theandywaite

Sorry if this is too on topic, buuuttt... A friend of mine has an Audi with DSG gearbox and said the s/s was annoying him at roundabouts. Car would cut out and it made pulling into a gap difficult / dangerous. As I have Carista + ODB dongle so I said I'd take a look. On his car you could change it from default on when started to default off when started or remember last state. He asked me to switch it to "remember last state" so if he turns S/S off, it's off until HE turns it back on again. I like that because the button in the car still works and he can turn it back on if he's stuck in traffic and thinks it would help. When I recently got my Octavia 3 I assumed it would be the same but I ended up doing the voltage hack method. It's a shame there's no setting like on the Audi.

Forgive me for putting words in your mouth, but to me what you're saying is you don't mind the touch controls because you don't use them. That's hardly a ringing endorsement. You make it work (and yeah, it's not much of a burden when you have the wheel controls instead) but I'd still call the manufacturers idiots for doing it. I really don't think touch buttons belong in a car. The worst offender is Citroen where the HVAC controls have to be operated via a touch screen. Yeah, so when my windscreen steams up in the winter I'm going to take my eyes off the road, try and change the screen from radio to heating controls (while the car is bumping up and down) and then go through multiple steps to turn the blowers. Versus pretty much every car made for the last 40+ years where it's twisting a physical rotary dial which doesn't need my eyes taking off the road at any point. Sorry I'm not ranting at you, it's the car makers and their mis-placed desire to fit ever glossier bigger screens. Totally know what you mean about the volume knob lining up though... I get so anxious if it's a degree off

Totally happy to be proved wrong but I thought "Normal" in the settings is off and "Sport" in the settings is active / locking.

Probably over-thinking it, but are there any issues with leaving VAQ diff on / in sport setting all the time? I've seen a couple of threads where people turn it off when not in use to avoid excess wear on the oil pump / clutch plates. Just hearsay though - nothing conclusive. I rarely drive in a way the VAQ activates, but in an ideal world I'd like it to just kick in as-and-when the mood takes me, without me needing to remember in advance to change drive modes. Plus I prefer the rest of the options (like throttle and steering) in the most aggressive setting all the time. Is the wear on the VAQ just when it kicks in to pull you round a corner, or is permanently being in a drive mode with it active also going to accelerate wear?

That big screen looks epic with CarPlay. Hate touch buttons in a car though - stupid idea. Much prefer the pre-fl units with physical, tactile buttons. I assume the maxidot display doesn't show anything useful when CarPlay / Android Auto is plugged in?

I'm an anti badge snob (one of the main reasons I'm a Skoda fan) so I wouldn't bother. Personally I think a vRS with a few mods would be more interesting and more personal. Depends what your aims are, I guess. Are you looking for more prestige? More speed? More refinement? If I had spare change I'd buy a second car as track toy (maybe an old Clio Renaultsport or something of that ilk).

Quick question (sorry if this is the wrong place). When booting, our Columbus has a 1 pixel high red line on the screen, stretching from the Skoda logo to the right edge. Once it has booted there's no red line. It's always done this, and works fine. Does this mean something?

Very useful. Can the Amundsen units be upgraded to a later version with firmware? Or is a MY16 always a MY16?

Now on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372693400891

Any tips on where? Lowest I've seen is £280 per wheel (which is how much they are on Horton's website + the same price from my local dealer).

Doesn't need to be perfect - just want to get an idea of thickness of the diamond cut bits.

Fair point! Haha

Actually my bad - the listing has black pictured but says anthracite in the description so probably no good.

You can smart repair, but the diamond cut areas are painted silver - hence why it looks naff when you get close. Fair enough for leaving it - I'm tempted to do the same! But make sure to put a bit of touch up lacquer or something on it as the metal surface is now exposed which means corrosion can get in more easily. They're £280 + delivery from a local Skoda dealer on eBay. Wait for 10% ebay code. Skip the delivery since they're local. £500 for 2 wheels Don't suppose you have a picture of yours? Would help me decide massively.

Hopefully not, I haven't curbed a wheel on any of the "nice" cars I've owned in the past 10 or so years - all had big wheels and low profile tyres. These marks are from corrosion / previous owner. Just wondering whether it's actually more cost effective to buy replacement wheels when you consider the resale value of the old ones. Approx 250 per wheel for new ones, but I bet I'd get 100-150 each for the old ones. Makes diamond cut refurb seem expensive.

Just bought a vRS 230 with black 19" xtremes. Wheels are 99% perfect but one has 2 small kerb marks on the outer edge, and another has a couple of spots of whiteworm / corrosion that I'd like to get sorted. The other 2 are fine. Rather than the dealer sort it, I had money knocked off the purchase price as I'm a control freak and I didn't want a **** job. Now just trying to work out what I want to do and after some other opinions. I'm a total perfectionist so want to get something done. Don't want to go solid colour, definitely want to stay with the diamond cut "look". Been quoted £40 smart repair, £200 full diamond cut or it's about £500+ for 2 new wheels. Smart repair - I think I'll get annoyed with how it looks and I'm concerned about longevity. Tbh I'm wondering whether they look better as they are than smart repaired given the damage is so minor! Refurb - As it's a raised lip on the Extremes, I'm concerned the silver areas will be too wide once they're cut back. New wheels - not that keen on spending that kind of money. Anyone got pics of smart repair / refurb on the xtremes? Are the silver bits noticeably wider after a proper diamond cut refurb?

Just to add I'm happy to install this for someone, or help with installation, if you're local - I'm based in Derbyshire near the M1. Note that as I'm not a proper insured garage it would be at the buyer's risk if anything went wrong (not that it should - I've installed lots of stereos / dash cams etc before and never had an issue).

Just to add illumination is switchable between red (for VW + seat) and green (for Skoda). Should fit any car with this shape stereo I believe. Also have reverse camera I can include but it's Passat specific I believe.

Just seeing if there's any interest before putting on eBay. Looks like a factory unit but runs Android so you can install any apps like Spotify, Google maps etc This is one of the better units with octo core processor. I think the term for these is MTCD Worked perfectly in my 58 Passat - quick start-ups and stable. Only selling because I traded the car in and I now have Octavia III with MIB2 system so won't fit. Perfect condition, will just need new double sided sticky pad for the GPS antenna. Boxed with original cables etc. Quite easy to fit. Looking for £150 or near offer

Hmm, so I guess it must have already been in there and I never noticed. Thanks!

Just fitting dash cam to my new (to me at least) vRS 230. Went to put the glovebox back on and found a square trim approx 4cm x 7cm sitting in the glovebox itself. I didn't remove it and it wasn't there before. Can't find where it fits! Any ideas? Part number is 5G0 886 296

Being an early car it's missing roof rails :( But in every other way faultless + ideal spec so I couldn't pass it up. Also quite a bit cheaper than the one with wonky wing! Mmm unpainted airfix kit grey

So glad I didn't buy. Only took a few days and a car that does meet my standards came up. It has been bought!

Sorry, don't mean the finish. Some vRS 230s I've seen literally don't have roof rails, let alone gloss black ones. Was this a factory option?

Hi all I thought gloss roof rails were standard on the vRS 230 estate but I've seen 2 cars now without them. Was it a factory option to delete them? Is it a popular aftermarket mod? Thanks, Andrew