Phil-E

They're much stricter when it comes to appropriate tyres. There's no fixed time period where you have to have winter tyres (or M&S marked all seasons) but the tyres have to be appropriate for the conditions. If it's frosty, icy or snowy then you can be fined for not having winters on (60€ I believe). And if not having the appropriate tyres on causes you to get stuck, have and accident and/or impede other traffic then fines can be quite large (plus points on your license). But the general rule is O bis O (Oktober / October to Ostern / Easter).

I think the spark plugs should be changed at this device too (every 60k miles).

I've also been considering the same. I've seen a lot somewhere before that comes with pre-cut sheets that fit in the boot, doors, under the seats and floors etc. You can also buy sheets to cut yourself which is obviously cheaper. The key areas are the spare wheel and boot area which can cut down any booming noises. The doors are also another area to do. Then under the rear bench. And if you want to go the whole hog then take the roof liner out and add extra in there. Not that my car is loud. Quite the opposite. It's super quiet (compared to all my other cars) but that just makes me want it even quieter! Lol

I've used snow chains once. We drove across to Germany once in our old Peugeot 306 1.9 D. This was way before I even knew about winter tyres. Got to the families house and they live up a steep private road and we couldn't get up the hill so stuck the snow chains on. The next day we booked an appointment locally and had winter tyres fitted since we were going to a ski resort a couple of days! I've just bought my 4 seasons and got an appointment on 17th for them to be fitted. Can't be bothered swapping the wheels and tyres over any more. We live in a flat city and my journey to work is super easy and on a main road so we don't need super duper the best winter tyres.

I honestly don't get this obsession with big wheels and skinny tyres. Yeah, sure on a performance vehicle it's going to improve the handling etc... but even then when driving them day to day I'd far prefer a smaller wheel/bigger tyre combo as it's a much nicer balance between handling/performance and comfort. My previous car came with 19" wheels and skinny 235/35 tyres. Yeah it handled like.it was on rails but the comfort was awful. A drop to 17" 235/45/17 was a massive improvement. And now on 205/55/16 it's a pleasure to drive. Soaks up the bumps etc but the car is still responsive enough when needed. And when driving fast I actually find it inspires more confidence out on the road. Since the roads aren't perfect you can just sling it around on the bumps without it crashing and banging around. My previous Octavia also had 205/55/16 tyres and I did a couple of laps of the Nurburgring. My passenger was impressed with my commitment into the Karussell and I was faster than a tuned up Clio on lowered suspension and skinny tyres that had just passed me 😂🤣

Guess that's gonna be the case with any hybrid vehicle. Once the battery has run out then it just turns into normal 1.4 TSI (but with the added battery and motor weight). Guess the advantage may be that the engine will still cut out when coasting or descending hills (not sure if this is the case at motorway speed?). Guess the better way to think of it is that it's a 1.4 TSI with the added advantage of being to do shirt trips on pure electric (or hybrid). So for city driving (which is when a car is usually at its worst in terms of fuel economy) you can make massive gains by burning zero petrol.

My car won't do 130mph but came from the factory with H rated tyres. They always fit higher rated tyres than the car is capable of. Here in Germany they are very strict on tyres come the TÜV (MOT) and check the size, load and speed index are correct. They should also technically check this all on an MOT but I know for a fact this isn't always done. I've just ordered just new tyres but gone for a higher V Rating as they were strangely enough cheaper than the H rated ones.

And if you happen to find yourself in my region then there's an interesting little place in Bielefeld. It's connected to the Harley Davidson garage. An old factory that now housing a private collection of cars. Basically people pay to have their cars stored there and you can just go in and see them (laid out like a museum). Nice cafe there too. Stadtwerk Bielefeld it's called. Bielefeld is also home to Dr Oetker. And in Paderborn there is the world's largest computer museum if that's your thing.

Well Germany certainly has a lot to offer. Some beautiful places to visit. Guess it depends what you're after. Obviously the Nurburgring is a must while you're here. And in that region is the Mosel valley. A big wine growing region on the River Mosel.

That doesn't sound right. Certainly sounds louder than normal. Which engine is it? The 2.0?

Ideally it's best not to mix tyre types since the treads are very different and can cause instability or unpredictability in the handling.

They they still produce boost without load (just revving while stationary). How loud is it? A small (but noticeable) amount of turbo noise is normal. Just just be a gentle whistle but normally not noticeable with the radio on.

