Former

And it was the thread I saw just before this one! Oh dear, my dear, good job you're 'ere. It didn't gauge in my razor sharp computer like brain as the title was slightly different, must have been that last update in 1982 that messed things up.

I don't have one so don't know, but the likes of varooom and others would know though, I thought even with the cheap use-your-own- "smart"-phone programs like VCDS you could do 'adaptions'(?), data input to me, so that you could change the battery data to tell the computer. OBDeleven I thought was about £100 so not an unreasonable price if you have a "smart" phone but I think even the free VCDS stuff does a (very) lot, don't know about battery coding though. The better scan tools rather than those that are just error code readers can give you lots of information and you don't have to fiddle about with the computer programs' innards unless you need to or want to. If I remembered correctly and they were EFB batteries I don't think it'd be a fluke if lasted more than 8 years more a case of users use and lack of abuse, or perhaps I remembered wrong or perhaps the vehicles weren't start/stop or start/stop wasn't used, though both would come under use of the battery. I've been told of 1950s cars running AGM batteries on alternators and dynamos, I can only take the word though as I've not seen them with my own eyes but I have no reason to doubt the person given their use of the vehicles.

Splin's not been to this site since October 2019, with only 3 post in the 15 days before that it is doubtful they look at the site now, so as suggested best to start a fresh thread of your own giving as much detail as possible and bear in mind no information from here will be on your thread, at least not initially.

Thanks. I should have added my car did sit lower so the mudflaps were lower and at one time had the wrong lower front road springs on, whether this was at that time I can't remember now.

In that case are you sure it doesn't already have the facility to change the battery details, my wife's was done by someone on here with an OBDEleven off one of these "smart" phones. Yes so do I, what made you think otherwise. Graham was you a union rep or something, or worst still a foreman or manager. 😜

Another way to squint at it. - 235/40 R19 - Revolutions per mile = 764 245/35 R20 - Revolutions per mile = 754 255/30 R20 - Revolutions per mile = 775 Info from - https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/

I used to put I was a pedent and that would keep the Spelling and Grammar Police, pedants and the offended happy - you can have that to use, I'm always willing to serve. 😁 ETA: yes I keep thinking of a bumper when the American say or put fender - but remember bumper cars are/were actually supposed to be dodge-'ems.

Off the car gives more commitment from the user so probably not a quickie, wam-bang-thank-you mam but a more considered effort, introduces the idea of patience too when everything is expected immediately so shortcuts are made and battery charged but not fully (bit of psychology) also gives a more controlled environment, Denmark can get cold. Quick modern fast chargers of high current you'd be disconnecting the battery anyway and yes modern lower current charger they can be left on, it was probably around 20 years ago I had a modern charger that I left connected when I had a car that was under an outdoor carcover waiting for its less frequently use with a silly British made alarm and immobiliser, I wired in a quick connector directly to the battery, behind the passenger's footwell, as the car was well spec'd by its original owner and was without ciggy lighter, or ashtrays - still got that modern charger. 😁 As well as the older charger which does have a low buzz if you put your ear close, it was bought for me by my elderly neighbour as a present, it was the same as the one he had that I used on his car to stop him frying the battery as he had previously. I've used it on other neighbours' batteries but never on any of the cars I've owned - tell a lie, I did once when I'd flatten the battery trying to start the car as it had a fault (that I'd caused). You'd also need a long extension cable if you lived on the 4th floor, unless you got your electric from the council street lighting like my neighbours did when I was young, no coin meter for them, they kept emptying it. 🙂

You might find things have moved on a bit, or quite a bit more than you expect, even the free programs can do a lot, good bi-directional pro level tool are in the low hundreds. I don't know how much you can buy into with lower packages but I expect its quite a lot for not much money, others would know. The AGM battery on my wife's car should well outlast the car then, going on what I've read on this site IIRC EFB batteries (on lesser cars than yours of course) have lasted longer than 8 years, depends on the user's use and abuse. I can't agree with carrying jump leads or starter packs as I prefer prevention and was from "classic" cars where some felt the need to carry so many spare parts they practically needed to tow of trailer for them. If you don't want to charge the battery, either on or better still off the car then the case is closed until you decide you need to replace the battery again, look for a drain or fault, or reduce your electric use at times, cheers. 😁

All databases have errors, best to check and cross reference any information you get. Some databases wouldn't accept my (now previous) 1973 car's registration, others would. I expect your car is fully loaded with necessary extras on top of the necessary standard extras and necessary standard standard modern essential electric items, must need bigger engine to keep them all running. I must salute you if you get 8 years out of the battery - or possibly not, perhaps I 'd remove some of the fuses on the more wasteful items. 😉 Get yourself a scan tool (with battery coding if you want) and you can then investigate and sort issues for yourself without a garage firing off a parts cannon or guessing at your expense. You'd soon learn all that you want to about and with the scan tool.

