benbro

To be fair, it's been pretty hot here this week (with apologies to those in the Northern Hemisphere). 33 celsius on tuesday (low 90s F) and the penguins were really struggling. Under these conditions, I like the car to be like a fridge - nearly freezing cold with lights that come on when the door opens :-) b

Interesting- thanks for that. So a fill up probably sensible first step. The rear air con is cooler than the passenger side, but not as cold as the drivers side when all are set on 16 degrees; so could be preferential for the driver. Thanks

Does anyone know (well of course someone does - it's Briskoda!) if the aircon zones are powered individually in my 2016 140kW 4x4 Superb estate? It's been pretty hot in NZ over the summer but set on 16 celsius in the driver's seat is lovely and cold, whereas 16 on the passenger side is mildly cool only. There's a sound of something rotating slowly for 5 seconds or so after the engine starts somewhere behind the dash, which sounds to be AC related(?). If there's one AC system then if one zone cools properly it must work ok... but if the zones are separate maybe the passenger side needs re-gassing or something? Apologies for the lack of technical info here beyond "it's surprisingly warm and makes a cycling noise intermittently on one side of the car only" :-) Thanks in advance b

Thanks Bap33. Dunedin winters are cool and wet, rarely frosty and almost never snowy for more than a day. Way too wet and windy for that! It's about 3 hours to the ski fields, where it's usually chain free but if there has been a good dump a chance of either chains on 2WD (hooray!) or all vehicles (boo!) but that only usually lasts a day until the road is cleared. I think next year (the season here is June - Sept) I might just see how we get on, and if it's a struggle then we can look at sourcing tyres accordingly - they are more readily available over in the cold, drier central regions. Appreciate your time and thoughtful commentary :-) b

Thanks Bap33, really helpful. 215/55/17 it is then, I think. Winter tyres are deeply unpopular in NZ, at least outside of the relatively dry/cold central Otago region in winter, and even then it isn't uncommon to get warmer days and hosing rain - so overall probably standard tyres and chains are the go. As we live in a fairly temperate bit of NZ we rarely get snow where we live - but it's about 3 hours to the ski fields :-) Now my day would be complete if my old chains fit on 215/55/17s! Cheers b

Just as long term follow up - despite dad searing blind he was doing it right, when I was over last and did it myself it magically worked ;-) So the Auto/Econ press was indeed the answer - thanks dilksie b

Hello all from the other side of the world - sunny New Zealand. After a number of years of happy motoring in our old Octavia estate (2011 1.9TDi) we have outgrown it and gone for something bigger. So we are now the proud owners of a 2016 140kW 4x4 Superb estate which, it must be said, is a bit of a beast by comparison. Other reason for change (other than an eldest child who is pushing on 6ft tall) is for 4WD on the notorious ski access roads of NZ and the number of times a year I am grovelling under the car fitting chains while the 4WD drivers zip past. However, the previous owner has gone for 19" Trinity black alloys which is a disaster for chain fitting, especially with the lowered suspension this model has in NZ. We don't often get to the "chains on all vehicles" stage but having finally got a decent pair of chains for the Octavia it's a bit of a step backwards in that scenario. I note the spare on the Superb is of a size that would be a fairly easy fit. Obviously I have a set of perfectly good alloys on the Octavia 205/55 R16. The 19" black alloys aren't something I'm wedded to... the ride is bumpier on our generally poor roads and not really my style (more knackered dad than boy racer). Other options like socks would not work well as the access roads are generally gravel, mud and slush. I'm not particularly up with wheels and tyres but assume I can drop a couple of inches on the size of the alloys and make it more likely to work (?). Even better in the unlikely scenario that a set of 90cm Konig K-9 Slims fit still, but accept buying tyres to fit the chains is the wrong way round to do it (even when the chains were the equivalent of 250 quid). I assume second hand Skoda alloys would be the best way forward? Thanks in advance for wise advice, b