MickeyB's '07 VRS

[MickeyB]

So... I bought the car (my first VW group vehicle) just under a month ago now. My vehicle history to date is a bit of a mixed bag, but recently has been mostly JDM imports, mostly lightly modified: Toyota Chaser turbo, Mitsubishi Legnum VR4, a couple of Nissan Skyline 350GTs, Nissan Gloria, etc...

The car I bought the Skoda to replace was a '99 Holden Astra which was purchased purely based on cost (very cheap), and the fact that it had cruise control, as I had landed a new job that resulted in a 200km round trip 3-4 days per week and was on a 6 month trial, so if I decided it wasn't for me, I wouldn't be too far out of pocket. For the weekends/fun, I have a heavily modified Nissan Stagea, so my daily driver had to be comfortable, reliable, cheap on fuel and have cruise control and a/c.

Fast forward 18 months and I love the job, and decided that I wanted something better to drive: cue the Skoda! My initial impressions were quite good, and after a couple of weeks of looking, I decided to take the plunge, purchasing a 2007 147tsi manual vRS in yellow with (nexus) nav, front parking sensors and sunroof. The car had 113000km on the clock, the timing belt had been replaced a couple of years ago, and there was a full service history. Here's what I got:

.

Once I got it home, I decided to give it a good scrub: the best way I know to get to know the car's cosmetic imperfections. There are a few touched up stone chips as you would expect, the draining channels around the rear hatch area were caked with crud, but of more concern was that the hatch itself: the lower edge of the hatch would hit the upper surface of the rear bumper when're it was closed. You could hear it hitting, and it had obviously been like that for a while, as the paint on the rear bumper was damaged, and the paint on the lower edge of the hatch is worn through in places! 10 mins of effort popping the top edge of the bumper back into the guiding channels fixed the cause of the damage, and a fair amount of cutting removed most of the marks on the paint, but I've got some touch up paint on the way to tidy it up.

As at as wear and tear were concerned, the wheels has a few scuffs/rash, the centre caps were peeling, and the front badge was cactus, the chrome cap on the gearstick was worn, and the rear window tinting was bubbled to the point where you couldn't see out the back.

With new centre caps ordered and a new front badge fitted, it was down to business: I decided I wanted a neat, mildly modified car as my end point, and the sheer "yellowness" of the car was upsetting me (all my other cars have been pretty subdued colors: black, dark green, etc), so I decided to start with cosmetic mods. I had the tint on the rear window replaced, and ordered a new cap for the gear knob.

I also found a couple of goodies already fitted, in the form of a brushed aluminum vRS badge fitted in place of the rear Skoda item, and some metal trim rings on the climate control knobs, so that's a bonus..,

The initial plan was to wrap the front grille in satin black, and get the bonnet, roof and centre of the spoiler wrapped in carbon-look vinyl, as the texture would hide the touched up chips in the paint. I also decided to get the wheels repaired and painted:

With the black rims, I found that the ride height was bothering me, so I started researching springs to address this.

After much consideration, I ordered a set of H&R 50mm springs, a Whiteline rear seat bar kit, and a set of Audi TT console bushes.

Meanwhile, I was running all over town getting quotes for the vinyl work, but was still undecided. On the way to the gym one morning, I spotted a Renault Clio RS in yellow: I liked it: especially the glossy black wing mirrors. I made the decision to leave most of the yellow alone I my car, and just get the grille wrapped in satin black, and the wing mirrors and centre of the spoiler in gloss black. It was still going to be too much yellow and not enough black, so I jumped online and ordered the DTM front splitter from SuperSkoda, as well as a honeycomb lower front grille, because the slatted unit from the factory isn't doing it for me. These parts are waiting in my spare room until the rest of the suspension parts arrive, so I'll fit everything at once.

Also on the cards are a Bluetooth kit, audio upgrade, and I'm seriously considering painting the exhaust tips black in the near future. When the clutch is due, I think I'll upgrade it and get a tune too.