Oh, OK, fairy snuff. Ah, yes, sorry I forgot, I'm old, and I'm no good at English let alone American, no wonder the spellcheck can't understand my speelings. I was trying to lighten things a little, but I've probably heated you up more, another fail. 🙁

😁 Not so I'm afraid, what we called the wing those over the pond call a fender, the wheel arch is part of the wing - we'll that's how it is with old folk like myself.

A full service would mean different things to different people/garages. As most servicing, maintenance and even some repairs boils down cleaning and lubrication or simply swapping out parts you could learn to do some of the work (or all) of the work yourself to perhaps save a little money but also to ensure the work is done and at least in a conscience way and manner - though I would not blame you if you wanted to avoid the mess and hassle. Remember as I put before the important and priority parts are brakes, steering, suspension (all three include tyres, safety electrics, lights, wipers, blower, horn, etc. - so check those check what's has recently been done on those and do your own visual checks and tests too. For the engine the same, you may also want to consider clean the MAF and throttle body after you'd checked engine air filter condition. Check on coolant (antifreeze) changes, air filter, spark plugs Have a look at the cabin filter too and any debris before it and a simple thorough clean with a vacuum cleaner and small brush to help clear out the internal air vents and around the switches and crevices can help stuff operate more freely. Cleaning and lubricating hinges (and locks if required) with appropriate materials will also help, as will cleaning and treating door seals before the cold weather - all easy stuff you can do yourself without getting too messy. Charging up the battery fully (off the car) could help prevent some electrical/computer issues this autumn and winter. Been so long since I've had a car new to me I struggle to remember what to check, so good luck.

I don't know about Graham's model but my wife's Mk3 Fabia and other Fabias and other models I've seen on here had EFB. As I understand it there's no such thing as really self-learning on these cars, bit like Tesla saying their cars are autopilot or whatever marketing phase they've dreamt up, a more computer savvy poster would know and explain better than me. AFAIK other than the bits owners use in the vehicle like "smart" phones the computer bits that the general car manufacturers use aren't exactly cutting edge. AFAIK if the same type of battery is used as a replacement of the same Ah (or perhaps near enough?) then the car's systems will adjust to the information with use of the car, in other words drive it enough and it will 'learn' the battery has changed in charge at least (otherwise it'd never respond to the existing fitted battery being charged off the car.

I don't think the central bore size is on the wheel. - https://www.oponeo.co.uk/blog/how-to-read-the-wheel-markings

Were those factory standard or modified cars?

It's annoying that VW can't made wheel bearings that last longer, again so much for German engineering 'quality'. I'm sure I can hear the bearings on my wife's 2015 car but they're not too bad so I turn a deaf ear and it's in for it's annual service and MoT soon with an independent garage (at I think higher cost than Dealership) so lets see what they find. I bet they don't pin down the annoying knock from underneath though.

Fair enough different cars different results. I notice in your photo the car appears to be sitting at correct/factory ride height whereas many cars particularly now may have very tired suspension and sit lower or they've been lowered on purpose. Here for decades we got next to no lying snow around where I live, however I remember going over a road near Ravenstonedale which had just been chipped and on the incline I could feel the effects of the drag as the chippings piled up behind the front wheels with mudflaps and we couldn't stop as the 'Caravan Club' had a washing line and dogs out.

Most owners T OT A L L Y underestimate the importance the condition and state of charge of the car's battery especially with modern cars and particularly German marques like VW with their over-complicated, intrusive intertwined computer programs.

That would be easy to locate with careful use of a mechanic's stethoscope. Bit annoying as my wife has the same year of model to think that fan didn't last more than 7 years before getting that noisy but perhaps it was just an odd duff one. In ancient times you would just disconnect the fan for a short time and if the noise went away that would be your evidence - but now with all the intertwined computer programs I have no idea if unplugging it might upset something else - plus do not touch anything if you want the dealer to replace it. Whilst at the dealer I would ask that the battery and alternator are also checked for their conditions, playing on the fan being worn, although not really related I would still use that as a lever if they are reluctant to test the battery and alternator as it's not difficult or timely to do, so why can't they do it to reassure you. Did you get any printouts of any history of the car from the dealer at sale, again this is not difficult to do for you and any reluctance to do it to me shows laziness at best and possible worse.

