OccyVRS

I've never found any dealer to have capability, confidence, trust, value and rapport. I've always found indies to do a better job, even if it is not always cheaper.

Just a further 2p from me. Fabric interior - bit more of a pain than leather, but when not cooled, I think it's much better. My vRS is the first car I've had that isn't leather and I wouldn't go back. Having a wet vac does wonders. DCC - YMMV. My Occy doesn't have it, but my mums 1.0 Ibiza FR does, weirdly. I can't say I notice much difference, but that may be down to the car. Not sure about them going any quicker, but they are significantly more expensive to replace. VAG pan roofs can be quite a pain - leaking is very common from the drains if they aren't cleaned regularly. Boot struts +1 - my vRS struts failed after a few months. Having felt the weight of the hatch lid when replacing them, I'm not suprised. The power assist ones also (according to this forum) have a high fail rate too. Gearbox - I've driven the DQ381 box in my car and a DQ250 in a GTI. I found the DQ381 to be the slightly tighter box (possibly as the ratios are shorter) and the extra 7th gear is nice for motorways. There were some gripes with it, but it's tuned now and is perfect. I also find that the gearboxes vary hugely from car to car. The DQ200 in the aforementioned Ibiza FR is fantastic - it's the reason I ditched the idea of a manual Cupra 280/GTI and got my DSG vRS. That said, I've driven the same box in a few other cars, and it was absolutely awful. Does the Superb have different mapping/setup to the vRS and others? Maybe. MPG wise, while I can't comment on the specifics of the previous commenters car, I can say that I do believe GPF cars have poorer economy when they are cold. Certainly, when in traffic over winter, I struggled to see double digits in my mapped vRS. Recently however, when doing a very long (30 miles) stretch of 50mph average speed, the car apparently clocked 50mpg. Not sure how much I believe it, but the car was still running 350bhp then, and that's not bad.

It is one of the more interesting sweeping statements I've seen recently! Regardless of the various arguments about the Anthropocene, I would just like to add that when these countries (emergent, may I add, rather than developing - with the exception of the hybridised China) were virtually net-zero, much of the 'developed' world was busy with the industrial revolution, followed promptly by two world wars. I'm not entirely sure where the regard for climate change was throughout the industrial revolution. Certainly, neither WW1 or WW2 were very environmentally concious, not to mention more recent developments such as nuclear weapons, the space programme or air travel. I mean let's not forget, it wasn't China or India that invented the environmentally-crushing internal combustion or jet engine. I'm not saying the Chinese are guilt-free with regards to climate change, but this isn't in Europe -

Well over 100 people in the meet now - anyone else fancy joining? We've got Octavias, Fabias, Superbs, Enyaq, Karoq, Rapid and even a Favorit!

Did you get the blanks from Aliexpress, or are they custom jobs? Look very smart. I'm in a group of 100 people or so, planning a Skoda/vRS meet up. Maybe you'd like to tag along? We've got two AWD converted Mk2s (one with the 3.2 V6 as you know)

That would do it!

As with everything, test drive them both. I personally don’t like much of the new stuff (everything aside, the steering lacks feel and is too light for my taste), but YMMV.

The 1.4 4cyl EA211 lump has been in VAG cars for a fair few years - be it ACT, CoD or neither. As far as I'm aware, interaction with the DSG box aside, both variations have the exact same throttle unit (put your foot down and you'll feel the kick down click at the bottom. The EA211 owners group on FB is worth a look - people there are regularly hitting 250bhp without anything significant turbo wise. There's also some good stuff here. Generally speaking, small upgrades to better performance usually worsen NVH and everything else. Stuff like dogbone mounts can tighten things up and make your gear changes quite sharp, but (IME) this has a slightly negative effect on NVH. There's nothing else you can really do for more power, without looking at a bigger turbo and other such mods. Sure, putting in some nicer plugs and looking at fuelling, cooling, etc will be a nice touch, but I highly doubt you'll see anything performance wise. Where do you get it mapped? I would suggest seeing what they say. Spacers won't affect an alignment. They'll increase the scrub radius, which can affect the steering, but otherwise you'll be fine. Spacers do, in theory, increase lateral grip, but there's so many other factors that you won't see any difference. You'll get significantly more grip by sticking on some PS5s than you will increasing your tyre/track width by 10mm.

