MK1 vRS - Stage 2 R-Tech Tuned

[skinnyman]

1 minute ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Nice looking cars there. I do like that Ignis!

 

Thanks.  We've had it since 2013 and it's an amazing car to drive.  Small power but even smaller weight and it goes round corners so well.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, skinnyman said:

 

Thanks.  We've had it since 2013 and it's an amazing car to drive.  Small power but even smaller weight and it goes round corners so well.

 

I reckon it'd be deserving of it's own project thread.

[skinnyman]

Today's commute home from work.

[skinnyman]

So, another update on the car.

 

I got the PS5s fitted to the wheels a couple of weeks ago. 

 

 

 

They are a cracking tyre and I can't fault them yet as they seem to hook up even better than the PS4s I had on before.  I was so giddy about the grip levels that I took the car out and was driving in a spirited manner.  The MAF must have been on its way out as the WOT and heat we've had ended up in the EML and traction control light coming on.  A quick scan showed a P0102 code.

I took the MAf off and looked at the part numbers to try and get a replacement from Skoda.

 

 

The local VAG parts department is really helpful and they apologised that the cost would be close to £200 inc vat and they also needed the MAF off the car in exchange.  Their computer said that they no longer make the unit and it's an exchange for some reason. It looks like the unit on the car was already an exchange part so Skoda said I couldn't exchange a non-original MAF anyway.  Suits me really as £200 is a bit steep.

 

Anyway, I confirmed the part number and set about finding one from somewhere else.  I ended up cross referencing the numbers and found that the Bosch 0 280 218 340 unit should work.  I managed to find it for £74 on ebay and so far, so good.

 

 

I've done a few miles in both urban and out of town driving and the car has yet to throw up any codes.  Fingers crossed it stays that way as the MOT is due in a few weeks so I really don't want a dashboard full of lights causing and instant fail.

 

On another note, I'm still faffing around with the rear wheel spacing.  The offset on the OZ wheels is very high I reckon - I bought them without knowing the exact figure.  I ran them on the 15mm spacers with the new tyres for a bit and all seemed well until I gave a couple of people a lift and the tyres rubbed ever so slightly.  We're not talking a huge amount but I don't want any rubbing at all so I've taken them off for now &  as you can see, the wheels sit way too far into the arch & look a bit crap.  

 

 

The spigot is the issue so I may have a solution for it that I'm going to try when the car's in for the MOT.  If it works I'll post up here with the results.

Edited 23 July, 2022 by skinnyman

[Dean]

On 23/07/2022 at 09:50, skinnyman said:

The local VAG parts department is really helpful and they apologised that the cost would be close to £200 inc vat and they also needed the MAF off the car in exchange.  Their computer said that they no longer make the unit and it's an exchange for some reason. It looks like the unit on the car was already an exchange part so Skoda said I couldn't exchange a non-original MAF anyway.  Suits me really as £200 is a bit steep.

 

Anyway, I confirmed the part number and set about finding one from somewhere else.  I ended up cross referencing the numbers and found that the Bosch 0 280 218 340 unit should work.  I managed to find it for £74 on ebay and so far, so good.

My last unit from TPS was £190, I nearly fainted... They said there was a surcharge as long as you've got a unit to replace. This was a few years back and in the end it cost me £90. A bit steep, but better than the original asking price. 🙂

[skinnyman]

On 27/07/2022 at 17:13, DeanVRS20VT said:

My last unit from TPS was £190, I nearly fainted... They said there was a surcharge as long as you've got a unit to replace. This was a few years back and in the end it cost me £90. A bit steep, but better than the original asking price. 🙂

 

If the Bosch unit I've put on does the job & doesn't throw up any codes then I'll be quite happy. If it does then I'm going to have to stump up for another and it'll cost me dearly. 

Fingers crossed....🤞

Edited 28 July, 2022 by skinnyman

[skinnyman]

The car passed its MOT this week.  It needed two rear bearings to get through as there was quite a bit of play in them apparently but I figured that isn't too bad for 19 years old.

 

I'd noticed that the roof was quite faded and ideally was in need of paint.  I had been toying with the idea of wrapping it so took the plunge and went with gloss black.  I'm not 100% sure yet but it looks better in the metal/vinyl than it does in the photos, plus it is much better than patchy pink.  The black ties in with the mirrors, wheels & grille and if I decide it really isn't what I want, it can be easily taken off.

 

The MAF seems to be holding up so far, no codes or lights have popped up and I'm hoping that this continues to be the case. The car does feel to be running smoother since the swap so maybe the old one had been playing up for a while?

