Dooge

Had the suspension noise checked out on a very wet Friday, of course the noise had disappeared 😐 They checked everything underneath and suspect its front top mounts. I am planning a big suspension refresh at some point when money allows. From research I am thinking: Bilstein B4's Eibach Pro Springs Genuine VAG front topmounts Meyle HD droplinks @Ecomatthas recently confirmed B4's with Eibach springs are a great combo so it's what I am aiming for. As the weather started changing recently and the colder temps have come in the stop/start functionality hasn't been working. I suspected the battery was getting low but the car was starting fine and I had no warning lights. I came out from work one day to find it not starting and the battery dead. Luckily a colleague with a Toyota Aygo had jump leads and there was just enough juice to get it jumped to get it home 😂 Halfords charged me £147 for fitting and coding a new 5 year battery, this was discounted with a trade card. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any options other than dealer at £270! So many on Facebook groups recommended not getting it coded but I wanted to make sure it was working correctly, assuming Halfords did it correctly 🤷‍♂️ Lastly, I bought some cheap foam sticky back insulation from eBay for a tenner for the boot. Not amazing but I think my poorly tuned ears can detect a slight improvement at motorway speeds. I started by cutting out a shape for the hardboard on the carpet and split at the seam it so I can open it as normal. Then put some around the edges up to the edge of the carpet that cover the wheel arches ensuring I leave a flap for the boot sticker.

That's basically the entire list of parts I want to go for, except for the RARB. Glad to hear it rides well, any photos with the Pro Kit? I think rather than making it overly low dropping the front down makes sense.

That's what they look like all black without the diamond cut fronts.

Nice spec that, wheels are unusual, got heated seats which I think is an optional extra as is the duel level boot floor. Can't comment on the pan roof as never had one but someone specced that car well.

My single experience of clutches and remap was on a mk6 GTi. I bought it at 82k, stage 1 remap had been done at 70k, stock clutch lasted until 93k until the slave shat itself. Had the clutch changed for an OEM item as the clutch was worn enough, changed by the garage and also gutted the clutch Bleeder block by removing the little orange disc that restricted the oil, thinking this was a factor for the slave failure. All was well for the first 5k. After that I would get clutch slip when clutch was engaged and on the move (not pulling away) when I tried to accelerate in 3rd upwards. This wasn't me mashing the pedal either, it was feeding in the power. I'm no racing driver, I'm a professional driver and can't afford to drive like a tit most places so most was standard driving, overtakes and B road blasts. The car was sold when I went to my Octavia fully stating to the buyer I thought it needed an uprated clutch pack to get the best out of the map. I suspect in truth that the garage put a cheaper clutch in, however this has never been identified. Likewise, the map and dyno printout seemed strong so maybe it was an aggressive map. Lastly, I would imagine the gearbox is the same between the mk6 GTi and Octavia as the engine was a gen1 EA888. All clutches have torque limits, worth checking that torque is limited in the right circumstances to stop slip on the map (APR, Revo, etc will definitely have this in place)

I think Autotrader is naturally a higher than others too, that's always worth remembering. eBay prices seen to be more authentic. Its worth checking Facebook too. As for OP, I am sorry I went on a bit of tangent, you wanted to know about Octavia's specifically! I think as a platform they feel like a large car, especially estates. One common complaint is they are noisy in terms of road noise, especially estates. This isn't so bad at 30/40/50 but definitely noticeable at motorway speeds. Comfort wise most VAG stuff I always find to be stiffer than other makes, even none sporty models. Rear tyres, especially on estates seem to suffer from flatspotting which creates horrible helicopter noises at speed. This is a characteristic of multi link suspension, I don't know if the L&K models are solid rear beam or multi link like the VRS but I'm sure someone can tell you. Suspension in general can creak as it wears. For local shopping trips go for petrol. The hassle that happens with diesel engines on shorter journeys in terms of coked up EGRs and DPFs isn't worth the savings in road tax or MPG and you won't notice much difference until you get on long trips. If you are sensible I'd expect the 1.8 TSI to return a sensible economy for what it is. As for manual/DSG, try and drive both. Ive always found manuals not that special in modern VAG cars and the DSG is a game changer in smoothness.

I think it depends what mileage/spec you look at. Just looked at L&K models on Autotrader and they arnt much different price wise to petrol VRS for age/mileage, albeit they only had 3 MK3 petrol L&K's on there.

Off topic but have you considered a similar age Seat Leon? I love my Octavia (2015 estate, VRS, DSG) but my wife has a Seat Leon estate, 1.2 TSi 3 cylinder. Its more comfortable than my Octavia as an everyday driver and has a similar amount of room. Its also quieter for road noise. This is also the mk2 engine of the 1.2 TSi, the mk1's seemed to be a bit more unreliable. They do a range of engines including the 1.8 TSI and DSG boxes. If you want the 1.8 and DSG (paddles included) you can pick up a well specced FR for £10k-ish. Unfortunately I can't advise on the L&K model. My VRS is well specced, nicely put together, DSG Is hugely fun and as long as its been looked after (most 6 speed DSGs need servicing every 40k) they should be reliable. Maybe a little less fuel efficient in stop start traffic than manual but on a run I regularly get 40mpg. DSG will naturally keep the revs lower than you'll probably drive a manual.

Sorry it wasn't that but was worth a look!

