Former

I'm no ta tyre, wheel or suspension expert, nor an engineer or mechanic. Depending on the brakes the car could easily take a 14" wheel and tyres but if 15" is the smallest size VWSkoda specify for your model and year then that would be the size I'd go for. And for rough roads personally I'd go for steel wheels which along with the tyres may well work out lighter than the 16" alloy wheel and tyre combination you have fitted now. Do check all figures and facts I give as I could have looked at incorrect sources or they've made mistakes. I believe smallest VWSkoda have for your year and model is 15" so tyres same as on my wife's 2015 1.2 SE with 185/60 r15 tyres. 185/60 r15 tyres against 215/45 r16 gives nominally 0.6" (15 mm) 15.8% more sidewall height(but the tyre's design, build and composition will effect ride and comfort and flex). The factory wheels that you have on now appear to be 7Jx17 ET46 and appear would be 6Jx15 ET38 for 15" wheels, so that is going from 7" wide rim to 6" rim wheel to accommodate the narrower tyre. If the 175/70/R14 doesn't have the restrictive stickers on for speed and use and your Owner's Manual doesn't tell you otherwise (are you sure there's no stickers on the spare wheel) then in theory you drive as normal but that wouldn't be good even if the wheel and tyres were the same size as the ones on the car as unless the tyres are all the same make, model, age and use you will be having two different tyres on the same axle which is OK but not best. Now look at what you would have on your car, a 215/45 r16 tyre that is around 5 years age and use, H rated against the presumably never used 175/70/R14 tyre of a different speed rating and probably different make and model, one tyre is wider than the other side and other axle. I'd only use it as a get-me-home. In fact I didn't carry a spare wheel in many of my cars for over 30 years just a a good manual footpump (I dislike the wheezy electric ones you get as repair kit) - but that's all another subject and it seems to upset some.

No, sorry I was referring to Papez's video about the TC6 oil temperature fitting.. In my posts with suggestions I see I made a good few typos but I hope you got what I meant. For engine breathing do double check you've put everything back as it should be and that there are no blockages and check any vacuums (do you have servo brakes).

215/45R16 is a fashion decision, overwide and too small on the sidewall but you're stuck with it unless you downsize a lot with the wheels and tyres - otherwise as put you could look at your tyre pressures and go for lowest recommended for your car, tyre size and car loading. Perhaps a different make and model of the same tyre size may be a little better and the fact the tyres would be new on the car and not 5 years of aged use and sitting around on the car but there's the cost and research to find a more comfortable tyre for possibly little gain because of the silly wheel size. I've had tyres split on the inside where you don't see them in a few years and about 20k-miles use and would never judge a tyre over the internet or by photos, perhaps unless they were very high resolution so they could be zoomed in a lot but even then it's an image on a screen so may not be entirely accurate. Tyre fitters are often very eager to replace tyres prematurely but there are still some decent and honest workers about that don't, finding them is the difficulty.

You still get a paper printed Owner's Manual on a 2023 car that's great, I was under the impression they were a thing of the past. My wife's 2015 Fabia doesn't give the detailed information your Hyundai did and instructs you to look at the label inside the fuel filler door for actual figures To be fair to Kwik Fit as I put before on their website they do put - "Tyre pressure information should be used as a guide. For the most accurate tyre pressure information for your vehicle, please consult your handbook or check inside the door of the fuel cap." On my wife's 2015 Mk3 the ice-scrapper is see-through so the label with tyre pressures can still be read, I don't think either of us has ever used that ice-scrappers we just use ones I bought years ago, well before this car.

You owners in hot countries would know better than me but start at 17c cold going to 108c seems high to me, was the engine running at the end of the video or heat soak after engine was turned off?

