niceyellow vrs

Incorrect. I've got a full set of S3 3 door seats in my Octavia. Bolted straight in no problem.

Pretty much everything on the MK4 Golf platform is a direct bolt in so, MK4 Golf Audi A3 8L Audi S3 8L (Need wiring putting in too for electric adjustment) Seat Leon MK1

I put them in my Octavia a little while go. See page 2 on my project thread for a bit of a write up on what I did:

Pretty much everything on the MK4 Golf platform is a straight swap so Golf, Bora, Leon, A3/S3. Audi TT seats don't fit though as the mountings are very different.

Sometimes people sell the subframes separately as they can go for strong money when you find them. There is a set on Ebay asking £240. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134713491185?hash=item1f5d8cbef1:g:W-0AAOSwocZk9Fhs&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwLhu8EF%2BmD9qgDEXKZRHd%2B%2Bdh3WszyPv7%2FMKRAQxQPOGgKun5U%2FepoUIV3UBYFcVhtGa3ObCAk1qqQmCSiNsttmWF%2BCPd%2FLQowkad93uwTQk9uQ6W9iPVR0bpt32AnSXAMkEXXaGAnGl2GxLqTheWqa5KhvKPi16NUCPoIgqFQx2tvMgGV8Z8h1da701qYpExg%2B40uWNMf%2FdngjuAMnkL9MKqW5qppWeqvj5To7Jk%2F0ud7nn2VSMOHaxYcx2Y11Fbw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-af5L7fYg

As long as the S3 seats have still got their original subframes on, they bolt straight in. See pic below, cream seat has it's original subframe, black one is missing it's subframe.

Well, a suitable replacement gearbox came up for sale fairly locally a little while ago, so I actually got the car back on the road at the end of November last year.  Whilst it was all apart, on went a new rad and I did the cam belt and water pump. All went back together and was running fine. Haven't really used it much since as I've been too busy with work and my side hustle of breaking mk1 Audi TTs for spares. It's also still had a really horrible knocking/banging from the front suspension that I've never gotten to the bottom of. I decided this weekend that I'd take off the Audi TT cast lower arms and hubs and swap in some standard items as the hubs are the only thing that hasn't been changed in pursuit of the annoying noise. No idea why, as everything was tight with no unwanted movement, but this has finally solved the problem. Juat as well, because it was quite honestly spoiling the car to the point of if this last ditch attempt didn't work, i was giving very serious consideration to stripping it and moving on to something else. Done 150 miles in it since the swap and no more bad noises so it can stay on the standard stuff. Just got to wait til spring now so the better weather can allow a bit of a spruce up as it's looking a bit neglected. Might even get a few interior upgrades for it that I've thought about for a while.

Physically a direct bolt in. Electrics for the fronts was just a case of running a live feed from the buzz bar under the dash and earthed to a convinient bolt on the chassis under the seats. I sorted the heating by buying a ready made Kufatec wiring loom and mounted some mk4 Golf switches in the dash. Few pictures on my project thread https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/443848-niceyellow-vrs-nice-red-vrs/page/2/

Garages are expensive but at the end of the day, they are a business with employees trying to make a living by using their, premises, tools, skills and experience. Ultimately there are two options when it comes to repairing cars, either save money by doing the work yourself or pay the money to someone else to do it for you.

If you're looking at changing the knuckles you may aswel do the TT front end setup so swap to the cast lower arms and knuckles. Also worthwhile changing the steering rack for the quicker 2.5 turns TT rack too. The TT knuckles will then allow you to bolt the 312mm brake set up straight on, which with decent pads should be more than ample.

I put S3 heated and electrically operated Recaros in mine. Mega comfy and look real sweet too.

The rear spoiler needs to go black too. Trust me.

Coil packs.

Looks like I need to park it up for a bit. Gearbox has started to make really displeasing noises, typically right after I'd filled it with over £100 worth of liquid gold. Considering it's just a pure toy for me, as I have a company supplied van for work and my Volvo for most other car related duties, it just doesn't make sense for me at the moment to keep it on the road. A substantial impending vet's bill for both my cats, upcoming wedding, general living expenses and I'd quite like to be able to put the heating on for a couple of days this winter means fixing the Skoda isn't even coming close to the list of priorities at the moment. I've sucked the fuel back out and put it in the Volvo and the Skoda will be going on SORN, probably until sometime next year I reckon. As much as I love the car, gotta think with my head at the mo so replacing the gearbox and running a 2nd car can definitely wait. Let's call it enforced hibernation.

