Darren260403

Thanks people... At least i know what needs to be done now! Mansfield is a bit of a treck from where i live but will see if i can do it all the same! 23rd Feb as in next tue yes?

Thanks for your advice people... Am still not sure what i should do? The latest maps are what's most important to me but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't at all bothered about any of the other improvements a firmware update would give the unit? Last question i promise.. Is there any detailed threads on exactly how to create a firmware upgrade cd/dvd or even better, would any members be interested in doing the update for me? I would of course willingly pay for their time & help? Would much rather someone did it that knew what they were doing rather than myself who knows sweet FA about it? lol... Thanks again...... :yes:

Thanks for replying... So the latest version 6.1 only updates the maps, not the operating system at all... Do you or anyone else know if firmware cd's are available to buy? Prob seems like a stupid question to ask but i'm not particularly computer literate & would not trust my own competence to create/download & install a cd of my own? Would i be right in assuming that downloading version 6.1 navigation dvd wouldn't have any detrimental impacts on the current firmware installed? Apologies again for my sad lack of knowledge in this area & thanks to all who advise!!!!!

Hi people, not been on here for a while but need some advice please.... I'm looking to upgrade my V3 maps on my Columbus unit with the latest V6 maps etc... My question is, if i purchase an official V6 map dvd (Skoda) will it also update my firmware as well? I bought the unit from VRStu & have had no problems with it at all? Am just looking for more up to date maps really but it would be cool to see what other improvements have been made to the navigating experience? I bought the bluetooth kit from Stu as well & it works perfectly with the unit as is... Just wanna make sure i'm not gonna regret updating it really? Any help, thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Regards.... :yes:

Will hook out the details buddy & get back to you on it... I know you can get a fairly decent r/o system for a couple of hundred quid, quite a bit of an initial outlay but the resin lasts ages & when you think about all the other things it can be used for i think it is a good investment....

Also ideal for iron water, drinking water, car batteries etc etc & if you make a cup of tea/coffee with it the taste is undeniably better! IMO i will add...

If you can afford it i can't recommend an R/O kit (reverse osmosis) water filtration unit highly enough... Bought mine a few months ago & there's just no comparison compared to the normal hard, chalky, calcium etc etc stuff found in most tap water? Drops the PH levels too & even AG shampoo conditioner foams up well when using it! Black Range Rover on a hot day never used to be my idea of fun but now i dont even have to dry it after washing because all the impurities in the water have been removed allowing for a spot free finish...

I have got a Mytee hot water extraction carpet & upholstery cleaning machine that cost £1700 which i use most of the time, i have also got a Numatic wet/dry machine as well as Henry's etc... Comment was made because a lot of people have a Henry vacuum cleaner so it's a lot cheaper than going out & buying something you may only use now & then, than use something a lot of people have already got? Been valeting/detailing for over 5 yrs now & the Henry's work really well not just for vacuuming but upholstery too!!!!

If you haven't got a wet /dry cleaner a Henry unit makes an excellent alternative! As long as you remove the paper filter (of course) & don't absolutely drench the seats in fabric cleaner it is more than capable of sucking up all the dirt & water in a 5 seater car! I use Autoglym super interior cleaner & have had no problems with it leaving any marks or sticky residue that some cleaners leave, it also deodorizes the fabric too!

Unless i am blind i can't see on any of the posts what colour your car is? If you aren't too fussed about the ultimate wet look finish you will find that a decent wax (like collinite or high def wax) will be much more durable! General rule of thumb is "The wetter the look, the less durable it will be" Wet look glazes look wet because they usually are wet, the downside is that they usually don't last as long? I don't know if Baker has found this at all but i think you can put too much wax on a car? There really seems to be no point in re-applying wax too often or spreading it on like butter as it (IMHO) will be a complete waste of time & product? A thin layer applied correctly will look better too, apart from being easier to buff off, you will notice less of a smeary reflection which is caused by too much product? Am very happy with the durability & shine of my vRS & now i've got it protected to a standard i am happy with i can pretty much do a touchless wash on it all of the time! Above is just my opinion...... Regards....

It's not the silicone blades that do the damage? It's the grit that does! The whole idea of the blade was just to get the initial sheet of water off the car, using the minimum amount of pressure to take the water off! Great on windscreens, windows etc but unless the car has been thoroughly washed, rinsed etc there is always the danger that some grit will remain on the car? Another thing worth noting is that a lot of the local "wash for a fiver" centres dont rinse the blade out after every swipe? I think if the wash process has been done correctly & the blade rinsed after every stroke AND mimimal pressure is used on the paintwork itself, it can definately speed up the drying process & can help to prevent water marks etc! The idea is to get rid of most of the water, not all of it? If the blade screetches as you run it along the paintwork you are either pressing too hard or that panel is already sufficiently dry to MF or chamois! Personally..... I wouldnt use one as the damage that can be caused doesn't really merit the possible time saved to dry the car properly anyway? Also, there seems to be a huge difference in the flexibility & quality in blades?? Question you gotta ask yourself is... Is it worth the risk??? Personally i think not!

Even if i wasn't in the valeting/detailing business there is absolutely no way i would take my car to any of them????? If i had an old banger then maybe i'd consider it, if the car was worthless & meant nothing to me i mean? I saw an Aston Martin queing up for a car wash the other day.... £90+K car???? Felt it my duty to stop & plead with the owner not to do it? Fortunately he saw sense & has now booked me in for an initial assesment followed by remedial work to rectify the damage that was already evident! He honestly thought he was doing the right thing by getting it washed in the local petrol station? :confused:

Cheers people, am gonna give one of the scuffed wheels to a guy i know who has said that for £50 per wheel he can get the alloy to a standard nobody would ever know damage had been done? Am happy to risk £50 to see what the end result would be, and if it looks as good as he says he can get it & the colour match is pretty close to an original i will then set about getting the others done! Thanks again everyone....

