on moving away. So he had his car booked back in for them to fit the braided hose and Bleed block. My pedal is still a little stiffer than OEM, but you really don't notice it once you are driving. I should find out the cause of the clutch slip in the week they are taking in the car starting the 10th of January. I will of course update once I know. Bloomin bills, when do they ever end.

The labour sounds about right, as does the seal. But £400 just for the drive/friction plate, are you sure. On my garage receipt it shows the Helix friction and pressure plates were £500 plus VAT. I would have thought the pressure plate would be the most expensive of the two. Either way, I certainly have another big bill to pay, having already paid out over £1700 for the whole kit in the first place.

I had read about that rear engine seal in the past, but forgot all about it when I had the Helix fitted. However, since your post, I have just rung the garage, a VW independent specialist and stated whether the seal has gone or not, replace it while the gearbox is again out of the car. My good lady also asked how much is it going to cost this time. Honest answer, I just don't know. The garage have said they are going to have a real go if it is the Helix clutch at fault, of getting a new clutch from a warranty claim. Oh what we spend on our cars!!!

I guess I should have had that seal fitted at the same time as the clutch. My common sense escaped me on this occasion.

Hi Redboy. Yes I should have put 490nm of torque. Don't know where my brain is sometimes as I get older. lol.

Correction on the torque, I meant 490nm not 290. Doh

Hi Ads230. Not blowing my own trumpet so to speak, but I have been an advanced driver trainer for the last 30years and so I know exactly what you mean on torque and dropping a gear. The thing is, when the clutch slips at 3k revs in 6th gear, I am already doing over 70mph. So I expect the clutch to grip, not slip at that speed. If I drop 2 gears instead to 4th at that speed and floor it, no problem with slip, due of course to less strain from the engine and drivetrain to get even more speed. According to the rolling road graph I received after the map, peak torque is around 3k revs, so that is where you get the most torque from the engine. But it slips in 6th at 2.5k revs as well, just as the turbo hits good boost. I really don't think with this clutch, I should have to drop 2 gears at high speed to prevent slip, even in the high torque range. These performance clutches are built to handle the torque my car is putting out and a bit more, after all, it's not on a stage 2 map. I remember way back in the past, when you got oil on the clutch plates, you not only had slip, but usually a bit of vibration when reaching the biting point on the clutch to move away. My clutch takes up the drive very smoothly. If it is really the oil seal, I guess I will have another heavy bill with the gearbox having to come out again, fix seal and put it back together. Gearbox out again of course anyway if it is the clutch, I just hope the garage can get a warranty claim out of Helix. I remember years ago when I was running a Civic Type R, a new clutch was fitted and it developed a fault within 6 months. So the warranty was claimed and the whole job was done again by the garage for nothing. It seems this is not the case with performance parts fitted to a car that has been mapped! Have to dig into the savings again I suppose!!!

Last September I had a Helix clutch fitted, due to my stock clutch not coping with my stage one remap. 329BHP 290NM OF TORQUE. In the last couple of weeks it has started to slip. At 3 k revs in 5th when you put your foot down, it sometimes slips a little. Around 2.5k revs and 3k revs in 6th when you put your foot down, it always slips, as the revs suddenly jump 500 more. I rang the garage and they are going to take it in for a week early in January. They say it might be the clutch, or it might be that rear oil seal gone putting a bit of oil on the clutch. What was interesting, was that they said it is sometimes difficult to get a new clutch under warranty if that is the problem, due to my car having a remap. Why else would you fit a performance clutch, if not for a car that has extra power from standard! The performance clutch is meant to handle extra power. As the bill in September for the clutch, DMF, Slave cylinder, Bleed Block etc was over £1700, I do hope another big bill will not be the case in January. Still can't understand the possibility of no warranty on the new clutch though, although the garage state they are going to push for one if the clutch itself is at fault. Wish me luck.

Although I ordered mine through www.hortonskoda.co.uk and got it posted to me, with the correct part number you should be able to get it through any VW/Skoda garage. Part number is- 5Q0121407M.

Just changed my silica bag filled Expansion Bottle for the one without the bag today. Love an easy job as it took no more than 10mins to complete. Car is on 32k miles, so I think I will have the coolant changed at the 40k mile service and every other service afterwards. Change the coolant frequently, just like the old days.