Hi, welcome. Which gearbox DSG or manual, how many gears? Others may know of any particular problems. In case you or others haven't check if there are any, admitted, recalls. - Škoda Recall Campaigns - https://www.skoda-auto.com/services/recall-campaigns

We tried the "eco" pressure setting on my wife's 2015 Mk3, plus 5 psi (0.3 bar), and didn't like the ride or handling, not that the ditchfinder Nexen tyres were that great anyway and the Fabia has a bit of a wobbly chassis anyway. I suppose, as the advert goes, every little helps but it's a bit ironic suggesting "eco" in a heavy modern vehicle with oversized wheels and tyres when much of the time only the driver or perhaps one passenger is in the car but we all like to kid ourselves now and again. 😃 Given how far the car would roll forward under its own steam with foot off the accelerator I would guess there might be some mpg gain at "eco" pressure but I can't remember checking or if I did I've forgot, mpg for me is more about checking the engine isn't running too badly.

Always double and then treble check any information you get from any source, including manufacturers; websites and databases, and cross-reference with two reliable sources of info if possible, errors and omissions are in all databases and certainly some info off the internet. I'm not saying anything is wrong, Kwik Fit cover this in your hyperlink with - "Tyre pressure information should be used as a guide. For the most accurate tyre pressure information for your vehicle, please consult your handbook or check inside the door of the fuel cap." ETA: also you can have variables with tyre pressures by what you use to record them and when but if things are reasonably accurate and you keep consistency in recording then you won't be too far off to worry about regardless.

Depends which age of Mini and the gauge, I, IIRC, on my last Spridget had four different dual gauges (oil pressure/water temp) one returned as it didn't register the same as the two before and one after and I contacted the "Smiths" manufacturer (carbolt-ish sort of name) in Wales and learnt about their calibration for the water, this was closed ether tube with end bulb type of system not electric sender and gauge type. My coolant needle was well before the 'N' on the gauge for normal running, others owners worried about the needle being on the 'N' and the 'N' 80-somthing C, I always said to look at the combined gauge and if it showed about 5 to 10 passed 7 as a clock that was fine, if mine got to 'N' it meant it was a bit warmer than normal so I set the variable control for the electric fan to keep the needle before 'N'. D.FYLAKTOS would have a heart attack if he had B V8 with numbers on the dual gauge, oil pressure at idle being so low and water temp when it gets really hot and the needle pushing into the bigger numbers on the oil pressure part of the gauge. A mate had a Rover P5B and at tickover the oil pressure needle barely rose and even clogging along the needle didn't raise itself too much, I can't remember if it changed with the TVR 4l engine, such a heavy car (not compared to todays lardy cars) I can't remember that much difference in performance to the original 3.5 but I only drove it a few times with each engine. I did notice on following him back from the NEC the very small rear tail lights on a grey car out in the dark countryside a reflective rear numberplate would have sorted that but of course black goes with grey (to, too, many).

Before that check your scan tool program is up to date for your car and that it's suitable for your car model and year, both can throw up problems with reports.

I would probably give greater acceptance to the digital thermometer than the IR gun pointing at different surfaces and a set positioning on a stand/tripod and not knowing its reliable accuracy and calibration checking from new, the thermometer could have it's own issues but is more likely to be used in the same manner each test and a, hopefully, acceptable range of accuracy in tests.

Just for further context and the car being available, below is a photo from my wife's 2015 Mk3 Fabia - for our younger viewers, please don't have nightmares about seeing 14" wheels referenced. These cover tyre sizes 185/60 r15 to ridiculous 215/40 r17 (don't know about 14") - I don't know how much heavier the Mk4 might be than the Mk3 or if the suspension set up changed (hopefully improved). Note the columns for "eco" pressure setting - which make a noticeable difference to the tyres' rolling resistance and general handling.

Yes sorry, crazy psychedelic images though man, get the josh sticks out and early Pink Floyd or Tangerine Dream on the deck. I'm sure Scotty done a vid of what goes on the phone, as I put I'd not rely on any free or low priced App - but those are wild images man, far out. 😍 At least you can distinguish the different parts easier than a standard photo of a grey engine and lots of black bits on it, and much more interesting with different filter or adjustments to image on or off the phone it might be useful to pick out parts rather than areas of heat.

