RMDavis

Cheers mate! It was a costly mistake buying those Ronals and selling then on for a loss, but seeing the car on the Speedlines now it's all worth it!

Thanks bud! 😊 Tyres are Goodyear Supersports in 225/40/18 I wanted a road tyre with a fairly solid sidewall for occasional track use and still have decent manners on road and in the wet. I'm really pleased with them so far. 👍🏻

Here's a few photos of the wagon out on track! Really makes me smile looking at these, this car has come on along away in only a year of ownership! What started as a practical yet different daily driver has turned into a full on project thats brought the joy of modifying a car back to me! 😊

Here's a couple of photos after I finished putting up the tent Friday eve at Blyton, along with a nice sunset shot and as I'm an absolute geek I had to go and take a closer look at the Combine out in the field on Saturday night! 😂 Saturday morning started well out on track, and the wagon managed a couple of sessions, unfortunately the cursed coolant Y piece split sending coolant everywhere! Luckily not whilst out on track, but after I parked up and popped the bonnet to try manage the insane heat we had yesterday! I was 4 hours from home and the nearest place that had the part I needed was Birmingham, so instead I took a chance and bought a roll of silicone amalgamation tape from a local Halfords and wrapped the split pipe. It worked a treat, but I didn't want to tempt fate and risk it out on track again! But It did manage the 4 hour drive home however so I'm happy and lucky all the same. I will be ordering a aluminium version of the section that split and will probably replace the other plastic components at the same time to stop this from happening again. Even though it put a dampener on the day I really enjoyed myself and the Octavia has so much potential for the all round performance car that can do it all! I'd like to pursue some more power, and will definitely be looking at a 6 speed gearbox with a diff to tame things whilst cornering. My mate got some photos of it out on track, so when he sends them to me I'll share those also! 👍🏻

Airbag light... Long story, but please bare with me! My indicator relay started making the continual clicking noise about a month ago so I replaced the hazard switch (no fix) so I replaced the indicator stalk (fixed it) 😊 However when I put the wheel back on I did a lock to lock test and there was a scraping sound coming from behind the wheel. I fitted the stalk a little further back than it was before and after adjusting this the noise had gone, unfortunately prior to this fix I thought the issue was with the clock spring and in order to test this I had to connect the battery to carry out another lock to lock test. This of course threw the air bag light on, and with my basic code reader I was unable to read the fault let alone clear it. I nipped over to the garage where I used to work, and the lads there cleared the fault for me using their Bosch KTS diagnostic equipment. Sorted I thought! Last week the airbag light came on again so rather than bother the lads again I assumed it would probably be the clock spring as its the only thing I have mucked about with. A new clock spring ordered I replaced it this evening and asked my mate to clear it for me again using the KTS equipment. No matter what way we tried or what other brand of code reader we used none of them could find the engine control module or any other module either! We checked fuses, and tried disconnecting the battery for a while then reconnecting but still no luck. Weirdly although my torque app cannot find any faults either it's still happy to carry out live data readings. Any help would be most appreciated and thank you for reading this bloody long post! 😂 P.S here's a very crap photo of the Speedlines fitted to the old girl! She's filthy, the boot is loaded with the old wheels, the tyres are covered in storage powder, and it's on a very unlevel piece of tarmac! But I think they look bloody amazing! 😍

I thought it would be rude not to do a little test whilst I was fitting the stud conversion. Safe to say I'm bloody chuffed with these! 👌🏻

I have done plenty of track days in the past, but driving the aforementioned Clio 182's and Megane's However I will be taking the estate out for its first track day in July at Blyton which I'm really looking forward too! Will probably look to book Thruxton later in the year as it's on my door step and a very fun track to go round! Good to see a fellow MK1 out on track! 😁

