vrs180

I now how you feel, I spent 5 months trying to find the right 18" wheel to replace the spiders without spoiling the OEM look of the car and another 5 months after I'd bought them trying to decide if I'd done the right thing. 12 months later I'm really happy with my choice of wheel and would never ever go back to the std 17" spiders (which are now on the wifes vRS SE). IMO the 17" spiders are just too small for the car by todays stds and more than anything else really date the car....hell, I've even seen a humble fucus zetec with 18" alloys fitted. The only slight down side is as you mention you will almost certainly add weight to the car, in my case changing from 7x17" spiders with 205/50 17 tyres to 8x18" wheels with 225/40 18" tyres added 3kgs over and above the 19.2kgs the spiders/tyres weighed in at. On the road I cant feel the extra weight at all and it does'nt seem to have made any difference to the way the car performs or the ammount of fuel it consumes....it still goes like $hit of a stick and drinks V power. If you are ever over Guisborough way and if it would help you decide what to do, I'd be happy to let you have a look at my black octy vrs with 18s fitted. Bill.

Two weeks ago I put 205 45 16 goodyear ultra grip gw3 tyres (front and back) on my sons fabia vrs and the wifes SE. So far we have had no snow but lots of rain, frost and a bit of ice to test them on and they seem very very good. They are also very quite and comfortable at any (UK legal) speeds, unlike the 205 40 17 Avon summer tyres that are normally on both cars. Bill.

The new earth leads have been modified and are a big improvement over the originals. About 8 months ago we were having all sorts of electrical problems with the wifes 06 fabia vRS (which is now my son's car), and they were all cured by replacing the main battery to inner wing earth lead. The original lead always tested OK (ie zero resistance) when the car had been stood for a period of time but would show a increasing resistance the more electrical load was placed upon it, and at the same time would get quite warm to the touch. Next year when I service the wifes 07 SE I'm going to change the earth lead to the new modified type in a hope to prevent future electrical problems. Bill.

You may find that the MAP sensor wires would prove to be be a much more professional and reliable job if they were soldered together and insulated with shrink sleeve. Bill.

I've got a Pro Alloy FMIC on my octy vRS that I fitted myself a few years ago. At the time I fitted it I took loads of pics cos it was a bit of a pain to get right (comes supplied without fitting instructions), but I must have deleted all but two of them doh. Mine needed extra brks and spacers to fit which I made myself, and the (top) outlet pipe caught on the crash bar so the crash bar needed to be cut. The height you mount the cooler on the crash bar is critical, if you get it too high or too low (even by only a couple of mm) the bumper wont refit, it'll catch on the (bottom) inlet pipe. If you ring Pro Alloy they will E mail you some pics of an FMIC they fitted to a red vRS and that will give you some idea where you need to drill the holes in the crash bar. I made an additional brkt to support front of the pancake pipe and fitted extra clamps to control the movement of the boost pipes under full boost ( I found the pipes pro alloy supplied expanded and their pre formed shape altered by an alarming amount when they were subjected to 21 psi). Bill.

I noticed the core has an uneven number of bars ie 15... so you will need to ensure its fitted the right way up re inlet and outlet orientation. Suppose the makers intended to run with 8 bars on the inlet side and 7 on the outlet side.....otherwise it might not make the 450bhp they claim it can handle lol. Nice bracket Bill.

For info; provided the turbo oil drain pipe is free from blockages/restrictions, the turbo shaft seals will not pass oil when the turbo is making boost (or as you put it "when the turbo kicks in"). The reason for this is when the turbo is making boost the bearing/seal housing is under pressure from both sides ie; the compressor side and the exhaust turbine side, and during such conditions the main function of the shaft seals is to prevent pressurized intake air and pressurized exhaust gases from entering the bearing housing. However, the turbo shaft seals can and do leak/pass oil, but this is when the oil pressure is greater than the compressor and turbine housing pressure, such as in closed throttle situations. Befor you condem the turbo shaft seals as the source of the smoke, check the emissions system and PCV valve, chances are at 100K its chocked up with carbon etc. PS. at work I've rebuilt a number of Holset turbo's but not for a very long time (prob 25 years since I did the last one), and would agree with what the others have said about not doing it yourself. All it takes is one tiny scratch in the bushing or a tiny imbalance along the shaft and the turbo will self destruct in seconds. Bill.

A garage really did that lol, any half decent mechanic should know that if the piston crowns have been damaged/indented by bits of turbo compressor wheel then the pistons should have been replaced, end of....and failure to do so will always lead to an imbalance in the combustion chamber volumes between the cylinders. Combustion chamber volume (also known as clearance volume or compression volume) is the combustion area above the piston crown when it is @ TDC. Any damage to the outer edges of the piston crowns above the piston ring belt, can also jam the top piston ring. Also, did the garage check the piston heights @ TDC to confirm the con rods were'nt bent ???? And has the intercooler core and catalytic converter core been check for debris ???? Bill.

When changing from the std spec bushes, the new uprated Skoda "X" style console bushes alter the tracking by a little over 30 mins toe in (1/2 a degree) each side. The reason for this is the new bushes have a 3mm (approx) offset which the original spec bushes did'nt have. Here's a pic (offset in direction of arrow).

Well lets see if I can do a little better with this one then ??? I have re-read all your comments in this post and have got to hand it to you.... you can Bull $hit until the cows come home, in fact I'd say you are one of the very very best on here The comments and answere's you have made refrence this unapproved brake kit, and also comparisons you have made to the size of the brake disc's fitted other vehicles braking systems proves you have little or no automotive engineering ability, and no nothing about testing and certification of safety critical vehicle components and systems. My advice to you is, dont mess with things you know nothing about and put your own and other road users safety at risk. My advice to anyone reading this is, keep safe do not buy into the OP's Bull $hit driven approach to engineering, at least not for use on the public road. Bill.

