wigster

Hi all, I've just been getting my tracking done on my mk II '07 vrs tdi, but the system the guy was using only had the 1u as an option for the rs suspension /chassis. I think I've run into this before, but does anyone know if the 1u is correct? Or what might be going on? Thanks!

Great thread guys, so I thought I'd post my experience up. I did the fronts first, and as others have said, absolute doddle. But ohhhhh dear, what a nightmare the rears were. Got the back end jacked up, then realised I didn't have the spline key. Quick trip to my local tool shop, £10 lighter, ready to get started. Getting the key into the bolts in such a way that you can actually turn them had me doing all sorts of acrobatics under the car, with all manner of combinations of ratchets, extension bars, universal joints, and a breaker bar. Note: If you do get one of these spline keys, try and get a short one. The one I got was probably 3" overall, and I'm pretty sure the job would have been easier if it was more like 1 1/2-2". Anyway, I had to jack the car up as high as I could get it with my trolley jack, and then finally managed to get enough leverage on the breaker bar to break the bond of the bolts. Once that was done, it was actually pretty easy. The caliper wind back tool made quick work of getting the piston back in, dropped the new pads in, job done. But.... as the second picture shows, the back disks weren't right! Aaaagggh! The wife wasn't in, so I had to load 3 disks (two wrong ones and the original) into a packback and get the bike out for a 10 mile journey down to the motor factors I got them from. Turns out it was another issue caused by looking things up using the reg number. The wrong ones were DriveTec brand, and it took the guys about 20 minutes to find the correct ones, which were BluePrint. So, back home, put the proper disk on, left side down, and jack up the offside. This time, because the bolts needed to turn the other way, I really couldn't shift them. After about 1/2 hour, I finally gave up, and had to send it in to the guys I normally use for maintenance. Cost me another £50, but even so, I still think I saved a packet on letting them do the full job. Would I do it again? Yes, definitely, especially the fronts. The second one only took me about 20 minutes. If you're thinking of doing it though, you will need: - Decent jack - At least one axle stand - Breaker bar - M14 Spline tool (rears only - c£10) - Caliper windback tool (rears only, £10 up, depending on what you get) - Lots of patience for the rears. And be prepared to let the garage do the rears I'd also recommend: - cleaning up the rusty bits on the hubs before putting the new disks on - cleaning up the sliding pins and pad mounting faces, especially on the front. - I used copper grease on the hub faces before putting the disks on. Someone else in one of the threads has said that there is a more recommended lubricant to use these days though. - Again, clean up and put some copper grease onto the back of the wheels where they face onto the hubs.

Excellent, thanks.

Hiya - Does anyone know if you need to screw the pistons clock- or anti-clockwise please? I got one of the tools that comes with both options, and a zillion fittings! Mine's an '07 vRS Thanks

Thanks for the comprehensive posting Andy, but I do have some follow on thoughts/questions: I know you said to basically replace Civic with Octavia, but my diesel is now pushing about 335ft/lbway more than the Civic example I am not interested in any kind of track work with it. I really like it as a relaxed, but very effective, back roads tool I do not want to lose any of the smoothness of drive, or have a clutch that needs the legs of a power lifter to keep it pressed in. I have heard from several places (including other people I've asked for quotes on the new clutch) that the SMF's cause a lot of rattling. I recently had an email conversation with a journalist from one of the car maintenance magazines, who also has a remapped diesel Octavia, and said "No way would I fit a solid flywheel" (although with no specific reason given)

Guys - can anyone explain what the advantage of SMF is over DMF? None of the people I've been talking to about prices have suggested making the move to SMF, and have only given negative comments about SMF in a diesel. I understand that a lightened SMF will allow the engine to rev up faster, but while this might work nicely for petrol (especially for any kind of track action), it doesn't seem appropriate for a low-revving diesel that is currently very nice at just trundling down the motorway at 90-95 (only where conditions permit it of course) There certainly doesn't appear to be any immediate cost saving (the SMF conversion kits actually seeming to be more expensive), and I really don't want to lose any of the nice smooth, quiet running of the car. If all it means is that I have to change the DMF as well as the clutch every 7 years/100,000 miles, I think I can cope with that.

Cheers Andy - Have emailed them with details of what I'm after. They certainly seem to have some nice stuff.

