What a stunning colour combination, very nice car indeed. Enjoy!

Glad you got the door seal sorted. I was surprised when I read that you were disappointed by the levels of wind noise. I moved from a Citroen C5 which is a pretty quiet car but found the S3 was even quieter. And yes the screen washers are pants.

Welcome to the club and happy motoring.

Glad you got the door seal sorted. I was surprised when I read that you were disappointed by the levels of wind noise. I moved from a Citroen C5 which is a pretty quiet car but found the S3 was even quieter. And yes the screen washers are pants.

Welcome to the club and happy motoring.

 

It's a real shame about those washer jets. I can't believe they signed off such a crap design. Why not just carry over the previous washer nozzles? If it ain't broke and all that.

Lovely colour    ,  it took me a week of fiddling to get the seat in the best position , I'm 6ft5 and find it really comfy now , far better than my old Passat CC , 2 weeks of having the car and 2000 miles in.. love it

Lovely colour    ,  it took me a week of fiddling to get the seat in the best position , I'm 6ft5 and find it really comfy now , far better than my old Passat CC , 2 weeks of having the car and 2000 miles in.. love it

There's hope for me yet then! 

 

I've had it three days and I'm getting there. Just need to make sure my 6 year old doesn't get near those seat memory buttons! Either that or assign my seat position to my key...

Thanks, 

 

I detest blue (or even a hint of blue) bulbs with a passion so that leaves just the Nightbreakers (for me), this is some claim though:

 

 

XENARC NIGHT BREAKER UNLIMITED

 

Product benefits 

• Up to 70 % more light (compared to standard xenon lamps)
• Up to 20 m longer beam (compared to standard xenon lamps)

Areas of application 

• Headlight

Product features 

• Color temperature: up to 4,350 K

Safety advice

XENARC lamp change is recommended to be carried out by a professional.

Legal advice

ECE approval

I prefer my lights to be slightly more blue, but not too much as the quality of light deteriorates. Plus they can make you look like a bit of a knob  . I've taken another look at the Nightbreakers and I might give them a go this time around. I'll take a look at the light fittings to see if the lamps can be accessed without taking the bumper off. Hopefully the Mk3 isn't a repeat of the Mk2 FL's inaccessible lights. 

You've now got me thinking about swapping my Xenons out. What type are the units? I've seen D1s, D2s, D3s (I think that's the codes?) but couldn't for the life of me find anything useful in the manual about bulb types? I'm guessing these units need very careful fitting by a tech? Not a muppet like me with no idea.

Wonder if they are D3s with the integrated ballast/ignitor like the Octy 3 ? 

 

if so.. expect £££ prices each

I've had a quick look at the lights, the plastic caps unscrew to reveal the xenon lamp. They are indeed D3S lamps

 

The good news is they appear to be accessible without removing the whole headlight unit. 

 

DIY fitting is entirely possible as long as you take your time, exercise caution and use some some good ol' fasgioned common sense. 

 

I've changed the xenon lamps on my last 4 Skodas and never had a problem. 

 

This is the nearside lamp, the offside lamp is a similar setup. 

 

£220 for a pair!

OK they have -20% off at the moment but that's still £175... not sure the std ones are that poor I need them that much?

http://www.powerbulbs.com/store/search/OSRAM%2520night%2520breaker%2520xenarc

£220 for a pair!

OK they have -20% off at the moment but that's still £175... not sure the std ones are that poor I need them that much?

http://www.powerbulbs.com/store/search/OSRAM%2520night%2520breaker%2520xenarc

 

Dont forget to search the amazon EU sites if you have prime -  £139

 

http://www.amazon.de/UNLIMITED-66340XNB-Xenon-HID-Entladungslampe-Faltschachtel/dp/B0185GYOM0/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1457108621&sr=1-1&keywords=OSRAM+XENARC+NIGHT+BREAKER+UNLIMITED+66340XNB+D3S

A quick clean and some VCDS tweaks today: 

 

:: Got rid of the distracting orange mode button when driving mode is set to anything other than Normal. 