What mileage is it on? I'd be very surprised if you have issues to do with brake lines, leaks, etc on a car of that age. No matter what the fault codes are, whether they are related to the braking system directly or not, you should not be having issues that severe with braking. Is it still under warranty with Skoda? I agree with what has been said before - brakes to the floor means don't drive it.

Nothing wrong with it at all - it’s preventative maintenance. Yes - gives you the advantage of being able to have it how you like it (hold onto gears, pass them off more quickly, etc etc) Maybe so - but it’s limited full stop by the CANBus for a reason. I wouldn’t be putting more than 450nm through it - I’ve seen people breaking things at 600nm. The DQ381 is slightly higher, but I still wouldn’t run it at much more than 550. That’s just me though - I like to keep things well within limits, especially when mechatronics and dual clutches are involved. I suspect the key with your Superb is that it is FWD. If you tried launching 550nm through an AWD DQ250 I’m certain you’d break something. The 381 with sintered clutch packs is quite hefty, but to run that power consistently and safely you still need some extra bits. It’s the same thing with engines - yes a 245 GTI/vRS/280 Superb can run 300bhp+ very happily with just a tune, but there’s a reason the higher power EA888s have aux/DSG coolers and some different internals.

@N-C I have the red stitching mats from skoda-parts. They're very nice, but also a bit naff for the money. Shame they don't have vRS or something on them, however they look tidy and match the rest of the interior nonetheless.

Have you trawled the workshop manual and YouTube? Never mind the wiring side of things, but knowing VAG I'd be suprised if the holder is a part you can change, or if it's a moulded part of the light? You wouldn't catch me fiddling around with the wiring on my car - I don't trust it not to do another dying battery episode, shi* itself and throw a gazillion codes.

The Haldex VAQ interval used to be 30k/3 years, however is now 20k/2 years. I believe it is the same for Haldex AWD. DSG wise, all of the gearboxes are 40k intervals, with the exception of the DQ200 (n/a) and DQ381, which is 80k. That said, I'm about to do mine at 39k. The haldex wants the fluid doing, and the gauze cleaned out. Some places do it, some don't. The DSG wants the fluid doing, and the filter replaced (Skoda usually don't do the filter, but you want it done). 2019 is the GPF year for all cars. You won't see any difference, unless you're planning on changing the exhaust system for more power (as @travs and I have found out). I've driven a GTI with the DQ250 and my vRS has the DQ381. I think the 381 is the vastly superior box, however I do agree with @nicknorman on the whole. Mine has a TCU tune so is a non issue now, however I did used to find (when accelerating very slowly up a hill) that it would shift into say, 3rd, at 1600rpm and then struggle to go anywhere. That's now fixed, however I can't say if the Superb is any better/worse. That said, it's a very minor issue and certainly nothing you'll really notice if someone doesn't point it out to you IMO. For the Superb I'd say the 381 is the better box - having that 7th ratio keeps it nice and quiet. You're at the top end of torque on the 250, so if you're thinking about tuning or anything like that, then the 381 is the box.

In the Mk3.5 vRS the fronts are full LED, but at the back only the brake lights are LED. Everything else, for some stupid reason, is bulb. Only place I use for parts - https://www.skoda-parts.com/online-store.html

I'd always be kinder to the car, such as trundling around the block/leaving it running with the bonnet open for a few mins after a heavy drive. That said, I'd say this was probably more of a tuned 2.0+ thing, than a 1.4 or whatever. Of more interest is splashing through deep puddles with a hot turbo...

I've got the factory stuff that's probably long past it's date, along with a thing of large Holts I picked up from Halfords. If all that doesn't work, I'll call someone. Reminds me, I must stop lugging around the factory compressor thing - whenever I plug it in, it blows the fuse.

