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Might be missing something but her Mk3 is a TDI - is your Mk2 also a TDI, or is it a TSI? As a Mk3 VRS 230 (TSI) owner, not entirely familiar with the rollin' coal exhaust setups 😊 - but looks like the Miltek product above bypasses both rear silencers (assuming Mk3 TDI has them?), and adds an outlet to the right hand rear (fake) exhaust pipe. If it does bypass the rear silencers, I'd guess there'd be some increased noise (though obv resonated through middle silencer). Might be worthwhile just giving Miltek a call to see what they say - I've always found both them and Scorpion to give great advice over email or phone 👍

Slight revival of this post 12 months' on 🗓️ - had a new Sachs organic clutch fitted last week at local garage QST, and thanks kindly @roaddetective for highlighting the requirement for replacing seals, as it was the first thing I asked about. Reassuringly, they sort those out by default as part of the service (due to their experience of the same thing that has happened with other vehicles, and especially on this thread). However, I've referenced this thread itself as to 'why I asked', and if there is an issue with it in future that I'd refer to this 😅. I also had my water pump replaced at wondrous expense... Running in clutch for first 100ish miles has been issue-free (thus far). Standard effects felt re: heavier pedal, slight vibration on slow-speed manoeuvres, quicker engagement. Am looking forward to proper use post-350+ miles, though fingers crossed I don't have a similar issue as above 🤞

Definitely a weapon - if you're doing all of this (and you might have not noted it here), I'd highly recommend sorting out the lower engine mount with a billet steel or high-rated poly dogbone version to eliminate the horrible axle tramp you get with increasing power. Transformed the drive & gear changes on my 230 immediately.

Yeah, I didn't realise either until I spent a bit of time researching this morning. I'm more confident in the Darkside version, since it's a component add-on to the already alloy piece itself. To expand on my water pump issue, I've had absolutely minimal leakage over the last 2 months since diagnosis & have had zero overheating instances before - my presumption is that it's a preventative measure before the leak gets too bad and fries the PCB as you mentioned. But yes, could be parts failure or just wear & tear. I might discuss the above points with QST, and keep in touch during the day(s) it's in the garage with some hypothetical IF > THEN parts & costs to ensure it's covered off as best as possible. Either way, happy to be a guinea pig for the 'upgrades' and give feedback if/when fitted 👍

As one of the more recent threads on the EA888 water pump funtimes, I thought I might try my luck here with a query... My most recent (independent - QS Tuning, W.Sussex) service highlighted that mine now needs replacing. I guess I should consider myself lucky to have had no issues in last 6 years, 55k miles in! I know it's a hefty job - as shown by @TheClientabove, as well as mentioned by the techs at QST - so I may also put in for the new uprated clutch whilst they're at it, since they'll be under the car for a day+ with subframe off. Anyway - TL;DR - Has anyone got direct or even anecdotal experience of the cast aluminium water pump upgrades? (i.e., those from Underground Division / Darkside Developments - which are the only 2 I can find that I believe fit the 2016> EA888s). I'm not one to replace a known-faulty OEM part with another known-faulty OEM part, especially if it's a hefty investment each time. That said, I'm not sure whether the thermostat module also needs replacing at same time... (Thanks - this was useful btw - though I suspect I'll need to chat to QST in terms of their experience of replacements). Any thoughts welcome and appreciated.

I can't find my last posting which detailed my trials and tribulations about doing the same as you (i.e., (paraphrasing) 'improving on OEM exhaust note without the drone'), but basically it's the perfect level now. From buying the car, my intention was always to improve as much as I could - so I went for a full Scorpion turbo-back system. Originally, I went 'non-resonated' which was a bad idea - it was ridiculously loud with a heavy drone at all ranges, mainly due to empty rear boot space and lack of soundproofing. I contacted Scorpion to get the centre resonator and got it fitted a few months' later, and it solved all problems with drone and lowered the sound to a perfect level. Having had the car 6 years and the current exhaust setup for 4.5 years, I can honestly say it's one of the best modifications (aside from suspension & remap). It's loud enough on start-up to turn heads (if you're into that), those in-the-know will recognise it's modified at lower speeds, and under heavier acceleration you definitely know about it. Whilst it does increase NVH a little, I'd say it's comfortably within expectations of a modified system - not intrusive or droney, but perfect for a petrol-head to enjoy. One caveat - turbo-back vs. cat-back - the latter setup won't have the 3" downpipe and sports cat which is less restrictive and (marginally, under heavier load) louder. But in which case, cat-back might be perfect for your needs.