Haynes isn't always correct with details - they have a good museum though and have at least one of our members cars in their collection and they have invited our club their to use the little running track so I declare an interest and don't knock them too much (well not often). That's fair enough but would you want an oil cooler for -18c winter weather. I used my Spridgets and all other modern and "classic" cars through all winters and the Spridget coolant gauge did not get too far from the 'C' for cold on some winter days runs and they did not have oil coolers (with or without oilstats) and I had removed the engine driven cooling fan on the last Spridget so the engine would warm up quicker and have more chance not to cool more when driving around town. ETA: presuming it get some airflow there that is a better position for the oil cooler than in front of the water cooling rad.

Yes, but not that part rather the progression from 30 engine oil to 20w-50 it encouraged. Yes I know I've been in debates about oil beliefs for many years mainly related to my last "classic" but also wider debates about engine that I should or should not use from my very first "classic", most responders were basing their posts on out of date information, I've done the same on other subjects, I often get many things wrong but I've learnt through life so do many other people and some are willing to learn and others are not, ordinary mechanics and engineers tend to be quite stubborn and still to what they were trained or learnt even if that was decades ago (you can extended that to some medical people too. Problem is what works for one person or for one car or engine may not work so well for others with the same model (hopefully you heard this from someone else in one of the vids). The vid(s) cover this, the tests relate to a very tiny number of engines so there are numerous variables anyway in the real world and simulated or indoor tests are not the same as real world use only real time can really tell you and then it's a range of results based on numerous variables, this is part of the reason why the German and VW engineers keep changing their recommendations and specifications and numbers on the oils and coolant, along with continuous "improvements" of course. 😁 You have others that know a lot more about this here than I but again it suggests crankcase pressure to me. Have you tried removing the oil filler cap whilst the engine is running at idle to see if that changes the RPM? You could also perhaps try running at just about 'MIN' on the engine dipstick and only top up to that level to regularly keep to that level and see if that makes any difference at all, trying the removing oil filler cap at that level too. Different engine I know, but you could also try putting a rubber glove over the oil filler neck with the cap removed and engine running at various RPM, see if it inflates and how much, this was a good display for an A-series engine owner that had had the car and engine for decades and was trying to get to the bottom of why some A-series Spridgets blue -smoked sometimes when other Spridgets never did. Only out of curiosity do you mean you don't like oil only coolers?

Flat tappet engines (and all engines) need high protection from wear which may include levels of ZDDP, zinc but also other elements to the additive packages, it's the combination of the elements of the additive package and how these suit the engine in question that matters rather than any particular figure or amount of ZDDPs. Having a good quality base oil will help the engine generally but the additive package will be about the base oil and the additive package itself, things working as a team rather than one star player. As for oil/water coolers to me that just seem to complicate things unnecessarily here, something I know the German engineers might favour to be "simply clever" but to me it's not it's doubling the work and risks (or more than double) for something to go wrong, oil and water don't mix together well. As the car doesn't have an oil cooler for all these [ years (decades) ] I'm not sure if it needs one now but it's not my car and looking to the future if there are to be more hotter days more often then it could be a good idea used along with a high quality oil suitable for the extremes of the weather and use of car.