Sorry, but you are so very very wrong, you can't just increase brake torque without also increasing brake force. Increasing a brake disc dia without compensating by reducing brake fluid pressure or brake caliper piston size will increase actual brake force applied to the wheel. Its comes down to a simple calculation;- Torque (or moment of force) = Force x distance (F1 x a) In addition, all vehicle braking systems are subject to type approval and should not be altered using non approved parts without knowing the full implications of what the effect/s there will be to the vehicles overall braking balance, performance and functioning/balance of the ABS system. IMO anyone who carries out this idiotic mod will (in the event of an accident) most prob find out there insurance is void. Bill.

You can just buy the bushes. They are the new/modified "X" type bushes, part No 1K0407183E. Bill.

Depending on what the actual ET is ??? they would require 13mm or 15mm spacers to bring them back to ET38. And longer wheel bolts with the correct bolt head fitment to suit the Subaru rim. Bill.

TPS sell them for £1.96p. I just fitted one this morning to the wifes 07 vRS SE. Bill.

If your on a standard time/distance service interval then your defo OK because SHC 5W/40 is a correct spec oil for a PD engine. However, if you are on a longlife (variable) service interval, then dont let the oil go beyond 10,000 miles. Bill.

Re "re-mapping can improve mpg" This is only true in the case of turbo charged or super charged diesel engines due to the fact that diesel engines do not have to adhere to the same precise "stoichiometeric" air/fuel ratio's that petrol engines do to stay within narrow "rich and lean" flammability limits. Bill.

Yes

Yes, your turbo's bearings and shaft wear rate will increase due to the turbo stalling every time the throttle is closed. Also, the prob reason your car feels down on power is boost pressure will be leaking past the DV. The DV spring alone will not be enough to keep the DV closed under boost conditions (even on a car with a std map). The DV is designed to be kept closed under boost conditions by a combination of spring pressure and boost pressure applied to the top of the DV piston via the small pipe connected to the top of the DV. Bill.

Ken 1) No...but it maybe caused some degree of offence ??? enough for you to feel the need to correct me for my bad spelling. IMO if your going to correct every briskoda member who posts on here about spelling mistakes then you are going to have a full time job, cos some on here are much much worse than me, (or is it just some sort of childish response you have to anyone who dare to disagree with you). 2),3),4) Was not intended as an insult (sorry if it read that way), it was/is a statement of fact....the advice/opinions you have posted in this thread (although correctly spelt), proves beyond doupt that in matters relating to heat management and control issues, you really dont have a clue, FACT. The advice I posted in this thread was honest and trueful and intended to be helpful to others on here, and maybe save people from wasting time/money on so called uprated SMIC's and TT vents etc etc that will not work. And as always, I only comment in threads when I can contribute in positive manner and give good sound help/advice, which IMO I did this time. And the advice I gave, was based on many many years automotive engineering experience and in particular re work that I have undertaken in engine heat management issues inc turbo, charge air, combustion, oil, engine and exhaust. I can appreciate that my factual opinions and experiences may not go down to well with the "bull$hit brigade", but thats not my problem its yours. Bill.

Unless the car is insured for an agreed value ie 35K, I would'nt dare drive it on a public in case some muppet ran into it and wrote it off. Bill.

Ken 1) Sorry for my bad spelling and any offence it may have caused, I did the post while trying to do several other things :( 2,3) You really don't have a clue. 4) Different car so not relevant !!!! Bill. PS: I Like the bit that says "most of #7 is actually correct"....how would you know

Its got nothing to do with absence of AC or engine coolant rad's....and more too do with the thermol conductivity of air. I'll try to explain in simple terms: But, first you need to understand that air is a very poor cooling medium (its got only 10% the thermol conductivity of water), and the thermol efficiency of an air to air intercooler is at highest when the temperature difference between the charged air inside the core and the cooling air outside the core is at its greatest. So...when road draft (ambient air) meets the front face of the intercooler core its at this point that the temperature difference between the heated and charged air inside the IC core and the road draft cooling air about to start passing through the core is at its greatest, therefore the cooling efficiency of the road draft air at this point as it meets the IC core face is at its greatest. However, the further through the intercooler core the road draft cooling air passes the more it becomes heated therefore reducing the temperature difference between charged/heated air inside the core and the road draft cooling air which leads to a drastic reduction in thermol efficiency of the IC core. Once the charged/heated air has been cooled to within 35% of the now heated road draft cooling air passing through the IC core its "game over"....no more (effective) cooling of charged air inside the cooler. There is of course so much more to it than this lol, but hopefully the above may help some appreciate why increasing core depth/thickness over industry std does not work and just ends up being a case of...the thicker IC core you use the more diminished the returns are. Bill.

Sorry Ken.....but thats just wrong, increasing the relative volume of road draft air through an IC core is a complex issue and simply fitting an Audi TT or B&Q vent behind the IC core is IMO not going to improve the IC's thermol efficiency or resistance to heat soak. Ludbe88..... beware that increasing an IC's depth/thickness in relation to its height and width is a very very poor and ineffective way of trying to increase the IC's thermol efficiency and will almost certainly provide little or no gain over standard. HTH. Bill.

OEM 7x17" spiders are ET38. I've got 8x18" ET35 wheels on my vRS hatch fitted with 225/40R18's and the rears would defo rub on the outside tyre wall if the car was lowered or perhaps fully loaded with passengers, luggage etc !!!! I wish now I'd done the same as Rob and fitted 215/40R18's...doh Bill.

Just a thought, perhaps you would get a better idea of what the final result would look like if you took a pic of the wheel actually fitted to the car !!!! I'd keep them silver HTH Bill