As it's "only" looking like an extra £100 for the performance clutch, I'll be going down that route. @Grizzle, why the single mass flywheel? I see you've got the petrol engine, but I have seen postings/other info suggesting that the DMF helps protect the gearbox/drivetrain from some of the high engine loads. Also that it really isn't nice to drive with a SMF on a mapped diesel.

Hi guys, I'm hoping to get some help with my clutch. The car's done 70k miles, and has been remapped to 210bhp/336 ft/lb. I've been having a fantastic time enjoying this extra level of performance, but it looks like this is now starting to take it's toll on the clutch, with a bit of slip starting to happen if I give it some heavy right foot. I've managed to get a few prices in, but was wondering if anyone had any recommendations. I do want to go for the uprated clutch, as the power is just too good to not enjoy fully. The prices I've had are: - Clutch Specialists/CG Motorsport: £600 for an uprated, dual friction clutch & DM flywheel. VAT included, but no fitting - Larkspeed, about £700 for what looks like similar stuff to CG above - The guys who did my remap came in with £1300, for DMF, uprated clutch, release bearing/slave cylinder, and fitting. I won't be fitting this myself, rather getting the parts together for the garage that I normally use. I'm also guessing from all I've managed to find that it would be silly to: a. Go for a single mass flywheel on a diesel of this output b. Not replace the DMF, as it could let go soon and take the new clutch out with with it. So, any recommendations or other advice would be really appreciated.

Hi Silver. No problem on the price, as it was about £800. More than Shark, I know, but it does mean I still have an intact DPF should it ever be needed again. Also, AMD in Essex were a lot closer than Shark. Interesting that you're getting 48 - I never really got mine past 45 before the remap, and only see 50 if I keep the speed down a bit (70-80 rather than 80-90). Have you already had a remap done, but kept the DPF? I've seen smoke a few times, but only when I hoof it, trying to upset flashy Audi & BMW drivers. That suits me fine though, as it lets them see they're getting thrashed by a diesel

Interesting replies to this one. I had my Octy II done in October, up to 336 ft/lb, and now it's starting to show signs of slipping if I give if full welly :-( The car's got about 70,000 miles on, but I have certainly been enjoying that thump of power as the tacho hits 2,200. I'm looking for a heavy duty clutch now, so if anyone has any recommendations, I'd really like to hear about them.

Hi all, Just a quick update on this. I decided to go for AMD, with the new link pipe. What a difference it's made. Power is now up to 210bhp, with the torque up to 336 ft/lb, fantastic. The pull from the engine once it hits about 2200 revs is just phenomenal, and has actually almost been problematic with the cr@ppy state of the roads over the last month or two. I've even had the traction control lighting up when doing a 4th gear/65mph overtake. And the other bonus is, about +5 mpg!! Amazing - I've had it up to 50mpg on motorway runs, and still get 45mpg on spirited country road driving. Downside is that with 70k miles on the clock, my clutch now seems to be going :-( Bit more research needed on that one. If you are thinking about having this done, just do it. The results are well worth it.

Yeah, I hadn't forgotten about going back to the standard map (one of the plus points for Shark's switchable option. And good point on the cats! Sorry, I did this, but apart from one person posting something into a consumers forum about a manifold, and loads of forums with what looked like dedicated areas for JBS, everything I saw seemed to be high praise. Or did I just miss something?

Both to be honest. On the legislation side, having seen VOSA declare that anything that originally had a cat now needs to have one. On the resale side, I know people get put off when things like this have been done, regardless of the fact that it's the sensible thing to do, and they could well finish up doing it themselves! But perhaps not if they bring the particulates in to the test (is that the difference between Euro IV & V, or am I way off the mark with that?)..... And then you'd have to buy a new dpf, which is significantly more than getting a replacement link pipe at the same time as the remap. I know it's unlikely, but I'm just being really cautious about it.

Hi guys, I've narrowed my choice for this down to two outfits: - JBS in Chesterfield (Linky) - AMD in Essex (Linky 2) Both seem to know what they're doing, and are all about the same price. If anyone has any extra knowledge or feedback on them, I'd be grateful to hear it. I've knocked Shark out, but only because I don't want to gut my existing DPF - just in case it ever needs to go back on! Thanks