SwallownAmazon

UK lighting standards legislation has fallen far behind the technology as it still uses wattage as the criterion to describe the power of a bulb - hence the OP mentioning 35w fitted as standard. That will refer to a "conventional" tungsten filament bulb which was all that was available when the law was written; superseded by halogen bulbs in the 1970's or thereabouts. Now we have HID and LED bulbs that use a lot less current to generate prodigious amounts of light so a 35w LED would produce enough lumens for a searchlight.... That's why the gubbinsment is now belatedly talking about "reviewing the situation" - just like Fagin.....

Don't go for a refurb turbo, you don't know if the bearings and seals have been done properly - go for new from Garrett (manufacturer) on the south coast at around £700. DPF - £1200 ish delivered from Autodoc, £1800 +VAT from Skoda. Don't ask me why I know...... My 2016 diesel vRS had around 143,000 miles when I bought it. Needed some money spent but now it's done, I luvvit!

I guess we'll just have to differ then - I know which I prefer. 🤝 A GT4 is a bit like a pendulum with all that weight at the back - once that's lost traction it must be a bit of a bu**er to try and hold it. 😨 A the late Frank Gardner once said "Smell it? I was sitting in it" 😁

I would have thought someone with a body hammer and the right shaped dolly behind the panel ought to be able to tap that out with the wheel arch liner removed. Tapping that crease out will probably pull the top edge down to match the bonnet "shut line". Wee bit of stopper to get the profile spot-on and Robert's your mother's brother.... 👍

Just to put this to bed, the OSF disc is 315 mm using Pete's cardboard caliper so I guess with experimental error thay are actually 312mm. For information, the EBC part number for my setup is DP22150 and they don't include the brake wear sensor (available separately) or new caliper bolts (not availabe from EBC). I fitted these pads in my old Octy 2 and my E38 BMW 740 Sport - much improved intital bite and a significant reduction in black dust.

I strongly disagree. From my 40 years involvement in rallying, both stage and road events, it's almost impossible to correct understeer - once you have lost traction at the front you just go off forwards. Oversteer is easy to correct - you just steer into the skid. New tyres always on the front. Back to the topic of tyre choice, I had a nasty experience last night on one of the awful B roads in Kent. Coming back from Ashford after collecting a newly rebuilt wire wheel for my 1937 Morris 8, we hit a hidden trench in the road caused by the incessant rain. We hit it hard enough for the car to jump in the air so I stopped to check the front to make sure the wheel was still intact. Not only was the wheel still intact, the tyre also looks to be undamaged even in daylight this morning. They are KUMHO Ecsta PS71 R18 Y (92) and have a decent rim protecting "flange". They have only been on the car for 4 weeks after having the front wheels refurbished so I can't give much info about performance but in the heavy rain with standing water yesterday they seemed to perform well. People may reject tyres from the far east but both KUMHO and Hankook make excellent competition tyres for motorsport and have been "control" tyres in many formats.

That's what I've always done with FWD cars, the best tread and grip always to the front... Much better to go off backwards than forwards - less damage 😄

No further progress - just as it stopped raining I went down with bl**dy norovirus ☠️ on Friday and havn't eaten properly since then...... At least I can keep water down now. 🤞

Headlight alignment is done via two hexagonal adjusters in the mountings. I think Cairus is referring to a headlight beam optical alignment device. My preferred way is to drive to a dark road with no traffic and align the headlights to what I want using an Allen key.

I did allow for that by using a kids geometry set square against the disc, maybe my eyesight is a little bit out. I'll try the cardboard guage when it stops raining and I can summon the strength to lift the wheel again. I think I need more Weetabix....

I am totally confused... I want to fit EBC Greenstuff pads to my 2016 Octavia vRS diesel and have looked at a couple of online car parts suppliers' sites to confirm the correct reference. There are several types listed for this car in these sites for discs ranging from 288 mm to 340 mm. I have the "Build Sheet" from SKODA Partslink24 for my car with the correct VIN, etc and this shows a PR code of 1ZB for the front brakes. Both sites show the diameter of the disc for the 1ZB PR code as 312 mm with an alternative of 340 mm for PR code 1LG. I have just measured the N/S/F disc at 320 mm...... Have I got a "bitza" car? Photo of the caliper attached. Looks like the lower anti-rattle spring is broken and the upper one is distorted - incorrect pads?