Very sneaky but i like it!!!!! Am wondering just how much difference we could be talking? If it's a case of having to put an original alloy right next to a refurbed one to be able to see a slight difference, i'd definately go for it!

Definately worth thinking about mate yes! Just waiting to see what any other members opinions may be on the refurb issue? Seemed like a good idea at the time as there isn't too many Octys around with those wheels? Love the look of them, just didn't realise the colour would be an issue?:confused:

Hi all, having just bought 2 new B14 alloys from my local dealer at a cost of £190 each, i was wondering if any of you have had any refurbs done on these kind of wheels before? I have spoken to a couple of local wheel refurb companies & both have said they cannot guarantee they can match "exactly" the colour of the original alloys? They were an optional upgrade when new & IMHO look amazing but because they have a gunmetal kind of finish it is much harder to match than the usual silver colour of most alloys! I can't afford to replace them everytime myself or SWMBO clips a kerb (not that it happens very often?) so do you guys/gals have any info or contacts etc that could save me a lot of money in the not so distant future? Many thanks in advance....

Just a word of thought, Autoglym shampoo/conditioner can be used like snow foam if you have the proper foam producing lance/accessory & from my experience i have found it to be a better alternative to using high foaming TFR (traffic film remover) as with most TFR's you really must dilute it properly or you can get run marks that are difficult to remove! I've seen quite a few cars who's owners have gotten hold of some form of TFR but don't dilute it properly & IMO it's better just to use a foaming shampoo to be on the safe side! If this was a site dedicated for articulated lorries etc i'd definately recommend TFR (high foaming etc) but in most cases the members cars on this website will be to a standard that just doesn't require it! If i'm honest i really only use TFR to soak into the bugs/flies on the front bumper & down both sides below the trim line prior to washing! As for Aquawax, my findings are that it's fine as a "quick fix" wax & does contain a certain amount of carnauba but IMO anything that allows you to apply it to a wet car really isn't going to be very durable & for that reason i'd probably not recommend it "in this case" as the frequency you mention when it comes to waxing/polishing your car outweights any benefits you'd get from using it! Like one of the last posts says... Many people make the mistake of waxing/polishing their car & immediately buffing it all off! If it's a decent wax/polish you should be able to leave it on the car for hours "direct sunlight is an exception to this rule" before buffing it to a deep lustre & shine! Just to add that if i were you & enjoyed "topping up" your polishes etc i would recommend Autoglym superglym polish!!! it's thin enough to use as a spray on polish, doesn't produce hardly any white powder/dust, is really easy to apply & buff & leaves a really good finish IMO. It's a trade polish but fairly easy to get hold of all the same! I'll bring some to the next meet along with a few other product if you like & then anyone there can see for themselves what different finishes can be acheived! Hope this helps & to reiterate that the above is "just my opinion" Regards......

I'm with you on this one Baker21, i've had many a call to re-apply Lifeshine after a car has been repaired after an accident (claimed on insurance of course) & have been amazed at the amount of times i've looked over the car to find little evidence of a proper job having been done? I'm not talking about older cars too which would of course degraded after time but sometime 57plate & recently an 08 plate that had clearly not been prepaired properly prior to treatment? It's because of these shoddy jobs that i think a lot of negative feedback is aimed at protective coatings (Diamondbrite, Supagard, Lifeshine, Silverseal etc) IMHO if these treatments are applied to a fully prepared car & taken time over, then the cost is "maybe" a little easier to swallow! Although i still think main dealers are more than a little steep with their pricing!!!! Just my opinion!

1. 2. StuartJ (Dependant on Sun) 3. cheezemonkhai - Maybe 4. apd007 - Maybe 5. Stu 6. Chris 7. Goacha 8. Southpaw + soon to be Mrs Southpaw (wedding disasters permitting) 9. Jonny5ive + 5 :eek: (SWMBO and The Old Devils of CZ Fame) 10. devonutopia in mongrel power 11. Tigger and Paige - (maybe) 12. Hedge (not superstitious honest.) 13. Octygone plus one.......maybe more to follow 14. Darren260403 (hopefully)

Like most of us i guess, it only goes wrong once you get home????

Am not contesting that there are better products out there? Am not saying that AG are the best either? Just that you could do worse!!!! :confused:

IMHO you could do a lot worse than AG!

Another thanks to Stu for the bluetooth kit he installed for me yesterday! Absolutely fantastic! Coupled with the Columbus sat nav it's an absolute dream to use!!!!!

Stu very kindly fitted mine in a couple of weeks ago & put the premium bluetooth kit in yesterday for me.... Thanks fella!!! IMHO the sound is definately better than the MFD2 unit i had before although even the MFD2 was decent enough. The map display on the other hand is a world apart! This thing even tells you which lane to get in when on the motorway etc! It automatically re-routes if traffic jams are detected en-route & gives 3 different routes options at the start of every trip so you can choose whichever you like! The DVD picture quality & sound is again "out of this world" The bluetooth kit compliments the Columbus very very well! All functionality inc making/receiving calls, missed calls, call lists, history, on hold & full phonebook are displayed on the unit too & is an absolute doddle to use! You can even have the your phone's ringtone played through the car speakers if you want before you answer the call! If you have Maxidot all the info that appears on the Columbus also appears on that & with just a couple of presses you can do pretty much anything! The in-call quality is IMO very good too & crystal clear!!!! As you can tell i'm mighty impressed (at a cost of course).