niceyellow vrs

Greetings, My Dad has my old Octavia VRS which kind of means I'm his personal mechanic when something breaks This week the aircon has stopped working. Upon a quick glance over, when the aircon is requested via the climatronic unit the fans and aircon pump clutch are all kicking in as expected but no chilly air. He's has had the gas checked and topped up but it hadn't lost very much in 17 years so low juice is unlikely. The garage he took it to are suspecting the pressure switch but I'm dubious as if the switch was faulty and thought there wasn't enough pressure then surely it would stop the fans and pump clutch kicking in? I'm leaning towards flap motor. Any thoughts?

Just two weeks to go now and we really could do with a few more donations, doesn't have to be a lot, every little helps and it's such a great cause. Many thanks.

Very much so.

A little bit more zoom added this week. I was going to send my ECU off to Kmaps at some point for a remap but one popped up on Facebook marketplace already done so I was able to save myself a fair few pennies. As it's already unlocked, so no need to get it coded to my alarm/immobiliser, a simple plug and play. Supposedly a few more bhp but I'll have to wait until the next time it goes on the rollers to confirm that. There's definitely a very noticable increase in low down torque and the raised rev limit from 7250 to 7500rpm should come in handy on Autosolos where I'm finding quite a lot of the time I have to decide whether it's worth going into second or just bounce it off the limiter in first for a bit. This map also has the added "pops and crackles" option so it makes cool noises when you lift off over about 3500rpm 😎

Less than two months away now and very much looking forward to it. Accomedation all booked and training going fine, plenty of walking to maintain the fitness level. Just need a few more pennies in the sponsorship pot. Please donate at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/haydnmarks2019 Many thanks

Colour co-ordination is very important, even my Sparco race boots are blue

Two Autosolos in two weeks and two class wins for the MG. That new steering rack has absolutely transformed the car, it turns in so well and I'm getting properly competitive again. Even Helen has dramatically improved as the better turning ability has giving her a much better confidence in the car. The first autosolo got off to a bad start when being in the first group out on the first test meant damp runs with limited grip and then the throttle cable snapped at the end of the second run. A quick bodge with an electrical crimp connector and some cable ties saw us still in the game but an overshoot on the third run left me 9 seconds off the class lead. It was dry for the second test so I was able to pull back all that lost time and I was just 0.7 seconds off the class lead. Test 3 then put me 2 seconds clear and I held that through the final test to take the class win. Helen was also flying despite a slight off involving a bit of signage Anyway, the cable bodge held for the rest of the day and got us home. Today was another Autosolo at Cheltenham Racecourse and we were absolutely on it. Car was perfect and I was seriously impressed with how quick Helen was going. She's actually pushing so hard now that from the passenger seat, I'm not sure we're always going to make it, but then we always did. Some videos from today:

So amongst all the other jobs I've been doing on my week off this week, I found time to sort a couple of bits on the MG. First up was fit my new steering rack to get rid of the comedy turning circle. Got a refurbished rack from a Rover 45, which whilst it adds a turn going from lock to lock, it gives more lock, taking a metre off the turning circle which is ultimately more important to me. Whilst putting it all back together, it turned out that the squib ring behind the wheel wasn't centred so the extra turn broke it. No matter, quick trip to the scrap yard the next morning for a replacement. Whilst I was there, I managed to pick up a tidy leather wheel as an upgrade for the plastic one the car came with. Feels much nicer and not having to do 3 point turns to getting into parking spaces is a massive improvement. Also, whilst I was just about to leave the scrap yard, I found a TT strut brace for my Octavia. Win. Another little job this week was fit my bigger spot lights. Managed to pick up a cheap set of Hella 1000 lamps off eBay and I'd forgotten how much better than the smaller Comet 500s they are. I've just got to try not to break them.

Picked up an Autosolo class win at the weekend, despite a slight off Car running really well and providing plenty of enjoyment. kemble off.mp4

Thanks Lee, much appreciated mate.

Greetings, My brother and I have taken part in the Shine Walk in London for a few years in aid of Cancer Research UK but this year we fancied a change and a slightly tougher challenge so in July we shall be heading north to participate in the Lake District Mighty Hike in order to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The Lake District is a bit more hilly than the streets of central London so 26.2 miles of up and down should provide that extra challenge we're after. Ultimately though, we want to raise as much money as we can for a great cause and we'd really appreciate the support from the Briskoda community. Please, if you can, take a minute to visit my just giving page and leave a donation, it'd be very much appreciated and would really help to spur us on. Many thanks. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/haydnmarks2019

Few scratches, as per pictures.

Absolute last chance on the last few parts on the list. Whatever's left will be going to the tip tomorrow lunchtime.

Stuff is going, be quick if you want anything as it'll only be available until the weekend. Come on, everything just £5 per item!

First post updated with what's left. Everything is a fiver!

I'll be doing an updated list of what's left in a little while as I'm down to the last few bits now.

Already gone, sorry.

Since the last update I've done two track days at Blyton Park, put the bucket seats and harnesses in and finally got the brakes sorted. The first Blyton track day was at the end of December and I took my brother with me as he'd never done a track day before and by the end of the day he was really getting to grips with the car and was overtaking the stuff that was overtaking him in the morning. Car behaved itself all day apart from a slightly inconsistant brake pedal. The brakes always worked, just sometimes you had to push a bit harder. We both had a proper enjoyable day and did my usual of being one of the quickest cars out there despite it being one of the lowered powered Got stuck behind a ****ting Peugeot for a bit who really didn't want to let us past. After that track day, I found some time and turned my attention to fitting the bucket seats and harnesses that have been taking up space in my half built dining room. Frames fabricated and all bolted together and in it all went. Drivers side is on a sliding mount so my munchkin of a girlfriend can still reach the pedals when she drives it and the passenger side fixed in one position. Much nicer being held in the car so you can focus more on the driving rather than not falling out of the standard seats. The end of last month saw a last minute decision to go back to Blyton again. A combination of seeing a cheap track day advertised for the weekend I had the company car trailer on my drive and me being at a loose end as the woman had buggered off to her mate's house in Dorset, meant it would have been rude to pass up the opportunity for a bit of playtime. Went along on my own this time and had a great time, despite not getting of track until 12.30 due to thick fog not lifting in the morning. Being as we lost the morning, I decided to utilise the afternoon as best I could so I only had a few short breaks and for the last stint I stayed out on track for over 40 minutes straight. I figured that I would either see the chequered flag, run out of fuel or run out of brakes. Obviously, it was the latter I was pushing hard though. Once again, the car lapped it all up but I still wasn't fully happy with the brakes. Again, they worked, but the pedal was still longer than I liked and the bite was very inconsistant. I've been doing some research and finally solved the problem. By putting the larger brakes on from the ZR160, longer pedal travel is a side effect due to the larger caliper pistons requiring more fluid movement to operate. The solution has come from fitting a larger 1 inch master cylinder and appropriate servo from a Honda Prelude. You can also fit servos and master cylinders from EK9 Civics but they come at twice the price for the same thing due to the Civic tax. Anyway, direct bolt in upgrade and the brakes are now spot on. Nice short, consistent bite from the pedal First round of the Autosolo Championship starts next weekend and the car is where I want it to be hopefully on for a decent result.

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@Wench I have pm'd you.

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Monies received, thank you. I'll box them up and drop them off to the courier now. Many thanks, Haydn

Cool. PayPal to [email protected] please and I'll get them boxed up and on their way. Cheers, Haydn

Hi, The pair of rear lights posted will be £25 all in. Let me know if that's ok for you and we can sort out payment details. Many thanks, Haydn

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