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My Metal Grey 2014 Facelift 1.4TSI Wagon...


createcartel

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Right, so I've made the most of having the day off and cleaned my Superb. I gave it a thorough wash and a coat of AutoGlym Super Resin Polish – I have a range of much more expensive cleaning products, but I'm always surprised how good the SRP is for a hand-applied finish.

 

I've only had the Superb for around a month and I love it – even it is the poverty-spec S model :)

 

So far, I've removed any trace of the dealership free advertising – the rear window sticker has gone and new clean plates with no logos, no borders, no web addresses, etc.

 

I've retrofitted some gloss black parking sensors from Cisbo – a bargain £18 and a morning's work, compared to the £300 the dealership wanted to have them fitted. As I wanted an OEM-style install, part of the challenge was working out which panels are clipped or screwed in, and which order they come out.

 

I've also fitted a pair of stainless steel exhaust trims. Again, the dealer option price is around £80 I recall, while these bolt-on versions were just £16 delivered for the pair.

 

I also removed the "Skoda" and "Superb" lettering/emblems from the boot lid for a cleaner look.

 

The exhaust & the parking sensors:

 

skoda-001.jpg

 

I also took a couple of quick iPhone pics after I washed it:

 

 

skoda-002.jpg

 

skoda-003.jpg

 

I've treated the tyres but they look a bit brown in the sunlight in the pics.

 

Anyway... plenty more planned for this one, but nothing too extreme as I'm currently restoring a 1973 chrome bumper MGB GT and that needs a lot more attention!

 

Cheers,

Matt.

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I like the de cluttered look of the rear hatch. Mine was bought without any emblems/names on the back and I am in two minds whether to put a black 'Skoda' and 'Superb' emblem on it or not....to let others know what has just overtaken them ;)

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Mine's only a 1.4, so I don't think I'll be overtaking too many people :D

 

I decided to replace the standard "Swing" head unit with the most recent touch screen LED Columbus Sat Nav unit, which I installed when I got home from work today. I also bought the Superb trim panel for it, and the unit came with a GPS antenna.

 

It's a nice unit and as the car already has Bluetooth, it can now control Spotify or iTunes from my iPhone in my pocket, without me having to start the music on my phone like on the original Swing unit. It's got a 40Gb hard drive, SD card reader, etc. too :)

 

I also fitted some H15 LED daytime running light bulbs but, as per my Audi, I'll need to wire in some resistors to get rid of the error message.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've overcome the bulb out notification with a pair of 50W 6ohm resistors wired in series parallel across both the DRL and the main beam, as the bulb acts as both.

 

Everything is working fine now and I'm not getting any flickering every time the start/stop engages.

 

If you would like to do the same and need to know which wires/pins to use, let me know and I'll check :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

You say "mines only a 1.4". Let's face it when you are doing 70 you are wafting along the same as if you had the V6. It might take you a little longer to get there but the comfort is the same. Which is what the Superb is all about.

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  • 1 month later...

I really liked the stainless steel exhaust trims especially when I heard that they are bolt-on. Can you give me the web link so I can purchase them too? 

Cheers.

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  • 7 months later...

Sorry for the delayed response! Here's the seller on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ssn=boloromo&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H1.Xexhaust+trim.TRS0&_nkw=exhaust+trim&_sacat=0

 

I think it was this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-FABIA-OCTAVIA-SUPERB-CAR-EXHAUST-TIP-MUFFLER-TRIM-PIPE-CHROME-/281418173718?hash=item4185d48d16:g:WCsAAMXQBLNTlcF~

 

In other news, my Columbus unit has died completely – I took it to Car Audio Technics in Essex and they said they can't fix it as it's a "blue screen failure". I've had it less than a year – I'm trying to get hold of the eBay seller who is based in the UK. Not best pleased since I paid £455 for it :(

Edited by createcartel
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Since I was in Essex to drop off the dead Columbus unit, I decided to make a purchase to cheer myself up... 

 

skoda-004.jpg

 

 

I like a chunky five spoke wheel, these are 8.5x19 ET45 with 235/35/19 all round :)

 

Coilovers have been ordered too.

 

I'm not sure what to do about the Columbus. It's a K series LED model with a 40gb. Essentially it's a computer, so I can't see how it's beyond repair. Anyone know of where to buy components?

 

 

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I've now fitted the rear coilovers as I had a spare couple of hours.

 

I'll fit the fronts another day when I have time. At least the massive arch gap at the back has been reduced now.

 

A younger me would have put them on as low as they would go and work upwards from there... but as it's my load-lugging daily, I just wanted it to sit better on the 19s whilst maintaining usability!

 

I also fitted the chrome front bumper trim (between the fog lights) which comes on the SE and above. I got the three piece trim from superskoda.com and the box arrived within a few days.

 

Instead of replacing the Columbus with another the same, I decided to try an Xtrons Android head unit. While the CANBUS box that comes with it is sending & recieving messages properly, it's failing to pick up when the key is inserted or removed, so the unit always has a permanent live.