Finished the TT/LCR/S3 quick rack and suspension conversion earlier today along with poly bushes, new steering arms, ball joints etc... My god what a game changer! I can only confirm what's already been said about this mod, but it's night and day! To be fair the front suspension on mine was pretty worn so a refresh was well overdue anyway but the result is so worth the effort. I also replaced the power steering pump as mine had developed a leak behind the pulley and I deliberated on sticking with the 95 bar VRS or go for the 105 bar TT pump. I stuck with the VRS one, and again I have to agree with what others have said and the steering although a little heavier it suits the car well and feels superb through the steering wheel. The old girl also got treated to EBC yellow stuff pads all round, new discs on the rear, ATE Type 200 brake fluid, HEL braided brake lines, and gearbox fluid change. I got carried away with the oily stuff, and this is the only photo I took I'm afraid!

Both wheels are really nice, but I agree with you bud that maybe due to the smaller size the TD's do look a little small, even when compared the standard spiders? 🤔 I have been trying to decided whether my next set of wheels will be 18" or 17" after my drama with the Ronals. But after much thought I've gone with the 18's and hope that the fact I've picked Speedlines they're going to be much lighter than the Ronals these should drive much better! Very similar to your Ultraleggera's.

New wheels on order! These should suit the old girl perfectly, and I won't be taking them off after a day and putting them up for sale this time... 😅 Should of got these in the first place!

I have the same catch tank as yours bud, with all deletes, simplification etc and fill mine with a identical ammount of gloop with similar distance travelled. Mine has just ticked over 117k overall.

This rather depressing collection of parts depicts my next plan for the Octavia! With the quest for more power on hold for the moment (the K300 safely tucked away) And with track time booked at Blyton in July I want to refresh and upgrade the suspension where possible. Currently I have replaced the shock absorbers with KW coilovers, fitted a Whiteline rear anti-roll bar, renewed the rear beam axle bushes, and lower dog bone mount with powerflex items. I also fitted powerflex top mount bushes when the KW's went in and a front strut brace from an Audi TT. The front end needs more love however and being based on the MK4 platform I'm going to undertake the very popular suspension upgrade robbing all the best bits from the TT, S3, R32, LCR family. As shown in the photos I will be fitting:- *Audi TT cast lower arms *Audi TT subframe *Audi TT hubs *Audi TT quick rack These will all get cleaned up and painted, polybushed as required, new ball joints, new bearings etc along with a Whiteline front anti-roll bar to compliment the rear. The main reason for fitting the Audi TT bits are as follows... The subframe has extra bracing for rigidity, the cast arms are a better design and coupled with the hubs sit much flatter when the car is lowered. The ball joints on these arms also allow camber adjustment. It's well known that mk4 golf gti's etc eat driveshafts when lowered and that's because of the angle that the standard pressed arms introudce. Along with other negative traits like 'wheel hop' The standard steering rack on the octavia has a 3.7 lock to lock fitting the TT item will drop that number to 2.5 which is a huge difference! These are all well-documented straight swap upgrades with very welcome welcome improvements to handling. I will keep you updated as things progress! 👍🏻

Appreciate the comment mate, thank you. I love the wheel but sadly my gamble didn't pay off as multispoke definitely are the way forward as you said. Especially considering my plan with this project, but hindsight is a wonderful thing!

It does look great on those wheels bud! 👍🏻

Thank you mate that's food for thought. 👍🏻 I may still go for a 17" wheel but we shall see! As for a thinner hubcentric spacer that will fit the rear hub I use a 12mm H&R that fits with no clearance issues. https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-parts/skoda/octavia/hr-trak-12mm-hubcentric-wheel-spacers-boltsoctavia-1u-19962006 You might get away with a 10mm as my 8mm spacers nearly clear, but I can't confirm that!

Coming from owning various Renault Sport models it's an obvious choice! I was hoping fitting a tyre like a Yokohama AD08RS the solid flat faced sidewall would cope with much more stress than say the equivalent Michelin PS4 although it would be a 45 profile compared to the 40 profile on an 18" wheel of course. A quick google seems to confirm I'd still be able to fit the LCR Brembo's behind the 17" wheel also which would of been a big negative latter down the line! Out of curiosity what is the wheel specs of your OZ Ultraleggera's? Do you run spacers etc also?