I have a set of white-on-black personalized plates sitting in the wings as well.

Watch this space: the suspension parts are on their way, and I hope to have them all fitted in the next couple of weeks or so.

[Jimbling]

Sounds like a plan and some nice mods thought about

[MickeyB]

For those looking to maintain the factory nexus head unit, but upgrade the audio (which is the direction I'm taking due to both cost and the fact that I don't like the look of an aftermarket double din in the factory location- too much empty space!), I am strongly considering the Audio Control LC6i line converter. My thinking is that since I already have a sub and monoblock amp sitting around from the Astra, and a decent 4ch amp and component speakers are easily sourced ( would have to get some with an aftermarket head unit anyway ), it represents the most effective option for a mild upgrade. Although I'd normally steer clear of line converters, I have read good reviews of the Audio Control, so for a pretty small outlay, I may give it a crack. I know I won't have car kit or music streaming, but I think I can live with that... If I end up going this way, I'll post a full review.

Next on my immediate list of things to do are:

1) attack the black exterior trims and revive them, as the car has obviously spent are fair amount of time in the Australian sun ( trims are on the cusp of looking tatty due to sun damage).

2) give the interior a thorough going over, and condition the leather, as I doubt it's ever been done properly- once again, it's not damaged or faded, it just looks like it could use some attention.

For the exterior black trims, I had great results on the Astra earlier in the week using Meguires trim reviver: unsure how long it will last, but a few hours of massaging all of the almost-white plastics had them looking all but brand new again.

Quick pic of the difference- ignore my gut in the reflection!

For the interior, I need advice regarding which products you guys would recommend. I have little experience when it comes to treating leather myself, so any advice would be valuable!

Edited 6 November, 2015 by MickeyB

[baptistsan]

I love yellow cars and your's looks fab. I guess I can understand you wanting to mellow it a little bit, the black accents will set it off nicely. Look forward to seeing more pics.

 

As for leather treatment, think you can get hold of Zaino in Australia. I use it and it has my leather looking good and helps protect it. Think it's Z9 and Z10 you need.

[MickeyB]

I ended up getting impatient and just grabbing some Meguires... It made the leather look better, but not enough to justify taking pics: it does feel softer now, so I guess it worked...

[MickeyB]

So... Suspension components (h&r springs, whiteline rear sway bar and TT front console bushes) have arrived at my mechanic (had to send them there because SHMBO is starting to get agitated by the number of car related boxes arriving at home), and the hex lower grille and Maxton front splitter are sitting in my spare room...

Thursday is the day: can't wait to get it all fitted!

Watch this space!

Edited 8 November, 2015 by MickeyB

[Jimbling]

Keeping my eye on this swimbo does the same with me as well

[MickeyB]

Not much to report since yesterday morning, but made a slight improvement to the visual side of things.

Before:

After:

I'm liking the new style caps, but in all honesty, would have replaced the tatty old ones with the same design, as I like them better. Ah, hindsight...

Also, with limited time available between work and my next appointment to fit the suspension and splitter, I tried to get a reference point for standard ride height, so here's how it currently sits:

I'll address the dirty great scrape on the passenger side under the front bar in due course, but for now, it's work for a couple of days, then time for fitting! Did I mention I'm excited?!

Edited 9 November, 2015 by MickeyB

[Jimbling]

Will look mint and I like the old badges better than the modern ones as well

[Discoda]

The new badges suit the black and yellow banana theme better IMO. Looking good.

[baptistsan]

Have to say the new badges go really well with the black wheels.

 

Keep the updates coming please.

[MickeyB]

Another minor annoyance soon to be sorted!

Just got home from work and had this waiting for me:

The existing gearknob cap has almost no chrome left on it- I'm assuming the last owner of my car wore some serious rings...

