Jay's Octavia vRS Estate

[jaygemson]

On 22/03/2021 at 10:59, JPez said:

That Downpipe looks lovely, can't beat a bit of TIG! 
Would love to hear it if you get chance at all for a quick clip.
 

Starting to stockpile parts now for when the warranty is up & balancing it with a extension/the mrs not seeing it 

How does the lower mount fair up when driving?

 

whats next.... Rear ARB? 

 

Cheers.

 

Still planning on recording the sound when I can.  Hoping to capture sounds/footage from inside and outside the car, when it's clean, when I have time - so the stars need to align 

 

The lower mount's a tricky one.  There's some vibration in the cabin when in D and not moving, and during low speed maneouvres, but otherwise it's fine.  The vibration has eased off slightly since it was first installed too.  It's annoying but liveable during normal everyday driving, but when you push on you have the reassurance that the engine movement is more controlled and wheel hop is a thing of the past.

 

Next... ?  Not sure!  I doubt I'll take this car any further now as I'm really happy with how it looks and drives.  I've considered an ARB upgrade but honestly I'm happy with the handling balance - it's neutral already, so a rear ARB upgrade alone might make it unstable.  I could retrofit virtual cockpit and upgrade the sound system, but I don't drive it enough to really benefit from the cost of those so the plan is to save money for the next car purchase, which is likely to be a Superb Sportline 280.  I can transfer a lot of the Octavia's mods onto it, gain a load of interior space and AWD in one go, plus it has the potential for a lot more power.

[jaygemson]

Applied sound deadening to the rear seat deck, boot floor and rear wheel arches.  A lot of work but thankfully the results were worth the effort!

 

The Scorpion resonated system sounds great, but when I went to stage 2 and added the downpipe (with sports cat) I started experiencing some resonance and sound pressure from the exhaust in the cabin at motorway speeds, around 2,500rpm. This has now been drastically reduced, as has general road noise and vibration. The downside is that I’ve added around 10kg of weight to the car, but I can now enjoy the exhaust tone and intake noise again - at one point I was considering returning to the stock system

 

Some measurements I took with the Decibel X app show how effective the sound proofing’s been even at idle:

 

Before

Cold start 70dB

Cold idle 67dB

Warm idle 60dB

 

After

Cold start 64dB

Cold idle 60dB

Warm idle 55dB

 

I used a layer of Noico 80mil sound deadening mats: https://www.ebay.co.uk/.../Noico-80-mil-36.../402289973761

Followed by a layer of Noico 150mil sound proofing sheets: https://www.ebay.co.uk/.../Noico-RED-150-mil.../402677036211

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bannon87]

This is exactly what I've been thinking of doing. I experience the same thing although I'm running a non res system. You do get a lot of excess noise through the boot on the octavia and seems to echo about. 

 

How many of each did you end up using? 

[dubDEAN]

makes SOOOOO much difference 

[jaygemson]

On 01/08/2021 at 23:52, Bannon87 said:

How many of each did you end up using? 

 

I ordered one of each using the links in my earlier post, enough for 36 sqft.  Used pretty much all of it in the end.

[jaygemson]

On 02/08/2021 at 09:41, dubDEAN said:

makes SOOOOO much difference 

 

Absolutely!!

 

Just back from a family trip to Norfolk which involved nearly 8 hours of motorway and fast A-road driving and the sound deadening was a god send, made the cabin so much more pleasant than it would've been otherwise.  Totally justified the effort. 

[jaygemson]

Couple of recent photos taken with the roofbox fitted, ready to swallow up all the gear we 'need' for our family trips  

 

 

 

 

[Bannon87]

7 minutes ago, jaygemson said:

 

I ordered one of each using the links in my earlier post, enough for 36 sqft.  Used pretty much all of it in the end.

 

Thanks for this. Will get ordering. 

[bullawayo]

@jaygemson - lovely car, and local too (im in Reading).

 

Genuinely, if you ever look at changing cars please get in touch. I'd be keen to buy..

[jaygemson]

Cheers @bullawayo - really appreciate the kind words!

 

Just checked out your build thread - that's a cracking mk2 😍  Love the mods and the DIY approach. I can tell we're a very similar breed of petrolhead 😁   I may have mentioned this before but it was the lasting impression of driving my old man's mk2 VRS company car from about 10 years ago that led me to owning the mk3 - the mk2 is a fantastic bit of kit.