Thank you mate I really appreciate the kind comments! This car has definitely got under my skin and I'm really enjoying tinkering again after having a break from modifying cars. I hadn't considered the weight of the Ronals but that's a very good point. Maybe I'd find a lightweight set of 18's would fix any issues I had? Your right about OZ's I had a set of OZ Allegerita's on a previous car and they were ridiculously light especially going from the standard 18" down to a 17" with those! I've been looking at classic lightweight multispokes and so far at the top of the list is the Speedline Turini. Question is do I stick with my gut and stay 17" or try them in an 18"?

In answer to your question I'd completely forgotten to update this thread when I visited Badger 5 for a session on the rollers! The day went as follows... It turns out my Octy had been mapped previously (I wasn't aware of this, and the car was completely stock when I bought it) So, it already broke past the 200bhp barrier. Bill from Badger 5 did what he could, but the turbo has run out of puff, and it's already at the limit at what it can do. I'm a little disappointed as I obviously I expected a little more, but at the same time, I wasn't even aware it was mapped! The good news is from what we can tell from today mechanically the engine is good; it's just being let down by a tired bolt on component. Which is the reality of modifying an older car. Although the numbers aren't big, Bill has tweaked the mid range, and it's nicer to drive now and much more responsive. Bill is a really top bloke that really knows what he's talking about, and I will definitely be going back. The plan now is to save my pennies, put together a few parts, and then get it back on the rollers to see what the old barge can do! *BBT K300 Turbo - (Bought) *Ported Manifold *B5 K03-300 Supersize TIP *80mm MAF *Upgraded Fuel Pump *Upgraded Injectors I will also be changing the inlet manifold to a BAM type and then swap out my twin pass Forge intercooler for a single pass Wellycooler setup. But as I said I won't be working on these modifications until I have refreshed the front end suspension etc with the Audi TT parts. Power wise I'd like to get closer to the 300 mark both in terms of power and torque with a sympathetic map to suit the internals. Failing that i source another engine and forge it and go crazy! 😂 The idea of a very powerful Skoda estate is very tempting. Either way I would certainly consider fitting a LSD as I've fitted a Quaife to previous track car and it was one of the best modifications I'd ever carried out! Also another update... 😂 Some may call me mad... But the Ronals are coming off! I love the wheel, but for me and with hindsight playing a huge part in this they just aren't the wheel for my Octavia. After driving on them for the past couple of days again for me and my car 18's ruin the handling and spoil my future plans for this car. I appreciate this car isn't a stripped out Clio 182 but the way it drives on the old 17's is so much more fun. So I'm going to take a hit and put them up for sale and with that money I intend to purchase a more track oriented 17" wheel with some sticky rubber.

Thanks bud, I appreciate the advice although it's a little bit late for me to take it! 😂 K300 picked up a few weeks ago... 😬 Although the quest for more power is on hold at the moment I'm actually sourcing all the parts needed to swap out the front suspension and steering components with Audi TT/S3 parts. 👍🏻

I ordered some new wheels for road use... I will keep the 17' spiders and fit them with some sticky rubber getting ready for a track day which I have booked in July. I will be honest although I really wanted a bold wheel, when these arrived I was worried I'd made a huge mistake! However once fitted they look so much better on the car! Currently with 8mm spacers on the front as thats all I had to hand as the tyre was fouling on the spring adjuster. As for the rear they fitted without issue but definitely could do with a spacing out. What does everyone think so far? Thoughts and opinions are welcome!

Thank you very much bud! I certainly feel like it's come along way since buying it last July, I've still got loads I want to do and to try and make it one of the best examples out there.

Poor man's S4 Avant... Until I can get the money together for a B7 RS4 this will keep me entertained! Got lots planned with a BBT K300 turbo next on the shopping list.

Thank you mate, I'm trying to keep it looking as 'OE' as possible!