niceyellow vrs

Haven't done much to the Octavia for ages, it's pretty good as it is and nothing's broken. Truth be told, it doesn't get driven all that much, I tend to use my Volvo V50 mostly which is not only my current motorsport vehicle but also a very comfortable, well equipped and convenient runabout. I found the perfect number plate to go on the V50 just before Christmas and decided the Octavia needed a new plate too. I couldn't find any VRS plates that floated my boat so looked for another one with my initials on. V500 HMM was available and being just one digit different from the Volvo's plate it would have been rude not to. Now when people walk past my house they can tut and utter harsh words about the smug **** that lives there.

If you're locking mechanism is getting temperamental just replace it before it completely dies. Trying to open a deadlocked door without damaging stuff is doable but a royal pain in the winkle. The mechanism also has a small piece of wire with a plastic nipple on the end which connects to the outside handle. To disconnect it you need to remove the end cap at the back end of the handle. To do that, there is a torx head grub screw accessed via a small gromet covered hole on the back end of the door. Once that is loosened, the cap can be prised outwards.

If you look at the grab handle you'll see a seem as the front face of it comes off. It's a fairly snug push fit so needs gently prying out at one end to get it moving. Once that's off, it'll reveal the screws behind it. Number 11 in the attached pic.

If you've managed to get as many as 6 track days out of one set of tyres I really don't think you need to worry about it.

I've got experience of both the ECS and Darkside kits. The Darkside kit definitely wasn't £900 though. This is the one needed for the VRS: https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/darkside-silent-g60-single-mass-cast-flywheel-clutch-kit-for-5-speed-02j-02a-02r.html I put the ECS kit in my previous VRS and went for the lighter flywheel option. That was about 10 years ago when the kit was about £200 cheeper than it is now. My Dad has the car now and the clutch still feels just the same as when I first installed it. Nice light pedal feel, perfectly smooth operation and no noise whatsoever going from dmf to smf. If you didn't know it had been fitted, you'd assume the car was still running the standard equipment. My current Octavia has the Darkside kit, which I installed in 2016. I went for the Darkside kit this time rather than the ECS purely down to the price hike. The Darkside kit is just as good, as ultimately they're pretty much the same performance wise, but if I had to give a preference, the ECS is definitely smoother, particularly when pushing on.

MG is long gone. TT has been replaced with a Volvo V50 😄

Well, I set about fixing it but more stuff broke to the point where it was going to require a load more money and I decided I really couldn't be arsed with it anymore. Time to cash out before it really bled me dry. Worth more in bits than as a broken whole so that's the way it's gone and that's the end of that.

So it just about survived Cadwell yesterday despite an annoying issue of the turbo to manifold bolts continaully working loose. I'd generally get 4 or 5 laps before needing to come back in and tightening them up. I lost two of the bolts on the circuit somewhere but luckily I had a selection of bolts in my spares box that fitted to get me out of trouble. Also had a boost hose pop off, which resulted in a tow of shame as it then didn't have the power to get up the hill at the circuit exit, but that was an easy rectification. There's now also a knocking from under the middle of the car which I'm pretty sure is the propshaft centre support mounting bush, So a couple of issues to look at but it didn't blow up this time which is encouraging. When it was working though, it did go well, the new springs and the sticky Nankang tyres really improved the handling making it very stable and predictable. The Brembo 4 pots also offered much improved braking ability compared to last time out on track. A few photos and a bit of in car footage:

So with a track day booked at Cadwell Park this week, a few jobs needed doing in preparation. I needed a set of track tyres so had a scout round on Facebook marketplace and came across a set of barely used Nankang NS2R tyres just a few miles away from me for a very reasonable price. Once I got them home and looked a bit closer, it turns out I got more of a bargain than I first thought as they're actually a stickier compound, treadwear 100 as opposed to the standard treadwear 180 rating. First job yesterday was fit my oil cooler that I purchased from a mate a few weeks ago. A very straight forward installation and there was already plenty of space left behind the bumper so I didn't have to start hacking anything to make space. I just fabricated a couple of brackets to hold it at the top and the bottom is just held onto the top of the intercooler with double sided adhesive foam to stop it rubbing. Pipe run was easy enough and I made sure any potential rubbing points have been sleeved with silicone pipe. I don't want to risk anything rubbing through and start an oil related fire, been there, done that. The cooler is then just fed from a thermostatic sandwich plate between the oil filter and filter housing. Another job was to fit a manual override switch for the radiator fans. It never overheats but its does seem to get quite warm and the fans don't come on until the temperature reaches a bit higher than I like so I just tapped into the wires for the thermostatic switch in the radiator, up to a handy switch on the dashboard. Works perfectly so the fans will come on via ECU control or I can now manually switch them on at either low or high speeds. Coming from a Rover K Series background, extra cooling control is never a bad thing. One last little job was fix in my fire extinguisher. Neatly bolted the bracket to the passenger floor by installing a couple of rivnuts. So, with those few bits done, I thought that's it, it's all ready to go with a few days to spare before the track day this coming Thursday but alas no, not so lucky. As I went to put the wheels back on I noticed this bit of nonsense on the nearside Just what I needed on an easter weekend. No idea when or how it happened but at least it's happened now and not out on track. So a quick look on Amazon last night a brand new set of H&R 25mm lowering springs are due to arrive tomorrow. This meant that today's job was remove the old springs so that it's ready to put back together when the parcel arrives. It's currently sat on stands sulking. All I can do now is wait for my new springs and then it'll actually be ready for Cadwell Park. It needs to survive the track day for it's own sake. If it blows up again, I'll be stripping it for parts, can't be doing with unreliabity.

A before and after measurement at the centre of the arches showed it's now sitting 15mm lower than it was on the standard springs.

Haven't done much to the car for a while, mainly because I had to go back to work. Thoroughly inconvenient but needs must I suppose. For the last 6 months or so, I've barely even driven it, it's just been sitting on the driveway with the occasional start up. That still didn't save the old battery though, the cold winter finished that off so a brand new Bosch S4 was fitted. It's due an MOT and service next month so time for a bit of love. Rear brakes needed attention recently as the handbrake was nigh on touching the roof before it would do anything so I gave the calipers a working over, freeing them up and adjusted the cables. The rear discs were looking past they're best so I put on a barely used set of discs and pads I had in the garage that I'd aquired from one of my breakers. All working perfectly again so that's one job ticked off the list. Also noticed the reverse lights weren't working but that was an easy fix with just a new switch needed. I made a few quid this last month by breaking a MK4 Golf I aquired from a colleague at work so I thought I'd treat the Octavia to a nice set of brand new Koni STR.T shocks and H&R 20mm lowering springs. All fitted straight on with now issues and seems to handle nice on them, stays well planted and eliminates a lot of body roll whilst still retaining a comfortable ride.

Mk4 Golf seats are a straight fit. No modification needed.

Managed to sort a tidy brake upgrade. After scouring ebay and facebook marketplace, I found a set of Leon Cupra R 4 pot Brembos at a sensible price. After a bit of a clean up and a lick of paint, a nice, easy direct bolt on along with a new set of 323mm discs and new pads. Whilst the brake system was apart, I gave it a full fluid change and it turned out to be the most easy brake bleed I've ever done on a car. All was good with the brake swap apart from the Seat Leon wheels I've been using wouldn't fit back over the larger calipers so that was an excuse to buy more wheels. I wanted something cheap and direct fit without having to mess around with spacers or anything. Also needed to be 17 inch again so that I wouldn't need to buy more tyres. After a bit of research, standard Audi TT 6 spokes would be a good solution. Managed to find a couple of sets reasonably locally so purchases were made. They're not overly pretty, but nothing that can't be sorted with a rattle can. They need a bit of time to bed in, of course, before I really stand on them but straight away it's a vast improvement over the standard 312s.