I've done many track days but only one in my Octavia. It went really well on track but I'm not looking at turning tracking it into a habit. Was it yourself that sold me the Federal RSR tyres for it earlier this year? The ramp in your garage looks familiar Snetterton in March

Something that leaves me baffled is why when it comes to renewal time, insurers don't just give you their best price to begin with. You're always quoted something rediculous which is nowhere near to what can be achieved by going on a comparison site. Then, if you can be bothered, you have to go through the hassle of phoning up your current insuerer and see if the better price can be matched which it then normally can so why not just give that in the first place? Personal example of this is the policy on my standard Volvo V50 is due to expire next week. My current insurer sent me a renwal quote of £368 (£71 more than last year). Had a look on compare the market and the best like for like quote was £248. Needless to say, with that substantial price difference I won't be renewing with the current insurer. Are insurers just not bothered about keeping customers?

Essentially it will unbolt from the car, but it's not just the bolts that hold the subframe itself on. There's suspension arms, steering rack, anti roll bar and lower engine mount (dog bone) all attached to it.

You need a new dook lock mechanism: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313948718584?fits=Plat_Gen%3AMK+I|Model%3AOctavia&hash=item4918cd45f8:g:mQMAAOSwPphhQWHt

Took the Octavia to Snetterton for a track day. Had a great time and considering it's only the second time I've taken it on a track, I was really quite pleased with how it performed. I've recently removed the lowering springs, as I wasn't really liking the ride they gave out on the road, and put the standard springs back on. I've still got the Koni shocks on it and that combinations provides a much more comfortable and stable ride. Out on track it was so balanced and predictable and it never once tried to step out of line. Along with sticky track rubber, it was pretty great to drive. I had a slight issue early on as it was getting a bit warm and when the engine temperature crept up to the next line past 90 on the gauge, it would limit the boost until the temp dropped down again. Easy fix was to take the spot lights and front grille off to help get a bit more air flowing through the rad. It helped substantially and made the situation a bit easier to manage. As long as I kept smooth and tidy, it wasn't really too much of a problem for the rest of the day. Early on, despite being quite experienced at Snetterton, I've always been in a much lower powered car before so I had to re-learn the circuit taking into account that I was arriving at corners about 30mph quicker than I've been used to. Soon got the hang of it though and by the afternoon I was lapping consistently quick and tidily. Early Video: Later video: Thouroughly enjoyed the day and apart from the small temperature issue early on, the car didn't need anything than fuel all day. I also have it on very good authority that it spits flames when giving it the beans I did manage to crack the brake discs by the end of the day though, good job there's some spares in the garage. It's due an MOT next month but before that happens it's also due a service including cam belt and water pump. It obviously needs some brake discs and it'll probably benefit from a brake fluid change too. Tempted to put a fresh raditor on it too as the original is now 18 years old and is starting to show up a bit of inefficiency. So, plenty on the list to be getting on with.

If the problem still remains after your throttle body clean, I had a starting issue a little while ago where it was taking a fair bit of cranking and often needing a lot of throttle on cold starts. Luckily a scan actually showed up a fault as an intermittent crank sensor signal problem so I changed the sensor and it's been fine since. Might not be your issue but a potential. Locking problem is more likely to be the locking mechanism itself rather than the wiring, I've got a couple that are getting tempramental on mine that I really must change before they fail completly as it's a pain in the pee pee to get a deadlocked door open without destroying the door cards.

When fitting a FMIC it's not necessarily bigger is better because you can go too big. It's more about building a system that'll provide a good flow. Here's what I have on mine: As you can see, it's certainly not massive but it does flow really well and when I last put it on the rollers it ran 225bhp consistantly without dropping off during the back to back runs which can happen on poor setups that can't cope with the rising temperatures. I'm also running a 3 inch downpipe and decat to further aid flow and I have a phenolic inlet manifold gasket to help with reducing heat transfer from the head to the inlet manifold. I'm afraid I can't help on sourcing the FMIC parts unfortunately as I bought my setup from a friend when he broke his car, all I do know about it is that the pipework is custom made stuff.

TT racks are a common direct bolt on upgrade for mk1 Octavias, I run one on my VRS along with the TT cast arms and hubs. Externally the racks are the same but internally they are quicker with just 2.5 turns lock to lock.

Or if you know someone with a Tig Welder, the CB Auto kit is a cheaper sump baffling option. I ran one in my TT and it worked well. https://www.cbauto.co.uk/18t-sump-baffle-kit

The pumps themselves are generally fine, it's the pick up pipe that tends to get blocked and cause oil starvation. I tend to replace mine every couple of years as a matter of course as it's not difficult to do, sump off and then two bolts to undo. Sump goes back on with sealant rather than a gasket. If you're doing a lot of track work, I'd recommend fitting a baffled sump to keep the oil where it can be sucked up effectively instead of physics pushing it all to one side of the sump on long sweeping corners. I have a Forge one on mine, not overly cheap but a decent investment to save having more expensive issues https://www.forgemotorsport.co.uk/Baffled_Sump_for_Audi_VW_and_SEAT_18T_Transverse_Engines--product--1019.html

They make a huge difference. I've had spot lights on most of my cars over the years but with how pants he standard lights are on the Octavia, they were a necessity. Literally didn't feel safe driving the car at night without them.