 

I still have to sort out the rear spacer issue but seeing as I've just had two bills it might have to wait a month or so.

 

[niceyellow vrs]

The rear spoiler needs to go black too. Trust me.

[skinnyman]

4 hours ago, niceyellow vrs said:

The rear spoiler needs to go black too. Trust me.

 

The thought had crossed my mind.  Having said that, I'm toying with the idea of a WRC spoiler but finding one near me is proving difficult. 

[skinnyman]

Another week, another small issue.  

 

The weld on the rear of the clutch pedal gave way a couple of weeks ago.  I was just leaving Lidl’s car park when there was a cracking noise, followed by the clutch pedal hitting the floor.  It would pull up again but it wasn’t attached to anything.  

 

I managed to push it into a parking bay to have a look.  I found these pieces in the footwell :

 

 

Broken pieces of plastic and metal is never a good sign & I knew that the car needed to be towed so phoned the RAC for help.  They weren’t any help at all and I won’t bore you with the details so I sorted it myself and had the car taken to my trusted garage.  The recovery company were great and I owe them a big thank you for doing what the RAC said wasn't possible due to the heat on the day......🤬

 

 

I did a bit of research online and ordered the pedal from Cardiff Audi.  In the end I ordered an Audi TT pedal for £79.94, part number 1J2 721 319 C and the clips needed 1H0 721 357 and 1J2 721 332 A.  They're the same as the Octavia and Mk4 Golf parts but the price at the time was better than the listings for the Skoda.  Cardiff Audi delivered the parts to the garage and they were swapped over for a bargain price of £60.  The master cylinder rod was slightly bent but luckily the clutch switch wasn't broken so that saved me another cost.

It seems that this is a common thing on the Golf, Leon, Audi A3 - https://www.uk-mkivs.net/threads/clutch-pedal-broken.364457/ - and is a design fault that can happen at any time. 

 

I’m hoping that mine will be good for another 19 years.  🤞

Edited 25 August, 2022 by skinnyman

[skinnyman]

 

 

 

Small update.  

 

I had the wheels redone in silver recently.  The original centre caps were looking a bit tired so I ordered some fake M582 versions from China.  Unlike the originals they aren't carbon fibre but they look okay from a couple of feet away.

 

 

The wheels were done locally and were acid dipped, prepped, undercoated and then painted.  If you're interested in the process, it's described here - https://trenhamsalloywheels.co.uk/our-process/

 

I'm really pleased with the results and would recommend Trenhams if anyone is local to the North Yorkshire coast.

 

 

Please excuse the state of the car as I haven't washed it since the hosepipe ban came in at the end of August.

Edited 18 October, 2022 by skinnyman

[skinnyman]

Finally, after two months I have cleaned the car.  

 

 

 

The refurbed silver wheels are much more to my liking as I never really was a fan of the gloss black.  I've also attached a couple of photos of our Ignis as I had those wheels done at the same time in BBS gold. 

 

 

Edited 24 October, 2022 by skinnyman

[skinnyman]

It's cold outside.  The car's been sitting on the drive for over a week as I've been using the van. I wonder if it'll start.....?🤞

[Dean]

On the button I reckon, as long as the battery have been charged. I topped up both of my batteries with a full charge overnight in preparation for this cold weather.

[andy68]

Nice looking Ignis👍

[skinnyman]

On 14/12/2022 at 19:24, DeanVRS20VT said:

On the button I reckon, as long as the battery have been charged. I topped up both of my batteries with a full charge overnight in preparation for this cold weather.

 

It did start straight away, which was a relief.  

 

18 hours ago, andy68 said:

Nice looking Ignis👍

 

Thank you.  It's been with us such a long time now that it's part of the family.  We've spent more on it than the original purchase price but it's worth every penny.  I still have plans for maintenance & improvements but it was a great package straight out of the box.  Until I drove one I didn't really get them.  Afterwards, I was a convert and that's saying something as I'd just come from an S1 106 Rallye.

Edited 16 December, 2022 by skinnyman

[skinnyman]

Why is it that things happen when the weather is cold & wet?

 

Driving to work yesterday, I heard a cracking noise from the rear of the car just behind me and the window dropped into the door.  This was at 7:30, just as the rain started to fall.  When I got to work I made a cardboard window and left the car in the works car park, hoping that the wind/rain didn't cause too much of a mess by the time I finished at the end of the day.  

 

This morning I stripped the door to see what had happened and it was the familiar story of the plastic clip giving up the ghost after 20 years.  Why this was deemed as a good design I'll never know.  The mechanism is fine, it was just the clip that had failed.  I've ordered an ebay special knowing full well it'll be either spot on or I'll be replacing the whole thing again in a year or so.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400938901477?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=iiafCCAaTEO&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=WYTLoLf3SLW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=EMAIL

 

As you can see, the clip is in two pieces but the rest of the mechanism seems fine.

