Sasha's Citigo Monte Carlo

[SashaGrace]

Thanks guys

 

So a missed delivery note came today as there was nobody in which I'm sure is for the bulbs as I can't think of anything else I've ordered that hasn't arrived yet aside from the light switch but that's due in February. So Sunday will see the fitting of the boot carpet and valve caps and some silver indicator bulbs to de tango the car and I hope the rest of the bulbs!

 

In other news my red key cover arrived today so I've put that on

 

IMG_6556 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

IMG_6557 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

It doesn't fit as well as the one I had when I was 17 on my 307 but the main thing is if I drop the key it'll have some protection and keep it looking fresh. I dropped my Volvo key once and left a huge gouge out of the back and I'm forever throwing them in and out of my bag so it's £2 to keep the key looking a bit tidier IMO.

 

Also making an appearance at last is this

 

Cat got the box!

 

IMG_6558 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

It's fitted and programmed in now and synced up to my phone, no pics as it was pitch black when I got home and you all know what they look like. Have a problem with the Bluetooth audio on my iPhone 6S though, the music keeps cutting out and the track ID doesn't know what's going on. I don't know how long the PID mount was left uncovered though so will give it a more thorough clean and try again tomorrow. The trip computer shows 49.6 MPG for today which is decent for a car with 122 miles on the clock and the journies it's done today. My C30 used to do about 19 MPG on the same routes!

 

Otherwise the nav system seems to work well from a cursory play around on the drive and picked up the phones 4G to use the live stuff OK.

 

More soon!!

[SashaGrace]

It's Sunday so as promised it is update time

 

First order of business is to fit the carpets to the rear 

 

I removed the parcel shelf, variable floor and mounts and the foam floor and carpet underneath to get started. This is what the carpets look like

 

IMG_6563 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Fitting is very straightforward, pull the trim off start to line up, once the lining up is done peel off the adhesive and stick down hard. Bash the trim back in but be careful to align the centre tab on the bit that sticks down over the arch as if you don't line it up it'll just bash the socket behind it back and stay loose, took me a couple of goes to line that up right on the left hand side but the right side went straight back in! After that if you have the variable floor you must locate the holes in the boot and I used a knife to cut through the carpet so the bolts can go through. On mine the central adhesive strip was placed right over the central bolt for the boot floor but it will go though quite easily. With a bit of effort it is easy to get all 4 sticky pads stuck down for a nice tight fit. Here's a 50/50. On the right is how the boot looked when I picked the car up and the left is how they should always have been built IMO

 

IMG_6564 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Up close

 

IMG_6565 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

And both sides complete

 

IMG_6566 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Boot floor in place

 

IMG_6567 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Carpet match is great!

 

IMG_6568 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

IMG_6569 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Floor down

 

IMG_6570 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

IMG_6571 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Next step was fitting these

 

IMG_6572 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Remove the old

 

IMG_6573 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

And replace with the new, much better on the front now!

 

IMG_6574 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

IMG_6575 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Am waiting on rear ones and looking to find some way of doing something with the side repeaters as they bother me the most being orange!

 

Next was fitting these

 

IMG_6576 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Nice genuine Skoda ones all lined up properly

 

Lastly was the auto light conversion, start by removing the old light switch

 

IMG_6559 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Remove the dash side trim and place the control box in there, cable tie to the metal support and run the cable to the switch through the hole.

 

IMG_6560 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

IMG_6561 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Route the sensor up to the dash somewhere and stick it down

 

IMG_6562 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

I got it here because it is unobtrusive and honestly doesn't catch the eye when you sit inside.

 

Last thing to do is test it and that's easy! Place a tissue or something over the sensor to make it dark and go for it The convenience function (lights come on for 20 seconds when the car is locked/unlocked in the dark) are activated which is a nice touch.

