99Reza

The Bi-xenon on our Octavia is quite poor in terms of beam intensity. I have previously owned bi-Xenon equipped Tiguan as well as C Class (W204), they are A LOT better, beams are a lot more intense which makes all the difference. I also owned current model C-Class with LED headlight, they are better than the Octavia's Xenon in terms of intensity but comparing to a proper Xenon system (like those in Tiguan and prev-gen C class)? I take the Xenon system any day, much better colour rendition and comfort for the eyes. Xenon also seems to reach out further as well.

I read somewhere that Rolls Royce employ just under 300kg worth of sound deadening for the latest Phantom. They also use a new method of sound deadening, apparently putting 2kg worth of foam inside each tyres reduce the road noises so much they thought there was a malfunction on their recording equipment. I've heard about the foam inside the tyres recently from a tyre manufacturer, wasn't expecting to be commercialized that quick. Found the tyre manufacturer https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/car/technology/contisilent

Whatever you do, keep the mid resonator. Essential for keeping drone (high pitch pipe rattle, not the bassy one) out of the car. Especially important in our sound deadening anemic car. I replaced the stock resonator with a smaller straight through resonator (stock one is baffled), love it and 99% drone free. Doesn't the 245 has a livelier exhaust compare to the standard 220? or was it the 230 that has smaller mid resonator?

The stock speakers (non-Canton) is quite decent, you just need a good source to make the most of it. I recently obtained a LG V30+, this phone has a built in quad DAC. It's intended to drive headphones but works really well as a source for the car (via AUX input). Contrary to what people has experienced regarding the stock speaker, the bass, well mid-bass is extremely punchy, it won't reach the lowest frequency as it lacks proper subwoofer but I imagine it would be enough for most people. Staging is quite good and the sound is effortless, neutral and really clean with no rattle (surprisingly). Very good sound quality I must say, slightly better than Harman Kardon gear in my previous C Class.

Try doing the door. I've dismantled a Mercedes door in the past (W203), the amount of sound deadening they put inside the door is ridiculous. There was a heavy vinyl matt covering the metal frame and the door skin itself was almost inert. Pretty sure there was some sort of sound deadening on the outside door frame too, closed with a thud instead of a bang. As a comparison, try knocking the door skin in our Skoda, you can tell that they haven't bother with anything on there. The glass for the side windows is also thinner in the Skoda.

I'm assuming you will be getting a 2.0Tsi, wouldn't recommend deleting the resonator straight up. There is a reason the OEM resonator is chambered and relatively large in size. I've deleted the resonator before and It drone horribly at 2.5k rpm when the engine is under load and the way VWAG programmed their DSG, you will hear the engine under load a lot of time. Keep in mind that Audi and VW has put a lot more sound deadening inside their car and the exhaust chamber is different too. Not to mention that the S3 has a completely different Turbo. A better alternative for liberating more sound is to replace the OEM resonator with smaller stainless steel lined resonator. I have Vibrant Performance resonator fitted and couldn't be happier, there is DSG burp too. There a thread in here already complete with video.

Are you experiencing any high-pitch drone at around 2.5k rpm at certain throttle position? When I did the delete, the drone was so bad and would vibrate the entire car. I have since installed small 18 inch resonator and solved 99.9% of the drone.

It's best to check coolant's level with a cold engine. When the engine is hot, the coolant level can increase slightly, this is why they call the thing you see as expansion chamber. Although, the consensus is usually the coolant level would drop slightly when the engine is hot due to the pressure being apply to prevent it from boiling.

Does it sound like warbling or light knocking? Mine is petrol and experience something similar, the only thing that I can compare it to was a worn out engine mount noise on my previous car. It make the car's drivetrain felt looser. Doesn't sound like a fuel line rattle, fuel line's noise is higher frequency. My guess is either one of the mount (engine, transmission, torque arm, etc) is getting worn down or the actual transmission itself.

I used to run Carlsson coilover (rebranded KW) on my previous W203 C Class. I believe it's the V1 version, but the front spring setup is the same as the V3 as per the above pictures. Ride was good but a great deal firmer. I really noticed how firm it was after switching to the OEM before selling the car. Very stable at high speed, no fidgeting at all speed whatsoever. There was a good deal of spring chatter from the front, there wasn't any plastic sleeve for insulation. There was an occsaional bump if going over speed bump rather quickly. Do you mean the spring touch the wheels going over bump? I had to run a low offset wheels in the front to properly clear the spring.

There are only two Skoda dealers in the city that I live in. One is brand new which I have no relationship with and the other one is on the other part of town. It's a fair drive and will usually involve a return trip, one to check what's needed and two for the actual fix. Plus if I can save some dollar, why not :).

I'm trying to avoid removing the bumper as it's a tedious job. I can already see what I think is broken from partially peeling the wheel well lining, once I have the part I should be able to gain access by completely removing the lining. Just need pointer from someone in the know on what part/s to get.