 

If I can get the Columbus fixed, I may put it back in, but if not, it'll have to be sold for parts.

 

Photos to come soon :)

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Instead of replacing the Columbus with another the same, I decided to try an Xtrons Android head unit. While the CANBUS box that comes with it is sending & recieving messages properly, it's failing to pick up when the key is inserted or removed, so the unit always has a permanent live

look here a forum member (frifalls)also had that problem and just separated one wire on an android unit maybe your is the same :| 

canbus%20wiring_zps2sph1wq0.png

Post 25

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/376886-frifalls-2012-superb-combi-170-tdi/

 

 

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Hi. Looking forward to seeing some pictures! Will be interested to hear how it rides.

 

With just the rear suspension lowered it rides well – I need to get round to fitting the front coilovers before I can make a fair assessment. As long as you don't go stupidly low, they tend to ride quite well. With just the rears in, it doesn't feel any firmer than stock.

 

 

 

Sorry didnt tag you in this 

Have now so you see reply

 

 

Thanks for that. I did see it & the loom that came with my unit has a similar connection. I don't have the wire connected but the CANBUS box is still sending a constant live regardless.

 

After driving for a few hours yesterday, I'm in two minds about the unit. It doesn't play nicely with my OEM bluetooth and there's no audio or navigation info on the maxi-dot display. However, being able to run Spotify (storing music offline with my premium account) and having bought TomTom Go which is a much nicer interface than the Columbus, plus being able to access wifi in the driveway to update/upload/etc. easily...  :notme:

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I have been looking into android units and  frifalls unit looks very good with 2Gb ram and 16GB rom 
Would let me  put Kodi on there for long nights and a £20 a month unlimited data sim form Giff Gaff and I would be sorted for the long nights ...
Would'nt need my Tv in my L&K

I have also just found out about miracast :nerd:  for The columbas which would suit me as my phone is more than capable of running Kodi and the like

Just trying to find out if the audio gets taken over to the unit as well as screen??

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Ah ok, I didn't know about Miracast. Any more info?

 

Another plus for the Android is that I run a digital design agency and I'd like to develop apps for in-car use, so I can use it as a test bed.

 

I'm working from home today, so I nipped out to run a switched accessory wire to the headunit. I also took a couple of quick pics to show the rear ride height.

 

How it was... holy arch gap! :)

 

skoda-006.jpg

 

 

And now... not the best photos but you get the idea. It's about 50mm lower I would think... should have measured the height of the arch before and after!

 

skoda-005.jpg

 

 

Here's a quick one of the chrome trim between the fog lights... still on the standard suspension up front.

 

skoda-007.jpg

 

 

 

For the switched power, I attached a spade connector to one end of some suitable wire I had on a roll, routed it under the dash into the centre console and put a bullet connector on the other end.

 

skoda-headunit-001.jpg

 

skoda-headunit-002.jpg

 

The other end with the female bullet connector connected to male one that you can see coming out of the small black plug below. In order to ensure that the existing feed from the CANBUS decoder wasn't going to supply power all of the time, I removed the pin from the small white connector & taped it up. That way the accessory is only coming from my newly routed wire.

 

skoda-headunit-003.jpg

 

 

It's done the job – works as intended now and turns on/off with the key.

Edited by createcartel
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  • 2 weeks later...

The front coilovers are on, just need winding down a little bit, then I'll take some decent photos.

 

Some iPhone in-progress shots...

 

coilover-01.jpg

 

coilover-02.jpg

 

coilover-03.jpg

 

 

A while back I bought some LED door warning lights to replace the red reflectors at the bottom of the doors. I found some DIYs for the Golf Mk6/7 which I assumed shared the same door module components. However, this wasn't the case, so a fair bit of trial and error with me opening & closing the doors a lot took place!

 

 

The control module with the large plug removed. The Golf DIYs says to use pins which aren't actually present on this module.

front-warning-door-01.jpg

 

The top left two are the ones that the Golf has but alas are missing...

front-warning-door-02.jpg

 

So after coding the option in VCDS which was as simple as ticking a box, I then hooked up the earth to one of the pins I knew worked & tried various positive positions. My multimeter battery had run out, so opted for this method :)

front-warning-door-04.jpg

 

Once I'd worked out it was the bottom right pin, I inserted the positive into the block connector, reassembled it & plugged it back in. I used the main earth for the door & tapped into that.

 

 

For the rear, VCDS didn't have any info built in, so it was a case of selecting every bit for the first byte & trying it out, then trying various pin connections as before.

 

The rear door module:

rear-warning-door-01.jpg

 

The available pins:

rear-warning-door-02.jpg

 

It was a case of coding with VCDS then working out which pins are active, if any:

rear-warning-door-03.jpg

 

Finally found out the solution for the connector it is pin 12 for the positive... the large main earth on the left of the photo was tapped as per the front doors.

rear-warning-door-04.jpg

 

The VCDS coding – Byte 1 set Bit 2 as active:

rear-warning-door-05.jpg

 

Success!

rear-warning-door-06.jpg

 

rear-warning-door-07.jpg

 

 

Whilst the door cards were all off, I added some subtle extra ambient lighting with some single flat-topped white LEDs. I sanded the LED face first to diffuse the light (320 grit did the trick).