Another job ticked off the list today, despite it being a track car, it is also used on the road and the distinct lack of a radio was getting irritating. There's only so many times you can listen to vroooom tschhhhhh before it gets a bit samey so I liberated my trusty Kenwood from the loft and now we have tunes Little bit of a faff to get it working as the standard radio wiring has been hacked about with and originally the car came with all the Bose kit so it ended up being easier to just run some new wires from the fuse board under the dash. Anyway, all up and running and journeys that are longer than just nipping down the shops are a bit less lonely now.

Substantial development this week, it's now got an MOT, tax and insurance so I can start driving it around I've done about 120 miles with it over the weekend and it's seemed to have behaved itself apart from one moment where that misfire made an appearance for about 5 seconds. I'm leaning towards an electrical connection somewhere that's causing it but like with all intermittent problems, it'll be hard to pin point as most of the time it works with no issue. New turbo is all working fine and it delivers substantial boost. I'm not sure how accurate my boost gauge is but it does seem to show and hold quite a lot of boost if you floor it from low revs so I'm tending to keep it higher up the rev range if I want to push on with it. It is properly quick though and doesn't need much throttle input to build up pace on the road. I took the woman out in it last night and a full on, everything it's got, launch from a standstill made her tummy feel funny apparently The amount of grip it has with all four wheels digging in is quite impressive. In other news, I managed to find a good condition bonnet, in the correct Avus silver, on ebay yesterday so it now has one decent panel to admire. Just need to aquire a drivers door, wing and probably a boot lid, sort the roof out and then it might not look quite so shabby chic.

The TT has been fairly low down on the list of priorities recently but I installed a replacement refurbished K04 turbo on it last weekend. Fortunately, putting it all back together didn't take anywhere near as long as removal and that included taking off and cleaning out the intercooler and all the pipework, along with dropping the sump and cleaning that out too. Luckily, the oil that came out was still pretty good so it was more just piece of mind that I wouldn't be sending crap through a new turbo. All fitted back up with new gaskets, bolts and crush washers etc. Fresh oil and filter and then I cranked the engine a few times without firing, to make sure the new oil had circulated, before starting and letting it idle for a while. Once up to temperature, I starting putting some revs on it and it all seemed to make the right noises until after a little while, it developed a misfire It would clear itself once it returned to idle and as it was getting dark and cold, I put the tools away and went inside to sulk, confident that the turbo swap was ok but disappointed there was further issues. For good measure, I compression tested the engine this week and that produced good results so that gave me hope that the engine hasn't sustained any internal damage due to the original turbo failure. Had a bit more of an investigation today and the code reader showed a misfire on cylinder 3 so I swapped the coil pack with that of cylinder 1 to see if the misfire would follow it. Had the car running constantly for an hour or so, combination of idling and bouncing it off the limiter and of course, now no misfing So I've swapped the suspect coil pack for a known good spare anyway and I see how it goes. If it's now the coil pack then it could also be possibly be the wiring loom for the packs, as that can be a common issue. Moving stuff around might've given it the jiggle it needed. Either way, it seems to be running so I think the general advice would be to "send it"

I've already got a full driveway with a tidy mk1 Leon PD150 in stock ready for breaking. Appreciate the thought though

So the TT made it's debut at Donington park on Monday. It went pretty well until the turbo let go at the end of the day Nothing that can't be fixed though, turbo is currently off, that took about 6 hours longer than it should've done due to the lower mounting bolt being really difficult to get a decent purchase on and when I did, it sheared off. Anyway, I eventually got the turbo out and discovered that the shaft has nearly 10mm of in/out play and isn't quite as straight as it should be. Luckily though, it hasn't fired anything into the engine. I've dropped the unit off at a local turbo specialist this morning, hopefully it can be rebuilt, but I'll find out once it's been assessed on Monday. Before the issue with the turbo, the car was really good. Properly fast and loads of grip although you do have to be smooth with it. Had a couple of big sideways moments, worst one being through Craner Curves at 100mph. That one focused the mind a bit. I've decided it could definitely do with a brake upgrade. The 312s with Ferodo DS2500 pads were ok and I never ran out of brakes, but they didn't always feel 100% positive so probably best to keep my eye out for a set of Cupra R Brembos. So whilst we wait for news on the turbo, here's a bit of footage from Donington once I'd learned the car and circuit a bit.