 

 

Please excuse the background chatter, my sniffing and me standing there like a tit pressing the lock button for ages until I realised the drivers door was open! As you can see the lights on the switch are red as it is meant for an up! but that doesn't bother me that much, the fact it's chrome and not black is much more relevant to me tbh

 

And another test

 

 

Then the comfort access at night and showing the lights do go off when commanded lol, the only issue I have found is when the lights come on and the door is opened it does throw a few pings to say the lights are on but it shuts up in the end

 

 

Hope that shows all that clearly I'm very happy with those mods tbh, really complete the car for me. I am not happy with the PID as it simply doesn't play music from my phone, have re synced them, cleaned the PID mounts, reset the PID, reset the phone, tried 3 different phones and it doesn't play music properly. It skips and goes off and sometimes doesn't play at all, the track ID is never working properly and none of the PID controls work to change track. Also the puncture warning has come on twice since I picked it up so tomorrow will be ringing the dealer to sort those, I think my PID is the one from the display cabinet tbh as they looked a bit sheepish when I asked for it the other day so I will be ensuring a new one is ordered to fix the issue. I have bought the map updates on Fresh with the coupon so thanks for the heads up! 

 

Will update with how the lights work in the real world and the PID issue when I can and tomorrow as I'm on the phone to them anyway I'll be ordering some rear arch liners This mod list keeps growing haha

 

Hope you've all had a great weekend!

[VRSrhino89]

Really nice little car! 

[SashaGrace]

So today went well... I was helping my brother fit a new tail light to his Fabia this morning and the (insert expletive here) idiot shut the boot on my hand and has broken my finger! It was 2 hours in minor injuries to have it x-rayed and put in a splint, my wedding ring is stuck on my hand now as my little finger (the broken one), my ring finger and middle finger on my left hand have swollen to the size of sausages and I have my little finger in a splint at this point, so fitting the arch liners was starting to look like a challenge however, I have 9 other fingers so I wasn't going to give up that easily!

 

With some help from my Dad who was feeling slightly sorry for me, we removed the nasty wheel bolt caps (I still don't like these!) and jacked the car up, got the axle stands out, took the wheels off and lined the arches up to get to the holes under the paint. Once we found them all it was time to install the fixings, paint over with waxoyl and line up for the proper fit.

 

So here's how it was before (shamelessly the photo from last week)

 

IMG_6536 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Arch liner fitted

 

IMG_6577 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

And the other side fitted; if you have mudflaps fitted you do need to modify the arches slightly and my Dad did it because I couldn't. When my hand recovers, I'll try and tidy it up. Also the parts guy didn't supply the adaptors to screw the liner in at the front so will go back and get those and attach them.

 

IMG_6578 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Most importantly, here's how it looks with the wheels back on, drivers side

 

IMG_6579 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Passenger side

 

IMG_6581 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Didn't clean the wheels again as my hand hurts!! Will sort it all out next week. Just transferring some more music onto an SD card for the PID as the sound it much better than the BT audio even through the KitSound and that function works fine. Mod wise, waiting for the refund from HID's Direct and then will re-order more bulbs from elsewhere

 

More soon!!

[SashaGrace]

It's update time!!

 

Nothing major but a few bits and pieces nonetheless. I've had these vinyl sill protectors for a while as I wanted something on the rear sills to match the Monte Carlo ones on the front. The advert said they were black but they are actually carbon effect. I am undecided if they are quite cool or really awful but there are small marks in the paint appearing here so they'll stay for now. 

 

Before

 

IMG_6582 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

After

 

IMG_6584 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

I was going to leave it at that but the kit came with a wider set to go on the outer part of the sill and in the front I thought I'd trial fit one and see how it looked. Ended up looking good so I pressed on.

 

IMG_6589 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Then thought I couldn't do both on the front and not do both on the back so off I went.

 

IMG_6590 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

I had to trim the lower ones on the back as in standard size they could be seen with the door shut so I have trimmed them down slightly

 

Wanted to grab a quick shot of the new headlight bulbs so I have done.

 

IMG_6583 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Really show how yellow the DRL's/sidelights are now. Will have to get my finger out and reorder LED's from a different supplier.