Well the chap on FB made a very good point I'd missed by me making an assumption and not asking, I was assuming you were sticking to the Skoda Superb (mk2?) range of wheels but forgot the general VW or VAG range may fit. I'd also consider if the wheel is for an out and out sports model rather than an average or lugger/towing model. And I'm merely pointing you in the directions for you to learn for yourself so just a librarian, you're the one doing the work. Do bear in mind your spare wheel will need to be full sized and the same size as the four wheels fitted to the car - I do have enough experience to not make assumptions about any spare wheel in any vehicle 😄 - other than they're often under inflated, or flat so of little purpose as you then need to pump them up (a good manual footpump or good compact compressor type of pump are best for this), I've had to do it a couple of times with other people's tyres (for very many years I mostly didn't carry a spare wheel just a manual footpump and accurate pressure gauge but that a whole debate for many). . Ironically I've just put in another thread about the possibility of larger wheels being more flimsy to reduce the weight and even put a link to this thread where you're looking at reducing wheel size whilst he's looking at going from 19" to 20" on a Mk3.

Offsets are shown on the wheel, perhaps on the inside often. In the table given they're the ET numbers. There's a wheel width and offset calculator on that AlloyWheels.com site (not working at this very moment though to link to). Plenty of sites explain width and offset, here's one example. - https://www.oponeo.co.uk/blog/wheel-width-and-et-offset-explained I'm not sure what you mean by weight ratings - but for racing and "boy racing" purposes the ideal is to keep the unsprung weight as low as possible, that's the weight before the car's road springs like tyres and wheels. This of course can mean larger wheels and tyres can weight more so the larger wheels can be less sturdily made, not a good idea on the roads we now have but I don't think this would apply too much to the average 18" and 17" wheels here.

The designers already oversized the wheels for fashion, fashion often has less regard to function. They could fill out the wings to reduce the gaps also or as was once the fashion put covers (spats) over them. Under the wheel arch is a gap distance from the arch to the tyre this is obviously is to allow for movement from the suspension and body, this is for loading and travelling the vehicle. The more you fil that gap in height and width the less the range of movement available. The Superb is a big car so potentially could be filled with people and luggage perhaps a roof rack too and/or towing. Lots for the engineers to consider, not all of the considerations of course apply to all of the end users. The use may include going over humps, over rough road surfaces or those with potholes, getting mud or snow build up under the arches and other stuff I can't think of now. I'm not an expert in anything but I thought 4x4 or is it (all-wheel-drive) you want tyres that are matched to in size and type to help maintain the drive system. And I too thought the ABS interacts with the traction control, the VW computer programs in general seem very intertwined. Some people find the larger wheels with ribbon tyres not only less practical but also a lot less comfortable, of course tyre selection would be a part of this, some even consider going to, or back to, the smaller sized wheels (Mk2 not 3). -

Good to know. I've had mudflaps on a few cars before and I'm not sure they do a lot and less depending on the car they're fitted to. If yours don't stop the dirt much then unless they stop chipping the minuses could be more than any plusses. They can cause more mud and snow build up and they could cause more drag lowering your mpg (whether noticeable for you I don't know). The flaps look reasonably high in those photos (unless it's just the angles of the shots) so could it be the humps are high, car over-laden, tired springs, going too fast or any permutation of combination of listed.

My wife's 2015 1.2TSI has all sorts of different noises at different times coming from the engine bay, they might include an a/c whistle/whine but I've never lifted the bonnet to investigate it. If no one else replies or knows try posting a video of the sound from inside the car with the engine running, all windows closed and a/c on with blower at 1 and I'll try to see how it compares with her car. It doesn't matter for a sound recording but if you get into the habit of holding the phone for landscape (instead of portrait) there's more in the video image so more can be seen and perhaps info seen and given. Even though it's one leaf now having something to remove it with might help more later when more leaves and debris can block flow to the rads (and even Front Assist as we found). Another tip, new or old check your car's battery state of charge and if required recharge now before the shorter days and colder weather, just driving around often will not recharge the battery enough - don't think just because you've bought the car from a dealer that the battery must be or in a good condition.