Bad times. But if it helps, all my tyres are ok

I've had the car for just over a month now so I suppose an update on progress is due. With it's first track day now just a week away, the key focus has been getting it all together mechanically and making sure everything is safe and working. One of the first missions was to get my set of four point harnesses in which wasn't too hard, I just needed to get a couple of longer eye bolts for the rear as two of the mounting points turned out to be slightly recessed. An unexpected change however was swapping the bucket seats it came with for my Cobra buckets from my old MG. Main reason for the change was the woman prefers the Cobras and if it means she'll have a go at driving it on track, then fine. To be fair, the Cobras are the better seats so she was right. Don't tell her that though. It was a quick job though as the mounting points of the two seats were different and upon closer inspection, I wasn't overly happy with how the existing seats had been mounted so it turned int a full day of re-fabricating and welding good solid mounting points. As it won't just be me driving the car, I needed to keep the seats mounted on sliders so they can still be adjusted. A lot of work but worth it as I'm now happy that the seats are properly mounted and won't cause me any issues. With new cars comes many shopping opportunities so I've been on a bit of a buying spree recently. Lots of service items, and a few upgrades such as Badger 5 oversize TIP, big front mounted intercooler, stainless exhaust system, baffled sump, bits of pipe for a catch can, stage 2 ECU, Haldex service kit and one of those Haldex inserts that Softscoop suggested, phenolic gasket for the inlet manifold, billet injector cups, RamAir induction kit and probably more little bits that I can't remember now. It's been a steady process of most evenings and weekends being spent on working through everything to get it all serviced and get the upgraded parts on. One of the first things I did was bling up the engine up the engine bay a bit by painting my cam cover, inlet manifold and charge pipe. Those who know me on facebook will be aware that I have a habit of painting such items to make a few pennies so it was only right I did a set for myself. Surface prep is key so a go in the dishwasher for a final degreasing is a must. All came out looking pretty nice though as the VHT matt red paint I use is very user friendly. I put the inlet back on along with a phenolic gasket to help reduce the amount of heat transferred from the head and I also fitted a new set of billet injector cups. A crucial job was the cam belt and water pump I've done a cam belt on a 1.8t before so this time didn't take too long. Hardest part is getting the engine mounting bracket out from the space that doesn't really exist It's also had all fluids changed, new oil pick up pipe and I've fitted a baffled sump as I've got experience of taking a 1.8T on track without one and it didn't end well. Forge want £260 for a ready made item, which whilst it is a good quality item, I managed to find just as good an option at a much more reasonable £50. CB Auto do a baffle kit and as my brother works for an engineering company, he was able to tig weld it into a sump pan for me. Well worth the piece of mind that the engine isn't going to be starved of oil during those long sweeping bends on race circuits. The car came with a 3 inch decat downpipe already installed but it still had the standard cat back system which has quite a restrictive looking flattened part where it goes under the rear axle. I kept my eye out for a stainless system at a decent price and luckily found one on Ebay for £100 and as a bonus it was located about 15 minutes from where I was working at the time. Most exhausts available were all centre or back box deletes which didn't really interest me as I didn't want anything loud that would potentially cause me issues with noise tests at circuits. The one I found is ideal as it really isn't a lot louder than standard but is much more free flowing. It was also a direct fit so bolted straight on with no hassle. The front mounted intercooler was also another Ebay find and a really easy fit as, along with the pipework, it's designed specifically for the car so mounted straight on and the bumper fits back over without needing to hack anything off it. With the bumper back on, I figured a little more airflow couldn't hurt so I got the hole saw out and made some holes across the front where the number plate used to live. Next important job, which I didn't get any pictures of, was serviceing the rear Haldex system. A fiddly job as access is tight and the special spanner I purchased to change the filter was an absolute must. The oil is easy enough to change, just a case of suirting it in through the hole and put the plug back in quickly. I fitted the insert I mentioned earlier and now it's in, it's staying in as it's tricky to get to. It's very very small so I really hope it was worth the £76 it cost One of the jobs that needed doing, so that it can get an MOT in a couple of weeks time, was to replace the front cv boots as they were both split. What should have been an easy job, I've done plenty in the past on various vehicle, ultimately turned into a massive pain in the winkle as the cv joints just would not come off for love nor money. Had to resort to the angle grinder. It didn't really help though as the new cv joints I had then wouldn't fit the shafts. Upon closer inspection, the shafts were infact some non genuine replacements. Disappointing but easily resolved by sourcing a pair of genuine, good condition used shafts. Getting close to being ready to use now so today I just did a quick little task of relocating the front number plate. Obviously I can't use a normal one now as it'll block off the holes I made for the intercooler, so I've gone for a square plate tucked off to the left hand side. I don't want any issues with the law so I've had one made with the legal font and size. Tomorrow's job is fit my uprated fuel pump and I've got a boost gauge to mount somewhere aswell. Then, it'll be a case of put it on the trailer next weekend and hope it all holds together when I drive it for the first time at Donnington Park. As long as it doesn't blow up, I can then get it MOT'd whilst I have a week off work and then maybe start looking at tidying up the cosmetic issues.

