Hi everyone, 

 

just wanted to say i bought my 1st ever Skoda/VAG car last week and i love it. Its a 14 plate Octavia 1.6 tdi elegance and compared to the Ford / Honda cars ive had in the past i do think it is a nice step up in most aspects. 

 

Anyways, just a quick couple of questions for you long time Skoda owners out there, i have finally managed to get my phone to connect properly to my Columbus system and can control music properly (took a week to find out about turning on usb debugging)  It all works well but i was wondering does anyone know if there is any tricks to get the album art to show for every track when streaming from Amazon music, i use a google pixel phone and it has no issues streaming just it is very random as to weather or not the album art will show properly or not, some times it is ok other times it is a generic genre photo and other tracks just show the standard Bluetooth symbol (see photos)  Does anyone know a way to make all tracks display properly, i know its a minor issue but if its a simple fix then ill do it. 

 

My next question related to the DAB radio, why the hell does it sound so ****, my last Mondeo knocks this stereo for 6 when listening to DAB radio, there is next to no bass even with it turned up loud and just sounds flat in general, its not the stereo as with bluetooth set to loud that sounds 10 times better than DAB, actually can feel a lot of bass to the music, still not quite as good as the Mondys Sony system but a markable step up over the DAB radio. Is there any hidden settings or tricks to try to improve the DAB radio element of the stereo at all?? 

 

Last question is about remaps, anyone with the same engine had it done, Worth it?? any issues encountered? My Octy has covered 86k so i dont see any issues arising if i get a remap but would love any peoples verdicts on if its a good idea or not,

 

One last thing actually, how do i know if i have radar cruise control or not and how does it work? 

 

Cheers for any help guys

 

 

 

 

Album art can be a funny thing and it depends on what size stored in the Gracenote database. On my car with a MIB2 Amundsen the album art doesn’t show up streaming via Bluetooth from Amazon Music, but it comes up fine if you plug it in via USB. You should be able to do this on a MIB1 Columbus.

 

The MIB1 stereo systems without Canton are terribly thin anyway, I can’t help with that as the DAB signal on my car was fine with the original MIB1 Bolero and much improved on the MIB2 Amundsen anyway.

 

Remap wise there are good gains to be had from the 1.6 TDi, they can pull around 135 bhp from a simple remap for example.

 

The radar cruise comes with front assist so you will get the little radar in the lower grill on the Pre FL (some cars have this, but only have front assist without ACC) and a separate stalk for the cruise control under the indicator stalk (This is definitive). If you have the buttons on the end of the indicator, you have the standard passive cruise control.

Thanks for the reply,

 

looks like may have to go down mini sub route for boosting the audio then, and i must have passive CC!

 

Remap will be happening in near future i think as anywhere around 140 bhp is good with me

 

Just out of curiosity, if 140bhp is a figure youd be happy with, why opt for the 1.6 and not the 2.0 to begin with?

If you have a 2014 Columbus its likely it has an old firmware version which had an aggressive compression on much of the low end output.

I had my firmware updated to the latest level this year & there is a big difference in the loudness of the output now & no more phasing or compression I had on some of the tracks.

The update can be done DIY if you cannot get the dealer to do it for you (which can be tricky) & costs nothing before you try to add more expensive audio Equipment.

 

If you have radar cruise control (DCC/ACC) you will have a 2nd stalk on the left hand side of the steering Wheel.

If you have standard cruise control, the on/off is a rocker switch on top of the indicator stalk.

40 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

Just out of curiosity, if 140bhp is a figure youd be happy with, why opt for the 1.6 and not the 2.0 to begin with?

 

1.6 in theory should be cheaper to run, no tax, higher mpg round town etc, plus speaking to other 2.0 owners of VAG cars the general view is that the 2.0 is worse than the older 1.9 units in terms of reliability. My last 2 cars were both 2.2 diesels (Accord + Mondeo) both were great for long distance mile munching but not great at the round town / pop to shops that are mixed in with this. Thought the 1.6 would be a good all rounder.

27 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

If you have a 2014 Columbus its likely it has an old firmware version which had an aggressive compression on much of the low end output.

I had my firmware updated to the latest level this year & there is a big difference in the loudness of the output now & no more phasing or compression I had on some of the tracks.