Thanks for that, should give an indication of how much the part will be and what to expect should I need to go to the dealer.

Hi Guys, My car's front bumper (driver side) was lightly bumped very recently whilst parking on the side of the road. Damage was very minimal, from the outside at least, just a light scuff below the headlight. However it seems that the bump may have broken something inside the jet washer, as soon as I arrived home I could see and smell washer fluid spilling all over my garage floor. Within couple of days I received a low washer fluid message. The windscreen sprayer has also failed to engage, I could hear the motor running follow by a large gush of fluid coming from the bottom of that damaged jet washer. From that behaviour I presume that the whole washer system must have been primed at all all time and a leak/broken connector along the line will prevent the washer from functioning properly. I peeled off the vinyl covering inside the wheel well and took a photo, attached. I circled what I think is broken parts with red circle. Anyone have any Idea of what is required to fix it? Parts? Cheers!

Here's an Amazon link which where I bought it from. Standard 18 inch: https://www.amazon.com/Vibrant-1793-Bottle-Style-Resonator/dp/B0018085EE Fatter 18 inch: https://www.amazon.com/Vibrant-17930-Outlet-Stainless-Resonator/dp/B0038HRNZ2 Ultra quiet: https://www.amazon.com/Vibrant-1141-Ultra-Quiet-Resonator/dp/B000E3VHWI Our pipe is 2.5 inch. When the resonator say 2.5 inch, it will allow the 2.5 inch pipe to go inside the resonator pipe, nice and clean. Keep in mind that the first video I posted was with a glass pack resonator, slightly deeper and smoother note, free from resonance but did not last more than 6 months. The steel packed one has higher pitch and rawer tone, still deeper than stock, DSG burp is louder with steel packed one. There is a resonance at 2500rpm if you lug the engine, hence my recommendation of obtaining a slightly larger resonator to reduce the resonance. Vibrant has the fatter model (linked above) as well as the ultra quiet model. Magnaflow also offer a bigger diameter one and I believe their muffler has one of the deepest sound in the business.

Btw, if you are going to change the resonator, best to crawl underneath the car and check how the pipe is set-up. Newer built has a sleeve joint at each corner of the mid pipe, no need to cut anything to remove the mid-pipe. My car had one solid pipe after turbo downpipe to the back muffler.

I am that forum member Never replace the OEM resonator with just a straight pipe, there will be drone and resonance. After further observation, turns out there is a baffled in the middle of the OEM resonator, this is part of the reason stock car sounded really quiet. I've settled with 18 inch stainless steel packed resonator and is pretty happy with the sound inside the cabin. There is a DSG burp at gearshift, not as loud as GTI but it's there. Pretty loud burp at higher rpm shift and WOT though.

I've had the radiator and thermostat housing replaced. The radiator leak was worrisome as the coolant drop was significant, the service center acknowledged the leak but couldn't replicate the issue initially. They finally able to identify the issue only when the car has sufficiently warmed up. The thermostat housing leaked was a slow leak but it's enough to be noticed within few days. It apparently can caused the engine to overheat as the sensor to activate the engine fan is connected to the thermostat. Before the leak was fixed, the engine consumed oil at a rate of 1 litre of oil per 4000km. Now the oil consumption has seemed to slow down considerably.

I noticed some wear on mine as well but no where near as bad as the above. I'm fairly small frame and take extra care getting in and out of the car. I'm guessing the material they used is a cheap leather that has been split down. If it is a good synthetic (like MB-Tex), it will look practically brand new. A real leather that hasn't been split down will look worn but will still retain all the surface tension.

The centre muffler on 230 is completely different than those of 220. Cylindrical as opposed to Prism shape, slightly smaller too by the looks of it, similar in length though. Any photos for the two rear mufflers?

It would be under the driver's side (RHD car). You need to remove the large black plastic covering. The line itself is located inside a channel, there are two lines. If you google Golf GTi mk7 fuel line rattle, it should give you a very good picture.

Second that, fuel line rattle is the most probable culprit. Can be easily done yourself if you wish.

The resonator has just gone through couple of fuel tank, around about 1200km worth of driving. Happy to report that the resonance I was telling you about has toned down quite significantly. I tried inducing the resonance by lugging the engine while driving around just this morning, can't seem to make it happen. IMO, this is an excellent (relatively cheap) alternative to getting a full exhaust system, good for those people that after just a bit of noise from the car. Note though, different brand has their own sound characteristic. Please research around to see what fits you better.

It actually has a deeper undertone that the camera failed to pick up completely. I haven't actually seen a 230 driving around in my area, I don't even think they are out yet over here.

Quick video I made, revving only. Best to use earphone to pick up the lower frequency. https://youtu.be/mOpFg3gtJYw