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Yup, I'd say that those are almost certainly the cause of your issue. I had the same thing and swapping them out for some powerflex's sorted it.

Given how much paint's been taken off the front doors, sills and arches from driving around without them I'd be an advocate of fitting them. Then again, I drive on country roads a lot so if you're a motorway muncher or town cruiser then you're probably not going to have the same issue!

This might be something unrelated but is it worth trying to tighten the rack up? I've not had to do it on mine but I'm sure there's a thread on here (and definitely on ukmkiv's) about a way to tighten up slop in the rack. Like I say, it may not be the issue but it could help..

In comparison to the number of cars out there there aren't that many DMF failures. Sure, there seem to be more than for standard cars but not so that I would be overly worried - remember, most people talk about the problems they have on forums rather than what's working on their car. If it needs done then it needs done down the line then it needs done but don't stress over something that hasn't happened as chances are, it won't!

The nearside of my car gets a pasting from the backroads - all the bushes on that side have been worse than the offside when I've replaced them. Kinda surprised at just how bad the bushes in these new ones are though given that vwspares wishbones (ie Febi) have generally seemed pretty well talked about. I'm guessing whoever's fitted them hasn't driven many rough and twisty roads to punish them much. I doubt it would pass an MOT there's that much play in them as it stands just now!

I got a pair of these at the start of the year and only got around to actually fitting one of them a month or so back. The problem is that there is now so much play in the rear bush that it's worse than the one on the offside that's the original and has done 120k! It's creaking, clunking, cracking and if I put a small pry bar in there's massive amounts of movement. Pretty poor in my eyes. I know some Ebay ones are a bit crap but I always thought Febi was a reasonable pattern part manufacturer...so far my experience would indicate otherwise! Is this normal??

Thanks for the advice guys and yeah. I've actually got a whole setup ready to just swap over, top mounts, bottom out bumpers and all - it's literally going to be a removal of the old strut and replace with new job. I may have imagined it but I was fairly sure that without compressors your couldn't quite get the old strut out of the hub (when still attached to the wishbones)?

The time has come to replace the front struts on the vRS, along with the wishbones. Now, not being a fan of using spring compressors, nor actually owning a set, I was wondering if removal of the wishbones provides sufficient clearance for the struts to be popped out of the hub without the compressors being used? Any help is appreciated!

That last post's spot on; you only crystallise the loss when you actually sell it. If you keep it for four/five years like I have, the fact that you paid c£7k for it and it's now worth somewhere sub £3k means that at £1k average a year depreciation you can't complain. Sure, a VW golf would be worth more now but you'd have had to spend a lot more to get it in the first place - percentage wise the loss would probably be similar but the actual monetary value would be less on the Octavia. So I'm not worried that my car's not worth much, I know it's not worth much - if I keep it another year it'll cost what, maybe £500 in work, lose another £500 in depreciation? What newer car are you going to get that only loses you £1k in a year with another 20k on the clock??

If you weren't doing it on a flat and level piece of ground then that could explain why it was difficult to do the bolts up. Personally I feel that it's an all or nothing upgrade; ie do both bushes or just replace with OEM. With both replaced (I did the rear one last year and the front last weekend) things have improved over just the rear. I think that the rear only being done pushes too much force into the OEM front which then can't cope with the added abuse and just shakes around madly. It's true that they do soften with time although not enough IMO if you want a smooth and quiet car at idle. Also, the amount that you preloaded the bush with can have an impact as the greater the preload, the greater the force to compress and so the smaller frequency vibrations are dialled out as much as they otherwise would be.

Thought I'd update this a little - it took me until now to finally change the circular bush after it started to die at the tail end of last year. It was an easy swap with the aid of an oxy torch - heat the thing up for a few minutes on a high flame, stick it in a vice and then smack it with a BFH. One strike and it popped out in one piece. A spray of WD40 and the new bush pressed in easily with the vice - although a tip, if it starts to go in squint, is to push down on the bit that's not going in with a large file/screwdriver etc and continue to wind up the vice. It'll just slide right in. A quick opening of the bracket hole with a round file and it's all ready to bolt back on. Maybe fifteen minutes all told? Back in the car there's not really any more shudder at idle than before and I think this is in anycase down to it needing new plugs/coilpacks than the mount massively as once at 850rpm it's smooth and silent. Clutch action is once again smooth as a result of the engine no longer rocking around and vibrating every time you pull away or re-engage it after a change. Possibly a little more under engine braking from 3.5k rpm and above but nothing massive, and it's more of an audible sound a couple of octaves deeper than it used to be. I reckon in retrospect the best option is to either replace neither bush and go OEM, or do both at the same time as it seems smoother now with both fitted than it did when I just replaced one - probably because just replacing one puts too much stress on the original bush and just leaves it to flap about and get out of its depth. If you can't be arsed with the oxy torch you could always just go for the superpro two piece bush that drops into the cavities on the existing one - this would probably be a good compromise.

I just cut my losses with my OSR one and just threw a new one on there with a new handbrake cable which was also a bit fubared. The difference was huge, to the point that I'm going to put a new one on the other side. For the fifty quid that they cost I can't be arsed with the hassle of trying to free one up - as soon as it's started seizing you're fighting a losing battle.

Hey, don't worry about that, it doesn't in the least bit bother me - as soon as a pic goes up online it's pretty much free for all unless it's got a copyright logo on it. I just spotted it and was like 'I recognise that'! Took me a moment to remember why...

Slightly O/T but I just spotted that your avatar pic there Longyear is of my car...I saw someone on ebay'd used it too a few months back, ironically when I was contemplating trying to sell mine again!