I'll get around to fitting it in the next couple of days: need sleep more than gearknob at this stage... It's almost 9pm here and I have to be up at 3am to undertake the drive to work. I have to say, as a small side topic, that I'm handling the commute much better in the Octavia: it's more comfortable by far, and I actually look forward to driving it... I'm liking it more the more time I spend with it: very happy that I took a punt on what is (over here at least) a relatively rare, oddball type of choice of car...

Edited 10 November, 2015 by MickeyB

[MickeyB]

Just a few happy snaps as a "before" reference, as the car goes into the workshop in a couple of hours...

And the tired gearknob cap:

[MickeyB]

Quick update: it's done! It's waaaay improved! Pics tomorrow...

[MickeyB]

Well, I didn't manage to get any pics yesterday (too busy, and it was too sunny- 30deg), but I'll definitely have some up next week.

I picked it up from my mechanic in the afternoon with the springs, rear sway bar, grille and front splitter fitted (the TT front console bushes hadn't arrived yet), and apart from dropping a CV on the hoist (quickly refitted), all went well.

I drove straight from the workshop into the hills for a catchup dinner with some work buddies...

The handling improvement is significant, and the height is exactly what I was after: low enough that it's aesthetically pleasing, but still with enough clearance that I'm not going to be scraping the chin on every speed bump and driveway.

Here's a quick pic while I have me pre-work coffee:

Excuse the lack of light, but it's 4.30am here [emoji42].

The springs are still settling, but you get the idea, hopefully!

The grille and splitter are a huge visual improvement IMO (pics later), and even SHMBO commented that it looks "like a more expensive car". For me, I think that the front of the pre-FL always looked a bit upturned if that makes sense, and the splitter just balances it off nicely: I'm happy...

My only issue worth mentioning was after dinner with the guys on the trip home: although I'd read a few post about it, so was expecting a change, trying to drive home in the twisties with the headlights focused about 5 meters on the road in front was... Challenging.

The hi beams appeared to be pretty poor as well, and I had a whole heap of oncoming traffic, so only had limited ability to use them (popular roads).

Given that I drive to and from work in the dark, I used my one remaining day off frantically trying to find someone competent and local who was willing to play with the VCDS to sort out the lights.

After hitting a (figurative) brick wall, I finally bit the bullet and contacted the (only) local Skoda dealership, to see if they could squeeze me in at short notice. Cringing in anticipation of the cost of even this minor job, (after explaining the issue, and admitting that I had not even purchased the car from the attached sales division), I was pleasantly surprised when told to just drop in and they would do the job for free while I waited! So off I drove to them.

They had it all sorted in about half an hour, and even adjusted the hi beams, as apparently they had been pointing up towards the great blue yonder and off to the side... After promising alcoholic reimbursement should we ever coincide in a social environment, I collected my car and drove away a happy camper... Winning!

Having just driven to work (in the dark), I'm happy to say the lights perform better than they have since I took delivery of the car. I'll write the Skoda service consultant a glowing endorsement on my next day off: what a champion!

So... On to "business"...

The TT bushes shouldn't be too far away, so they're next on the list of functional mods, and I succumbed to the lure of a cheeky little cab sauv that was sitting in the cabinet, so didn't get around to replacing the gear knob cap yet.

Question: are the rear seats in the 1Z Octavia RS the same between wagon and hatch? I have the opportunity to buy a complete set of brand new, genuine RS seat skins in black leather and alcantara, but the guy selling them has a wagon. Any advice?

I'm also re (re, re, re) visiting my idea regarding vinyl wrapping the roof, bonnet and rear spoiler blade: the front splitter looks great, but I'm still having thoughts of breaking up all the yellow a little more... Must be approaching midlife crisis; I'm sure I've never been this fickle!

Oh, and I also have a fresh set of personalised plates to fit: white text on black, rather than the black on silver currently fitted...

