Skoda Octvia, barge potential...
Discussion
I've owned the car almost 2 weeks now but never got round to cleaning it up to get a few pictures. It was a one owner car with full Skoda history and set me back £1300. So here it is, my freshly polished Octavia mk1 1.8t Laurin and Klement.
It is an amazing upgrade from a Vauxhall Astra for starters, I even got a refund on my insurance changing to the Golf in grandads clothes. Its got everything I wanted from my first alright car.
The surprising thing I've found is that i'm so much calmer driving now. I don't feel the need to maintain a daft cruising speed on the motorway anymore or take islands too fast all of the time. Perhaps its the calming effect of the leather and wood effect plastic, or maybe I have less to prove?
I like subtlety of it the most, it looks like any other Octavia. No bodykit or painted calipers to give it away, just a nicer interior and most of the options thrown in as standard, I didnt know what I was missing without heated seats, climate control and Xenon lights.
It wants a cambelt within the next 10k and really need doing asap because I plan on remapping it at some point. My understanding is that it is basically a mk4 Golf GTi and so the same parts are used throughout the chassis and engine.
It is an amazing upgrade from a Vauxhall Astra for starters, I even got a refund on my insurance changing to the Golf in grandads clothes. Its got everything I wanted from my first alright car.
The surprising thing I've found is that i'm so much calmer driving now. I don't feel the need to maintain a daft cruising speed on the motorway anymore or take islands too fast all of the time. Perhaps its the calming effect of the leather and wood effect plastic, or maybe I have less to prove?
I like subtlety of it the most, it looks like any other Octavia. No bodykit or painted calipers to give it away, just a nicer interior and most of the options thrown in as standard, I didnt know what I was missing without heated seats, climate control and Xenon lights.
It wants a cambelt within the next 10k and really need doing asap because I plan on remapping it at some point. My understanding is that it is basically a mk4 Golf GTi and so the same parts are used throughout the chassis and engine.
Nice!
How are you finding the handling? I have a vRS, and the handling feels quite cack to me. A common modification is to fit a rear anti-roll bar, which supposedly transforms the handling.
You are correct, the Octavia is basically a golf with a bigger boot. There are loads of parts which are interchangable from other VAG products (A3/S3/Leon/TT/etc)
Jealous of your heated seats and xenons, mine has neither!
How are you finding the handling? I have a vRS, and the handling feels quite cack to me. A common modification is to fit a rear anti-roll bar, which supposedly transforms the handling.
You are correct, the Octavia is basically a golf with a bigger boot. There are loads of parts which are interchangable from other VAG products (A3/S3/Leon/TT/etc)
Jealous of your heated seats and xenons, mine has neither!
Thanks!
Its a 150bhp AUM engine.
The carpets really do want a proper shampoo treatment, and it needs alot of polishing outside to bring the paintwork back to life. There is one ding on the drivers door and the rear wiper doesn't work all of the time, but other than those little details i'm chuffed with it.
The handling is definitely not a strong point and seems at odds with the engine. It soft, rolls too much and although there is grip it isn't a joy to throw around. It suits my interior but not so much the whole package. I don't fancy coilovers but it needs something extra.
I've been eying up the Whiteline website. Costly, but I anticipated paying more for the car and paying alot more than I do for the insurance so definately an option with a ARB.
Fantastic, just as I suspected. I'm going feel like a child writing their letter to Father Christmas looking at VW forums for parts. Which is a good question, which of the many forums offers the best advice on these cars?
Its a 150bhp AUM engine.
The carpets really do want a proper shampoo treatment, and it needs alot of polishing outside to bring the paintwork back to life. There is one ding on the drivers door and the rear wiper doesn't work all of the time, but other than those little details i'm chuffed with it.
The handling is definitely not a strong point and seems at odds with the engine. It soft, rolls too much and although there is grip it isn't a joy to throw around. It suits my interior but not so much the whole package. I don't fancy coilovers but it needs something extra.
I've been eying up the Whiteline website. Costly, but I anticipated paying more for the car and paying alot more than I do for the insurance so definately an option with a ARB.
Fantastic, just as I suspected. I'm going feel like a child writing their letter to Father Christmas looking at VW forums for parts. Which is a good question, which of the many forums offers the best advice on these cars? Swoxy said:
It looks great, what's the BHP? You should clean the mats, I did the same (http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=939118).
Very nice work indeed on those mats, and the restoration, it looks absolutely A1. I'll be giving that stuff a look for sure. Cheers!Edited by KM666 on Friday 30th May 22:52
KM666 said:
Thanks!
Its a 150bhp AUM engine.
