yesiamtom

I must admit I like the noises it makes, as long as it's not losing too many horses I'm happy to keep it. When I say grabby I don't mean like the car pulls sideways, just the initial push of the pedal produces quite a lot of force compared to most other cars I've driven. Car is running a custom map according to previous owner, he reckons it's putting down close to 230bhp. Frankly I am dubious, it has what I believe to be a 3" piper exhaust (might be 2.5"), has the CAI and that's it from what I can tell engine wise. TIP is standard, DV is standard and has many miles on it presumably. I expect it's more like 210bhp . More than fast enough to scare me silly at the moment!

I bought my tdi what must have been 5-6 years ago now and have always wanted a VRS. Luckily one came up cheap near to me, already modified and I bought it! I know a fair amount about the diesels but not the VRS so got some questions. Firstly, my tdi has very grabby brakes, always has despite 3 sets of pads/2 rotors and 2 brake bleeds in the time I've owned it. I assumed this was normal for these cars but the new VRS has less grabby brakes, I'm sure it can produce a lot of force in a hard stop, is this normal though? I don't think it's running fast street pads. Secondly, a previous owner fitted a "carbon intake". From what I can tell it's just a cold air feed from the MAF/TIP down to the front bumper with a cone filter placed down there. Did the owner completely waste their money? Should I remove it? It's fairly large bore and looks to be made specifically for the octavia. Also, the car is running 1.5 bar boost at spike and then settles back to 1.2 if I remember correctly. Is this a safe level on what I assume to be a ko3s turbo?

I don't know what insurance in norway is like but I think insuring an engine swapped car would probably be harder than insuring the faster car to start with, regardless of whether that engine was smaller or not. :(

Will PM thanks.

Do you have any uprated injectors by any chance ? Is the SMF kit the one rated for 300 ft/lbs? If it is I am interested.

I broke BOTH my tweeter covers, one so bad it won't fit back on. I've been trying to find one on ebay etc and had no luck other than people wanting £20 for them ! Be very careful when inserting the new tweeter.

offtopic: do you have mk2 AC controls in a mk1 octavia? Or is this some sort of strange crossover? It's really confusing me. On topic, I don't know the answer but I'd start by removing the AC electro clutch as this is fairly easy. Then see if the noise persists. Maybe it's all rusted up inside that mechanism.

They don't relock if you open and close a door, at least all the ones I've been near do that. The wiring loom in the door is something ridiculous like an inch short from the factory, meaning over time the cables get damaged and break. Octyal mentioned this already. Just pull the rubber boot back and check the cables.

Can't remember to be honest I took the door card out, it's vaguely possible it can be done by taking the speaker cover off though.

I have Alpine E-types, easy to fit if a little pricey.

ASH hoses on ebay is fantastic. Never had anything bad from him. I bought a cheap ebay catch can BUT I baffled it myself and added some filter medium. If you have an empty can it probably won't catch much at all. Some people use sponges etc and route the inlet oil vapour right to the bottom of the can with some air hole in case it fills up too much. Either option should work. My can definitely works as it collects oily water...but who knows how much is still passing through

the door in question has some damage to the outside...I might see if I can just get a whole new door with locks and door cards etc still in place ! Thanks!

old thread! quick q. if someone can indulge me. My NSR door is reluctant to unlock most of the time, can I drop a replacement lock in and have it work? Or does it need to be coded to the car or some other electrical fandangery?

some good news, the green brake light switch is the latest revision and least likely to fail. It won't be having any effect on your non returning pedal, so no need to worry about that either.

I bought a second hand good condition caliper for £15 off ebay to replace a sticking one. I think there were even cheaper ones but this had good pictures and was evidently in good condition. Suprisingly easy DIY job although you need to buy bleeders etc which makes the first job no cheaper. You can also get caliper rebuild kits for about £15 per side, but then you risk being without a car for a little longer, and if the caliper is sticking then getting the piston out will be hard. I had to use channel locks to start it moving as it broke my piston rewinding tool! edit: sounds like you have a nice minor restoration project to do now though

I think my wheel points slightly off centre, but only ever so slightly. A picture might help to give people more of an idea.

ah, you have a mk2 octavia? This is mk1 section.

As it's relevant, is the fabia vrs wheel the same as the octavia vrs wheel ?

It's fairly easy to do yourself Hamish. I did this on both fronts last week. If you roll the window up and down with the door card of you can see the mechanisms working, get it into place so you can undo both nuts that clamp the window glass in place, MAKE SURE YOU TAPE THE WINDOW IN PLACE ! Then there are some black torx bolts, which connect to the runners, undo these, remove the motor electrical connector and awkwardly remove the whole lot. I haven't replaced the insulating membrane, but will do so in future.

have you checked the caliper guide pins weren't damaged when you had the brakes worked on ? Or perhaps the handbrake cable is not fully installed and sometimes gets caught on something.

IMO just grab new lower arms and fit them rather than changing the arm bushes. I recently fitted a set of meyle inner/outer tie rods, and drop links. They are fantastic quality. I've used the Meyle stuff on another car and was equally impressed, worth the small premium over no brand parts imo.

Not fussed about new so that sounds like a plan! :sun:

...and Bilstein B4s are disgustingly cheap, I put a brand new set on a clio I had, all in they cost me about £150 and changed the car from a wallowy scary mess to a pointable scary thing. B4s are supposed to be OEM replacement but better quality.

Usual story, couple of my door clips broke during door card removal/reinstallation and I can't seem to source any apart from this single part at a ludicrous price - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seat-Octavia-Front-Door-Trim-Clip-GENUINE-VAG-PART-1U0867260D-/122083842968?hash=item1c6cc39b98:g:DYQAAOSwBahVffRE Anyone know where I can get a decent number for a not insane price?

Mine has been squeeking a bit for the last 50k miles. Not sure why, but it's never gotten worse and can't be heard with the radio on.