I'm going to spend some £££ on my 2018 vRS to stop me from swapping it (plus a lot more £££) for an Arteon R Shooting Brake / Passat R Line Edition (unicorn) / E Class All Terrain / A6 Allroad. Admittedly an automatic would be nice again and so would increased weight capacity whilst towing the caravan.

 

However, now at 6 years old and nearly 60k miles, I've had the Octy from new and it's been 100% reliable apart from a driver's door speaker. It gets all the right maintenance. It's still on its original brake discs / pads and wipers. Why would I get rid of it?

 

My to do list:

 

- Wheel refurb. Silver or gloss black. 

- New front and rear brake discs and pads

- Paint the calipers, matt black

- Wheel spacers maybe, maybe not

- Hunter wheel alignment

- Air con service 

- Full detail 

- New mats 

- New number plates

- New rear tyres (Goodyear Assy 6)

- Open to other suggestions!

 

Would be good to get opinions or experience on the Hunter wheel alignment. Is it worth doing?

 

Here it is on holiday duties last summer. 

Stick with the Octavia. Having test driven an Arteon (a TSI 190 version) they are big 'ol buses and very very thirsty on fuel.

 

Remember you can also enable up via functions on your car and there are LOADS of updates you can do to improve things (e.g.virtual dashboard, automatic boot opening)...list is endless.

If you're considering getting the alignment checked, what about getting things like the bushes replaced?

 

Wouldn't imagine you need to go for rock hard ones.

 

Also, how come you're thinking of changing the red colour on the calipers?

@varaderoguy Thanks for the suggestions and Arteon info. Might add OBD 11 to the list actually.

 

@ChoonDoode I was thinking the same, also drop link replacement maybe. I guess the place that would check / do the alignment would advise if there are worn components... I'm painting the calipers because the rears are flaking somewhat and I've never been a huge fan of the red. I did like the green on my original Fabia vRS though!

1 hour ago, Swirly182 said:

 

@ChoonDoode I was thinking the same, also drop link replacement maybe. I guess the place that would check / do the alignment would advise if there are worn components... I'm painting the calipers because the rears are flaking somewhat and I've never been a huge fan of the red. I did like the green on my original Fabia vRS though!

 

fair dos, we've all got our taste. If it were me in your situation, I'd get the alloys sprayed gloss black and have the calipers redone in a similar shade to the paintwork. 

What about a rust prevention undersealing?

Had a RARB fitted years ago on my MK3 and it was a lovely update on the steering input. Much sharper and less roll. 

 

Had the Hunter alignment done with this. IMO laser alignment is well worth it for handling and even tyre wear. 

 

I have always found that Octavia's sag a little in the rear after a year or so causing inside shoulder wear. Combine that with the array of potholes about ATM and you'll be surprised how far out tracking can be. 

Surprised by the suggestion that the springs can sag in such a short time but if that is the case and the OP tows then that should be looked at.

If the problem is apparent then maybe new springs and airbags to avoid repetition?

Airbags?

 

I bet that vehicle drags its ar5e like a dog with worms with a caravan on tow, a roof box and passengers.

11 hours ago, littleredduck said:

Had a RARB fitted years ago on my MK3 and it was a lovely update on the steering input. Much sharper and less roll. 

 

good suggestion. I had the clubsport RARB fitted and that made a welcomed improvement to the handling

Thanks all for the input. 

 

Rear springs were uprated for towing last year. Definitely not sagging - normal people lower their cars, I raised mine! @J.R. You went to great lengths to advise me on this.

 

@EnterName Never looked into the undersealing, any links?

Another on my list is rear ARB. 

 

Just about to do discs and pads at 92k but this will be the second time they've been changed. They aren't needing to be changed but are worn and are very rusty.

 

Suspension is a tricky one, alot I have found wears together. Do it all or nothing at all. I did shock absorbers, topmounts, ARB links and springs. Definitely worth doing bottom ball joints and rear D wishbone bushes.

8 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Surprised by the suggestion that the springs can sag in such a short time but if that is the case and the OP tows then that should be looked at.

 

In all my years I'd never considered the one plus one of me towing being the reason my rear tracking wandered. 

 

Feeling like a bit of a **** with this realisation 🤦‍♂️

12 hours ago, Swirly182 said:

Thanks all for the input. 

 

Rear springs were uprated for towing last year. Definitely not sagging - normal people lower their cars, I raised mine! @J.R. You went to great lengths to advise me on this.

 

@EnterName Never looked into the undersealing, any links?

There's a company that uses some sort of sheep fat to undercoat cars (yes I know it sounds weird) and there was a guy who's just bought a particularly fine example of an early Fabia vRS who's going to get his car done there, but I can't fidn the thread on it and I don't find search facility on Brisky particularly helpful. It usually seems to find everything I don't want and nothing I do want.

Other companies are available, have a Google. There really ought to be a section in "Maintenance" on rustproofing and enhancing vehicle longevity.