For the sake of variety, alternatives exist in Scorpion UK's offering(s) - like Milltek, they're also brilliant quality and their pre-/aftercare support is next-level 👍

Buy nice or buy twice I've been here before too, and always ended up going back to SuperSkoda / Kopacek to get the pricier ones as there's less headache around making crap ones fit properly, or watch them flake off after 3 weeks. Agree with @Dooge re: pointless spending money on alloys if you're going to ruin their look with cheap centre caps.

@MO230 I guess 'whether it's worth it' is based on what you are trying to achieve. A ) Do you just want more noise? - Cat-back exhaust would work fine B ) Do you just want more power? - Turbo-back system + remap C ) You want both? - Turbo-back system, induction kit, remap You might get minor gains in BHP with a cat-back, but since 2/3 of the system would still be OEM and 'constrained' - it wouldn't be that noticeable. You'd be better off getting the car on a dyno to understand its current output, then see if it changes if you take the plunge. I also have the pre-FL 230 (and if you've read all the exhaust posts already, you'll probably have seen what I've done), but my aim was to get both better power, noise, and free-er flowing system early in the car's life to make the remap worthwhile - hence going for option 3.

Having the same issue present itself around the (hatch) boot edges on my MY2016 - though that's unexpected for a 2019 car, well spotted. I am due to get the car in for a full 'stage 3 paint correction+' ceramic coating session soon, so I'm sure the fixes + coating is going to provide a hefty bill. Tend not to do many paint fixes myself, though have treated all gravel rash and the small rust areas I've found with the Turtle Wax Scratch Repair & Renew stuff (whether it does anything or not to protect it in the meantime 🙄). Do update if you get a quote for a fix.

Had this exact issue re: confusion around those clips, and after about 20 minutes of feeling stupid because I couldn't work it out, I caved and just 'resistance-fit' the tray in place with the addition of some duct tape to make it fit more snugly. It was an ugly 'solution' but it was in place for 3.5 years without issue, until I cracked the plastic tray putting a bike on it and as a result it started to buckle / bow in the middle and slip out of the slots both sides. You can keep them in place as standard but also 'reverse-wrap' some hooked bungies from the anchor points on the boot floor up and over each side of the tray, so that it's effectively pulled towards the rear seats for added security. Takes at least 80% less time to do that than the overly-complex solution Skoda have gone for as OEM 😅

Hi @Liteboy- I have one fitted but unfortunately was not present for the process as I got it from the garage, so can't reference ease-of-fit. What I would say is that when I called Scorpion up for product information beforehand (since I originally went unresonated, then backtracked to resonated after 3 months of drone), they were incredibly helpful with providing all requested information and gave good customer service, so they'd be my first port of call. They also have fitting guides on their website which are pretty comprehensive, if you've not looked through those already. Noticed in post that you reference the VRS TSI, though model in profile is a TDI... assuming that's deliberate but wasn't sure if you were looking for engine-specific fitting information etc.

Eesh, sorry to hear that! I'm not familiar with the 1.5 TSi's turbo itself, but hopefully it's cheaper than the IS20 unit in the 2.0 VRS... Glad fitted and hopefully will have no more issues with it going forward. Clutch is another story, but hopefully less than the VRS in parts.

@PaulJRowland SuperSkoda (Kopacek) has the best quality badges on the market for this, but they're a bit pricey (EUR 49.00, currently). However, as it's the part of the car you'd be seeing every day, I wouldn't scrimp on minor savings personally. They also have the black lettering which you can get separately 👍 If you've got a steady pair of hands, you won't have an issue fitting the lettering 😉 - they come as a pre-templated line of letters (i.e., all straight and in order). All you need to do is sort out aligning the line of letters to where you want to fit them on the car. For me, I stuck tape around the old lettering before taking it off, so I had a rough guide as to where to apply the new lettering. There are guides on YouTube how to do this too. My profile banner photo has the finished article as an example (though I've changed the layout slightly to just LHS: "Octavia" - RHS: "VRS")

There should be zero perceptible change, unsure if it'd be physically related 👍 - unless you buy a different profile (i.e., instead of 35, you get 45 or some other odd sizing).