The update can be done DIY if you cannot get the dealer to do it for you (which can be tricky) & costs nothing before you try to add more expensive audio Equipment.

 

If you have radar cruise control (DCC/ACC) you will have a 2nd stalk on the left hand side of the steering Wheel.

If you have standard cruise control, the on/off is a rocker switch on top of the indicator stalk.

 

I did do a firmware update from a page i found on this forum, currently running software 0411, Whats the latest version available??

13 minutes ago, chaymus said:

1.6 in theory should be cheaper to run, no tax, higher mpg round town etc

But is that higher mpg reflected in the real world? It's not uncommon for larger engines to achieve better real world figures as they are not working as hard.

 

What mpg figures do owners of 1.6TDI and 2.0TDI Octavias actually get around town?

1 hour ago, chaymus said:

 

I did do a firmware update from a page i found on this forum, currently running software 0411, Whats the latest version available??

 

I have 0411 which for me was a good improvement, although I never listen to DAB radio only my own mp3s.

I will try it tonight on my way home if I remember to see if I notice the same thing.

I think I've seen from another thread there is one later version but I cant find it to be sure of the reference.

Edited 7 June, 20188 yr by Gabbo

1 hour ago, SWBoy said:

But is that higher mpg reflected in the real world? It's not uncommon for larger engines to achieve better real world figures as they are not working as hard.

 

What mpg figures do owners of 1.6TDI and 2.0TDI Octavias actually get around town?

Honest John shows the 1.6TDi real World MPG as 61.3 and the 2.0 54.6 (estate as that's what I've got).  I've got the 2.0 and am getting around that figure.

 

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/skoda/octavia-estate-2013

Edited 7 June, 20188 yr by Russ77

Having driven both, I would say the 1.6 will give you at least 10mpg better than the 2L when driven with a light load (1 driver, minimal luggage).

Obviously it will be closer if you load up with 4 adults & suitcases but most poeple dont drive like this very often.

My daily commute is around 52-53mpg in the vRS & was around 65mpg in the 1.6mpg (120km roundtrip on the highway).

10 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

Having driven both, I would say the 1.6 will give you at least 10mpg better than the 2L when driven with a light load (1 driver, minimal luggage).

Obviously it will be closer if you load up with 4 adults & suitcases but most poeple dont drive like this very often.

My daily commute is around 52-53mpg in the vRS & was around 65mpg in the 1.6mpg (120km roundtrip on the highway).

 

+1 I've driven the 1.6 TDI in a couple of Audi A3s of the same generation and would estimate about 10mpg better for the 1.6.

 

It's pretty unrefined though, I'd say the 2.0 is better for that, but I'm used to a smooth quiet TSI 

Edited 7 June, 20188 yr by ahenners

What output is your 1.6? I have the 2010 with the 105bhp engine and a remap bringing to about 145 at a rough guess (going by RR figures from same tuner of other 1.6TDI CRs). I would recommend a good remap. Most of my driving is around town but on the odd occasion I have to overtake the car really pulls well from 3,000rpm and continues right through. I was used to an old 1.9TDi (110bhp) with tuning box and plenty of mid rev grunt so the standard 1.6 lacked the top end pull. Driveability is exactly the same and no difference noted with the mpg when using same driving style. Not sure about the new engine, but I know there were problems with the older EGRs failing and costing a lot to replace. I've had mine blanked off with the remap so it won't cause that issue, but no EGR means the car takes longer to warm up which is noticeable on cold days. 

On a gentle run out, two up with light luggage our 1.6TDi Octy is 15mpg to 20mpg better than our 2.0TDi Passat.

 

Around town and high speed motorway closer to 10mpg.

 

Still impressed with the economy of the 1.6TDI.

 

 

I don’t think the 2.0 is all that bad on fuel. I get about 55 MPG from my 184 TDi with DSG. When I had a 1.6 TDi courtesy car that got 58 MPG over the same commute but that car had only 800 or so miles on the clock and mine is now coming up to 87000. If you get a manual 2.0 the tax is only £30, the auto is £140 (rip off!!). A remap on that is next on my list to take it to 220 odd bhp. I’d have loved a petrol but I couldn’t find one in budget and at 25-30k miles a year I think the diesel will be a little bit cheaper for the foreseeable

i am impressed so far with he economy, on a 120 mile trip to Norwich from Mansfield i got a steady 67mpg average on the way there and about 63mpg on the way back as was able to drive a bit faster,  on my normal 25 mile commute to work that is mainly a 50 mph road with a few 30 zones chucked in i managed a 76mpg run in the morning (6am) but dropped to about 65 on the home run when roads are busier and air temps had risen. Round town and short trips will still get over 50 - 55 depending on how far / how stop start the journey is. Hopefully will not be much of a dip after a remap or maybe even a few gains as i know someone with a golf 1.6 tdi and they said the mpg went up a bit after their remap.