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

Edited 13 November, 2015 by MickeyB

[MickeyB]

Just a quick update: it's all settling nicely, so time for an alignment when I get the chance: I've noticed that at full lock when I park at home (forwards down the driveway, then reverse and manoeuvre under the house- it's tight!), that there is a very slight rub on the inner wheel arch- i think on the drivers side, so hopefully that will be a non-issue. I haven't managed to scrape the splitter yet, so I consider that a win too!

Pics will be forthcoming, as I wanted it to settle completely, and the car is DIRTY! I'm trying to convince the Minister for War and Finance that she should get me a buffer for my birthday next week...

Asking again, as I haven't been able to resolve my query - are the rear wagon and hatch seats the same?

In semi-related news, I have spent hours "prettying up" the cockroach (Astra), and have a potential buyer looking at the car today, so hopefully more finance for modifications shortly!

Pics of the Minion (what my 3yo son calls the Octavia) over the weekend, as we're off to the Sunshine Coast for a brief getaway today...

When we get back, I'll use my remains week of freedom to get the Stagea running again (I managed to actually melt the terminals out of the battery in a comedic, disastrous attempt to tidy up some wiring), and then hopefully paint the (enormous) floor of my mancave, so my cars have somewhere nicer and more functional to park and be fettled...

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

[VrsStebuzz]

That sits exactly how I want mint think I will definitely go for the 50mm

[MickeyB]

Quick happy snap of the filthy car while I wait for a mate to show up:

Not the best light/angle, but you'll get the idea...

Haven't had a change to give it a scrub yet, and today is out of the question: 35deg C here today... It's HOT!

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

Edited 21 November, 2015 by MickeyB

[VrsStebuzz]

Little bit warmer than here then mate

[MickeyB]

Yeah... A wee bit!

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

Edited 22 November, 2015 by MickeyB

[MickeyB]

Ok, so even though the car is filthy (waiting for my buffer to arrive before I bother washing it), here's some pics after lowering, RARB and front splitter fitted.

I kinda ballsed up with the idea of using the toolbox as a reference, because all pics are taken at different angles, but if you look at the tyre-to arch gap, you'll get the idea...

I can report after allowing everything to settle that the springs have made a huge difference: almost no compromise in comfort, other than a barely noticeable bit of jiggle on rough roads: nothing that worries me... I have very slight rubbing at full lock when parking into my car spot, but I am yet to have an alignment performed since fitting the suspension parts, so hopefully that will be sorted. If not, it's really only a minor gripe.

I'm hoping my TT console bushes arrive soon: it will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable difference...

I have a newfound obsession: I have discovered the autogeek forums and am now burning through funds setting up a decent detailing kit, in addition to getting proper lighting and power supplies fitted to my man cave.

Next on the list is a yet to be decided amount of vinyl wrapping, and clearing out the man cave so I can paint the floors...

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

[MickeyB]

So.... I've had a minor, semi-related setback: in the course of updating my car wash kit, I stumbled across the autogeek forums. The result after a few days of lurking and researching is that I now have an expensive new obsession in the form of car detailing.

So... Having blown a fair was of my hard-earned on products, accessories and hardware, my intention was to give the car a full detail, then unload a bunch of pics of the results in this thread.

HOWEVER... After a fair amount of research, and given that it was to be my birthday present (and had to stay within budget) I went for the lower end (entry level) of the market regarding random orbital polishers. It arrived last week (with only 4 days of holidays remaining) and I couldn't open it fast enough, so keen was I to get started! This is what I found:

Having had a full blown grownup tantrum ("mantrum"??), I got a replacement organised, but was obviously unable to play out my nefarious detailing scheme.

A couple of therapeutic elixirs (cold beers) later, I reassessed what I could achieve before going back to work. A couple more bottles, and I got ambitious, deciding to work on my man cave ( 2 car spots + workshop space under the house), so I cleared it out, got some acid, whipped out the pressure washer, and prepped the floors for painting, as it's been a bugbear of mine for some time, having a patchy-looking, half done floor when the rest is starting to look quite good.

