niceyellow vrs

Yep, both my Octavia and the MG made about the right gains over their last runs considering the upgrades they've had and the numbers relate to how they feel to drive. If they were 20 - 30hp down that'd put the MG at around 170 and the Octavia at around 250 which they definitely ain't. I'm happy, my gains show my efforts haven't been wasted and I've got the cars running well.

Needs nothing. Out of my two cars, this and the MK1 Octavia with a turbo, the NA revvy k series is the most exciting to drive and more than capable of holding it's own with a decent driver behind the wheel 🏎️ Home now after a good morning out. Thanks to Tony for organising and thanks to Jim, Keith and Kate at JKM for, as always, their frindly and efficient service. I brought both the MG and the Skoda down for a run on the dyno as I've made changes to both cars since they last went on. MG is now running a remapped ecu and whilst the peak hp has only increased by 5.4, it's given decent gains in power and torque across the rev range which is reflected in it's driveability. It's certainly lively for 148hp 😄 The Skoda I'm also rather pleased with. The addition of a 3 inch downpipe with decat and a FMIC has seen a 10hp increase but more importantly, around 30ftlb of mid range torque. Today's graphs along with my graphs from their previous runs. Next time, we plan to bring Helen's totally stock Astra SRi CDTi 😃 Ne

Need to leave at 7am. That's a lie in for me but for her it's apparently very unreasonable.

I'm still coming in both cars, MG ZS and ml1 Octavia VRS. The Mrs isn't happy about the early start, but that's her problem 😂

I'm sure they'll be a few like me on here who like work on their car themselves, so must have a garage full of useful tools, but what's your favourite? Mine is my recently aquired Clarke 3hp, 100 litre, air compressor. My little stanley 24 litre unit was alright for when I'm changing tyres and stuff but wasn't man enough to keep my air impact wrench going when I exercise my habit of stripping cars for parts. So, what's lurking in your garage?

Makes no odds to me, crack on.

If reckon if I add together the power both my MG ZS and Octavia put down, it should be a half respectable number 😁

You did well getting 9000 miles out of a Techniclutch, they usually struggle to do 9 miles.

I doubt the two issues are related as a quick Google shows that P1396 relates to the engine speed sensor. P1396 Engine Speed Sensor Missing Tooth

Haven't updated this for a while, mainly because I haven't had to do much to the car apart from drive it. Talking of driving, I took it on holiday to the North of Scotland last month. 1700 miles in a week and apart from the ABS light coming on, (which has now resolved itself by ignoring it 🤣) it didn't miss a beat. More recently, it's had a bit of maintenance and a couple of upgrades. I broke another VRS for parts and one of the bits I kept for myself was a 3 inch downpipe with decat. Nice easy upgrade and for free so even better. Greta is not overly impressed, but she has anger issues anyway. Over the christmas break, I've had a bit of time on my hands so I replaced the two dodgy door lock mechanisms, again using free parts from my breaker. I also found the time to finally fit the front mounted intercooler and custom pipework that I aquired when my mate broke his Octavia. It's all been sitting in my garage for months. The pipes came in a mix of chrome and dodgy blue so I bought some high temp red paint for better colour coding. With it being a custom made setup, it all slotted together without much agro. I'd even kept the front panel off my mates car which already had the mounts for the cooler fabricated on. Cat was impressed. Whilst the bumper was off, I fitted a set of air horns. The standard horns had to come off to make way for the pipework anyway. Just a couple of small trims to the back of the bumper to stop it hitting the pipework, but it all goes back on without any external changes, definitely didn't want that half arsed pipes hanging out look. Whilst I was in Scotland, the very dark, wet, twisty roads really highlighted how poor the headlights are. I've been holding off adding extra lights, as I was worried it might spoil the look of the car, but not being able to see properly at night has been getting dangerous so I've fitted my Hella Comet 500 spotlights that I had in the garage. Fabricated some brakets from some good thick bits of metal from an old tow bar and got them mounted on. Now they're on, I think they actually really suit the car. All wired up properly with switch, relay and triggered with the main beam, I can now see at night 😁 Final job last night was to give the rear brakes a bit of a clean up as they were getting a bit sticky. Pads out, cleaned and re-greased along with the caliper sliders too, everything moves freely again. Think that's it for now.

