OccyVRS

Ignoring the clearances, dropping to a 30 profile on the front is closer than a 35 is (1.7% vs 2.1%). Going from 225 to 235 is fine, realistically. Insurance and others might have issues with you going to a 245 or 255. That aside, I can understand increasing the size on the front tyres to increase traction, but why the rear? Personally, if you're willing to compromise that much on fitment, etc, I'd go ahead and stick some PS4S on there. Looking at some other places, unless you're running some platform mods, you might have issues. This is of course not to mention that an RS3 comes with 265 on the front and 245 on the rear - wider tyres on the back really aren't going to do anything IMO, especially with the hardly complex rear suspension on MQB cars.

We've got plenty Octavias and Fabias - anyone with a Superb fancy joining? @travs there's a fair few of us near you :)

Correct. I was (badly) explaining that the reason increasing the size of the master cylinder will increase the braking force is that, with a smaller cylinder, moving the pedal 1cm will move a given amount of fluid. Whereas, with a larger cylinder, moving the same pedal 1cm will now move more fluid, with more force being required to shift this. This also leads to a shorter pedal travel, if the piston size isn't changed, as a larger cylinder will push more fluid into the piston faster. TLDR - the ratio of the master cylinder piston size (cross section) to the caliper piston is the mechanical advantage. Hence, why the two always need to be paired.

I was meaning about the increase in brake diameter (the ABS system)! That is true, and certainly from 288mm to 312mm not necessary, but for jumping up to anything larger (E.G. to GTI 340mm) you'd need the larger bore to move more fluid into the larger piston in the larger caliper. Otherwise though you are correct, although I would add that the pedal travel would also be shorter. With all this in mind, that's why you increase the cylinder size when you increase brake diameter, as the two interact. You are partly right about the reduction in braking force - increasing the m/c size means that when you press the pedal 1cm, you are now moving more fluid. Hence, it takes more force to move more fluid through the system. In theory, it would require a similar level of effort, to achieve similar levels of braking. Certainly, unless you remove the booster, this won't really be noticeable. In improving pedal feel, your best bets are usually disc size (generally won't do much unless its a significant difference), pad material and brake line (changing out saggy OE hoses for stainless steel, or the like).

Yes, although I was meaning more factors such as the difference in wet braking distance with fresh vs worn tyres.

Then change them! Tyres are the one contact point between a vehicle and the road - so, not only are they critical for handling, but they are one of the most important factors in safety. Most manufacturers recommend replacing tyres 5-6 years, with a 10 year limit being for safety. Seventeen years old is long overdue for a change. You wouldn't catch me driving on tyres that old above 40mph. What do you mean by the markers exactly? Depending on the brand, some tread wear markers are at 3mm, whilst some are right down to 1.6mm. Just because a tyre is legal does not mean it's safe. Of course, that depends on where the car is going (certainly I'd be inclined to change the tyres on a daily motorway car much sooner than a town car). 185/60R14 is quite a common size, so there's lots to choose from. Anything from Conti, Falken, Yoko, Hankook (even Toyo) is worth a look at. Judging by the sounds of it (please correct me if wrong), I would suggest getting the cheapest thing with a brand on it, and call it a day. Certainly, if your dad is getting 17 years from a tyre, I would imagine cornering grip and braking performance aren't of the biggest concern. FYI - I was always told that the only acceptable cracking (not that there really is any) is on the blocks of the tyre. Anything sidewall or carcass, replace. Certainly, cracking on anything suggests that there is likely other issues in the carcass of the tyre.

You won't be able to check the pads when they're in the caliper and the discs are on - beyond how much meat is on them, anyway. Fluid change would be welcome, but I doubt that will change the braking feel significantly. FYI - a lot of people trust Brembo, and choose them for pads in circumstances like this. That's fine, but make sure you get actual Brembo, rather than the ECP made-in-China-under-licence-for-a-lot-less Brembi.

Yep - put the power mirrors in a box and got Powerflex mounts/bushings all round 😂 I will return to the mirrors one day. I don't care that they don't fold (I park in car parks about once every fortnight anyway), but I'd like to be able to visually see when my car is locked, like my 2016 Leon, 2011 A3, 2008 Focus - you know, every non-base model car built in the last twenty years! I loathe the mind of the original owner, that ordered the digi dash, ACC/DCC, etc, but left out folding mirrors and heated seats...

Resetting the one touch window function just requires you to lower the window, then bring it back up, holding it for ten seconds or so. That said, IIRC, the convenience opening still works if one of the windows has an out of sync end stop (one touch). Is convenience opening still selected on your infotainment? It seems unlikely the windows would stop working for one touch - have you had a battery change/update recently?