Actually this bear of simple brain was looking at the wrong page in the manual. The figures I quoted in my question are for the rear wheels, the front wheels are as near as dammit parallel as suggested by Bluewagon. Back on my head.... and everyone can now go back to sleep!

Can someone confirm to me if the specification +16' +/-10' for the vRS means a toe-out of 16 minutes of arc plus/minus 10' minutes of arc? Seems counter intuitive to this bear of simple brain when every car I have owned has a toe-in for the front wheels. Car is 2016 vRS diesel.

DPF not regenerating and getting blocked? Check fault codes with a simple reader to find out what's wrong and get a good indy VAG workshop to have a proper look.

Someone who didn't respect company property and treated it like ****. Didn't take him again...

How true..... I remember with my previous Octavia, I was away for a few days on Wales Rally GB with a mate of mine who dropped the tailgate onto some equipment we were using and the glass shattered. Fortunately it was a company car but I did have a bit of explaining to do.......

Snowsocks. They do very little damage to your wheels and can be driven short distances on tarmac - unlike chans which have to be removed by law. They are also much easier to fit, cheaper and take up less space. Also used (allegedly) by the emergency services.... https://www.autosock.co.uk/

I've had a look in the manual for my 2016 vRS and it looks like you have to remove the ISOFIX child seat mounting caps and then yank the seat base upwards at either side where the mounting wires are an interference fit in plastic mounting lugs in the body. The book says the plastic bits should be replaced each time but I guess it will depend on how many times the seat has been removed and any damage... Hope that helps. Chris.

My VW specialist workshop did one for me from SKODA Partslink 24 for nothing. Paint code listed in the Vehicle Data section - F3K; otherwise known as "Rocket Ship Red" as my 1990 Audi 90 20v is the same colour.....

I'm having my alloy wheels refurbished in the New Year and I'm seeking advice on the best way to jack up the front end and where to place the stands under the car. I have a large 2.5 tonne trolley jack with rubber pad, smaller 1 tonne trolley jack and 3 pairs of stands of varying capacities (1 tonne to 3.5 tonne). Car is 2016 Octavia hatchback vRS diesel.

I'd be inclined to try a harder brake pad before ging to the expense of changing calipers and discs. I've used EBC pads with some sucess on my Volvo Amazon historic rally car (now sadly gone) and my BMW 740 Sport. They make pads for different degrees of lunacy (!) but I've found the basic Greenstuff ones adequate so far. They are often available from Euro Car Parts and I'll be switching to these on my Octavia vRS at the next service. One advantage of Greenstuff pads is that you don't get that 'orrible black dust on your wheels because they don't contain copper......

What happened when you went to the garage?

Good result! 👍 I have a BMW E38 740 Sport as a hobby car and when that happens, it's time to check the front track control arm bushes. Great big rubber bushes the size of your fist attached to cast steel curved arms and quite expensive (!!).

I can only offer advice based on my expereince with DPF and EGR valve problems I've had since buying my 2016 Mk 3 vrs diesel at 145,000 miles earlier this year. I had to replace my DPF because the original one was full of ash and the electronics kept trying to regen. Because the ash content was too high, it showed a variety of codes/warning lights and eventually went into limp mode. All sorted now with new EGR valve cooler and DPF, pus assorted sensors, gaskets, etc. With a bit of internet research, I found the service life of these components (and the turbo) is around 120,000 - 150,000 miles after which they need to be replaced. You look to have done considerably more than this and the ash content of your DPF is at the maximum. Bite the bullet and have it changed and at the same time consider a new turbo because if the oil seal fails, DPF will be choked in minutes.....

Thanks for that, I'll take a look at the weekend - weather permitting....