19 hours ago, MichaelTL said:

I managed to find a link to the Amundsen manual for my Octavia 3. Looks like I will need to alter some of my music files as max sample rate 48khz and I've saved some as 96kHz.

The car will need new tyres before long. Any recommendations for quiet running tyres that have plenty of wet weather grip?

I must find the tyre test website.

The Mk4 I tested seemed to have very noisy tyres - forgot to note what they were.

The noise of the tyres will depend on temperature.

Basic physics will explain that rubber goes hard when cold, soft when warm.

 

Tyres are actually made up of various compounds which allow it to cover a range of temperatures.   What works well on a summer day will not be good on a cold winter morning.

 

Tyre technology has moved on in last few years, and by far the most suitable are all-season tyres (best from about -5c to + 25c, and will be reasonable outside this range).   Some of the latest summer tyres have been optimised for WLTP tests (which is +23c) so not good in wet below about +9c (which is common from Nov-March in UK)

 

My recommendation is get all-season tyres (and order them before early September as prices then jump seasonally).  I would suggest any of : Continental all season contact, Goodyear vector 4season generation3, Vredestein Quatrac Pro.      
 

Bridgestone weather control A005 evo always does well in cold rain (so good choice if you live in rainy part of country) and Michelin Cross climate 2 is starting to become available (although some sizes are still older cross climate plus) but it is so new not seen any reviews.

 

 

I have the Goodyear all season tyres all round and find them quite quiet- though not  any quieter than the summer Yokohamas that were originally fitted to the car - surprisingly.

I collected my Mk3 today. I've only so far driven it from the showroom to home. It's very shiny! I discovered it had already had the body and interior coating the salesman wanted me to have. Very impressed so far. We'll go out for a ride in it tomorrow.

I decided to take out the Skoda All-In cover from day one.

So you got a facelift mk3 very good- no noisy suspension for you then! What engine size did you get? How many months do you have to pay the Skoda cover for and does it include cambelt change? I Just put some numberplate holders on mine today- look very smart i think. 

Edited 2 July, 20214 yr by Michaeldavis39

9 minutes ago, Michaeldavis39 said:

So you managed to get a facelift mk3 very good- no noisy suspension for you then! What model did you get?

It's the SE L

It's good to finally own a car with modern multimedia and satnav. 

Im going to upgrade my multimedia as its not very "multi" - its mib1 so cant do Android Auto for example- changing to mib2 with 8 inch screen much better and phone will then be able to do Android Auto on car screen. Ive also ordered the bonnet gas struts as its quite a large heavy panel- my previous Citroen C5 had gas struts as standard and that bonnet was similar size as was the entire car actually- the Citroen was far quieter too with better noise insulation by far.

Edited 2 July, 20214 yr by Michaeldavis39

25 minutes ago, Michaeldavis39 said:

So you got a facelift mk3 very good- no noisy suspension for you then! What engine size did you get? How many months do you have to pay the Skoda cover for and does it include cambelt change? I Just put some numberplate holders on mine today- look very smart i think. 

The Skoda All-in is over 24 months. I don't know about the cambelt. I need to spend an hour sitting in the car learning how all the gadgets work.

How are you enjoying your car, any follow up comments so far?

Edited 16 July, 20214 yr by Michaeldavis39

We went to the Welsh coast in it in the week. It returned 56mpg  and was comfortable and reasonably quiet. The 1.5 petrol engine was smooth and powerful though I still have a preference for diesel. We like the tinted windows, sat nav and media player. The aircon failed on my Mk11 and it's great to have it on the new one at the moment. We are happy with the purchase but I'm missing having a diesel.

I had a Citroen diesel  before my 1.4 Octavia- i would never prefer a diesel engine over a petrol. I did a run to London and back last week equivalent to 3 adults loaded and achieved 60mpg which i was very pleased with- i didnt try hard to be economical either so it shows how good the 1.4 engine is with a 6 speed manual- my car is now on 18.5k miles- 6 years old- was very low mileage when i got it so in excellent condition for its age. Do you find the rear darker windows help to keep the interior cool on hot days when car is sat in a car park for example? I ask as according to Skoda my car has heat insulated glass- which this summer means keeps the interior like a greenhouse- very hot!