If they'll even sell it to you. They refused to order me in some door modules for power fold mirrors once I told them my car didn't have from factory. "Sorry, it has to be optioned from factory, or we cannot authorise it".

Para facilitar las cosas, todas las publicaciones en el foro deben estar en Inglés. Quizás podrías usar GoogleTranslate para ayudarte, antes de comentar? (General rule on the forum is to keep everything in English! It just makes it a bit easier down the line, for people viewing threads in years to come. Maybe you could stick your post into google translate before pressing submit?)

Different pads should give you a different feel. Something like that from Ferodo might be worth looking at. Even if the components were a straight swap, you'd still need to do caliper carriers, discs, pads and shields. Most of the smallest-braked VW cars have tiny master cylinders that need to be changed (it's a common thing on 1.4 Leon FR's when going form 288mm to 312mm). You'll also need to do the front and rear to maintain braking balance, as well as telling the car about the increase in size. Generally, upping brake size is more hassle than it's worth. The first place to start is to make sure the system is in good working order, make sure nothing is glazed/cooked/knackered, and if it still feels rubbish, then take a look at some better quality pads.

44-72035 was one of the original Red Tail (Tuskegee) aircraft. You can actually see some repairs from 1945 battle-damage behind the canopy and on the tail.

It seems to be quite difficult to arrange any sort of meet these days. Anything that comes to fruition seems to fold/be cancelled, or turns into a late-night event on an industrial estate with some less-than-savoury driving. I messaged someone on FB a few weeks ago (with a Mk3.5 Occy vRS) and we've started a small WhatsApp group with some people to try and arrange a (civilised) meet and drive. There are only about 30 of us in the group so far, but we are all keen on a low-key social meet, with a chance to talk and make some friends with like-minded people. There seems to be quite a spread from across the UK, with some people from the North East/West, some from the Midlands, stretching out to Suffolk, Bristol, Scotland, South Wales and London/South Coast. We predominantly have various generations of Occys (this is how the group started), however we have a few Fabias in there too. I'm sure some Superbs and whatever else people might have, would be welcomed too! If you don't have a Skoda currently/anymore, please still join! We currently don't have a time or place, as we are still growing and trying to find more people. We would like to find a place that is suitable for everyone, however there is also the possibility of opening it up to a few local meets, to make it accessible to all. Currently, we are keen on the idea of a nice drive, followed by a scenic backdrop for some photos and a place for coffee/food. Here is the link to the group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/IW25DAo8wTLF6MHexGnveJ We've currently got admin-approval turned on, as we've had a few scammers, so it might take a few minutes for you to be accepted. Hope to see you there :)

It seems to be quite difficult to arrange any sort of meet these days. Anything that comes to fruition seems to fold/be cancelled, or turns into a late-night event on an industrial estate with some less-than-savoury driving. I messaged someone on FB a few weeks ago (with a Mk3.5 Occy vRS) and we've started a small WhatsApp group with some people to try and arrange a (civilised) meet and drive. There are only about 30 of us in the group so far, but we are all keen on a low-key social meet, with a chance to talk and make some friends with like-minded people. There seems to be quite a spread from across the UK, with some people from the North East/West, some from the Midlands, stretching out to Suffolk, Bristol, Scotland, South Wales and London/South Coast. We predominantly have various generations of Occys (this is how the group started), however we have a few Fabias in there too. I'm sure some Superbs and whatever else people might have, would be welcomed too! If you don't have a Skoda currently/anymore, please still join! We currently don't have a time or place, as we are still growing and trying to find more people. We would like to find a place that is suitable for everyone, however there is also the possibility of opening it up to a few local meets, to make it accessible to all. Currently, we are keen on the idea of a nice drive, followed by a scenic backdrop for some photos and a place for coffee/food. Here is the link to the group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/IW25DAo8wTLF6MHexGnveJ We've currently got admin-approval turned on, as we've had a few scammers, so it might take a few minutes for you to be accepted. Hope to see you there :)

