AlistairCookie

Your point? I'm fully aware there's a difference in construction, I have worked with both sets. Those differences would be absolutely in line with "improved", that being what Bilstein themselves state in their literature. It still follows the basic specification of the original - no height or damping adjustment, same working range.

No, generally. Both B4 and B6 are declared as OEM replacement models, with the B6 being "improved"

Bilstein also classify B6 as OEM replacements.

In my experience, the technician won't bat an eyelid. I put B6's on mine with a month of buying it, and had 2 or 3 rounds of warranty work over the next 12 months with not a word said. If it's specifically suspension related then they might kick up a fuss, but realistically they'd be loudly proclaiming wear and tear anyway.

Vagueness is far more likely to be bush and joint wear than anything electrical. I had both lower arms replaced a few months ago for exactly the sort of feelings you describe at more or less the same mileage. Nothing clonked or wobbled, it just felt...not as sharp as it had been. The Superb is very much towards the heavy end of the MQB range, so the parts between it and the road will take more of a battering.

I believe there's a small suction jet pump in the left hand side tank that transfers the fuel across the saddle. If that fails then you'll lose whatever's in that side of the tank.

I suspect the update portal (and presumably OTA server as it's likely they're one and the same) offers regional files based on the VIN. CZ will be linked to ECE files, while Israel probably needs ROW. If that's correct it'll need someone to change the region in the car's build sheet, if that is even possible.

Where on earth are you driving that you can use the main beams long enough to forget you switched them on? 😆

As an approved used car, the answer is "Not a lot" - this is true for pretty much all manufacturers now. The reputation has been built that AUCs are somehow better quality, and the dealer network is trading on that. The reality is there's no incentive for them to do anything over the bare minimum; if the buyer spots it then they'll take care of it but everything the buyer misses is money back in their pocket. One upside is that the warranty does tend to be slightly better to deal with - less faffing around and "you pay us up front for the repair and we'll reimburse you".

I don't think it's that straightforward - I've seen Monroe-branded shocks on a brand new Mk7 Golf, for example. VAG have a number of OE suspension suppliers and use them interchangeably to meet production requirements.

Skoda will naturally say that - in reality the onus is on them to prove the shocks were the cause of the fault. The question is whether you want to set yourself up for that potential argument. FWIW, I went into the purchase of my Sportline in full knowledge that the stock dynamics were a steaming pile of ****, and that I'd be ripping the shocks out the moment I got it home. Within the first year I had 2 warranty claims approved (driveshaft guibo and Haldex), nobody batted an eyelid at the B6s.

That might have something to do with it - if the pump hasn't been pulled and had the gauze cleaned it's almost certainly covered in rubbish by now. It's not part of the normal Skoda service routine but it's a necessary job that most specialists would do as a matter of course.

When did you last service the Haldex? If it's working hard it can make a bit of a racket through the floor.

Barring an issue that's stopping the downward motion of the base, the seat electrics are always going to be the stumbling block here as to go any lower requires the space they occupy. That said, I don't recall the manual seats being significantly lower, if at all.

On their own the increase in width or offset would be fine but together it's just too much. The spacers I'm using to clear the Brembos result in an effective ET29, you could probably just squeeze an 8.5J in there as well but it would be tight. Yes, you could probably get them to tuck with surgery and some serious camber, but that's a long way down the "form over function" road.

I must have seen hundreds of posts like this over the years. Unless you really feel like lashing out the cash up front, the first job is making sure what you've got is up to scratch - more often than not it turns out the problem was previous maintenance (or lack of) on a new-to-them car. Old fluid, sticky calipers and the cheapest crappiest pads known to man so it'll make it through MoT/sale/handback, none of which are conducive to good braking. Once that's been ruled out then 340/310 parts are cheap and plentiful - Golf R/GTI PP, Cupra, S3 can all act as donors. Ironically getting them off a Superb is probably the rarest point of supply.

That's probably the major part of the issue - the designated calibration the dealers apply seems to be significantly sub-optimal. Find a flat wall, break out the tape measure and set them up yourself - you should be able to get a useful coverage without incurring the wrath of the MoT tester. Also worth remembering that for early mk3s, the xenon bulbs are likely to be past their best and giving a reduced output.

Yes.

No, they're just as bad as the others. Fixed by a set of Bilsteins.

This. With no offence intended, if you're having to ask these questions the chances of achieving a good finish are not high.

Buy the car, change the wheels. Provided you're not looking at one of the faster models with big brakes, then 17s will fit and sets of genuine wheels will be dirt cheap on ebay.

Demon Tweeks were most competitive when I bought my B6s, but that was 2 years ago.

As it happens, I did a small topup this morning for the commute to head office and back. Put 11 litres in and it updated the range accordingly.

The sender unit still has a float, but it's not linked directly to the dial. That's the case for probably most cars made in the last 20 years.

The difficulty will be finding someone willing to make the adjustment, as it involves loosening the front subframe and smacking it with a hammer to even up camber between the 2 sides. Most alignment shops simply aren't interested in that level of effort.