Looks interesting that does. Might have to do a buy

No idea. I did give it a full launch when I was test driving and it did seem to dig in and leave the shovel like the proverbial so I'm assuming its working

Because wraps are for girls, real men use rattle cans There is a button for it and if that fails there's a fuse which can come out.

Greetings, Those that know me, or know of me, will know that as long as my Octavia, I also have a MG ZS to play with. Well, as fun as the MG has been, I've been hankering after something with a bit more grunt so I can go faster on track days. After much thought, I decided a good prospect would be a MK1 Audi TT. Cheap to buy at the moment, quick and good handling out of the box and good availability of parts and bolt on upgrades. I started to keep an eye out for a decent TT with the intent of preparing and upgrading it for track work. Had my eye on a couple but then stumbled upon one that has already been prepared to pretty much the spec I was aiming at. It was a long way away, 300 mile round trip, but it wasn't something I could pass up on so I arranged a viewing, hitched up my trailer and went and had a look. It needs some attention to the paintwork but underneath and mechanically it's good so a deal was done. It's a 225 BAM engined Quattro. It's stripped out, lowered, has bucket seats, decat, a new set of track rubber on and its been mapped so should be over 250bhp as it sits. Certainly pulls well. Plan is to go right through it and sort anything that needs attention as I'll be looking to push it hard on track. I started taking bits off the engine this afternoon. All the pcv hoses are past their best so I'm going to replace the whole lot with a catch can set up. I even managed to make a split in the turbo intake pipe as the oily stuff from the pcv system had caused it to rot. No bother, as high on my list of upgrades was a Badger 5 oversize TIP anyway. Whilst the inlet manifold was off, I've cleaned it right up and will be painting it a nice matt red colour with VHT paint along with a replacement cam cover so it'll look a bit nicer under the bonnet. Along with the new intake, I've also ordered a Newsouth Power Gasket, to help reduce heat transfer between the head and the mani and whilst I was on a shopping spree, I've also ordered a nice set of billet injector cups. So whilst I await all the parts I've ordered the engine bay is currently looking like this: Once I've got it all back together, I'll be giving it a full service along with dropping the sump to change the pickup pipe and I'll stick a fresh cambelt and water pump on it. Once I'm happy with the mechanicals, I'll have a look at the cosmetics as like I said earlier, the paint work isn't the best. The roof needs sanding and repainting ideally and also the driver's side has a different silver door so I'll keep my eye out for one in the correct colour. I've got a track day at Donnington booked in 6 weeks time so I'd like to have it all sorted a bit before that so I can MOT it and drive it a bit before hand. No pressure

Obviously you've probably had this sorted by the garage by now, but for future, undo the driveshaft, trackrod end, arb link and the two bolts holding the wishbone into the subframe and it'll drop right out. If you wanted to leave the wishbone in situ you could alternatively undo the 3 bolts holding the bottom ball joint onto it, but then you'll upset your camber adjustment and also the tracking could be affected, hence why I favour the wishbone right out method.