:: Drive mode selection on Maxidot enabled

:: Refuel quantity on Maxidot enabled

:: Removed electric tailgate health and safety beeping nonsense

:: Enabled rear lights with DRLs to enable 'eyelashes' in front headlights at all times

:: Tweaked LED strip colour from that useless warm white/orange colour to pure purple

 

Big thanks to Gizmo and all other contributors for the S3 VCDS related threads  :clap:

 

 

 

Dont forget to search the amazon EU sites if you have prime -  £139

 

http://www.amazon.de/UNLIMITED-66340XNB-Xenon-HID-Entladungslampe-Faltschachtel/dp/B0185GYOM0/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1457108621&sr=1-1&keywords=OSRAM+XENARC+NIGHT+BREAKER+UNLIMITED+66340XNB+D3S

I've found this site in Germany that looks good for price. I'm fairly certain I've used them in the past, it was a few years back though. 

 

https://www.lichtex.de/osram-d3s-66340xnb-night-breaker-unlimited-xenarc/a-663401/

 

I think i'll try the XtremeVision lamps. 

Just to add to the discussion about the D3S xenon headlights. I received my Philips X-tremeVision lamps from www.lichtex.de and I can confirm they are 100% genuine. The external box was legit Philips and the hologram stickers on the side of leach lamp box check out with the philips.com/original product checker.

 

All in they were €173.00 which - when translated into proper money - is around £133. Not bad.

 

In other news....

 

The car has done just over 800 miles now. It's used a little oil so will have to top up shortly. 

 

Coded the car for foglights and DRLs for LH/CH lights. 

 

Had a nose around the 5F controller's adaptations. There is the capability of bringing up an offroad screen on the Columbus but it's a total waste of time so don't bother. 

 

I've been trying to get the oil level to display on either the Columbus' car info screen or the maxidot. No success so far but will keep trying. 

 

 

Tried the oil level myself without success.

Any chance of a before and after video of the xenons? (Ideally on the same road for a true like for like experiment)

This is something I know myself and another couple of people are interested in doing, depending on the results.

I hardly or never check the oil, the drive is about 1 in 4 so it's a bit of a pain.

So is there any notification by the cars systems to tell you if the oil level is getting low?

I hardly or never check the oil, the drive is about 1 in 4 so it's a bit of a pain.

So is there any notification by the cars systems to tell you if the oil level is getting low?

 

If oil is low you will get a warning, so unless you are planning a long distance trip i dont tend to check it once you get a feel for the usage.

Edited 9 March, 201610 yr by RickTT

Tried the oil level myself without success.

Any chance of a before and after video of the xenons? (Ideally on the same road for a true like for like experiment)

This is something I know myself and another couple of people are interested in doing, depending on the results.

 

I'll do some before and after comparisons 

 

I'll be doing them in an underground car park when I'm (supposed to be) working nights, so plenty of scope for comparison. 

I check the oil often when the engine is brand new as they tend to consume it at a higher rate for the first few thousand miles. My old CR170 never used a drop once it was run in. 

 

I'm not a big fan of letting the oil level drop to a point where the car tells me it is low. I prefer to keep it topped up frequently until I am confident the consumption is negligible or zero. Then it's a quick check every couple of weeks. 

Touch wood ... Mines not used any yet ... 2300 miles.

I dodged the showers today and managed to fit my bumper protector....

 

While it isn't exactly a 100% fit, it's close enough. It doesn't foul the tailgate, but it's VERY close!

 

As long as it stops nitrogen bottles whacking the **** out of my bumper, I'm not too fussed. 

 

 

 

 

 

Touch wood ... Mines not used any yet ... 2300 miles.

Out of interest Nick did you follow the cautious running in suggestions from the manual, or just get it warm and drive normally? Just curious given that you've got one that's not drinking oil as fast as petrol.

I dodged the showers today and managed to fit my bumper protector....

 

While it isn't exactly a 100% fit, it's close enough. It doesn't foul the tailgate, but it's VERY close!

 

As long as it stops nitrogen bottles whacking the **** out of my bumper, I'm not too fussed. 

 

 

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S3bumper4.JPG

Hi, whose bumper protector did you use??

Hi, whose bumper protector did you use??

This one: http://www.superskoda.com/Skoda/SUPERB-III/Superb-III-Combi-massive-stainless-steel-rear-bumper-protective-panel-V3

This one: http://www.superskoda.com/Skoda/SUPERB-III/Superb-III-Combi-massive-stainless-steel-rear-bumper-protective-panel-V3

Thanks for your prompt response. Going to get one ordered ready for collecting my car next week.