31 minutes ago, chaymus said:

i am impressed so far with he economy, on a 120 mile trip to Norwich from Mansfield i got a steady 67mpg average on the way there and about 63mpg on the way back as was able to drive a bit faster,  on my normal 25 mile commute to work that is mainly a 50 mph road with a few 30 zones chucked in i managed a 76mpg run in the morning (6am) but dropped to about 65 on the home run when roads are busier and air temps had risen. Round town and short trips will still get over 50 - 55 depending on how far / how stop start the journey is. Hopefully will not be much of a dip after a remap or maybe even a few gains as i know someone with a golf 1.6 tdi and they said the mpg went up a bit after their remap.

 

Pretty much what I see. Mid 70's on a run is great to achieve. I did Mansfield to Conningsby a few weeks ago and achieved 75.7mpg on the fuel computer just driving with general traffic and not trying to be economical. Fuel computer is a little bit optimistic but not too far out in my experience.

 

Lee

Edited 7 June, 20188 yr by logiclee

40 minutes ago, chaymus said:

 to Norwich from Mansfield 

 

If you are near Mansfield and are considering a remap you are very lucky.

 

One of the most respected VAG tuners have their head office and workshop in Mansfield.

 

Just speak to Ben at Shark Performance

http://www.sharkperformance.co.uk/index

 

Lee

43 minutes ago, logiclee said:

 

If you are near Mansfield and are considering a remap you are very lucky.

 

One of the most respected VAG tuners have their head office and workshop in Mansfield.

 

Just speak to Ben at Shark Performance

http://www.sharkperformance.co.uk/index

 

Lee

Cool, thanks for that. Will get in touch, wonder if they can do any of the vcds mods too. 

5 minutes ago, chaymus said:

Cool, thanks for that. Will get in touch, wonder if they can do any of the vcds mods too. 

 

Yes they will do VCDS changes.

 

Lee

22 hours ago, chaymus said:

I did do a firmware update from a page i found on this forum, currently running software 0411, Whats the latest version available??

 

I checked my DAB radio last night (after realising why I dont listen to the radio & searching through 7 or 8 stations before I found one with actual music.)

I can say I have the same feeling as you.

When using DAB radio the sound is very quiet & flat, there is little bass & when increasing the volume to compensation the entire sound is drowned by trebble.

Using FM radio gives a much fuller sound, instantly louder with a much more bass & middle (but I guess this is the nature of FM broadcast anyway.)

 

When on the radio I have a feeling that the sound is really unbalanced when the volume is increased I can hear a lot of limitation or compression.

e.g. a song which has an instrumented part with no bass or drums gives very loud screechy trebble but as soon as the bass kicks in the sound changes completely & is much more muddy.

 

I dont have any of these problems when playing songs from mp3 & get a much more balanced & even sound with good bass, middle & trebble clarity.

 

For info, I have the following settings for the EQ:

bass = 9 (max)

mid = 2

trebble = 0

 

The Audio isn't great in the Mk3. Our Mk2 SE has the basic Bolero and the sound is full and rich with plenty of bass. 

 

Why did they make the Mk3's sound so thin?

 

Lee

Edited 8 June, 20188 yr by logiclee

Originally it seemed that they were trying to prevent against door card rattle by limiting the unit output.

It seemed from the early discussions on this thread that it was a problem in the past.

After many Customer complaints they released a firmware update to reduce this effect slightly.

 

But in general I think the Columbus is much more capable if it was correctly setup which seems not the case for the O3.

With mp3s I am pretty happy with the sound on the latest firmware & would say its comparable to the Sony unit I used to have in my old Mondeos.

I guess Skoda are happy for it to be adequate so more & more people will pay an extra 400gbp for the canton upgrade.