Hi folks

Im new to car ownership, and own a 2000 (w) Fabia 1.4 Classic in a dark green

I am looking to spruce it up slightly, and since i'm on my first year, insurance is extortionate :(

I am looking at some alloy wheels, and though they are expensive relative to the cost of the car (which i will think about changing in a year or 2) i have taken the view that they can be removed and i can replace the standard wheels and trims, and put the alloys on my next car (hopefully a little sportier )

Konig Helium 17" Set of 4 wheels and tyres Slate Finish

Those are the wheels in question, i have read about spacers and so on, now is there someone who can advise on anything i might need as far as extras goes ?

Second question - car runs fine etc, no leaks, but the coolant sensor decides it wants to make a beep when i start her up, and the red light remains on all the time :/ . Now reading around i have come to the conclusion that its the temp sensor. Any advice on how to proceed with this ? Can i change it myself ? Where would i get the part ?

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks

welcome to Briskoda , surely putting bigger wheels on your otherwise standard car is going to cost you more in insurance , you will have to declare them otherwise you wont be insured in the event of a crash

which red light ? coolant level warning or coolant temp warning , what does the coolant temp gauge say ?

is the coolant at the right level?

welcome to Briskoda , surely putting bigger wheels on your otherwise standard car is going to cost you more in insurance , you will have to declare them otherwise you wont be insured in the event of a crash

which red light ? coolant level warning or coolant temp warning , what does the coolant temp gauge say ?

Would be declared, and i dont think my insurers charge, will have to check though obviously

Its the coolant temp warning light, the dial stays low down, settling at the half way point.

is the coolant at the right level?

All fluids etc are topped up correctly

Thanks for the welcome

if the gauge is reading correct there maybe a problem other than the sensor

might be a dealer job to see if there are any fault codes

Well, the guage stays at the very bottom for most of the time, if i go on a long journey (30miles + ish) the guage stays at the bottom on the motorway, but when i slow to 30ish through towns etc after sustained 70/80 mph it goes to the middle as it should and the red light goes off ...

thermostat and/or temp sensor fault , i'd get them looked at/changed first

Worth having a look in the For Sale section on here for Alloys, or maybe check out Ebay - find out what other cars have the same stud pattern etc as the Fabia (Golf Mk IV's???)

I've just bought a set of new alloys for my Octy II off Ebay. The price I paid is about the same as what the tyres are worth, so in effect I got the alloys for almost nothing.

Thanks for the input, did have a scout around ebay previous (and the fs section) and all i found were VW replicas in crappy chrome :s :p

Take these for example

eBay.co.uk: AUDI TT 17" ALLOY WHEELS A3,VW GOLF,BEETLE,SKODA,SEAT (item 320065480368 end time 30-Dec-06 09:37:04 GMT)

Would they be interchangeable with the fabia, they claim to fit the octavia... sorry if this question is stupid ... but we all start somewhere :p

Octavia/Golf/Leon/TT/A3 wheels will physically fit , but will need different tyres than those the wheels come with to be the correct rolling radius for the Fabia. Polo and Ibiza wheels (5 stud) would fit straight on , along with their tyres.

Thanks for that dmac

On another note, i also am looking at these

OZ Super Turismo GT 16" Set Of 4 Wheels & Tyres Race Silver Finish

Whats the state of play with general aftermarket alloys (not OEM) ... fit all cars or ? Anyone offer any insight on the spacers mentioned earlier ? What they do etc ...

Thanks

Aftermarket alloys usually have to be ordered fot the car you want them for! IE you could find lots of OZ alloys on Ebay , but some would fit Focus , others Mitsubishi , others Skoda ect but they would all be the same model of alloy wheel , so you would have to look for ones that would physically fit the bolt holes of your car (as I mentioned above Golf, Bora, A3, New Beetle,Seat Leon and Toledo (old shape)-would need tyres to be the correct size so as not to screw with your speedo , wheras Polo , Ibiza (5 stud wheels only!) and Fabia alloys will fit straight on with the tyres you buy them with)

Coolant? Before getting the clever bits checked; Check the connector into the ball shaped reservoir. It can look alright at first glance but has come loose or makes a bad connection. This has given me the same symptoms you describe (not to mention the panic when it suddenly happened in the carpark).

HTH