As with everyone else what oil you want to put in your engine and what oil believes you want to accept and reject is up to you but you have taken on the popular beliefs but that doesn't mean they are correct. Just to give you a bit of background the British engines in my British "classics" from the 1960s and 1970s were first built in the late 1940s and early 1950s (that one went on until the new century, year 2000, with some minor updating at the start of the 1980s). These engines were 8v, OHV. I have been driving cars with these engine since 1977, I wouldn't be able to guess how many miles but a lot and not usually slowly. The (proper) Mini that had the A-series engine and shared gearbox was what promoted the use of the early multigrade (20w50) engine oils in the UK at least. In the 1990s I used the contemporary Mobil 1 15W-50 in my cars with those engines and the common wisdom was that the oil would ruin the engines (rot my teeth and steal my looks) usually by old-farts with "classics" that they very rare drove and then like a maiden aunt going to Sunday afternoon tea as they thought the cars would fall apart if driven as they were designed to be. Those engines were fine and performed well and I put many tens of thousands of miles on them the few years I owned them (and I have kept all my teeth (including a baby tooth still in my jaw) and my looks). ZDDP is a useful marketing tool to sell special "classic" engine oils at higher prices for an older oil that should be less expensive, in the UK at least, if want ZDDPs it is the whole additive package that matter more than one ingredient - and then how many ZDDPs is required? Having researched this a bit I have never found a figure for ZDDPs (usually shown as ppm - part per million) for the multigrade 20w-50 popular engine oils in the UK in 1960s nearest I could find was perhaps 600 or 900 or in between yet when I last debated this the "specialist" "classic" car engine oil with ZDDP in bigger letters had IIRC something like 1300 ppm. Now apart from 900 being the highest figure I saw for 1960s as I put before wear protection is given by a range of additives in the additive package. Found this table for API grades of maximum zinc (I don't know if it's correct). SM 800 zinc SF-SL 1000 - 1400 zinc SC-SE 1000 - 1200 zinc SB 1000 zinc SA 0 zinc I have no idea what caused your wear, perhaps too little zinc in an unsuitable additive packages to the engine oils used might have contributed, perhaps not, depends on the particular oils used in your engine in your driving conditions from when the engine was first built (or rebuilt). I am a bit confused why you have chosen a diesel oil and then used API for petrol engine, plus what makes SJ suitable for OHV and not later specs, the link you put up goes to at least SM for backwards compatibility. ETA: just thought diesel may have higher zinc levels(?), I have never looked at diesel engine oils specifically. For your Mobil diesel oil heavy duty means in chisel trucks, mining, quarrying and agricultural industries which I suggest would involve far more heavy-duty loads than your car could ever take - "Mobil Delvac Legend 15W-40 Heavy Duty is recommended by ExxonMobil for use in a wide range of heavy-duty applications and operating environments found in the trucking, mining, construction, quarrying and agricultural industries." No specific to your car but when you have time have a look at these videos for general information regarding ZDDP and wear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg7edyYgD8E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AJ_DO5zfVE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erxjPicpYyw HTH.

There is no such thing as a "classic" they are all just old cars, "classic" are just over-priced and over-valued old cars and I put that having owned and run various "classics" as daily use cars for work, commuting, holidays, tours and club events in the UK and parts of Europe. I've subsidised the British "classic" car market for vehicles, parts and services for 30+ years well in excess of other owners. Youngster have been priced out by older folk who generally own more than one "classic" but rarely drive any of them, they have in the past pushed up the "values" for their sitting assets, now the type of youngster that might have been interested can't afford to buy or run the cars (those that could be used regularly without constant repairs that is). You must consider insurance costs. £750 might not be a lot for the wealthy people that live in Oxfordshire but it seems a fair bit to be considering it's a 24 year old car (it'd be cheap for a "classic" mind, I'd have such a car if I thought it might get through the next one or two Mots without too much cost). £1100 for a 1997 sounds a lot worse to me - but I've no idea of what sells for what. "Classics" have always been about what's fashionable, decades back a show (not top concours) MGB might be £10k whereas a Mk3 Cortina in same condition about £1k, neither were really worth a £1k but the value is what someone pays for it. All totally ridiculous. I bet you'll have no trouble selling a Diane, much more chic and fashionable (well at the moment) I'd guess, ideal for town and country runabout - and electric conversion. 😆 What guarantee can you give for your 2000 Felicia estate and what other offerings can you get for the same money you want for yours, it's got to be MoTd, pay "road tax" and would have to shop around to get unrestricted "classic" insurance on it, limited parts availability, it's not a BL/Rover Mini is it. Such a "mundane" and old car might appeal to me as a runaround but there's not many like me around (that don't already have their own "mundane" old car. I wish you luck selling it and hope the buyer appreciates it.

I think mine was more another VW factory balls-up, but I'm biased I don't like VW products.