 

 

 

 

Whilst deciding how to temporarily prop the window in place I also noticed that there was something blocking the drain hole in the bottom of the door & there was quite a lot of gunk sitting in the drain gully.  That's all cleared out now and things should drain properly from now on.

 

 

 

It's now a case of waiting for the part to arrive & find a chance to fit it next weekend.

Edited 25 February, 2023 by skinnyman

[Gaz]

2 hours ago, skinnyman said:

... and it was the familiar story of the plastic clip giving up the ghost after 20 years.  Why this was deemed as a good design I'll never know. 

 

Yep, I've had a couple of these give up over the years 🙄

 

The last one being on the rear window of my very last CRX Del Sol.  When stripped, the clip hadn't so much as broken as decomposed to a powder like quality that I could break up quite easily by hand.  I'd say that was a good thing, but it's still small bits of plastic.

 

Gaz

[skomaz]

Yep that's how they all let go eventually...   Our fabia did the same just before a long motorway trip so it was 'fixed' by a piece of timber for a few months.

 

The eBay replacements were fine though.

[skinnyman]

21 hours ago, Gaz said:

 

Yep, I've had a couple of these give up over the years 🙄

 

The last one being on the rear window of my very last CRX Del Sol.  When stripped, the clip hadn't so much as broken as decomposed to a powder like quality that I could break up quite easily by hand.  I'd say that was a good thing, but it's still small bits of plastic.

 

Gaz

 

Sounds similar to one that went on my Mk 1 Golf.  That was another example of plastic changing from a solid to a powder and leaving me freezing cold 150 miles from home. 😁

 

21 hours ago, skomaz said:

Yep that's how they all let go eventually...   Our fabia did the same just before a long motorway trip so it was 'fixed' by a piece of timber for a few months.

 

The eBay replacements were fine though.

 

I've got a 320 mile trip to do this week so the good old wooden prop will have to do for now.  

 

I'm hoping the ebay special will do the job, so fingers crossed....

[skinnyman]

All sorted.  The new mechanism arrived yesterday & was really easy to fit.

So I'm back on the road & wondering what the next issue will be.  It's always fun trying to guess what surprises the car has in store......

Edited 27 February, 2023 by skinnyman

[skomaz]

Looks like you bought a whole new mechanism?  I just bought the plastic runner that had broken.  A bit more faff but cheaper.

[Paul thornton]

Probably replaced 2 / 3 of those in each door over the years, luckily they are still readily available and quite cheap.

 

I find the cable generally rusts and ends up snapping. 

[skinnyman]

On 27/02/2023 at 10:35, skomaz said:

Looks like you bought a whole new mechanism?  I just bought the plastic runner that had broken.  A bit more faff but cheaper.

 

I did in the end.  The whole thing was £22 from eBay.  I might regret it if/when the mechanism fails in a few months but I couldn't be bothered to faff and needed to swap it over quickly due to lack of available time.  If it's still working in six months, I'll be a happy man. 😁

 

On 28/02/2023 at 00:16, Paul thornton said:

Probably replaced 2 / 3 of those in each door over the years, luckily they are still readily available and quite cheap.

 

I find the cable generally rusts and ends up snapping. 

 

The cable on mine was quite badly rusted so it was probably a good idea to replace the whole lot.

 

As for replacing them regularly, I'm keeping the piece of wood I used to prop the window up in the boot, just in case it happens when I'm out and about.  I've also got everything I need in the boot to remove a door card as I don't want to get caught out again.

Edited 10 March, 2023 by skinnyman

[skinnyman]

I'd had a slight rattle from the OSR for a while.  It was easily diagnosed as the dust guard but it wasn't really bothering me or causing any issues in daily driving.  

 

I washed the car last weekend and when cleaning the inside of the wheels, the guard shifted slightly so I thought I'd have a closer look.  The wheel came off and so did the dust guard.  It simply slid out of place and as you can see, it's totally rusted through.

 

I've ordered a non-genuine replacement which should come this week.  The next thing is, do I replace the guard myself or pass this onto someone else?

 

This is what's left after taking the guard off....

 

 

 

I'd appreciate any advice as I am happy to tackle things myself but if this looks like it could be tricky, I'm also very happy to pay someone else to sort it out.

 

On another note, it was catch can time and after 600 miles, this is how much was collected.

Edited 18 March, 2023 by skinnyman