Gissin

aaaand this trips been cancelled due to the lockdown - got a refund for the cottage at least

Thought id provide an update to changes I've made which I think have made a difference Changed my grips to DMR death grips as my old ones were pretty shot, I have to say im impressed, the comfort and grip from them are great, I've not ridden for longer than 2 hours so I can't say how they fair on longer rides. put some Zip ties around brake lines and shifters to stop them moving about, this has tidied up the bike and reduced noise on the trail stuck on a Topeak ninja cage this comes with a comprehensive, solid multi tool and takes a 750ml bottle this combined with a tube strapped to the bike and CO2 cartridge hidden under the seat allows for shorter rides to be pack free. Humvee 2 liner shorts these are simply awesome and super comfy sat in the pub after and drove home in them too! few new bits on order for the bike Nukeproof 780mm Carbon bars (35mm) + Carbon assembly paste Topeak D2 digital pressure gauge Spank 45mm stem will update on the new parts once fitted and been out for a couple rides

if you don't have it currently it will need to be coded in

what's with that arch gap though

congrats on the new car dude.

personally I wouldn't bother with main dealer and find a good indy/specialist unless you're bothered about having non-main dealer stamps

what I use on my wheels Bilt hamber Auto Wheels - everyday wheel cleaner non acidic works really well generally no agitation is needed if doing a proper deep clean Bilt Hamber corrosol - this is an iron fallout, use about once every 3 or 6 months Small amount of light cutting clay inside and out (take the wheel off) auto wheels with agitation seal with poor boys wheel sealant

not very expensive £30/40 is normally enough to find ones that reset EML/Airbag lights something like this would be sufficient: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KW350-OBD2-Diagnostic-Scanner-for-Car-VAG-VW-Audi-ABS-Airbag-Reset-Oil-Service/233714201694?hash=item366a73b45e:g:P0UAAOSw3LxfYHg6 but if you're sticking with the vag range for the possible future then something like vagcom / VCDS would be much better, but more expensive. Sorry i'm not sure what the SOS light is but I personally would take the battery off for a bit and try and do a factory reset on info system see if this helps as a start - I assume you've removed the dash cam from fuse 6

do you have maxi dot? im pretty sure you can disable this through the menus but i'll check when i'm back at the car failing that if memory serves me correctly you can remove 'global opening' from the coding at this will stop opening/closing from the key fob

you could always buy a code reader/diagnostic with the ability to reset airbag lights

at 3K you'll find something reasonable - the saloon isn't that much smaller (boot wise) but with the slanted hatch rear some things can't stand up such as bikes as an example. you;'ve not really stated what kind of driving you do but as you've opted for diesel I assume you do a fair few miles but one thing to consider some Octavia's have a DPF which if you only do short journeys often you'll soon have to replace that amongst other things - you really need to get diesels up to operating temperature. If you're only doing say a 5 mile commute i'd be looking at a petrol. I've attached a few examples: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010124917452?fuel-type=Diesel&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&postcode=de78hj&radius=1500&advertising-location=at_cars&price-to=3000&model=OCTAVIA&maximum-mileage=90000&make=SKODA&sort=price-desc&page=1 https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010134942232?postcode=de78hj&price-to=3000&advertising-location=at_cars&maximum-mileage=90000&fuel-type=Diesel&radius=1500&model=OCTAVIA&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&make=SKODA&sort=price-desc&page=1 https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010074710201?postcode=de78hj&price-to=3000&advertising-location=at_cars&maximum-mileage=90000&fuel-type=Diesel&radius=1500&model=OCTAVIA&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&make=SKODA&sort=price-desc&page=1

yeah that's correct you wont really notice the drop but an improvement in handling without sacrificing too much comfort. https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-parts/skoda/octavia/hr-50mm-cup-lowering-springs-shocks-suspension-kitoctavia-1z-20042013-12tsi-14-14tsi-16-16tdi-18tsi-19tdi-20fsi-20tfsi-20tdi-inc-vrs this would take it to about 30mm lower if you want lower you're looking at coilovers but then it's going to reducing comfort quite a bit. I used to have some Gaz coilovers on my ZS180 I remember the ride being very harsh and bouncy on rough roads

depends what you want/budget/spec/type of driving you do Octavia/superb/rapid would be a similar size to your Passat

Eibach pro's are usually used with the Bilstein and pair pretty well. the eibach's were also listed as an optional extra from factory https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-parts/skoda/octavia/eibach-30mm-pro-lowering-suspension-springsoctavia-1z-20042013-12tsi-14-14tsi-16-16tdi-18tsi-20fsi

jealous of that garage!

H&R hubcentric spacers are the only ones i'll use (and do) I run 15mm each side on the rears 30K miles and no issues Remember the vRS is dropped -15mm over standard car - suspension listed looks fine although I don't know anything about the brand . winding them down to -40mm drop is going to make them a little stiffer and I see you mentioned comfort similar to standard something like that would probably be similar to eibach pro springs and bilstein b8 shocks

unfortunately due to nhs track and trace contacting me about being in contact with someone who tested positive I had to self isolate and move the trip - 20 Nov I'll be hopefully going now

how did you find it? im running 32Tcr 11-42R so I might fare a little better

Looks good so I'm heading up there in 10 days time and I'll be doing all the routes at least a couple times, so I'll update once I've been. If anyone's interested: https://www.forestryengland.uk/whinlatter/altura-trail-whinlatter

So I'm off to the lakes in a couple weeks for a bit of climbing, thought I might take my bike and head to whinlatter bike park and wondered if anyone had been ?

had a quick blast round the red this morning, surprising amount of people there midweek, got held up by a lady who clearly didn't want to stop or move over (not sure why she was on red ). they've been doing some work recently so there's a little ladder section some better built berms with some fast flowy sections. I agree it's not really a red though. what's everyone's times?

I pulled my old BB out which almost came out by hand it was that rubbish unfortunately my bike has a strengthening bar in the middle of the BB which ruled out many options but I Installed a wheels manufacturing pressfit which has cups that screw togeather very similar to the pf30 I also used loads of assembly compound and retaining compound to reduce any possible movement and loads of grease for the dust covers and so far it's been fine I've done about 500 miles on dusty gritty trails and no issues so.l assume all good now I've moved onto new grips/bars/saddle to get the position dialled in.

New parts finally all arrived ( splitter kit) car now booked in for black roof re-spray, front bumper lip blacked (grill width, self designed) and repair work to rear and front bumpers (pretty minor damage, cracked paint plastic dent and scratch) but it's annoying to see when cleaning the car once these are all done im going to start looking at the splitter kit, I'm still 50/50 so might be up for sale lol

ahh that's awesome man

I have no idea where you're getting your figures from but my Map is custom ( changes to AFR/ injection cycles / boost pressure) I know this was done because I saw it, this was also backed up by 7 dyno runs over the space of 3.5 hours this cost is nowhere near £1000+ infact it wasn't even half that. It might be worth being better informed before commenting. Tuning boxes have their place (for me that place is the bin) but each to their own and sometimes it might make sense. To the OP The point of the original post was about longevity really, if you want something reliable long term(not saying tuning boxes can't be) and getting the absolute best go for a remap, ideally one designed on the dyno for you from someone who knows what their doing with a solid reputation. Mines a different engine but running 230/450nm covering many thousand miles now and it's fine my MPG went up, it's a better car to drive and loads of fun.