It seems to be quite difficult to arrange any sort of meet these days. Anything that comes to fruition seems to fold/be cancelled, or turns into a late-night event on an industrial estate with some less-than-savoury driving. I messaged someone on FB a few weeks ago (with a Mk3.5 Occy vRS) and we've started a small WhatsApp group with some people to try and arrange a (civilised) meet and drive. There are only about 30 of us in the group so far, but we are all keen on a low-key social meet, with a chance to talk and make some friends with like-minded people. There seems to be quite a spread from across the UK, with some people from the North East/West, some from the Midlands, stretching out to Suffolk, Bristol, Scotland, South Wales and London/South Coast. We predominantly have various generations of Occys (this is how the group started), however we have a few Fabias in there too. I'm sure some Superbs and whatever else people might have, would be welcomed too! If you don't have a Skoda currently/anymore, please still join! We currently don't have a time or place, as we are still growing and trying to find more people. We would like to find a place that is suitable for everyone, however there is also the possibility of opening it up to a few local meets, to make it accessible to all. Currently, we are keen on the idea of a nice drive, followed by a scenic backdrop for some photos and a place for coffee/food. Here is the link to the group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/IW25DAo8wTLF6MHexGnveJ We've currently got admin-approval turned on, as we've had a few scammers, so it might take a few minutes for you to be accepted. Hope to see you there :)

It seems to be quite difficult to arrange any sort of meet these days. Anything that comes to fruition seems to fold/be cancelled, or turns into a late-night event on an industrial estate with some less-than-savoury driving. I messaged someone on FB a few weeks ago (with a Mk3.5 Occy vRS) and we've started a small WhatsApp group with some people to try and arrange a (civilised) meet and drive. There are only about 30 of us in the group so far, but we are all keen on a low-key social meet, with a chance to talk and make some friends with like-minded people. There seems to be quite a spread from across the UK, with some people from the North East/West, some from the Midlands, stretching out to Suffolk, Bristol, Scotland, South Wales and London/South Coast. We predominantly have various generations of Occys (this is how the group started), however we have a few Fabias in there too. I'm sure some Superbs and whatever else people might have, would be welcomed too! If you don't have a Skoda currently/anymore, please still join! We currently don't have a time or place, as we are still growing and trying to find more people. We would like to find a place that is suitable for everyone, however there is also the possibility of opening it up to a few local meets, to make it accessible to all. Currently, we are keen on the idea of a nice drive, followed by a scenic backdrop for some photos and a place for coffee/food. Here is the link to the group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/IW25DAo8wTLF6MHexGnveJ We've currently got admin-approval turned on, as we've had a few scammers, so it might take a few minutes for you to be accepted. Hope to see you there :)

I've got a few people (myself included) from across the England, that are dead keen to try and do some sort of Skoda meet up at a track day. It's still early days (I'm trying to arrange a more general meet), however if you'd be interested, please drop a reply below and we can try to make it happen!

Any updates with this? MQB Track Cars is a decent group on FB, but less vRS and more GTI orientated. There are many FB vRS groups, but they're all a bit disjointed. They're alright for simple(r) questions but it can be a bit hit and miss with everything else. I'm looking to keep tracking my car a few times this year! I'm South East England based, if there's anyone round there that might want to do some laps?

It's up to you. At 4mm you are at the point where performance in the wet is starting to degrade. Equally though, we are approaching summer. I would either do four new tyres and call it a day until you hand the car back, or put fresh rubber on the rear, and swap the rear tyres onto the front. You should probably expect to replace them towards winter time, depending on how often you drive.

They are definitely overdue then. How are the rears looking?

+1 for a bridge camera. They're very versatile and while they are maybe 'jack of all trades, master of none' they perform perfectly well in all trades! The Canon PowerShot series are quite popular, along with the Nikon Coolpix line. My first camera was an SX70HS. What sort of thing are you looking to take photos of? Both the PowerShot and Coolpix line are known for their superzoom capability. If this isn't something you need, then that opens up our options somewhat. Have a look on the London Camera Exchange website here. Secondhand gear is a great way of getting some nice equipment for less.

Very nice shots, Lee! I'm an aviation fan myself🙂

Not necessarily! The general rule of thumb is that you need to have the same type of tyres, with roughly the same wear, across the axles. In other words, you can have brand new Michelins on the front and year old Continentals on the back, with no issue. It's a common misconception that a FWD needs the newer/better tyres on the front wheels. This means that if/when you lose grip, you lose it at the rear, leading to oversteer. This is when the rear of the car kicks out, and is much harder to correct than understeer, which is when the front of the car loses grip. TLDR - get the new rubber fitted to the back. It's also a misconception that lower tread on tyres reduces grip. This is only true in wet - in the dry, the more worn down the blocks (tread) are, the more grip! Usually, the front tyres wear out faster than the rear, due to these being the driving/steering wheels that have more weight on them than the rear. The only reason you need to change a tyre is because it is wearing down, or it is cracking/in poor condition. The garage should be able to tell you how much tread you have left, and you can check the shoulder/sidewall of the tyre for any cracks yourself. I'm sure if you put some photos up here, people would be able to tell you :)