Most of the VW wiper nuts are 20nm - would presume this is the same. With stuff like this, generally 'tight' is good. Not that it helps now, but I have an old beam torque wrench for stuff like this, if I need to check the torque before loosening.

Thank you! :)

@Carlston might you be able to confirm a part number for me, please? I'm after the rear left caliper for a vRS with the 310mm disc. The part number I have is 5F0615423. I've got 5F0615424 as the rear right caliper. Are these correct, please?

Attempting to revive this a few years later! Do you have any links to the Kopacek front/rear vRS badges? I've found the colour matched Skoda logos, in addition to the 'Skoda' and 'Octavia' ones, but I can't seem to find a matching set of either front/rear vRS logos in all black, or black and red!

Very interesting - my indie can easily get TRW but I assumed there would be a 0.001% difference in the shade of red. My carriers are fine - it’s just the rear caliper that have gone.

@Warrior193 no Mit Silikat for this guy! That said, as the car is parked on a downward slope I might top the coolant up. Touch concerned as I put a tiny bit in a month or so ago and it was at max, although hoping that’s just it self levelling…

I'm looking to pick up a new caliper. All of the UK main dealers are after £380, whereas my usual Skoda Parts (Cz) are wanting £280. Skoda Parts Direct (UK) also want £280. Does anyone have any experience with the latter? I usually order everything from Skoda Parts in Cz, but as this is quite an important item I'm apparently a bit hesitant to FedEx away to Europe for it. I know the parts they supply are genuine (the last six boxes have been anyway) but I would prefer to get my hands on it first at a Skoda counter... That being said, I'm not sure how the Fish Brothers place is offering European pricing when the part is in the UK! Their reponse was they want to be competitive, which is fair enough, but still. I'm considering biting the bullet and just ordering through my local dealer. It's an extra £100 but it might make me (and my OCD) feel happier. Any thoughts?

I'm normally quite on it with tyre posts - must have missed this. Looking at this section of UHP summer tyre, you're looking at Conti SC/PC7, Asy 6 or PS4/5. I prefer the Michelin brand, so have used Pilot Sport 4, 4S and now 5. PS4S and PSS5 are totally overkill for anything made by VW group, let alone Skoda (aside from maybe an RS6 or R8). PS4 and PS5 are the same tyre, except that PS5s are a firmer compound that performs marginally better in the dry, and lasts longer. I've currently got about 8,000 miles on my PS5s and I'm not looking to replace them anytime soon. This has been a mixture of sedate driving, motorway miles, as well as plenty of A and B roads in a 350bhp vRS. They are still a UHP tyre, so they will not last as long as more balanced tyres. That said, they are the best wearing performance tyre I've used (with reference to cost, performance and wear).

I've got a vRS, with the red calipers. The front calipers look fine. When I bought the car, the rear right looked awful and had flaked entirely. Skoda made such a mess of repainting it, they ended up replacing the whole thing. Now, a year later, the rear left is following suit. I'm not interested in doing it myself as I want it done properly. My first thought was to just replace it and call it a day - saves messing around with matching colours, etc. Having looked up some prices, even Skoda Parts are after £280 for the caliper (which is fine) but then a further £160 for the carrier, which I didn't factor in. As they're the rear, the carrier is half of the brake, visually, and I think just replacing the caliper might look a bit silly. That said, £435 (or £640 from Skoda UK) is daft for a bit of flakey paint. So, next option is getting it touched up, but I have two issues. Firstly, most places don't remove the calipers to paint them - what are peoples thoughs on this? I'm not that keen on masking tape, but most people seem to have no issue. I could remove the caliper and drain it, but I don't really want to do this myself and my VAG indie is a fair bit away from the painting place. The other problem is that they will only be able to match the paint the best they can. This means that it might look a bit off, and then I'll be looking at doing the front to match (which is factory finish and I don't really want to do). Keen for inputs. Replacing the brake seems stupidly expensive, but repainting just that caliper opens up issues with matching it - not to mention the potential painting on car issue.