Sasha’s Octavia vRS

[SashaGrace]

Its £230 odd for the FL screen from Germany. When discussing sending my unit away to have this done there was an offer on the table to part ex this unit and screen for a 2018 FL unit and screen which would have worked out costing about the same, just would rather spread the cost instead of one lump of money. Not all OEM stuff is pricey as it takes someone who knows how to handle it to make it work properly. It would have been nice for the working app button, but I'm happy with the 6.5 inch screen for now

[SashaGrace]

I forgot to post updated radio logos pictures, so thought I’d better had now I’ve sorted them all. Must admit, they are nicer now  

 

 

Had to deactivate the AM band again (waste of time having it so I don’t want it)

 

 

and managed to catch the vRS start screen as well

 

 

I was hoping my old iPhone 6 spare in the drawer upstairs was still running iOS 10 so I could run CarBridge or NGXPlay but sadly it is a newer firmware than I remembered so I haven’t got the extra apps I wanted on CarPlay yet. Will do something with it eventually though

 

Also sorted all the coding for the footwell lighting install ready for fitting soon.

[JohnnyType2]

that looks really tidy, what were the all in costs?

[Jonny118118]

@SashaGrace From first seeing you in the Citigo forum, and all the mods you were doing then i was impressed. However i didn’t realise just how limited a Citigo was! 

The main reason I’ve been following this thread is due to the amount of mods you do, and how well you pull them off! It’s interesting to see what can be done to a professional standard (just as they’d come out of a factory!). Keep up the good work and I’ll try copy you one day 

[SeanG]

Footwell question. I upgraded to LEDs and I like the clean white lights. I have them dialled down to their lowest setting so they dim to this low level when driving. However, due to the better lighting, I don’t like that they are still lit, especially noticeable when on a dark road. 

 

Im wondering if there is a setting that would turn them off altogether once timed or driving - similar to the interior overhead lights that dim/turn off after a period?

 

thanks,

 

Sean

[SashaGrace]

2 hours ago, JohnnyType2 said:

that looks really tidy, what were the all in costs?

Thanks, was £430 all in. That’s for a used nav unit, screen, USB and the rework to get all the features working.

1 hour ago, Jonny118118 said:

@SashaGrace From first seeing you in the Citigo forum, and all the mods you were doing then i was impressed. However i didn’t realise just how limited a Citigo was! 

The main reason I’ve been following this thread is due to the amount of mods you do, and how well you pull them off! It’s interesting to see what can be done to a professional standard (just as they’d come out of a factory!). Keep up the good work and I’ll try copy you one day 

Haha, thanks. Yeah, I still love the little Citigo and I haven’t forgotten it, it’s heading for 13k miles now and doing well. Still after modding it and it’s not technically even mine anymore!! The Octy has so much more that can be done and I’ve not even got to the point of lowering it, changing the wheels etc, I’m still working through the OEM+ stuff. Have finally decided though that the next SuperSkoda 20% off event is going to see me cave and go for the colour coded badges and lettering (would love to do the same to he Citigo too!!) to really finish of the Black pack properly (IMO of course). I try to make all the mods I do look right, sort of like I never did them, they just appear factory. I have perfected it after years of breaking stuff haha.

55 minutes ago, SeanG said:

Footwell question. I upgraded to LEDs and I like the clean white lights. I have them dialled down to their lowest setting so they dim to this low level when driving. However, due to the better lighting, I don’t like that they are still lit, especially noticeable when on a dark road. 

 

Im wondering if there is a setting that would turn them off altogether once timed or driving - similar to the interior overhead lights that dim/turn off after a period?

 

thanks,

 

Sean

I have no idea at the moment sadly, mine are still in the box. I gather you can turn them down in the infotainment unit though? I have done the coding today and the background lighting tab has appeared on the screen but there is nothing to adjust yet. If you haven’t found a way before I fit mine, I’ll have a root around

 

Have been busy prepping for getting the Merc cleaned up this week, then the Octy can finally have a proper detail. Have lent my stuff out to a friend for a few days but it’ll be back soon and now it’s Easter hols I will be getting on it. Also my Dad comes back on the 30th with my towbar so I’ll be straight in fitting that as I have no space to leave it lying around!

[arnold]

9 hours ago, SeanG said:

Footwell question. I upgraded to LEDs and I like the clean white lights. I have them dialled down to their lowest setting so they dim to this low level when driving. However, due to the better lighting, I don’t like that they are still lit, especially noticeable when on a dark road. 

 

Im wondering if there is a setting that would turn them off altogether once timed or driving - similar to the interior overhead lights that dim/turn off after a period?