My last 2011 Octavia VRS TSI was in Race Blue and I did love that colour. My present car, a 2018 Octavia VRS TSI 230, is in the colour you can no longer get, Quartz Grey. A little bit more discrete, especially since there is no longer any chrome on it. I think I love the Grey even more than the Blue.

I have wind deflectors on all 4 windows. They actually throw up more wind noise at speed.

Will have a look at that myself.

I also have a slight rattle that appears to come from the drivers door somewhere. Uneven surfaces start it off, but it only lasts for a few seconds before going away again, until the next uneven surface of course. I have had the car since it was 9 months old and this slight rattle started about a year ago. Just can't find what is causing it. Bought some trim plastic removal tools a while ago, as I am thinking about taking the door card and other bits off to have a better look. VERY FRUSTRATING! So you are certainly not the only owner who has this mystery problem.

I also use the same tyre pressures on my present 235 width Michelin PS4S tyres as I did before on my old Michelin PS4S tyres on standard 225 width with no issues. One thing to be aware of when changing tyre width. Some tyre fitting garages will not put your new wider tyres on the car, when the tyres coming off are narrower. Elf and bloody safety!!! When I changed to the 235 tyres I ordered them via Blackcircles tyre sales. They sent them to my local tyre fitting garage that they deal with. I have used Blackcircles before and had no problem when the new tyre size matched the ones coming off the car. The garage refused to fit them. So I simply took the tyres to another tyre fitters who fitted them no problem, at a cost mind. I also contacted Blackcircles to get a refund on the cost of fitting, which is included in the initial cost of the tyres.

Never even driven mine in eco mode and probably never will. My right foot is my eco mode when I want it to be.

Personally I just love my 2018 Octavia VRS TSI 230, although mine has a manual gearbox, which I prefer to an automatic. I am on my second VRS petrol, as I previously had a 2011 Octavia VRS TSI. They are a very practical car and taking it steady on A roads I can get 45mpg. I particularly like the vast boot space, something I need when me and the good lady load it up with all our scuba diving gear for a trip. As previously mentioned though, try to get a good test drive to see if it really suits you.

It certainly is best to renew the flywheel at the same time as a new clutch, I am assuming it is the modern Dual Mass Flywheel. Due to a good map on my car giving more performance, I needed a new performance clutch at 28k miles. Just in case they put the new Helix clutch in and the DMF starts then playing up, they strongly suggested fitting a new flywheel at the same time. It would be a shame to take the gearbox out, fit a new clutch, put the gearbox back in and then have to take the gearbox out again soon after to then fit a new flywheel. All that labour charge!! So it the end I had the new performance Helix clutch kit, new slave cylinder, new DMF and braided line and bleed block to give the clutch pedal a more OEM feel. It cost me over £1700 all in all, but the peace of mind is priceless.

Where the 2 fuel pipes come out of the black bracket, I fitted the pad between that black bracket and the floor above of the car. When I felt this bracket there was a bit of movement up and down. So I was hoping this was actually the cause of my slight rattle. No such luck in my case. The original post by stu83 with the photo is accurate.

I was so hoping this was also the cause of my slight rattle, but after wedging one of these pads in the same place, slight rattle still there, darn. Have to now look elsewhere.

Just to update. The brace was black. After having to use a small round metal file on one of the bolt holes on the brace that did not quite line up, it fitted on easy. The hardest part was getting the wiper arms off. The first wiper arm puller I bought on ebay, broke when trying to pull off the wiper arms. So I bought a better quality one from my local car parts shop that did the job okay.

As part of taking every last piece of chrome off my car, I took the chrome exhaust tips off and painted them myself. You will need a small ratchet and torx bit and the 4 screws each side are a bit of a sod to get to. It took me on average around 20mins a side to get each tip off. If you have small hands possibly shorter time, but I have large hands so a bit of a squeeze. Make sure you rub all the chrome down to get rid of the shine, I used an electric sander and rubbing blocks. It was recommended on the internet to use an epoxy primer, as that sticks well to an ex chrome surface. Then I used a gloss paint to finish. 2 coats primer and 3 coats black. I did not use an extra high heat black paint, as the exhaust tips do not really get very hot. I felt the tips after a good run just to see how hot they get. I found them just warm. See photos below of the end result, which I am very happy with. Also a photo of the 2 paints I used.