2 days of work, rolling around on an old office chair (my back and shoulders are a new lesson in agony), and I'm ready to start on it this morning (it's currently just before 6am, and I have today and tomorrow left before going back to work):

More lighting and power will hopefully be going in late this week.

Still waiting on some gloss black vinyl for the mirrors and rear spoiler blade to arrive, and hopefully front console bushes going in tomorrow.

So... Pics of the beast in fully detailed form will be forthcoming...

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

[MickeyB]

Hmmm... Just got airbag fault message this morning- will investigate further...

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

[MickeyB]

Got my man cave floors finished!

Haven't had a chance to do anything more to the car: busy at work, and I just picked up the summer flu, so sick as a dog: the car will be serviced and front console bushes fitted late this week.

The last of my detailing hardware arrived, so hopefully next week sometime, I'll get the opportunity to give it a full detail and address the paint fade and swirls.

There's still a couple of minor issues: airbag light, and intermittent coolant warning on cold start, so I'll tackle them in the near future. Otherwise, it's all peachy: the car is mechanically and physically sound, which was my biggest concern given the apparent lack of care given to it by the previous owner.

I'm a Skoda convert: seriously considering another RS for her next car too: no AWD, but the build quality is superior to her Toyota, and she keeps mentioning that she'd like like another manual car... No reckon a manual FL wagon would look good in the carport.

Forgot to mention: my vinyl arrived, so I'll attempt to wrap the mirrors and spoiler blade after I've detailed the car...

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

Edited 8 December, 2015 by MickeyB

[MickeyB]

It's been a while since I updated, so here goes...

I have had a few warning lights popping up:

I got the airbag warning light a few weeks ago: cleaned the contacts etc, but it would appear that I've got a faulty sensor, so a new one is in order.

I also got the low oil level warning, but (very slack of me) not having paid much attention to how much oil the car had when I collected it (given that it was almost due for a service anyway), I added 1L, which took the oil level to just over 2/3 on the dipstick, and the light went out. I have since had it services, so I'll monitor the oil usage from here on in.

My intermittent coolant warning on cold starts got more and more common, so I cleaned the contacts in the coolant bottle, and it hasn't come on since.

The day after fixing the coolant light, I was just driving home from work, and copped the engine light! A scan showed a fault logged with the carbon canister. The code was cleared, and the warning hasn't popped up again since, so it's another one to monitor...

When the car was in for service, I finally had the console bushes fitted, but haven't had a chance to drive it: I was on an interstate flight this morning when my mechanic dropped the car at home.

In the process of servicing and checking the car, it was discovered that the front discs had some serious lipping going on, so I ordered a set of DBA T2 rotors and a fresh set of pads. I tried to get matching rears, but have to wait a month, as DBA haven't started supplying them yet.

This week was to be dedicated to finally detailing the car, but the opportunity came up to visit my best mate in Sydney (he booked tickets and told me in no uncertain terms that I was coming to visit!), so the detail will have to wait for my next decent run of days off.

Waiting in the wings for after detailing are my touch up paint, and vinyl wrap for the front grille, wing mirrors and rear spoiler.

I am also finding myself in need of a mild audio upgrade: I have a heap o sound deadening waiting in the wings, along with a subwoofer and amp from my old car. On the shopping list are an Audio Control LC6i line converter, 4ch amp, and I have to research a suitable front and rear component speaker replacement: I'm open to suggestion- I need some type of mid-spec speakers that will fit in the factory locations, if possible.

I know I'm better off getting a better head unit to start with, but I'm limiting my budget on this car, and the line converter has great reviews, and will allow me to retain factory (Nexus) navigation without spending a fortune...

I've also discovered that the Hankook tyres on the car have pitiful wet-weather performance, so I'll be looking to upgrade soon, as we're now in the wet season here.

Finally, I have made the decision to get the car tuned, so I'll be looking at what my options are, and I guess from my reading that I'll need a stronger clutch at the same time.

Watch this space...

Happy travels!

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy

Edited 11 January, 2016 by MickeyB