Jacko 2148 Report post Posted October 15, 2022 Got a chance to go over the whole thing and give it a proper clean and detail, previous owner must have worn a lot of foundation and literally every touch point in the car was caked in beige. Gross. Gave it a huge clean, claybar (had to throw it out after, so much sh*t stuck in paint). Pulled the remains of the vinyl left in the door sills from its previous life, cut all the finger nail scratches out of the door handle recesses, then hit the whole car with cut and polish. Coat of fusso and its a shlick shkoda... think it got rescued at just the right point in its life. Will get sign writing in next few weeks. Wheels are kerbed to sh*t (Im guessing it was parked while doing makeup...), some tyre side wall damage as well, so on the hunt for a decent set of new wheels. Maybe 19s if I can find something not made of cheese/glass. Ordered a new set of ATE rotors and pads for it from rockauto, pretty reasonable pricing (other than the shipping), uses the same brakes as the GTI Performance (340mm rotors) so parts as easy to find, even if the skoda/vw catalogues are a absolute nightmare to navigate... BMW folk dont know how lucky we are with realoem.com Couple of thousand k's on it now, I dig it. Definitely a great do everything car, its not awesome at anything just good at everything. Good on gas, heaps of space, good gearbox, good stereo, handles well... Not much to complain about, other than the road noise is pretty bad on course chip seal. Now to throw some more mileage at the odo, I can see a set of spring and shocks in its future... going to try as much as I can to avoid throwing the easy flash for 300bhp, also DSG farts 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1659 Report post Posted October 15, 2022 27 minutes ago, Jacko said: BMW folk dont know how lucky we are with realoem.com bmwfans.info is better but yeah that's half the reason i stick with BMW, nothing ive used beats them in that area. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted October 22, 2022 (edited) Yakima cross bars and it hauls bikes along at 110kmh shweet as, barely even notice them (other than aprox 1/l 100km extra gas usage)... Ractis was kinda like driving a sail boat in comparison, one tacked around the corners. Currently trying to hunt down wheels for it, despite there being a huge amount on the market the majority seem to be cheap nasty VW reps or jumping straight into things like Enkeis which are beyond daily beater pricing. That leaves stuff like Rotiforms (which also come in a range of heinous designs for the VW DSG fart crew ) .... Any experience with rotiforms? ( @qube ?) Looking at 19x8.5 ET45 ZMOs, want something that wont bend to Whaka Kartires will to easily... The rotiforms seem to be 725kg rated. Edited October 22, 2022 by Jacko Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted October 24, 2022 @Jacko those rotiform ZMO's are a cast monoblock wheel so its "alright" nothing like true forged wheels but they are still a reputable brand that has built up a decent following and dont think there will be any issues 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2537 Report post Posted October 24, 2022 I think the stock wheels are great, although I guess if they are curbed up bad, probably negligible outlay going aftermarket. Assuming these are 5x112, could be some good optional OEM wheels avaliable from people tricking out their GTI's / R's / A4's / S3's... although VAG offsets are all over the place. Are DSG farts not standard? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) The stock wheels are pretty trick designs, but are weirdly narrow (19x7 etc) and have silly offsets which suck them into the guards something crazy. The FL and new shape Octavias have a 30mm wider rear track which addresses it some, with the same offsets.... Im guessing it happened when the Czechs stole VW golf rear suspension assembly and bolted it into a wider car. 18/19x8.5 ET40-45 seems like the sweet spot, a few "factory" options out there that aren't reps.. but then the ones that are for sale appear to be 90% also driven into kerbs Must be a VW thing. Saw one with genuine golf clubsport wheels on it the other day in Pukekohe, looked mint, but finding the wheels is not easy! Edited October 25, 2022 by Jacko 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 709 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 So many to pick from here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, m325i said: So many to pick from here No name Chinese reps, lots on tardme/etc/etc, cheese based. Edited October 25, 2022 by Jacko 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 www.trademe.co.nz/3826459384 www.trademe.co.nz/3824806594 www.trademe.co.nz/3825636248 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted October 26, 2022 Sniped the rotiforms for reserve, about $700 less than the retailers are selling them for.. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted October 31, 2022 New brakes, intake pipe (034 motorsports), and wheels Need to replace the dog bone bushing too, axle hop when smashing out the DSG farts is annoying, then Im going to leave it alone.... Interesting comparing the engineering whilst spannering this thing. That is one big f**k off single pot caliper out of the VW parts bin (GTI performance option unit), everything been definitely effecting by the accounts department. All the subframes and control arms in it (same as mk7 GTI) are all stamped steel and welded tubes. BMW on other hand are all aluminium forgings etc, and even the stamped steel parts BMW spit out are done less agriculturally... VW/Skoda are definitely built to a price. VW must make a killing on GTIs, as they are more expensive than the Skoda for the same conglomerate of parts. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted November 19, 2022 Replaced the dogbone bush with a powerflex one, no more wheel hop or bang noises when ya give it the beans in low gears, problem solved!.... but NVH through the cabin at idle is awful (near unbearable... this 4 pot is not refined...) Doh. Going to have to rethink this and look for other options. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted February 15, 2023 Now it wears stickers again Swapped out the 90SHa bush for a 75 one, now only shakes like a dog in reverse at idle, and no more wheel hop. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted June 17, 2023 (edited) Can anyone recommend a VW/Skoda mechanic in south ish Auckland? Want to get the timing chain and tensioners done. Eurosurgeon? SB European? Not being a hack and backing up their workmanship are primary goals Edited June 17, 2023 by Jacko Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1659 Report post Posted June 17, 2023 Only complaints about SD european ive heard are their prices Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Palazzo 473 Report post Posted June 18, 2023 Qualitat in Penrose? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted June 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Eagle said: Only complaints about SD european ive heard are their prices SB/SD ? https://www.vwaudiservice.nz/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1659 Report post Posted June 20, 2023 Didnt even know there was a business called that doing the same thing, i thought it was a typo. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted June 23, 2023 3.5k... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2537 Report post Posted July 3, 2023 I used Vodis in the past for my VAGs' - were excellent but on the Shore. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted July 3, 2023 Dropped it in at SB European on Monday, the owner was very friendly/knowledgeable and workshop was nice and clean.... pick it up tomorrow. Fingers crossed, but so far so good. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted July 4, 2023 Mechanic just called, water pump is leaking. Was replaced by the dealer 2021, lets see how good Gazely Skoda in Wellington are at customer service... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Palazzo 473 Report post Posted July 5, 2023 1 hour ago, Jacko said: Mechanic just called, water pump is leaking. Was replaced by the dealer 2021, lets see how good Gazely Skoda in Wellington are at customer service... Based on my experience, good luck. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2148 Report post Posted July 5, 2023 A lot of back and forth and its booked into Giltrap to confirm the warranty is applicable (it is...) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Palazzo 473 Report post Posted July 5, 2023 4 hours ago, Jacko said: A lot of back and forth and its booked into Giltrap to confirm the warranty is applicable (it is...) Hurrah! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
