On 19/09/2025 at 10:56, Danoid said:

The leather afterwards is a nice and matte, but can be a tiny bit sticky until it rubs off

Hi,

Don’t you buff the leather panels with a microfiber to avoid this sticky effect?

Edited 20 September, 202520 Sep by Bap33

On 19/09/2025 at 09:56, Danoid said:

Yeah I’ve always used Gliptone as I love the smell of leather 😂

The leather afterwards is a nice and matte, but can be a tiny bit sticky until it rubs off, but I think that’s more my fault but I don’t mind as my clothes smell of it too

I think I last done mine earlier in the year and still smells great

I love the smell of leather too, certainly better than stale fags!

Didn't have the time to drop into Gliptone on my way back home yesterday, but back up that way in a few weeks so will make time then.

In the meantime, £15 spent on eBay and a few minutes of my time this afternoon to get rid of the only physical evidence of smoking in the car was well worth it...that cherry burn was really starting to niggle me!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend all :-)

Nick

Did the car come with the optional smokers pack? I assume with this you get lighters rather than blanks and ash trays that can be used as ash trays rather than the standard storage areas.

1 hour ago, Penpusher said:

Did the car come with the optional smokers pack? I assume with this you get lighters rather than blanks and ash trays that can be used as ash trays rather than the standard storage areas.

No, it didn’t, thankfully, heaven know what it would have been like if it had.

From what I can gather, it was a demonstrator, then the ‘first’ real owner had it on Skoda finance for a couple of years, then the second owner also had it on Skoda finance, and was obviously the smoker.

Apart from the smell, I’m really surprised it didn’t have any more burns and melts after what I’ve discovered…and it’s why I bought it…it’s in excellent overall condition inside and out, I think it only got used to smoke in, rather than being driven anywhere 🤣

The Superb had it's first MOT today, all good except a nail was found in the rear tyre which is shown as an 'advisory', luckily it was in a repairable area so they fixed it before I picked it up.

Edited 26 September, 202526 Sep by cnc
Blanked out full number plate!

12 hours ago, cnc said:

The Superb had it's first MOT today

You've certainly racked-up some miles over the last 3 years!

4 hours ago, Gammyleg said:

You've certainly racked-up some miles over the last 3 years!

I usually average around 3k a month, on an exceptionally busy month I might do 4.5k (but that's unusual), average speed around 42mph and average 60mpg, lots of longer drives usually on motorways sitting in 7th gear at 70mph and 1600rpm so nothing really wears out, front brakes still on original discs & pads with a good amount of life left in them, rears were changed not so long ago.

Had it from new, 7 miles on the clock the day I picked it up, still really enjoy getting in it and driving it.

100k on discs and pads is bonkers. Good going!

Just now, travs said:

100k on discs and pads is bonkers. Good going!

On my previous car the front discs and pads lasted to just over 130k miles - lots of long drives at a steady speed on the motorways and dual carriageways the brakes don't get used much for mile after mile, the discs also stay in really good rust free condition.

A service that turned out to be much more expensive than expected - front shock absorbers, top mounts, droplinks and a rear spring needed! Car is a much nicer drive now without the squeaky and bouncy front end so I'm happy to have had it all done.

Next steps are to fix a dead bass speaker in the nearside rear door, 80k DSG service and get a few scratches sorted out.

2 hours ago, D402 said:

A service that turned out to be much more expensive than expected - front shock absorbers, top mounts, droplinks and a rear spring needed! Car is a much nicer drive now without the squeaky and bouncy front end so I'm happy to have had it all done.

Next steps are to fix a dead bass speaker in the nearside rear door, 80k DSG service and get a few scratches sorted out.

Ouch.

2 hours ago, D402 said:

A service that turned out to be much more expensive than expected - front shock absorbers, top mounts, droplinks and a rear spring needed! Car is a much nicer drive now without the squeaky and bouncy front end so I'm happy to have had it all done.

Next steps are to fix a dead bass speaker in the nearside rear door, 80k DSG service and get a few scratches sorted out.

Those are the worst services from a wallet-emptying point of view, but positive that there’s a good difference to the car…I hate those services where you spend a few hundred and nothing feels better…

Edited 30 September, 202530 Sep by CubbyQ

As we've had a hosepipe ban for a few weeks now, and for the foreseeable future, the car's been neglected, and not been washed for ages...ttok it to the local car wash earlier, then finished it off giving a wipedown with Poorboys QD, tyres dressed with Chemical Guys tyre dressing, and plastics renovated with Nanolex trim rejuvenator.

A couple of days ago, I used the Gtechniq 2-stage polish and water repellant treatment on the sides and rear window (mine's not got a rear wiper, so was getting fed up with the constantly dirty window!).

Even in anonymous "Uber" spec, it's quite a handsome wagon when it's clean...not that I'm biased at all 😅

Have a great weekend all!

Edited 16 October, 202516 Oct by CubbyQ

Gandalf had a downpipe & tunes switched yesterday. 😁

Now running Galano Stage 2, producing 241 kw 516 Nm (at the wheels) on the dyno.

i switched ECU and TCU tunes from APR to Galano so i could satisfy my downpipe itch.

1. Green - factory setup with Racing Line Intake and Turbo Inlet Pipe - 178 kw / 380 Nm

2. Blue - APR Stg 1 ECU (Hi-torque) + TCU tunes with Racing Line Intake and Turbo Inlet Pipe - 221 kw / 519 Nm

3. Purple - APR Stg 1 ECU (Hi-torque) + TCU tunes with Racing Line Intake, Turbo Inlet Pipe, IE Intercooler and downpipe - 234 kw / 503 Nm

4. Red - Galano Stg 2 ECU + TCU tunes with Racing Line Intake, Turbo Inlet Pipe, IE Intercooler and downpipe - 241 kw / 515 Nm

NOTE: these r "at the wheels" power reading, not the engine.