 

Then I had a brainwave (dangerous I know) and thought I could use my spare vinyl that is supplied to cover where the MC branded sill protector is to protect the boot a little as I noticed this

 

IMG_6585 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Thought why not try and do something here so cracked on and achieved this

 

IMG_6586 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

IMG_6588 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Not perfect but a whole lot better!

 

I've never been one for adding seatbelt padders but I noticed when wearing a sleeveless top the belt cuts into my shoulder no matter what hight it's set at and that bothered me so I got these.

 

IMG_6593 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

I'm not a fan of them as a style statement but they do serve a purpose so they can stay for now.

 

And today's mileage is

 

No idea, because I can't find the photo! Think it was around the 3500 mark

 

Still loving the little beast, had a blast taking it to the Trafford Centre for a day out last week, it coped admirably even with the A/C sapping the power haha. 

 

Just as I was finishing up a camera was shoved in my face so here I am with the car

 

IMG_6594 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

So here endeth my Sunday, hope you've all had a good one too

Edited 9 September, 2017 by SashaGrace

[SashaGrace]

Update time, the car has hit 4000 miles and counting, all is well and MPG is comfortable in the mid 50's, got 64 MPG out of it the other day going to IKEA! Happy with that  

 

I have fitted a dash cam the other day which I've had in the box for ages. Used one of these before and they are a great camera with really good picture quality, very discreet and well priced.

 

Here it is

 

IMG_6596 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

IMG_6597 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

And out of the box

 

IMG_6598 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Tiny!!

 

Time to install

 

IMG_6599 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

I've clipped the wire to the screen now, will post update later

 

And from the outside

 

IMG_6601 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

The hardwire install is on page 9, but just to keep things flowing here it is again.

 

I used on of these which are a motorcycle 12v socket kit from Amazon for £7.99

 

IMG_6601 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

To fit it, prise the dash end panel off and behold the lovely earth they give you within very easy reach!

 

IMG_6602 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

I snipped the hoop off the positive cable and chocolate blocked it onto an add a fuse kit to solder later (confession; still not done that yet!) and plugged in to the 12v socket fuse. Once the power is tested, tidy the wiring up, tie it all together, shove it back down behind the dash, pop the end panel back on and enjoy a tidy dash cam install. Because of the height of the add a fuse, you can't reuse the fuse box cover so I had to improvise some limited protection in the form of duck tape but I'll do something more permanent when I can as I now have access to a 3-D printer

 

IMG_6603 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

That brings us up to date, a small update will come later today

Edited 9 September, 2017 by SashaGrace

[SashaGrace]

47 minutes ago, VRSrhino89 said:

Really nice little car! 

Thanks  I neglected this thread after sulking about Photobucket and I got busy enjoying my holiday haha. I've also sold the Audi again now and I've promised not to buy it back again haha

[adam85james]

On 09/09/2017 at 14:00, SashaGrace said:

Wanted to grab a quick shot of the new headlight bulbs so I have done.

 

IMG_6583 by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Really show how yellow the DRL's/sidelights are now. Will have to get my finger out and reorder LED's from a different supplier.

 

 

 

Cracking job on your Citigo! What headlights are these? I've got a DRL out and I'm going to use replacing it as an excuse to update the headlights?

[SashaGrace]

Thanks, the lights are Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited and on full beam they are great!! Dipped beam has been improved from not good enough to OK. I've just ordered a pair of LED DRL's which were the first mod I wanted to do a whopping 9 months ago but they never came and I sort of forgot about them. There'll be an update with them and a few other additions coming soon

[ronime]

Subscribed for the write-up on the LED DRLs!

[WaveyDavey]

I put The Nightbreaker Unlimited bulbs in ours and they are a big improvement especially when you overtake a standard Citigo/Up!/Mii" on the motorway.   I'm now itching for one of them to blow though so I can change up to the newer and brighter Nightbreaker Laser bulbs which are the newer upgrade to the unlimited bulbs. 