 

Drilled a 7mm hole here at the upper rear area of the door pocket:

diy-ambient-01.jpg

 

Hooked up an LED in a 5mm clip-in holder:

diy-ambient-02.jpg

 

Flush-mounted & hidden away...

diy-ambient-03.jpg

 

Tapped into the window switch illumination...

diy-ambient-04.jpg

 

At night... this is the front passenger door:

diy-ambient-05.jpg

 

Relative brightness to the LED footwell lights (set at 20% brightness). The colour has come out blue in the photo but it's a pure white in person.

diy-ambient-06.jpg

 

The rear door, again it looks more blue in the photo than it is.

diy-ambient-07.jpg

 

 

I'm considering moving them to directly above the door pockets as all the doors have a flat surface which I could use for this. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me before I started to check the location options. As it is, the light from the rear door is visible if you look over your shoulder (at night at least). 

 

 

 

Finally, for anyone that was wondering... the infamous umbrella 'holster' has a drainage channel with a hose that passes into the door & then drains any water from there.

 

umbrella-01.jpg

 

umbrella-02.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

Since my last post, I picked up a full black leather interior from a 2010 Elegance model. I was hoping to use the electric seats but the electronics had major water damage and it wouldn't have been cost effective to repair them. So, with an extra pair of hands provided by my other half, we stripped the leather seats and my original seats down to the frames and swapped the foam (cloth interior is different) and the covers over on to the frames of my original seats, making possibly the only set of manually adjustable full black leather seats.

 

I made the mistake of buying the saloon interior, as after inspecting photos and overlaying side profile photos of the saloon with the estate to check rear door shut lines, I assumed the interiors were the same. However, the rear seat base on a saloon is not split-folding and the saloon rear side bolsters are shorter than on the estate. Also, much to my annoyance, I found the rear door panels are very slightly different.

 

I also picked up very dirty estate rear seats which I thought I might be able to use, but the leather isn't quite as good, so I'm sticking with the one piece saloon version as it's not often I fold the seats flat. I managed to use the rear side bolsters that came with them, though.

 

When I fitted the 'new to me' front door cards, I changed the position of my DIY ambient lighting so that it fires down into the door pocket, rather than from the top rear corner as in the photos. Also, the door handles now have illumination which all looks very slick at night.

 

I also bought an auto-dimming rear view mirror from a breaker on eBay and when it arrived, it was like new – completely unmarked. It's the version with the on/off switch built in. I think there's another version that doesn't have this. All I needed to do was run an ignition-switched live and an earth up the A pillar from the fuse panel, across the front of the headlining and down into the mirror. I didn't bother with the other two pins which are for turning off the dimming when in reverse and to ignore interior lights, I believe.

 

I had some 15mm and 17.5mm 5x112 wheel spacers, so I tried the 15mm on the rear, bringing the 8.5x19 ET45 out to effectively ET30 and without adjusting the camber, it was a no go – the tyres would have rubbed the arches a lot. So they came off until I look to see what camber adjustment is available from factory.

 

Also, I had to get AutoGlass out to replace my windscreen as a big stone thrown up by the car in front cracked it on impact on the passenger side. They did a great job. With a new screen in place, it would be a shame to mark it, so I bought some new wiper blades from a seller on eBay.

 

I still haven't taken any photos with my DSLR, so nothing to look at as yet!

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

That does look really nice!

Two questions if you don't mind...

1. How did you remove the rear badges? I've heard a hair dryer and fishing line is the way to do it...

2. Did you ever investigate the failed Columbus unit further?

Cheers,

Steve

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Thanks guys :)

 

To remove the badges, I poured hot water from the kettle to soften the glue, then used a plastic interior trim removal tool to gently lever up the edge of the letter, adding more hot water if needed. Then I covered the area with a coat of Sticky Stuff Remover, left it for a bit before scraping off the remaining foam adhesive with a plastic membership card (my AA one as it happens). Then I cleaned up the area and gave it a polish with my DA polisher & a coat of wax.

 

I didn't bother with the Columbus – it's boxed up under the stairs waiting for attention. The Android head unit is pretty good. Any problems so far are pretty minor, just some frustrating user interface / user experience design issues (what I do for a living).

Edited by createcartel
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  • 2 weeks later...

I also bought an auto-dimming rear view mirror from a breaker on eBay and when it arrived, it was like new – completely unmarked. It's the version with the on/off switch built in. I think there's another version that doesn't have this. All I needed to do was run an ignition-switched live and an earth up the A pillar from the fuse panel, across the front of the headlining and down into the mirror. I didn't bother with the other two pins which are for turning off the dimming when in reverse and to ignore interior lights, I believe.

Been reading your story with interest, well done. I really want to get an auto-dimming mirror with a switch, as I've got used to using that on our MKI. By any chance, do you have the part number of the unit you purchased?

Cheers... Rob

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