Having said that, shortly before I moved to Germany I drove to pick up a set of alloy wheels in my previous car (Saab 9-3 convertible). I had Pirelli Cinturato Blu summer tyres (eco tyres rated A for fuel). Drove down snowy country lanes as they were at a farm. Passed 3 cars crashed into ditches and didn't have a bit of bother. But had there have been any hills there I wouldn't have had a chance. I drove in snow last year with winters tyres. Up through the hills nearby (can be 20cm of snow there and dry as a bone down here). Handled superbly and even had to do an emergency stop coming down a hill as a branch fell in the road and I couldn't believe how quick it stopped!

Is it just on the paddle shifts? Or the gear lever too? Up and downshifts ok in D and S?

True. But in Germany all winter and all seasons carry the three peak symbol since this is now required on tyres manufactured after 2019.

All seasons are definitely a good all rounder and are perfectly suited to the UK and European climate. But they're no match for a pure summer tyre in summer or a winter tyre in deep snow and ice. So if you're planning on track days in the summer and driving to a ski resort in the winter then 2 sets of wheels and tyres is the best choice. And since all seasons are M+S marked then they meet the legal requirements for all weather conditions.

It's very common here in Germany. Since winter tyres are a requirement in winter weather most people have a 2nd set of wheels with winter tyres that they swap over for the winter (October to Easter is the general rule or "O bis O" Oktober bis Ostern). Garages also offer a winter wheel storage. You pay around €50 a year and they store them for you. This price also includes swapping them over too. All seasons are becoming more popular too (especially with mild winters). Also saves the hassle of swapping them over. I'll be getting all seasons this year.

It's been implemented on boilers for years. Our boiler is now 10 years old and had it from new (boiler still going but don't live there anymore. It's rented out). I believe many "dumb" thermostats use it too. I believe it's kinder in the boiler rather than just switching it on and off all the time. I know we made savings switching from a normal thermostat to the nest. But a lot of that may have been down to the greater flexibility of the programming it offered since we both mainly worked from home and I did home visits and could change it quickly on the fly.

Yeah I found the Nest very good at calculating how quickly the house heated up and cooled down. And so it remained at a steadier more comfortable temperature. With the old "dumb" thermostat it would get really warm and then cold all the time. As I said before, the advantage (and savings) with the Hive are when it's used with Opentherm. As the boiler temperature is controlled on demand rather than it being set at a fixed temperature. And rather than just switching the boiler on and off it can continue to run at a low output (or just running the pump for longer). A big safety feature is when it's linked to nest smoke detectors too. If they detect smoke or carbon monoxide they tell the thermostat to shut the boiler off.

Is it every time you set off? Or just from a cold start? Does it react ok to a full throttle up to the red line? If it's down to driving style then it's either that you're getting on the gas too quick and it's jolting forward (as the clutch quickly engages) or you're getting on the gas too slow where the car has already changed to 2nd (with some clutch slip to smooth out the change) and this can make it feel sluggish sometimes.

Meine came with resistors too. So I fitted them anyway and they've been perfect with no errors. Lovely and bright but look factory fit as the light spread is very even.

If there was a fault causing the lights to aim wrong then there would also likely be an error warning on the dash. Just try parking up to a flat white wall or garage door or something and compare the beams. They should both be at the same height and should be easy to compare with the sharp xenon beam. And as above just make sure they do their full down, out, in and up startup "dance". It can also happen that the motor or motor mount can snap causing that light not to move anymore but it reports no error as the motor is still working.

Yeah I think as good as the DSG is, conventional automatics have pretty much caught up now in terms of fuel economy and shifting speed. Think we will be seeing more and more use of 8+ speed automatics.

My previous car was a 1.9 twin turbo diesel with 240bhp and 490nm (available from 1600rpm). Recently drove a golf estate with a 1.5 TSI ACT and DSG box. And now have a MK2 Octavia 1.4 TSI DSG. In all honesty I have not once missed the torque. I've overtaken a couple of times and never felt lacking in response. Yeah it's not quite the shove in the back. When just driving normally the petrols have more than enough torque to pootle along without stressing the engine. The quietness and smoothness are a massive plus. The engines can't be compared by just their peak power alone though. Obviously a diesel is always going to have a bit more torque. But then the petrols have a wider torque and power band usually (just lower peak torque).

Think you're in the completely wrong place here. That's not a DSG to start with. I'd say you'd be best starting a new thread.