I've got to the point that unless I am REALLY broke I get most things done by a garage. Something as basic as this though I'll do myself. Luckily my dad has a pit in his garage which will make things much easier.

Everyday is a school day!

Love the build, I too went for a Combi due to practicality but definitely enjoying it. In one of your earlier posts you mentioned about replacing blinker bulbs with LEDs and needing the repair kit, is that front or rear? Any faults on the dash due to using LED's? What's next mod wise?

I'd be surprised if it did have a solid flywheel, pretty sure the 1.6 Bluemotion Golf diesels had a duel mass flywheel and I am not aware of any of modern diesel that doesn't to try and take out the vibrations using a duel mass. It probably won't have an internal master cylinder but will have an internal slave cylinder which normally comes as a part of the 'clutch pack'. These are plastic and get brittle over time and can fail even if the clutch/flywheel isn't so bad. As above though, look at somewhere like Euro's or Skoda Parts Direct as it should be able to tell you.

I can't recommend any company but if you are on Facebook it may be worth asking on some of the groups. I seem to remember seeing a post a few months back on one of the many Facebook Skoda groups where someone had wired in a variety of extras including electric seats from a later VRS.

It's something I've been meaning to check myself to be honest, I'd be interested to see if it's still an issue seeing as you have a much later vehicle. Any little fixes to improve niggles is always a good thing.

Not sure on petrol/diesel specific but here's a fix thread.

They are not too hard to access. Push the the phone cubby lid back, remove the rubber mat and you can lift up the gearstick/DSG fascia panel from there. The buttons are annoyingly all built into a solid block, you can't just easily remove one button to replace it (I wanted to move a button but I couldn't do this easily) but you can probably find a second hand unit or give it a clean.

I have a dash rattle from a similar area but is more limited to revs. From 1800-2100 rpm I have a resonance/rattle. I thought it was my drivers side speaker but after a bit of testing it doesn't make sense. I've yet to pull the windscreen cowling off and check the sound amplifier, I appreciate it can't be this for you however. One common issue that's popped up from searching the forum is fuel hoses which rattle in their holder underneath the car. This was solved with some sticky foam pads.

On top of what Dave above says, look at some decent quality bulbs like Osram. They do LED replacements for most bulbs, although pricy I've found cheaper eBay bulbs do not last or are just not the colour you want. That's not to say Osram will necessarily fool the canbus system but should last better.

I have no idea Dave! I would imagine you would need a VRS steering wheel, some coding and a module or two but that's purely a guess. I would imagine someone has retrofitted it on this forum, especially as I'd imagine the DSG box will basically be the same between a VRS and non VRS.

Yeh that makes sense, pointless throwing money at repair If new is the same! What wheels are they out of curiosity?

Great looking car, perfect stance too. I'm looking at lowering springs but thinking I can't go H&R due to my drive being too steep so would be a minor drop with Eibach Pro Springs. How did the original shocks manage with the lowering springs?

Another few bits done! Fitted the MTC high flow inlet hose and turbo elbow, very easy to fit. Had to trim 10mm or so from the hose as it seemed too long. I spoke to MTC who were very helpful and said that's common and deliberate by them. Can't say I've really noticed alot of difference but I haven't had a chance to take it out for a spirited drive. I had to order a Mikalor jubilee clamp as struggled to get the original springclip around the silicone hose. Next up was black wheelbolt covers. I was having a look on eBay at generic Chinese ones and for a little bit extra managed to get genuine Skoda ones. The car was in desperate need of a good clean and I had to seal the alloys after being sprayed too. Whilst I did that I decided to debadge the back end which looks much cleaner. I was worried it may look chavvy but it helps the original Skoda roundel and VRS logo are still there. I now have a knock on the front end which I am pretty sure relates to either topmount or ARB links. It happens when the left side is loaded up whilst turning but most noticeable when on full lock. Hopefully it's just ARB links and I can change them myself!

My VRS is my first DSG, despite having a few VAG's before. Although dynamically good, the Octavia is still more of a fast cruiser than a track toy so the manual doesn't suit as much I don't think (not to knock those with a manual) The practicalities of having DSG are also useful, creep function in traffic, manual via paddles or sequential and a massive thing for me, not having a clutch pedal. That last point might seem obvious but with long legs I have always struggled with seat positions in VAG cars because the clutch pedal seems to have a longer throw. The DSG allows me to put the seat back further and be more comfortable. On top of this, I've never found 'hot' VAG cars to have a particularly good manual, often not weighted, throw a bit long and a bit clunky. My last car was a mk6 GTi manual. It was mapped stage 1 before I bought it. It lunched its original clutch 15k after the map (slave cylinder failed) and then 2nd clutch started slipping on full power after a fee thousand miles. DSG you don't have as much as an issue if you get a DSG map too. The real question for me would be if I change my car am I going to find something as good and well looked after or better without spending mega money in todays climate?

Thats rubbish, I hate damaging stuff like that! Have you asked for a price breakdown? The refurb bit of sorting the wheels I didn't think was that expensive, guessing its the repair/truing side. I paid £360 very recently for my 19"s to be 'refurbished' in gloss black. That included removing wheels, removing tyres, stripping, any repair of kerbing and powdercoating. The cost was the same for a gunmetal grey, but I know there are costlier options if you don't want powdercoating. I hope you get it sorted!