 

The LED DRLs were the first mod I did to ours..... They were really really bright as per the photos in my Citigo thread but I found once the sunnier spring and summer days arrived they became less noticeable in bright sunshine. I've put it down to the fact that the reflector area around the DRL bulbs isn't mirror finish like the rest of the headlight area and so therefore don't reflect add much of the light forwards. This means that as the light from the LEDs is very close to the natural light from the sun they just start to blend in and are hard to see from any distance. The LED DRL bulbs I have fitted in the Superb are just as bright as the ones in the Citigo but because the reflector in the Superb DRLs is a proper mirror reflector they are a lot more visible like OEM LED DRLs in very bright sunshine.  In the end I swapped the OEM bulbs back in to the Citigo for the summer. The LEDs will be going back in over the next few weeks once we're back to the duller days. 

 

I'd be interested to see which bulbs you go for and how they look on really sunny days once they are back again next year. 

Edited 16 September, 2017 by WaveyDavey

[Gyp]

On 9/9/2017 at 13:44, SashaGrace said:

Just transferring some more music onto an SD card for the PID as the sound it much better than the BT audio even through the KitSound and that function works fine. Mod wise, waiting for the refund from HID's Direct and then will re-order more bulbs from elsewhere

 

More soon!!

 

We've also given up on the bluetooth audio on the PID, and have added a KitSound to the Citigo. It's worked flawlessly in the MX-5 so it seemed like a no-brainer

[SashaGrace]

After reading that I checked the invoice (I put it in the car folder because I'm sad) and I need to correct myself, they are Nightbreaker Laser. I usually go for Cool Blue Intense as I prefer the colour at 4200k they are almost xenon like in shade but they've been replaced with Cool Blue Hyper so I went with the Laser bulbs instead. The full beam is simply fantastic and the dipped is far superior to standard and pretty decent now.

 

Ive gone for Osram W21/5W LED bulbs for the DRL's. My view on this is that they are a pretty feeble light output as standard and I'm not fussed if people can't really see them, I'd rather they weren't there but that's the law. One of the areas I prefer about the Mii is the large LED DRL's that take up the fog light space; they look much nicer when illuminated like my old Volvo did but I do like having fog lights as they are handy. I'm glad I went for my car when I did though as I'm pretty sure I'd have had a Mii if I had to buy now as despite the interest rate on the finance being higher, the Mii is currently a few ££ less overall to buy than a Citigo. If I was buying now I'd be paying £50 per month more than I am for my car according to the calculator but I guess when you go in and ask you can bring it down again. Odd that the price has risen despite new car sales falling from last year.

 

I love my little KitSound, it works very well and the sound quality is good, considering the output of the standard stereo! If the higher powered stereos you can get on the Up! & Mii were available when I was buying, that may have swung my decision haha!

[Hyphons]

I think it's actually not a legality to have DRL's on in the UK as far as I know, it's a legality for manufacturers to make sure new cars have them, if you do want them off permantly but sidelights to still work, you can pull fuse 21

[SashaGrace]

That's interesting to know  I'm also pretty sure it's only law that they have to sell them with DRL's, you don't have to use them but as I've ordered now I'll see how I go. I'm on the fence about having them or not but I'm willing to give them a go

[Jonny118118]

I'd swap the headlights for the newer ones with the strip LED DRLs if it was simple... as far as I know it isn't. 

[WaveyDavey]

4 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

 

 

Ive gone for Osram W21/5W LED bulbs for the DRL's. My view on this is that they are a pretty feeble light output as standard and I'm not fussed if people can't really see them, I'd rather they weren't there but that's the law. One of the areas I prefer about the Mii is the large LED DRL's that take up the fog light space; they look much nicer when illuminated like my old Volvo did but I do like having fog lights as they are handy. I'm glad I went for my car when I did though as I'm pretty sure I'd have had a Mii if I had to buy now as despite the interest rate on the finance being higher, the Mii is currently a few ££ less overall to buy than a Citigo. If I was buying now I'd be paying £50 per month more than I am for my car according to the calculator but I guess when you go in and ask you can bring it down again. Odd that the price has risen despite new car sales falling from last year.