 

No plans to sell mine at the moment, but in about a year it may become available as I should by then be in a position to move onto something more powerful and with AWD again.  I'll give you a shout!

Edited 28 September, 2021 by jaygemson

[bullawayo]

On 28/09/2021 at 10:57, jaygemson said:

Cheers @bullawayo - really appreciate the kind words!

 

Just checked out your build thread - that's a cracking mk2 😍  Love the mods and the DIY approach. I can tell we're a very similar breed of petrolhead 😁   I may have mentioned this before but it was the lasting impression of driving my old man's mk2 VRS company car from about 10 years ago that led me to owning the mk3 - the mk2 is a fantastic bit of kit.

 

No plans to sell mine at the moment, but in about a year it may become available as I should by then be in a position to move onto something more powerful and with AWD again.  I'll give you a shout!

 

I completely agree with your comments - please bear me in mind  

 

I will continue to follow any updates closely!

 

And yes - all work done by myself. 

[Dooge]

Epic thread and very tidy car, giving me ideas for my relatively new Race Blue wagon.

 

I've got some basic things to do (like new tyres and DSG service) but hadn't even thought of some of the stuff you have done. Definitely added de-rusting and painting discs and rear end cleanup to the list. I think you've also persuaded me into Eibach springs. I've had them before on other cars and loved them, was just reluctant as this is a 'family wagon' and liked the comfort. But much prefer the 'balanced' look they seem to provide over the slightly front end high look of standard. 

 

Have you tinkered much with VCDS and coding options? I bought Carista to do some basic things (like turn LED sidelight warning light off) but it's so basic really and getting the itch to try some more things.

[jaygemson]

Thanks @Dooge!  That's a lovely looking car you've got there - Race Blue was what I wanted when I first started looking.

 

Glad to have inspired you with some of the jobs/upgrades I've ticked off over the years ☺️  Honestly, don't even think twice about the Eibachs, just do it.  The spring rate is a better match to the dampers than the originals so the ride is actually improved, and of course the arch gap reduction is most welcome!

 

I've done a whole bunch of VCDS coding on mine, yeah.  Definitely worth doing!

 

[Dooge]

On 11/05/2022 at 21:07, jaygemson said:

Thanks @Dooge!  That's a lovely looking car you've got there - Race Blue was what I wanted when I first started looking.

 

Glad to have inspired you with some of the jobs/upgrades I've ticked off over the years ☺️  Honestly, don't even think twice about the Eibachs, just do it.  The spring rate is a better match to the dampers than the originals so the ride is actually improved, and of course the arch gap reduction is most welcome!

 

I've done a whole bunch of VCDS coding on mine, yeah.  Definitely worth doing!

 

Loving it to be honest, the blue is a great colour but the grey would have been my second choice. 

 

I would want to fit new dampers, it's a 7 year old car and on 83k now so I suspect the dampers are past their best. But springs are on the list! 

 

After spending out on Carista I've realised it's very limited so ODB11 or VCDS are on the cards. I need to replace the rear light clusters as they have very weirdly crazed so looking at later LED units which would need coding. Any settings for LED bulbs too. And the Audi throttle adaptation (if it works)

[Vasariah]

What a nice looking car ! I definitely love the R360, brakes and lowering springs upgrades. You were so lucky to find these wheel for 750£.

I'm located in France, and RacingLine parts is not common at all. Wheels are so expensive, to give you an idea, it's about 1600€ for a set of brand new wheels !

 

Well done Jay !

[jaygemson]

Thanks @Vasariah!  Appreciate you taking the time to reply - so cool that people are still finding this thread despite the lack of updates to the car.

[dhali]

I think I spoke to you briefly about your car in summer at the recycling centre? It  really is a very nice looking car and looking  this thread it highlights all the details  at the time  i was most impressed with . I've been looking  at getting one since seeing yours  in the flesh (?) . 

Edited 26 October, 2022 by dhali

[jaygemson]

Hey @dhali, you tracked me down!  I remember speaking to you at the recycling centre, yeah - thanks for taking the time to say hi and ask about the car.  Was nice to meet you 😃

 

They really are cracking cars, I'd challenge anyone to find a more complete all-rounder for the same money.  If you have any other questions just drop me a message 👍