 

thanks,

 

Sean

Yes this can be done. I did mine originally to act in the same way as the interior lights with different coding. 

[SashaGrace]

Today I decided to solve a problem I've had with this car since day 1, the USB connection. There's nothing wrong it, but I hate that it is exposed. On previous cars it would be hidden away somewhere and I wanted it to be that way here, particularly now I have the CarPlay and my phone is always plugged in. It would be great to have it plumbed into the phonebox, but that's a no go as my iPhone 7 Plus is too large to fit with a cable attached, so I decided to route a wire to the centre console. The only part you will need is a spare cable.

 

 

I ordered a 2m one which turned out to be a little overkill, 1.5m would be a nice length, but Apple only do 1m (that would be tight) or 2m. No, I didn't pay the £29 they charge for this, but I wanted a genuine one as I have found the cheap cables don't sync with CarPlay.

 

The first job is to remove the gear gaiter, there are 4 tabs to pry and it comes off. Give the trim a good pull and it comes off with 3 connectors to unplug. Set that aside, then remove the USB/Aux trim. Ideally, you should remove the radio screen and climate panel, but I've done this a few times now and I know where the tabs are to pry. A little tug with a flat blade and the trim pops off easily. Remove the plugs and then place the trim to one side. Now remove the phonebox or ashtray. I have the phonebox, so there is a plug for that underneath and the wiring for what I assume is the LED bulb that lights up at night, set that aside and you should have this view.

 

You can see I have routed the cable up and over the dash support bracket at the back and then routed the cable under the phonebox base and by the heating duct for the rear vents. I taped the USB end in place to avoid it coming loose and shoved it on top of the support bracket where it is nice and secure.

 

 

The next job is to make a hole. I can make this bigger anytime but seeing as I'm a committed Apple user I decided that instead of routing a USB plug extension into the cubby (there is plenty of space to do this and you could make a factory neat job of it too) I would just run a lead as there would be one less plug connection. If Apple change from Lightening to USB-C or I decide they are getting too expensive and I defect to Android in a few years time, I can just undo this work and re route a new cable, it'd be very straightforward. With this in mind I wanted a small hole as the plug end is small, so I brought out my Makita mini impact driver (other drill brands are available) and drilled a hole just big enough for the cable end in the corner of the trim. Next, feed the cable past the handbrake lever and through the hole.

 

 

The cable is so thin and the mat is slightly small anyway so it just fits back in with no adjustment needed.

 

 

I decided for security and peace of mind to tape the cable to the trim so it won't come loose and interfere with the handbrake mechanism. Do this in maybe 2-3 places.

 

 

Do a quick test to make sure the phone is read by the stereo and then you can reinstall. 'But Sasha, what do you do about the big hole the USB used to live in?' I hear you ask. Well, that's up to you, but as you know, I have a spare OEM socket from my old MIB1, so I have clipped that into place for now just to fill the hole. I intend to install a USB charge lead here for the passenger to charge a phone and I will splice this into the 12v feed. With everything complete it is time to stand back and enjoy CarPlay with no visible wires.

 

 

 

The phone fits nicely in the centre console, but you could just as easily route it to the glovebox or anywhere else you like it. You can see just how much excess wire I have here, but I only store my phone in there and I know have the Phonebox free for other things.

 

 

Much better 

Edited 27 March, 2018 by SashaGrace
Spelling

[MorrisOx]

Brilliant explanation - you should have your own YouTube channel. Or charge for this thread. Or both!

[SashaGrace]

Haha, you don't need me on YouTube! For a start, it's not a Sasha 'How to' without a blood bath, today I have a chunk missing from my ring finger on the right hand and yet another broken nail (sigh) and any ex-pupil of mine when I was a mainstream DT teacher would be appalled at my lack of safety considerations when I'm not teaching  I also have the dreadful affliction that is a strong Ynys Mon farmer accent which is rather unfortunate on recording equipment. I much prefer to write things down 

 

Thread is at no charge as I learn a lot too!!

[Madmax889]

2 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

Haha, you don't need me on YouTube! For a start, it's not a Sasha 'How to' without a blood bath, today I have a chunk missing from my ring finger on the right hand and yet another broken nail (sigh) and any ex-pupil of mine when I was a mainstream DT teacher would be appalled at my lack of safety considerations when I'm not teaching  I also have the dreadful affliction that is a strong Ynys Mon farmer accent which is rather unfortunate on recording equipment. I much prefer to write things down 

 

Thread is at no charge as I learn a lot too!!