Currently either of the new dates work for me. Might bring the Skoda aswell as the MG down, if I can convince the woman to get up early enough and drive the second car for me, as both have changed slightly since their last runs on the dyno.

I shall pm you.

*awaits the sad "my new car is broken" posts on Facebook 🤣

Ordered a print of this one to go on the wall 🙂

Bugger. On the 9th November I'll be travelling up to Scotland and on the 16th November I'll be travelling home from Scotand. I'll have to catch the next one.

Took him like a King...

Autosolos are pretty easy to follow as generally the cones will be numbered and there is a smaller yellow cone on it's side at the base of the larger cone which acts as an arrow telling you which side of the cone to go past. Everyone also has to walk the course before driving so you get an idea of where to go. Autotests are a bit harder, no numbers or directional cones so they're a test of memory as well as driving skill. The grass autotest I did last week was a simple one which is just as well because I'm not too good at short term memory stuff. I've seen diagrams for the more serious autotests and there's very good reasons why I won't entertain such events.

Something must've changed since I fitted B4's to my VRS last year. They were a direct replacement for the factory stuff and I only paid £190 delivered for the full set.

Not much to report recently, the car is proving to be far too reliable 🤣 Couple of good results however. Entered Oxford Motor Club's grass Autotest last month and managed a 1st overall win. I'm not usually that great on grass but I took some advice reguarding tyre pressures from a friend and it seemed to work rather well. I entered Witney Motor Club's grass Autotest today, implemented the same setup and managed another 1st Overall. Perhaps grass is my forte afterall. Some footage from today

Still got a few things left, if anyone wants anything, be quick because what doesn't go this week will be going in the skip to make space in my garage.

My thoughts exactly. To be fair, the track day was quite expensive at Rockingham so I certainly didn't want to lose any track time by walking around a car park full of cars. Blyton worked really well for a track meet as it had a more central feel because you could walk around and socialise aswell as watch/take part in the track day without any seperation.

PM'd

I've got a few bits and pieces left from breaking an 05 plate corrida red Fabia VRS that had covered 130k miles. Need the garage space back so everything is just £5 per item. I can post most things at your cost but if it's too large or heavy then it's collection only. Collection only items are listed as such. I'm not able to wait around for couriers unfortunately due to the nature of my employment so if it's collection only, it's collection only. All items located in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. I've only got what's on the list below, so if it's not listed, I don't have it. No dibs or saving til payday. First to put money in my hands gets the items. Any questions or if you want better photos of specific items, please ask. Engine mounts (left and right) Door, boot, engine bay seals N/S Face lift rear light cluster with bulbs Rear wiper arm Heater controls Headlight switch Handbrake Rear seats (need a wet vac) - collection only Front Brake calipers (would be worth rebuilding) ABS unit Coolant bottle Standard air box ASR and heated screen switches Clutch and brake light switches MAF Front tweeters Stalks (non cruise control) N/S/F fog light Spoiler (paint faded but should polish up fine or you could respray) Front and rear crash bars Slam panel Front panel with radiator and fans (No aircon rad) - collection only. O/S Drive shaft (both needs new boot)

So last weekend we did the walk and ultimately ended up doing pretty well. 2250 people started the walk and although not a race, you are timed around the route and our time of 9 hours, 18 minutes and 4 seconds placed my brother and I 157th and 158th overall. Not bad at all considering neither of us felt we had trained fully. We maintained a comfortable pace and we we're quite surprised that we were only overtaken by literally no ore than 10 people all day whilst we passed hundreds. The terrain was very challenging in places, especially on the second section where a huge ascent and subsiquent descent saw a lot of people struggling. It's still not too late to make a donation, anything you can spare for such a great charity would be very much appreciated. www.justgiving.com/haydnmarks2019

Greetings, I have for sale an 02m 6 speed gearbox, removed from an 05 plate Skoda Fabia VRS that had covered 130k miles. It has the HDS gear set so is the shorter ratio box. It was fully working with no issues when removed but is of course sold as seen. £125 Collection only from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.