It is 7.5J, but @RoddersUK 235/35 tyres fit with absolutely zero issues and do provide better (even if just 3mm) sidewall protection from pesky hard things - albeit my Xtremes are already ruined due to standard 'whiteworm', gravel rash, and concrete parking space delineations 🙄

Hi @gm73 - I had this issue a few years ago with my VRS, which threw a 'Start/Stop Error' code on the maxidot screen - and went into limp mode. I took it to a VAG specialist down my road who plugged in a laptop, ran VCDS, and manually opened and closed the actuator, which they thought might have got stuck due to heat. It didn't necessitate a new turbo or actuator 😀 In the (hopefully unlikely) event that the actuator is broken or faulty, I believe that only that needs to be replaced - rather than the whole turbo. It is tricky to get to, but not an engine-out job at all.

Yeah - I actually went outside to check fluids yesterday and had a look myself, and realised it would be a tough job to do through the engine bay. My memory was playing tricks re: doing it with my old Mk6 Fiesta ZS, apologies - forgot how 'full' the Octavia's is. It may well be a 'specialist tool' job, using tweezers or something to put the bolt behind your honeycomb grill, then affixing carefully with thin spanners / similar. Presumably, you're looking at ones like this?

The stock one is plasti-welded to the OEM grill, so I believe the typical practice for fitting the aftermarket nut + bolt ones is to open the bonnet and try to attach it using both hands in and outside of the engine bay. Might be tricky if you've got bigger hands, but could always try using a magnetic screwdriver or pick-up tool to marry up the bolt to the badge...? Otherwise, taking the bumper off would be a pretty disproportionate task in terms of the effort required compared to fitting the badge - as I'm sure you've worked out already 😉

As a quick update, I bought from Skoda-Parts above and received the item in a week. Likely overpriced, but it's settled that 'itch' I had when I opened the engine bay 😉 Many thanks again, @bigade1 👍

Hi@mjfend26 - not the wrong place, don't worry, but not sure many will know the answer either. I too have a stock diffuser kicking about in the under stairs cupboard, primarily because I didn't see much demand for them in the second-hand market. Looking on here: https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/5e5807521-rear-bumper-spoiler-skoda-23483.html - looks like it's going for EUR 55.00, but second hand - would presume like ~£30 + P&P?

Legend, thanks @bigade1 👌 I had no idea what the part number was, so that helps considerably! I will start investigating this weekend and let you know how I get on - cheers!

I've not been back to a dealer since I bought the car in 2017, nor contacted any of them online either (as in my experience, very few of them have any interest in the supply of non-functional cosmetic-only parts 😕). That is a good idea re: contacting breakers on eBay 👍 but I was rather hoping for an easier road like "buying from X online" if I'm honest. I will investigate that route in the meantime though, thanks.

Right, makes sense. I know the bonnet badges are available in 80-90mm diameters, but to fit 'flush' within the recess I'd prefer it to be the 70mm OEM version (if one can get them) - if not, likely will go down the route you did.

TL;DR - Query: Does anyone know where to source a Skoda version of the engine cover badge - do they even exist, or are they just rarer than hen's teeth? Context: Back in the early Covid days of 2020, I had the somewhat misguided idea to paint the boring stock MQB EA88 plastic engine cover as a 'project'. Having had a good experience painting up the the Rieger rear diffuser in matte black (still going strong 4 years later 💪) and buying various plastic & heat friendly paints - whichever was available during the stock shortages - I set to work in early 2021. My final efforts were slightly better than 'amateurish' after several months, with final tidying up completed in late '21. Since then, the clear coat I used has perished - likely due to heat, and looks pretty shoddy - making me cringe every time I lift the bonnet or need to drop it into my local garage 😅 To erase my shame, I've now decided to purchase a new VW Golf R spec MQB engine cover (similar to this), but cannot for the life of me find an original (black plastic) or even aftermarket Skoda replacement of the ~70mm emblem for the engine cover! I can find new Cupra ('carbon-style') refit badges, but nothing with the Skoda logo or even something akin to it or cooler (e.g., Racingline / Revo etc.). I've Googled for so long on the 'throne' that my legs went numb 🆘 - typically it just comes up with the ubiquitous video of the Skoda badge being removed to find the VW logo underneath 🙄 - now no longer a surprise... I recognise that in the wider scheme of things, it's a niche request and possibly one many won't care about - but it's a real niggle that I'm keen to get a definitive answer on! Thanks in advance!