Not so much today, but rather this past weekend, took my Superb on it's first international run. Went to a retro computer show in Munchengladbach, a 700-mile round trip from North West London via the Channel Tunnel, France, Belgium and Holland before getting into Germany. Did the whole trip on one tank of petrol, with 100 miles range to spare. Car reckoned I got 52MPG on the trip.

My eight-year-old passed its M.O.T. with no advisories. This comes on the heels of a 2,646 mile tour of Portugal, Spain and France over 30 days. I had to have the water pump replaced before I went, but the car never missed a beat. Well, aside from losing some window trim on the autoroute at 85 mph.

We spent nights in León, Santiago de Compostela, Vigo, Porto, Salamanca, Logroño, Bielsa, Sète, Grenoble, Colmar and Laon. I'm knackered! We had two days of rain (Santiago and Colmar) wore t-shirts and sandals in the beginning, winter coats by the end. I lost and had to replace my plug adapter, my laptop charger and my cap. I lost my phone on the second day of our trip, but ran back to the restaurant and the waiter was holding it. I lost my phone on the 26th day of our trip, but ran back and the barman was holding it. Sheesh!

Santiago was a major disappointment. We were looking forward to our return after 19 years, but the town is a certifiable victim of over-tourism. Sète and Porto were the most fun.

On 30/08/2025 at 16:20, leolito said:

Besides engine oil, mentioned elsewhere, I replaced rear brake pads, installing ATE Ceramic - I am following travs' steps, but there are a loooot of steps 😁

Haven't done much except traveling, but I have noticed after almost 6k km that these pads do NOT dirty the rims so much as the previous mounted ones, that were some TRW.

Amazing amazing difference! Just by the effort in cleaning up the darn rims - will see after the ceramic coating how it will go - is sufficient to justify the price difference ...

Once again kudos to @travs for his great advice.

In time, I'll do the fronts ...

My car's mid-life crisis continues with a new battery and air quality sensor fitted at the weekend. It's much happier starting now!

Just collected the Alcantara Steering wheel with Flat bottom and paddles from the dealership this afternoon, along with a new nut.

Will fit tomorrow, was too good a price not to do it in the end.

Was able to get the dull door inserts back to gloss after getting the Meguairs Compound on them, picture of half way to see what the difference was

Edited 3 November, 20253 Nov by tombee

I start having issues with boot closing right during my move to another city. Every 2/3 times it won't close, when I click close, it makes a sound and thats it, errors in 6D - В11D913: Motor 1 für Heckklappe Unterbrechung, В120A02

Usually it means wiring issue, but when I disassembled two drives, there wasn't any issues with it. But I noticed that mounts are very dirty, so cleaned everything and mounted everything back. After 2 weeks - all good.

Good to know! Thanks for sharing!

New wheel fitted, really like it and the paddles just work

On 18/09/2025 at 22:21, Danoid said:

If you want leather scent get these

Gliptone Europe

Leather Conditioner

Leather dries out with heat and sunlight and should be restored at least three times a year to re-establish the original nutrient content. GT11 Leather

Gliptone Europe

Intensive Cleaner

GT12 Intensive Cleaner is a thick, concentrated, pH neutral leather cleaner ideal for preparing dirty leather prior to conditioning. Containing glycerine,

When it comes to putting on the conditioner I do it with my bear hands rubbing it in, will literally make your car smell for ages

Thanks @Danoid , I popped into Gliptone on my travels last week after speaking to Graham there on the phone beforehand - what a helpful chap!

Picked up the leather conditioner, gentle cleaning solution, a horse-hair brush, soft tyre dressing sponges (for applying the conditioner), and an Odor Goblin.

Have only cleaned and conditioned the front seats and doors cards, and cleaned the steering wheel, and a definite improvement in looks, feel and smell.

The steering wheel still smells a bit with the sun’s on it, so I’m just going to clean it whenever I remember, and the seats had some splash marks on the back that the detailer hadn’t been able to remove; I may have gone a bit more aggressively as they’ve all but gone now.

That’s the positive, the negative is getting home and seeing that I’d scraped the front bumper through to the black plastic in the tightest parking space ever (I know exactly where I did it, but thought I was just clear)…hurts even more after making it look so good the week before!

First world problemA!

Edited 4 November, 20254 Nov by CubbyQ

5 years old yesterday and currently on 114k.

Just coming up to 2 years ownership and after spending nothing other than a service I'm now having to shell out for a few repairs.

Battery failed about 6 weeks ago which when changed still wasn't charging properly and needed an alternator too.

Front brake pads a couple of weeks ago.

Rear shocks this weekend

Service next week

Cambelt and waterpump in December.

Likely to have lightened my wallet by £1,500+ all in but all work needed.

I replaced the front brake disks and pads, after replacing the rears a couple of weeks ago. On my 2016 163,000 miles Greenline.

I fitted Zimmermann disks and TRW pads all round.

Main reason for changing was because I was getting juddering, especially when braking at motorway speeds, due to a warped front disk.

And the pads looked a bit low at the back, so I thought "might was well do the whole lot".

The fronts were the quickest and easiest disk and pad change I've ever done.

No retaining / anti-squeak spring. All bolts easily accessible with the steering on full lock. I've got a long strong breaker bar that undid the 2 carrier bolts on each side with ease.