michael1

He means anti roll bars. It's a modification that I don't see why they didn't do from the factory. It matches the suspension up nicely to what should be on a 180bhp car. You'll get varying opinions on what exact ones to go for, at a minimum you should get a whiteline bar for the rear and leave the front standard. If it was my money, I would do that and also change the downpipe for a decat or sports cat to make the most of a remap, maybe spend extra on the remap and get a good one.

Just wondering / talking ****e. with all the different TIPs available, has anyone ever made a turbo intake pipe with a gunbarrel effect in the same direction of rotation as the compressor wheel? (As in internal veins or channeling to rotate the air) I know there are a lot of ridiculous gimmicky ones for NA cars but I can see an advantage if the air doesn't hit the compressor wheel at 90 degrees maybe helping it to spool up a little quicker? I assume a bit of a swirl is established before the inlet just by the turbo's rotation itself. I'm not thinking this would have any increased volume capacity (less if anything) just that it might get things going a little earlier on. As you can guess, I have a lot of time on my hands these days before I start back to college. ha

Cheers lads! As it is at the minute, one of the sleeves has cracked off my ARB so my thoughts were that they can't be much worse than that. Ha! http://www.superpro.com.au/why-superpro/knowledge-base/machining-polyurethane It's not as if it can't be worked, just not sure how to limit the damage to it. Just to highlight, I would never be attempting this on any other bushes. just the ARB, as worst case scenario, they are loose and it is the same as they are now.

Hi all, I just got a delivery of a few superpro bushes and being in Ireland it is not worth the hassle of sending them back and they have given me 15mm FARB bushes. That's what I get for trying to use an Irish supplier over getting them from the UK........ Anyway, My question is does anybody have any tips about how to successfully drill them out to 16.5-17mm? I know it is far from Ideal but, being the messer I am, I have to give it a try. It seems that it might be hard enough to drill with a good drill bit without going to crap. Any help is appreciated, Thanks

I wouldn't go throwing cheap coilovers at it to improve the handling, particularly if standards are new and correct. Stage 2 remap with supporting hardware (downpipe, intercooler etc.) front and back anti roll bars, a diff, 4 good tyres, and upgraded pads. If everything else is good and considering less lag etc. That should walk all over a standard LCR. At the end of the day, best thing you can do is try get a drive in somebody else's modified vrs to help you decide. I don't regret it as such but only thing I'd do different is go for a diff before coilovers

Make sure it's a mk4 based 2wd model and you're good to go. Passats, A4s and 4wd mk4s are different. The one most people use is the 2-piece toyosports one from eBay.

I'm pretty sure they're identical in design to the Highsports which I have only they're stainless. They're not bad, but they're not fantastic either. I find them a little bouncy on rough country roads but very good on level gradual stuff.

Is it just when travelling along (not accelerating or decelerating)? Is it in all gears at 50mph? or related to a specific rpm or load? only thing I can think of as a whine is the diff or gearbox.

It's a pretty easy job to do. Subframe doesn't need moved, I took the drives out and you have plenty of room then. I would recommend changing for polybushes to be honest. They're much easier to fit than standard too.

Sounds like there could be some sort of a short on your SAI pump wiring that is causing too much of a drain?

ha, there you go, that was probably it!

Surely that would indicate that there might be something up with oil supply or return? Mine is on 130k miles and still on the original turbo. But it could be just normal failure as you say. it is definitely worth giving the oil lines a good looking over anyway.

ughhh, at least you seem in good spirits about it. Upgrade time!

Barbecue paint, ha! You have to split the headlight, with a heat gun and stanley knife. Doesn't effect light output at all on the outer parts but if you wanted them darker than mine, I think you'd start to get less light output. You could use Lamin x just on the outside of the lens but then you'd definitely be losing light.

The comment regarding Dunlop tyres is a little strange. In my experience they make some of the grippiest tyres available at mid to premium level so, assuming they're in decent condition and relatively new I wouldn't think that was an issue. Your uprated dogbone should prevent hopping of the tyres due to movement of the engine and gearbox but only as long as everything else is good. As for comparing it to the vrs, they are not very quick off the line either partly due to turbo lag and when you do come on boost in the low gears it does lose traction.

Sorry, yeah. A golf mk4. Hmm, as in the gearbox actually moving slightly out of alignment? That's possible alright, it didn't get progressively worse or anything so that might be it.

First one is a comparison of normal and modified. Gives you a good idea of the grille surround too.

Sorry if mods think this is in the wrong section or even forum, ha! I assume it is the same gearbox as early Octavias?

Hi everyone, My friends 1.6 8v (older model) has stopped going into first or 2nd gear, say at traffic lights he has to turn the engine off, put it in gear and start again. Sounded like the linkage needed adjustment to me, so I sent him on the youtube videos on adjustment, thinking it would be an 02J gearbox but the gear linkage is different. Anybody have any ideas what it could be? or know how to adjust that type of gearbox linkages? He took it to a garage but they said that it needed a new clutch (as in the friction plate) for €400. I don't know how that could be doing it as it is fine in 3rd, 4th and 5th. Any advice is appreciated. Michael

I know yeah. I dread letting other people drive the car though, ha! I have the Grille colour coded and also the joey mod done on the headlights, it's the same year with pressed Irish plates too (identical car just not as tidy), so I'll try and get a picture up next time I have it cleaned up after I finish up exams to give you an idea what it would be like.

I agree with above, Spiders look great. That ride height must be a pain in Ireland. The only thing I would normally like aesthetically is getting rid of the chrome grille surround but yours looks really well with the new badges. Lovely car, Good luck with it.

I had a 98 mondeo estate as my first car and found it pretty good to be honest. OK, well it might not have been good, but It was very predictable and 'let go' very easily. I felt very connected to it and knew exactly what it was going to do through every corner. I've never felt the same confidence even at low speeds with the Octavia it's just less predictable and feels too big for itself or something.

I think this is more peoples interpretation of "mixed". I used to get high 30s when I lived in the countryside and went to college in the city. Now living in the city, I struggle to get 30 and mostly i see it around 25mpg on the computer. Traffic absolutely kills my mpg.

Just changed from Dunlop SportMaxx RTs. If you don't mind replacing regularly they are fantastic, most grip I've ever had. I have the new uniroyal Rainsport 3s all round at the minute.. I'm not blown away to be honest but they are a great looking tyre, seem to have good grip and are not noisy, but I've yet to push them much. They seem like a harder compound than the dunlops which only lasted around 6000 miles of hard driving, so I'm hoping they'll last a while longer.

I'd imagine the 1.6 auto is probably the worst model for mpg due to power to weight ratio and transmission losses. How do you find yours? The VRS can do really good mpg if driven carefully. Around town I'd expect to get around 25-28mpg, and this will be at least 40mpg on a 10+ mile journey out of traffic.