At the end of the day it's a car, I mean mine is on 115k and an 05 plate and people last year weren't interested at 3k (when it was at 100k). Full history, all the servicing, proper parts, premium performance tyres. Don't get me wrong, it's not showroom but it's a genuine car and all I got were jokers. I think the value depends hugely on where you live and what sort of buyer comes along - some will go for good money and others'll go for peanuts. It's not as if they were expensive brand new, I mean what were they, sub 14k? Losing 75% of the value in 6 years isn't great but in terms of the actual monetary value lost it's pretty damn good compared to many other cars - and the great thing is that they're not going to fall much further than where they are as even if they lost another 75% in the next couple of years it's pretty cheap motoring.

Both my front ones went at 70k under warranty (3yrs old) by Skoda and have both been replaced subsequently at 105k and 110k L & R. The rears were both done by 115k too. Never owned a vehicle that goes through wheel bearings like this one, they just don't seem to have been specced to deal with the higher forces they're subjected to with sticky wide tyres as opposed to the 165mm eco-warrior stuff that they first came fitted with.

Mine has done 10k and is still rough, and in addition to being rough it's killed the cylindrical bush thanks to the extra forces now being driven straight into it. When I take it off to replace the cylindrical one I'm planning to take 10mm off the rearmost of the two part bush and then slip in 5mm of softer rubber sheet that I have here to help provide a little better low rpm damping. I'm also going to make damn sure that there's zero preload on the system when it's rebuilt. I'm pretty sure I set it up originally like that but there may be a little and I can imagine it wouldn't take much preload to destroy the low frequency damping characteristics of the ployurethane.

The colour coded strips and mirror mounts look ok...but as for the rest er, I'm sure I was told that if you don't have anything good to say then don't say anything!

I've looked at this a bit recently, and been on the cusp of selling the vRS many times for a diseasel but each time I just end up stopping the thoughts. Part of it is that I really can't be bothered with the hassle of selling, and partly because a 115k 05 plate appears to be worthless. It doesn't owe me anything and has only just begun to cost me money which, given that I've had it over four years, done 70k in it and have never really treated it as a pampered princess is pretty good going. A couple of wheel bearings and £500 to get it through this MOT isn't too bad, in fact it could all be chalked up as wear and tear. There are some other bits that need doing but nothing urgent. Why not a diesel though? Doing 20k or so a year in the car (I do another 20k in the van) I could sell both and get a diesel but the diesel would be similarly high mileage to the Octavia and those that I'm looking at all have a relatively big premium to them (330d BMW estate, ST TDCI Mondeo etc). There's also the inherent risk of buying a car that could be a ticking **** box ready to cost you an arm and a leg. What I would save in fuel would potentially be more than swapped for increased repairs, not to mention that I would end up throwing savings at it which I really don't care too much to do. My current thinking is that I keep the vRS for another few years and then sell it for a 2-3yr old big engined diesel rear driver as even if some serious repairs come up on the vRS they aren't even going to scratch the surface of the depreciation I'd encounter on a more expensive diesel. That and I do 95% of my own servicing which would have a huge impact on the resale value of a nearly new premium car, so either greater garage costs there or even more scary depreciation! At the end of the day you make your choices and as I don't currently dislike the vRS (although it doesn't exactly excite me), I'm not desperate to change.

You'll find that most garages will be unhappy fitting the larger tyres to the front but to be honest, in the case of the Octavia, it should help dial out the understeer a little.

The new MOT's look awful don't they? At least your scabby bit of paper was a lot cheaper than mine was last week!

You shouldn't need anything more than that as the threads are fairly well sealed and don't actually take any real stress so don't get too bound up. If you're struggling for leverage then you can use the handle end of the wheel wrench to slip over the handle of the 7mm key for a little extra.

Fantastic, thank you very much for confirming!

As above really, I need a new cat & downpipe at short notice. The local parts factors have one available for the 150bhp 1.8T but it isn't listed as being for the vRS. Is this the case and does it definitely not fit? Everything I've seen suggests that they're the same fitment but is that correct? Any definitive help would be hugely appreciated! Cheers

I've put things up about this before but essentially the 225's are cheaper to buy, easier to get hold of (more cars fit them)and offer more outright grip. The downsides are that rolling resistance increases to the detriment of fuel economy, steering feel decreases (and weight increases) and they tramline more readily when comparing like with like tyres. The 205's are easier to get hold of now than when the cars first came out as at that time, the only other production car using the size was the front axle of the base model Porsche Boxster. Personally, I'd say that if you want the best feel and economy then go for 205's. If you're after absolute outright grip and aren't fussed with economy then go for 225's. The difference of £10 or so per tyre between each size is very quickly dimished by the increase in fuel economy so it comes down to what you actually want from the tyres. My personal experience on the vRS has so far been of the following: -205 Pirelli P7 (Motorway tyres, fun and drifty, especially when warm. Good wear & economy) -205 Pilot Exalto (Good balance between life, grip & economy) -225 Eagle F1 GSD3 (Great to half depth then uneven wear, terrible grip and lots of noise. These were the later Chinese made version after the introduction of the Asymetric's. The older German made tyres were significantly better) -225 Michelin PS2 (absolutely the best performance tyres I've used for feel, grip & progression) -225 Michelin PS3 (not as good as the predecessor PS2) -205 Continental WinterContact TS830 (outstanding all season tyres) -225 Bridgestone RE050A PP (worst performance tyres ever used) -225 Continental WinterContact TS810 (not as good as the TS830 I used last winter but passable. Narrower winter tyres are definitely better as they increase pressure on a given area and allow the siping to work more effectively).