 

 

Like I say the LED bulbs seem bright except in bright sunlight when the halogen bulbs are still easily visible but the LEDs just blend in because of the similar colour temp to sunlight.  Defo seems to be due to the slightly opaque DRL reflectors. 

 

Which Mii models have LED DRLs  in the foglight location as every one I've seen has them in the main headlights like the Citigo and Up! Including the new facelift ones.  I do much prefer the new facelift headlight and DRL arrangement in the Citigo especially compared to the facelift Up! which just has three LED units where the existing halogen DRLs were located. Even the Seat website shows them in the main headlights. 

 

 

Also can the DRLs not just be disabled via VCDS?

Edited 16 September, 2017 by WaveyDavey

[SashaGrace]

When I was buying the Citigo I did nip into the adjoining Seat dealership to see if the Mii was any cheaper and the demo they had there was a Design Mii and it had no front foglight switch yet had quad LED lights in place of the fog lights. I thought they were all like that tbh, maybe not! They get electric mirrors standard further down the range than the Citigo so I didn't question the nicer DRL's. The new MY17.5 Citigo is ideal with the nicer strip DRL's and the new family face it's a real difference from the earlier ones but a classier effor IMO than either the Up! or the Mii even though the Cosmo one is a nice colour.

 

I don't regret the purchase nearly 8000 miles in

[WaveyDavey]

Just a quickie..... Are these the DRLs you have gone for?     https://www.amazon.co.uk/OSRAM-7915CW-02B-LED-Premium-Retrofit/dp/B01LZ6X9O7/ref=pd_sim_263_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DBSTCT7638ZFZA5548HF#Ask

 

 

[SashaGrace]

They look like the ones yep, will get them fitted over the weekend

[SashaGrace]

As I was suffering from MY17 jealousy I finally got around to ordering an umbrella and holder for under the seat and the umbrella has arrived today but the holder is on back order, they say it'll be a few weeks before it arrives. I treated myself to the overpriced umbrella, just for the Skoda logo and because it's plain black, apparently my bright pink spotty one is 'too embarrassing to be seen with' so that pleases the passenger, which is worth it. For those who want to know, it's £10.66 for the umbrella holder and £20.16 for the umbrella itself. I wanted to have that fitted this weekend but I can't because it's not here!!

[WaveyDavey]

3 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

As I was suffering from MY17 jealousy I finally got around to ordering an umbrella and holder for under the seat and the umbrella has arrived today but the holder is on back order, they say it'll be a few weeks before it arrives. I treated myself to the overpriced umbrella, just for the Skoda logo and because it's plain black, apparently my bright pink spotty one is 'too embarrassing to be seen with' so that pleases the passenger, which is worth it. For those who want to know, it's £10.66 for the umbrella holder and £20.16 for the umbrella itself. I wanted to have that fitted this weekend but I can't because it's not here!!

 

They've dropped the price of the new umbrellas then. The cheapest I could find the one for my Superb when I got the car was around £35-40 so I got the measurements of the Skoda one and went shopping. I found a plain black one in Next that was exactly the same measurements..... Price....... £9.99. 

 

[SashaGrace]

Christ that's a bit much!!! It's the smaller one, when my Mum took her Fabia in for service they gave her one for free but it was a big massive one, this seems to be a pretty standard sized one but it's quite cool it has a Skoda badge and it folds out with the push of a button. You have to slide mine up yourself, like a peasant, so that's a nice touch. I was hoping it'd be good for £20 haha

[SashaGrace]

The bulbs have arrived, should look nice, just need to get a decent LED W5W for the numberplate light if I choose to upgrade

[SashaGrace]

DRL’s fitted. I’m very happy with this look

 

Before

 

 

During

 

 

And done

 

 

Lights on

 

 

I should have done this months ago!!