Paying someone to rustproof your car seems a bit of a lazy luxury to me, and I think I'll go the DIY route. (When I can be bothered.) 😄

Lanoguard is what the coating is called- based on what sheep have in their wool to keep them dry - not sheep fat lol- I did mine 3 years ago - it is not cheap but miles better than waxoyl which I used to use and I keep it topped up every year- takes me about ten minutes using my friendly mechanics car lift. Zero rust under my car 

So I've ended up doing some of the things I listed in my first post -

 

Fitted discs and pads all round

 

Detailed (got the old dual action out)

 

Painted the flakey rear calipers but left the fronts as they are still immaculate when cleaned

 

New Goodyear Asymmetric 6 all round (one of the fronts was punctured and not repairable and can't leave an old one with a new one)

 

Haven't had the wheels done because after all this, I do plan to replace it 😥 I'm clearly an idiot. 

I am very impressed with the Asym 6's (though they're 17" on my car).

Excellent grip in the dry and pretty good in the wet, too.

Generally quiet but can be noisy on some surfaces and decent comfort, but then on 17"s, that's not unexpected.

Not bad rolling resistance either. Great all rounders and good rim protection too!

Looks great. You should keep it 😀

 

Asym 6's are a brilliant tyre. Get my vote every time.

 

12 hours ago, Swirly182 said:

Painted the flakey rear calipers

 

My rears are flaking as well. I need to paint them. What paint did you use and was it a good match for the fronts?

6 hours ago, HappySam said:

Looks great. You should keep it 😀

 

Asym 6's are a brilliant tyre. Get my vote every time.

 

 

My rears are flaking as well. I need to paint them. What paint did you use and was it a good match for the fronts?

I cheated kind of. Already had Matt black caliper paint to do them all but like I said, the fronts look almost as new when I cleaned them up. So I used the matt black on just the rear pistons, because again, the pad carriers were fine. Looks good I think and definitely better than before. See photo below, ignore the dirt, that was pre-detail!

 

Agreed re. the Goodyears - amazing tyre and will be fitting them to the new car as and when. 

6 hours ago, EnterName said:

Generally quiet but can be noisy on some surfaces and decent comfort, but then on 17"s, that's not unexpected.

 

Here's the real reason for the noise: Skoda Octavia. 

 

Lack of sound deadening makes it so unrefined on most UK roads. You're lucky you only have 17" wheels!

😥 I've sold my vRS. It's been an absolutely fantastic family car that's done everything asked of it. But it was getting on a bit, was a bit noisy and was a bit manual.

 

New one has the same engine but is a completely different beast. A lot more so than I thought it was going to be. Definitely feels heavy and large but is smooth and quiet thanks to DCC, the smaller wheels and an acoustic pack. Astonishingly quick as well 😄 I bloody love it already. 

 

Thanks all! Might return again if we are all blessed with a Superb vRS.

10 hours ago, Swirly182 said:

😥 I've sold my vRS. It's been an absolutely fantastic family car that's done everything asked of it. But it was getting on a bit, was a bit noisy and was a bit manual.

 

New one has the same engine but is a completely different beast. A lot more so than I thought it was going to be. Definitely feels heavy and large but is smooth and quiet thanks to DCC, the smaller wheels and an acoustic pack. Astonishingly quick as well 😄 I bloody love it already. 

 

Thanks all! Might return again if we are all blessed with a Superb vRS.

 

Lovely looking car, I looked at the Arteons before going for my new one but alot looked blander, is that a facelift as the front bumper looks more aggressive?

 

I went a similar way with a Superb Sportline 272, drives well and goes well but throttle response is definitely off compared to the VRS. Nothing a pedal box wont change. DCC is a game changer isnt it?

 

It's the R model so gets the sportier bumpers and ~320bhp. 

 

Yes - DCC and half-decent tyre sidewalls are incredible! I'm still getting to grips with the DSG box (DQ500) but agreed, the in gear response of the vRS was better. 

 

Nice Superb 👌 I looked at the Sportline estates but newer facelift ones are expensive, few and far between and not quite as well equipped as the Arteon R. 

Just now, Swirly182 said:

It's the R model so gets the sportier bumpers and ~320bhp. 

 

Yes - DCC and half-decent tyre sidewalls are incredible! I'm still getting to grips with the DSG box (DQ500) but agreed, the in gear response of the vRS was better. 

 

Nice Superb 👌 I looked at the Sportline estates but newer facelift ones are expensive, few and far between and not quite as well equipped as the Arteon R. 

 

I looked at the R-line too but might be your colour, the black contrast with the silver really pops on yours. 

 

I am looking at pedal boxes, its the only thing I can really complain about. Although 320bhp always works better than 272bhp 😉

 

Yeh they are, the estates seem to carry a £2-3k over a saloon and the boot is cavernous regardless. I had to have one quite well stocked, winter pack, sunroof, DCC, dynamic cruise, etc.

I always thought a Superb Sportline estate 280 would be the next car, as you say even bigger boot than the Octy, quicker and I'm guessing significantly more refined? I do still really like them.

 

Guess I've gone for form over function this time! How will I manage with a scant 565L boot and no roof rails 😄