ETA: just in case it's the same problem as with my wife's 2015 Fabia or you need to take the stalk off. -

Stalk, relay(?), if front washer is on same fuse as wipers and you are sure all the fuses are OK then stalk seems the place to start. I don't know if any of the computer programs interfere with the wipers and washer but I always suspect computer programs, good job they're not driving the car or take over any driver functions or then where would we all be. 😁

That could be oil or PCV for lots of reasons I think. Did you make ant other changes during the rebuild other than the piston, any vent changes ( I think you're on a carb?)? Blimey, I would move. 😆 I would certainly want a good oil (may be a 50) but yes you could consider an oil cooler but it must have an oilstat for your winter. It depends where the gauge is taking its readings from but they all sound low rather than normal or high but your electric fans might be running and very efficient. Not big "mileage" since rebuild, others would know better if it might ease with further use. You must have your reasons but I thought (might have remembered wrong) that you had petrol/LPG this oil seems to be a really heavy duty diesel oil - "Mobil Delvac Legend 15W-40 Heavy Duty is a Multigrade synthetic Blend diesel engine oil that provides protection for diesel engines operating under severe service conditions for both on- and off-highway applications. Mobil Delvac Legend 15W-40 Heavy Duty is recommended by ExxonMobil for use in a wide range of heavy-duty applications and operating environments found in the trucking, mining, construction, quarrying and agricultural industries."

😆 I am slow and must wear my glasses, I've never noticed the v thing above the S on your name label all makes sense now. 😄 Sorry I had to refresh my memory (I am old), location was only for temperatures plus it gives other views and posters more info, same as hills, loads and towing, by loads I meant passengers, tools, heavy objects being carried rather than road speeds and conditions. -18c and 40c would be very extremes here, for hills loaded up perhaps an oil cooler with oilstat might help if you get a lot of 25c+ days - but the issue as before, when you didn't have an oil cooler, is the oil lost and that's what needs sorting. If you are sure you don't have any external leaks then the oil must be going through the engine, my first thoughts would be things like crank case pressure, things like piston rings I leave to those that know more (I know nothing about such stuff), also how much oil you might lose after engine rebuild in your driving circumstances. At 5,000km I would do another thorough oil (and filter) change and have a look at the oil that comes out, I assume you done an early oil and filter change from engine rebuild and you used basic mineral oil initially from the rebuild. For the oil IIRC the better synthetics run to 125c with 150c peaks which is hot and suitable for race track use of road-type cars so should cover your use plus previously your oil was OK, mind with high oil loss you were putting in fresh new oil regularly. Things like this are proof to me that using good quality oils with greater protection and margins are a good idea in older cars/engines especially if you care about the car/engine, the oil is worth it for when things are running well but especially if not. More for others than me but what colour was this smoke? What coolant temperatures do you show when these oil issues are present and when on the highway in hot weather? How many kms have you done since engine rebuild and how long has this issue ben going on? Those more into the engine rebuilding side will be able to help you more, the issue might not be as big as you might think it is, might go into temporary catch tank just to see or confirm but I could be totally wrong so leave that to others.

As I put it's beyond me but do confirm these reports, if you have a good quality scan tool that is suitable to your car and its program is up to date for the car fair enough, perhaps taking readings at different rpm points might confirm these readings, or even leave at idle and turn air-con, blower, headlights and hazards to load up a bit. If you have access to another scan tool that is suitable for your car and its program is up to date for your car perhaps confirm with that. Just looks odd to me, perhaps it's just the wording (translation) but I am very often wrong and I have no idea what else you would need to interrogate on the injectors or fuel system from tank. Just as you have, do double-check things and confirm. At least you will know one of the places to check if you get a coolant leak (which will be more than some professional mechanics will bother with). I will leave you with those that know much more about the engine, good luck.

To me, and I could well be wrong, those figures could also possibly mean your OBD2 reader is not right or possibly but less likely but still important to check, that the tools program is fully up to date for your model and year of car. Do check as I might be wrong and knowing the German the three pot could be arse-about-face to the 4-pot - as you stand with the front of your thighs facing the grille far left is cylinder 1. Injectors are different to the fuel rail pressure, if correct the (+ ?) 55.36 and - 54% are the ones to be concerned about, is one compensating for the other, can you check anything else to confirm these readings, perhaps misfires per cylinder or other stuff I can't think of. What are any other readings from tank to injectors (pressures/delivery). This is all well above my head but not just accepting one set of computer or other diagnostic figures and double-checking and cross-referencing with other tests and sources I do have some experience of and delaying correct diagnosis and proper final resolution (lazy electricians or other employees).