OccyVRS

I'm not professionally trained, but I've cleaned a few vehicles. My day job for a few months was/is ceramic coating high-end motorbikes, but I've also done my fair share of 812s and GT3s. @travs has said it all. The only thing I would add is that I would personally give the tar remover-ed areas a thorough rinse. I'd also maybe add a stage 4.5 for the application of snow foam. This might be because I'm used to working in front of customers and the fallout looks pretty when mixed with the snow foam, but I do also like to use the snow foam as a lubricant to get into the seals and small areas with a detailing brush. As above, it doesn't need doing and it's probably just a habit I picked up from my work - after all, when some guy is watching you clean and strip his brand new Sartoria Meccanica Rush (near six-figure bike), you're going to pull out all the stops. That's probably why I bathe the wheels and brakes in fallout. Whoops. For a proper wash, do as above. For a top-up wash, I would personally do 1, 2, 3, 4.5, 5, 8 and 9. I've used drying towels very happily for years, however a dedicated dryer does make getting into the front grille and wheels much easier. This is the one I use and have used daily for months. The general idea is that you get as much of the stuff off the car before touching it with a mitt - taking a mitt over grit and the like is what causes scratches. Speaking of scratches - make sure the wash mitt is only ever used front to back. That way, if and when any scratches do occur, they are easier to remove than circular swirl marks. IIRC, both @travs and I use protection from polishes, but something like that is a bit beyond a complete beginner (not least because it requires a proper DA polisher - expensive). I do occasionally put a spray sealant (rinse aid) over the top of mine too. I would personally suggest something like Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax - it's pretty easy to put on and offers a good few months of protection. Speaking of, TurtleWax Redline Wheel Cleaner is a decent beginner fallout remover option. It's pretty cheap from ECP and does the job. It's up to you how much effort you want to put in. My car doesn't get driven that much over winter and lives in a heated garage, so I can afford to go the extra mile in keeping it clean and tidy. Were it to live outside and get driven fifty miles on the M4 every day, I probably wouldn't bother. Similarly, if the car was brand new I would suggest a front end PPF and ceramic coating for everything else. In this instance, a lot of wear and tear has already been done. If it were me (and it's what I did with my car), I would get it paint corrected, stick a bit of protection over the top and then just be careful washing it in the future.

Welcome! If you’d ever like to do some sort of meet, drop me a message! Lots up north and out to the west, so it’s nice to have someone local.

From what I’ve seen, the TDI’s drink oil and the TSI’s drink coolant! I’ve had absolutely no issues with mine regarding the oil levels, but I’ve yet to speak to someone with a TSI (EA888.3 or Evo) that hasn’t had to fill it up at least once a year. That being said, consumption is relative - when I checked things a few months ago, I had gone from the max fill line to the min fill line in around 2,500 miles. I don’t think that’s too bad considering the way the car is driven. It is good to change the oil more regularly than 10k (my recent change has been after about 4k), but if the car is burning oil it won’t solve anything. Some cars just use more than others. As long as the consumption is within reasonable amounts, it’s just one of those things. VAG diesels are known for it, but to be fair - take a look at the rate some BMWs drink oil. Those PCVs are a nightmare.

That came up on mine yesterday too.

FYI, no LED headlight is sealed. They don't produce enough heat, so every single LED unit will have some sort of breather/membrane design.

That doesn't look brilliant. What mileage is it on?

DS2500 front, OE rear. That's how someone I know runs his T6 Transporter like that, and that's with over 400bhp. https://blog.onlyrevo.com/400bhp-van-the-hybrid-turbo-vw-t6-tsi-track-weapon/

It is probably moisture in the exhaust. My car does it even after an hour on the motorway and a GPF regen. It's a very common thing on these cars, and the vRS has the most choked up exhaust of any EA888 model.

The throttle body is pretty accessible - surely a decent mechanic would have it done in an hour? Unless something is stuck, it's a bolt on job and IIRC only the intake pipe needs removing. £400 seems rather high...

Ah... it's not all about 0-60 times. I wonder why SEAT/Cupra got the ABT treatment when nobody else did... imagine a vRS-R or Superb R

As above, the quote from my place to do the pump on my EA888 was just a hair under £1000 (I think it was £980). A genuine pump is about £500 - cheaper ones are £350. I haven't heard that many bad things about Schaeffler INA, but with such a high labour cost, most people just buy a genuine pump and call it a day. Buy cheap, buy twice. That being said, £150 labour is a joke. The EA888 needs the intake manifold to be removed in order to get at the pump. I've never seen any mechanic do that job in under 4-5 hours, unless it's a bodge.

I can't comment as I don't know enough about the TDI engines, but I will say that VAG oil/coolant consumption figures tend to be a bit of a joke. IIRC VW say that it is normal to burn up to a litre of oil for every 1,000 miles or so - if your car is anywhere near this, you have something wrong.

I wanted a Cupra ST or Golf R Estate for the AWD goodness, but insurance wasn't very cooperative. A Superb was too big. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying any of these cars are undesirable - but they are far less likely to get stolen than their siblings with a nicer badge. Frankly, unless it's an Evoque or some sort of hot SUV, I'd just stick a steering lock on it and call it a day. I love my Octavia. It's not quite my thing, but I do rather like @travs too. The car, that is, not him.

It will restrict flow, along with the carbon buildup, DPF, catalytic converter, EGR system, backbox, resonator(s), the OE downpipe diameter, exhaust tubing, bends, joins and seals, along with the (if we're being specific) the turbo turbine housing and intake elbow. It's a TDI. If you're mentioning restrictions and haven't gutted the DPF and done an EGR/swirl flap delete, you need to do some more research. Without a photo, there isn't much we can work with - a 'thing' by the heat shield isn't very specific.