The carpets really do want a proper shampoo treatment, and it needs alot of polishing outside to bring the paintwork back to life. There is one ding on the drivers door and the rear wiper doesn't work all of the time, but other than those little details i'm chuffed with it.
The handling is definitely not a strong point and seems at odds with the engine. It soft, rolls too much and although there is grip it isn't a joy to throw around. It suits my interior but not so much the whole package. I don't fancy coilovers but it needs something extra.
I've been eying up the Whiteline website. Costly, but I anticipated paying more for the car and paying alot more than I do for the insurance so definately an option with a ARB.
Fantastic, just as I suspected. I'm going feel like a child writing their letter to Father Christmas looking at VW forums for parts. Which is a good question, which of the many forums offers the best advice on these cars?
BriSkoda. Without a doubt. I ran a couple of this gen Octavia TDi as workhorses. Did near on 200k in two of them. I also loved the anonymity of them, the way nobody pays attention and the way it just ate up the miles. Its a 150bhp AUM engine.
The carpets really do want a proper shampoo treatment, and it needs alot of polishing outside to bring the paintwork back to life. There is one ding on the drivers door and the rear wiper doesn't work all of the time, but other than those little details i'm chuffed with it.
The handling is definitely not a strong point and seems at odds with the engine. It soft, rolls too much and although there is grip it isn't a joy to throw around. It suits my interior but not so much the whole package. I don't fancy coilovers but it needs something extra.
I've been eying up the Whiteline website. Costly, but I anticipated paying more for the car and paying alot more than I do for the insurance so definately an option with a ARB.
Fantastic, just as I suspected. I'm going feel like a child writing their letter to Father Christmas looking at VW forums for parts. Which is a good question, which of the many forums offers the best advice on these cars? I used to give mine full oil/ filter changes every 10k. And I'd often not have to open the bonnet between changes. Never used any oil or coolant and even the screen wash bottle is 5l or something silly!!
Nice sleeper.
Good news, the AUM engine comes with a ko3s turbo, as fitted to the 180bhp engines, rather than the ko3 which is fitted to the other 150bhp engines (basically, your engine is a detuned 180) so when you get a remap, make sure whoever does it knows what they are on about, otherwise you'll only get the 150bhp remap to 190, rather than the 210 plus remap it should get.
Good news, the AUM engine comes with a ko3s turbo, as fitted to the 180bhp engines, rather than the ko3 which is fitted to the other 150bhp engines (basically, your engine is a detuned 180) so when you get a remap, make sure whoever does it knows what they are on about, otherwise you'll only get the 150bhp remap to 190, rather than the 210 plus remap it should get.
TheAngryDog said:
Nice sleeper.
Good news, the AUM engine comes with a ko3s turbo, as fitted to the 180bhp engines, rather than the ko3 which is fitted to the other 150bhp engines (basically, your engine is a detuned 180) so when you get a remap, make sure whoever does it knows what they are on about, otherwise you'll only get the 150bhp remap to 190, rather than the 210 plus remap it should get.
Good news, the AUM engine comes with a ko3s turbo, as fitted to the 180bhp engines, rather than the ko3 which is fitted to the other 150bhp engines (basically, your engine is a detuned 180) so when you get a remap, make sure whoever does it knows what they are on about, otherwise you'll only get the 150bhp remap to 190, rather than the 210 plus remap it should get.
Thanks for the info. I'll to research very carefully who to get a remap from, I'm not too far from Surry Rolling Road so would hope to get it done there. eltax91 said:
BriSkoda. Without a doubt. I ran a couple of this gen Octavia TDi as workhorses. Did near on 200k in two of them. I also loved the anonymity of them, the way nobody pays attention and the way it just ate up the miles.
I used to give mine full oil/ filter changes every 10k. And I'd often not have to open the bonnet between changes. Never used any oil or coolant and even the screen wash bottle is 5l or something silly!!
I'll have to pay up on BriSkoda I think, pimpmyskoda.co.uk seems to have really detailed how to guides on a VRS so I'm sure I can apply some of it to mine. I used to give mine full oil/ filter changes every 10k. And I'd often not have to open the bonnet between changes. Never used any oil or coolant and even the screen wash bottle is 5l or something silly!!
Edited by KM666 on Saturday 31st May 21:09
KM666 said:
I'll have to pay up on BriSkoda I think, pimpmyskoda.co.uk seems to have really detailed how to guides on a VRS so I'm sure I can apply some of it to mine.
You're welcome. I used to have a vRS, big mistake selling it for a Scooby. Shouldve put the £2500 into making it quicker instead. Edited by KM666 on Saturday 31st May 21:09
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