Edited 16 July, 20214 yr by Michaeldavis39

I just like the way the diesel pulls strongly from little over 1000rpm and fewer gear changes are needed with the five speed box. Are the rear windows more tinted? I haven't noticed. Will compare from inside.

The tinting has meant my wife hasn't needed to wear her sunglasses. I would have thought heat insulated glass on a car was to keep the ir out rather than reflect it back in as happens in a house. I didn't find much out searching online. I will compare temperatures between my mk2 (clear) and mk3 though the paint colour is darker on the mk3.

 

Yes i thought heat insulated glass would keep interior cool in summer but it doesnt unless they made a mistake at the factory. It definitely feels like the heat is stored in the car not reflected - i had a car with black interior and black leather seats which was just as hot as my Octy - I am now resorting to leaving the windows down on a hot day - my wifes 2013 little Fabia does not get anywhere near as hot inside as my car- fortunately our summers arent very long and next car i get i will spend more time looking at useful features instead of how low the mileage is!

 

Btw just looking at your car photo it is very clear your rear windows are darker than the fronts!!

Edited 17 July, 20214 yr by Michaeldavis39

I measured temperatures this afternoon with a thermometer on the driver's seat which was in shade.

Mk2 with clear glass 43C

Mk3 with tinted glass 37C

Outside air temp in shade 24C

There may have been other factors affecting temperature - different upholstery, different paint colour - bluey grey on Mk2

Both cars appeared to equally exposed to the sun. 

A 5 degree difference is pretty good if it's mainly down to the tint.

Edited 17 July, 20214 yr by MichaelTL

I have been looking at getting windows tinted and you can expect up to 8 degrees cooler on the best tint

That car looks really good!

On first pass the paintwork is in great condition.

I can see from the side profile that you have factory privacy glass from B pillar backwards,

AND. Unless I'm mistaken, you also have the uprated (Curved C shape) Rear LED Lamps 

If you do have them that's a nice option to have.

 

Great buy!

 

 

Edited 23 July, 20214 yr by GordoGT

18 hours ago, GordoGT said:

That car looks really good!

On first pass the paintwork is in great condition.

I can see from the side profile that you have factory privacy glass from B pillar backwards,

AND. Unless I'm mistaken, you also have the uprated (Curved C shape) Rear LED Lamps 

If you do have them that's a nice option to have.

 

Great buy!

 

 

Thanks Gordo. Yes it does have the rear lights in your photo. I like the car more every time I drive it. I have discovered the rear wash isn't working. The salesman has asked the service people to call me to arrange to look at it. 

 

Rear wash not working- haha mine was the same! It also had passed an mot the day before- go figure?? Very common fault on these cars as it gets blocked up due to lack of use. I fixed mine myself as i couldnt be faffed with taking it in to the dealer for such a little thing- took me ten mins to remove clean and fit back on- i didnt need a new part it was just a bit of muck- works a treat now and i find its clever how it sprays along the blade first before the blade then wipes the screen on first wipe- all other cars i have had just sprayed the screen and the blade wiped at the same time.

 

I still havent found the self cleaning car wash and hoover facility button on my car though- maybe that was an optional extra the previous owner did not select? 

Edited 24 July, 20214 yr by Michaeldavis39

I sold the old Mk2 yesterday. I was sad to see it go and I realised I had driven 100,000 miles in it. I've been very happy with that car. I hope the new owner 

is able to keep it going for many years to come.

As for the Mk3, I've got used to the petrol engine - still have a preference for the diesel but it's quiet and powerful. Just more important to be in the right gear.

Back to searching for the right replacement tyres on the front which we'll need for a trip to France - if nobody stops us going.