Again more and more learning from you... keep the thread going Sasha. Quick question though what about the USB port that was originally there? Is it still there or gone completely? Have I missed something?

[SashaGrace]

The USB that drives the CarPlay is the MIB2 long green USB. I originally had it clipped into place in the proper slot following the swap. The Apple lead is plugged and taped into it now and it has been shoved atop a dashboard support bracket behind the climate panel. The charge wire now follows the heater ducting to the rear of the centre console and is now drilled through the base of the cubby. The USB that is now on show is my old MIB1 USB and is just to plug the hole, it serves no other function, it’s just a placeholder. If you wanted to do this and you didn’t want a big hole in the trim, you would need another USB to fill the hole. I plan on making this a socket a charge socket down the line. That will be the bit that needs figuring out by anyone who wants to do this mod before I get chance to fit a power socket there as I have the luxury of bunging in a spare socket.

 

Hope that’s clearer

[uchuff]

That's a neat job. I was considering something somewhat similar running some power USB sockets towards the rear of the jumbo box somewhere for powering the kids iPads in the back, but as the missus has an iPhone Plus in a leather case you've got me thinking now. I'd guess that's going to increasingly be where factory fit USB sockets are. Should hopefully be picking the car up Saturday and will try and hold off taking too much apart for a good while anyway, there will be plenty of bits to buy without.

 

It's a good point about the cable type affecting Car Play, I grabbed 3 cables on my way out of the door for a test drive as I'd heard they were fussy, unfortunately none of them official, and the one that worked out best actually was the Poundland Signalex branded one I bought when my battery died when I was out of town with a dead phone and no cable recently. I bought a smart looking black 90 degree cable I'm hoping works well, but I'd absolutely stick with official Apple as you have done though if I was concealing it behind trim. 

Edited 28 March, 2018 by uchuff

[SashaGrace]

The factory USB’s are above the ashtray and look good. Other options include splicing into the boot 12v and using the armrest instead. The centre console is more than big enough for a plus sized iPhone or a Galaxy S9+. I never seem to have the bad luck people talk about with these cables, I can make them last a good while so it was worth it for me to get a handful of genuine cables and use one of those.

[Dave77]

3 hours ago, uchuff said:

That's a neat job. I was considering something somewhat similar running some power USB sockets towards the rear of the jumbo box somewhere for powering the kids iPads in the back, but as the missus has an iPhone Plus in a leather case you've got me thinking now. I'd guess that's going to increasingly be where factory fit USB sockets are. Should hopefully be picking the car up Saturday and will try and hold off taking too much apart for a good while anyway, there will be plenty of bits to buy without.

 

That's what I did. You can do it without taking anything apart (except fuse box access if needed). I tucked the 2m USB cable from the fuse box under the side of centre console and attached a 4 port hub at the end

 

 

[Oli1983uk]

Just been reading your thread Sasha, and now have a few things added to my list for my car, but once I got reading about your radio tuff it then triggered in my head that I have just bought your old radio screen from eBay!

 

Hopefully going to visit Gizmo from the forums next week to get some VCD's changes done to my car.

 

 

[SashaGrace]

Haha, I wondered if you might have been on here, was gunna ask but I forgot! Yes the radio screen is on its way to you :)

 

There’ll be an update to this thread later today as the towbar is here. This should be fun...

[harni]

Looking good. Just a thought but has anyone tried a USB hub plugged into the MIB USB? If it works you could tuck this behind the dash, fit a USB port into the original mounting hole below the climate control and also have your lightning cable in the arm rest. All looks factory finish and you retain the original use of the USB below the climate control

[SashaGrace]

That’s an interesting idea and not one I had considered. It isn’t on my list of considerations at the moment as it’s only me that drives this car and we are an all Apple household at the moment anyway. I also use a music streaming service in preference to a USB stick but there is still a 64GB SD card with a collection of FLAC files on it just in case.

 

I do need to make it a charge cable at some point as it’ll annoy me that it doesn’t work. 

 

I intended to have an update with the towbar but my laptop is busy updating so I’ll throw the pics on later when it’s light. I have found my old iPhone and jailbroken it though, quick teaser of CarPlay with some extra features courtesy of NGXPlay. Some for stationary use only and others just for a laugh

 

 

 

Need to sort the screen ratios out on some of them in the morning, but they’re all there

[Madmax889]

6 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

That’s an interesting idea and not one I had considered. It isn’t on my list of considerations at the moment as it’s only me that drives this car and we are an all Apple household at the moment anyway. I also use a music streaming service in preference to a USB stick but there is still a 64GB SD card with a collection of FLAC files on it just in case.