Considering most Octavias and Superbs are minicabs, I think you'll be alright. The vRS is a much more attractive offering, as they can be parted out for GTi/R/S3/Cupras a bit more easily. I also knew someone that has his nicked, debadged and used for crime while wearing fake taxi plates (not that fake taxi). As above, pretty niche though. It also depends where you live. Mine lives in a secure garage, but both the 2024 1 Series and 2022 Ibiza on the drive have steering wheel locks. Around us, people put bollards and steering locks to protect a 2004 Ford KA. It's London! I wouldn't say any of these cars are particularly desirable. If someone knew what they were, then they'd likely be more interested in the 'flashier' performance siblings from Audi or VW.

Generally most garages aren’t too happy installing parts supplied by the customer - more often than not because the customer supplies crappy Chinese Autodoc parts. My Indie is happy to, but that’s because they a) know me and b) know I’ll get genuine bits. Anything I’m unsure about, I get them to order it - if it goes wrong, it’s their problem.

Sorry - I should have been clearer. My engine is a 245ps DKTB. I was just jumping on the engine oil train, as I find it quite interesting/confusing. It’s quite interesting that the same engine can run on stuff ranging from 0W-20 up to 5W-40 - regardless of engine code, none of the EA888.3s or EA888.4s are significantly different from another.

My car doesn’t even have a sticker to tell you what oil is required - it’s a bit rubbish. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the 280ps Superb is the EA888.4, whereas mine is one of the last EA888.3 Skoda ever put in a car. The Evo wants 0W-30, whereas mine wants 0W-20. The PFL car with the same EA888.3 wanted 5W-30, although it is the same for the GTI engines. The only slightly weird thing is that the higher output EA888.3 of my generation (S3, R, etc) wanted 5W-30. Then, for this current generation, the higher output engines want 0W-30 while the lower ones want 0W-20. With the previous generation of cars (7.5, 3.5, 3.5, 8V), the higher and lower output engines were mechanically different - barely, but they were. With the current generation(ish), IIRC there is literally no difference in internals, bar bolt on stuff. It doesn’t make much sense. The only explanation I have read is that the lower output engines use the newer variable oil pump, but as above, I’m not sure if this is accurate.

I 100% agree. Any of the differences between 0W-20, 0W-30 and 5W-30 really don’t make much of a difference in the real world - certainly nothing compared to working a cold engine hard, or not doing the correct service intervals. Most of the engine issues we see over here with these engines are due to misuse, poor servicing, chain failure (due to servicing) and the water pump housing. That being said, I do disagree with you on one point - the cold start damage. Even with fancy modern oils, the majority of engine wear does still occur when the engine is cold and the cold oil is sitting at the bottom. Sure, it’s not as bad as it once was on older engines, but the point remains. Bottom line for this thread is that I would just stick with whatever VW suggest, unless the car is heavily tuned (or on 200,000 miles). There are so many other variables on engine longevity that running a a slightly heavier weight oil (as you said) doesn’t make much difference. I think regular servicing, being kind to a cold engine and sticking to the intervals (engine oil, gearbox, diff, etc) are more important. The only reason I would put 0W-30 in my car is for a track day. Otherwise I’ll stick to what VW suggests and if it blows up, it blows up.

Photo?

Let me see if I can find the information on the oil pumps. This was last year as @Evolution13 will remember, so I'll have to do some digging. From everyone that I spoke to (Ecotune, Unicorn, etc) the advice was to stick with 0W-20. For those pushing their EA888s past 600bhp+ the recommendation was to jump up to 5W-30. The general idea is that the newer EA888.3/4 has tighter tolerances than previous iterations, so while running a heavier oil won't cause anything as drastic as starvation, there was concern that it might not reach everywhere it needed to. Will I jump to 0W-30? Probably not. Could it be better for the engine? Maybe, but I can't see me having the car much past 100k miles, and any impact of such a change won't be visible until past then. Don't forget, 90% of engine wear happens during a cold start - and that is where an 0W oil will perform better than a 5W. I quickly found a few bits here, here and here. Not sure how good they are.

Just a word of warning with this. I've done a fair bit of research regarding oils for these engines - my vRS (EA888.3 DKTB) called for 0W-20, and I was debating a move to 0W-30. Aside from every single tuning place I spoke to telling me to stick with 0W-20, I also found that the variable speed oil pump (along with the vanes, etc) is optimised to run on the thinner oil. Yes, the move to a 20 weight was for emissions, but they did make some changes to the engine(s) to accommodate this. I would just make sure that the thicker 40 weight is reaching everywhere it needs to be. Frankly, I've seen cars on 100,000+ miles, fault free, that have been on 0W-20, 5W-30, 0W-40 and everything inbetween. Unless the car is heavily tuned, just stick to what VW suggest.

Completely random aside - the Jetta GLI looks amazing! I'd take a picture of the car, along with the control arm, please. It looks like someone has taken an Octavia, stuck a GTI front on it, and then fused the rear of an S3 saloon to it. Sorry it's not the interest you wanted - given that Skoda isn't sold over in the US (or SEAT too), we don't get that many visitors from your area.

If you have no idea, I would suggest giving the car to the aforementioned mechanic to do the work. Changing the pump isn't the most dificult thing in the world, but the access is quite tricky (manifold needs to come off, etc) and then the entire coolant system needs to be bled properly.

You should really replace all four, but Haldex can cope with differences across the axles IIRC. That being said, it has to be within reasonable tolerance. I don't think it matters about the same axle, as the power is only split between the front and rear. E.G. my vRS needs to have the same on the front axle with the LSD, but the back is irrelevant.