 

I do need to make it a charge cable at some point as it’ll annoy me that it doesn’t work. 

 

I intended to have an update with the towbar but my laptop is busy updating so I’ll throw the pics on later when it’s light. I have found my old iPhone and jailbroken it though, quick teaser of CarPlay with some extra features courtesy of NGXPlay. Some for stationary use only and others just for a laugh

 

 

 

Need to sort the screen ratios out on some of them in the morning, but they’re all there

I take it the only way to get the google maps is to have the iPhone jailbroken?

[SashaGrace]

As far as I'm aware yep, only way. I have not jailbroken my everyday nice phone, I got lucky and remembered I didn't sell my old iPhone and it was still running iOS10.3.3 as it hadn't been touched in over a year so I could jailbreak it and run NGXPlay for a giggle and see what's what. It was certainly handy this morning to watch Paw Patrol on the screen to keep my son happy

 

One of the less interesting mods I really wanted needed to do was fit a tower as this car needs to be used to pull trailers and carry bike racks; though it is a vRS, it's still an Octavia estate at heart. With that, I scored lucky when I found a nearly new Witter swan neck towbar for sale on the OvRSOC Facebook group with a twin 7 pin wiring loom for the princely sum of £50. I agreed to buy it, and in conversation with the vendor, it turned out he also had a rubber boot mat which was also of interest to me. My Dad was coming back from Kent a few days ago and he agreed to come home via Matlock to pick these items up. I fitted them yesterday, however it was raining and my father insisted on helping so this post is bereft of the usual progress photos. 

 

There's nothing overly interesting to see thankfully, just remove the rear bumper (pretend to ignore the shocking paint repairs effected by the 'Blind Man with a Stick Paintwork Co') and remove the crash bag after cutting through yards of seam sealer used by Skoda to hide bolts that you need to undo and locate the holes you need to thread the bolts through. Simple enough on the right side if you have a diesel thanks to the lack of exhaust and a mare of a job to do on the left side as the exhaust is right in the way. Fortunately I have small hands and a collection of large pry bars to move the rear box further down to reach the bolts. This would be a nightmare on a petrol car! Once that's done, cut the diffuser and fit it all back up. There is a template on the diffuser for the factory Westfalia kit and it's slightly small for the Witter kit with the folding electrics, but I can make it bigger when I next remove the bumper. This is necessary as I haven't done the wiring. I have fed the loom into the spare wheel well for now as it started to get dark at this point and rained. I have some time to sort that out over the coming days. While all the trim is apart I will also get around to installing the footwell lighting and investigating the parking sensor module as the wiring is all sound at the back of the car.    

 

Octavia Towbar by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

 

Octavia Towbar by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Octavia Towbar by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Octavia Towbar by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

You will notice a couple of things are missing; the big red reflectors have been removed as they had water behind them and couldn't be salvaged. I thought about tinting the centre one, but then I gave it to my Dad... who dropped it... and then stood on it... and broke it!!! Now I need a new one anyway so I'll give TPS a bell tomorrow. The exhaust trims are also missing as they are due to go off to the powder coaters next week to be coated in black. Once they are all sorted the badges will be next

 

Finally, the new boot mat. 

 

Octavia Boot Mat by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Octavia Boot Mat by SashaGrace, on Flickr

 

Matches my floor mats lovely. Still waiting on a 20% off day on SuperSkoda as I am committed to buying those badges, but not quite ready to stomach €90 for a pair. 20% less would be easier to handle! 

Edited 1 April, 2018 by SashaGrace

[SashaGrace]

Just to show the Google Maps running

 

[Madmax889]

Currently in the process of jaibreakibg my old iPhone to use Waze on the phone 

[SashaGrace]

Yeah you can use waze too. I have just tried google maps properly and it has crashed the phone once, PITA being on iOS10.3.3 it’s probably a bit of an old firmware. It worked well otherwise and setting it to Native and then ratio to 1.5:1. 1:1 doesn’t work so well.

[Madmax889]

7 minutes ago, SashaGrace said:

Yeah you can use waze too. I have just tried google maps properly and it has crashed the phone once, PITA being on iOS10.3.3 it’s probably a bit of an old firmware. It worked well otherwise and setting it to Native and then ratio to 1.5:1. 1:1 doesn’t work so well.

My phone is on iOS 7.1.2 so even older as its an iPhone 4. (i shouldn't have sold my iPhone 6)

I wonder if mine will crash the phone as well!! This is the first time i have jailbroken an iPhone so keep your fingers crossed for me. LOL LOL