Skoda Octavia vRS Blackline Estate

[bullawayo]

Hi guys,

New car, new thread. Big Post, photos taken from my ownership over the last 6 months. I will include more detail in future posts

December 2017:

I've just bought my first Skoda. My previous car, a 530d e60 with 300bhp, I sadly lost to the weather in the Yorkshire moores last weekend during a snow storm. Hit a 30 degree decline road which was ice and couldn't control the car.



Anyway, this is my new car. I am new to Skoda's but my heart has always been with VAG cars. I have owned various Golfs/Boras/Polos etc including a G40 which was tremendous fun.

Heres an overview:

2012 Octavia vRS Blackline Estate

42k miles

Full skoda history

Some pics from when I picked it up (oop North, i'm located in Basingstoke) on Friday evening:







And some from the Saturday morning:











And then the on the Sunday, I had my windows tinted. Also fitted some LED bulbs and removed any window stickers.



Next to Cornedbeef's Porsche at work:



Next up was retrofitting a microphone to allow bluetooth phonecalls/music streaming. Enabled it on VDCS:





Rear wiper removal, fitted my private reg:







LED number plate upgrade:





Superskoda Gloss Black Grill:



New style badges:









Snow!



New splitter:







Rear brakes:















New front tyres:



15mm spacers all round:









Debadge:





The man cave:



Carbon roof wrap:

















Tinted my headlights, but removed shortly after:



Drives:





Suspension upgrade:







Tracking:



And thats pretty much where i'm at after 6 months of ownership.

Future plans include a map, anti-lift kit/uprated ARB's/front brake kit.

Let me know any comments!

[bullawayo]

Hey, thanks bud.

Yeah facelift, so common rail 170hp as opposed to PD. To be fair, I wasn't expecting much but its actually quite light and quick for what it is.

I was a bit unsure when looking at new cars, but decided to commit and get one of these. I must say I really enjoy it, its an excellent all rounder.

Im focusing on improving the handling next and will eventually look at a hybrid turbo.

[bullawayo]

Some updates...



Got the car tracked as seen above and then drove to South of France for my holidays. Some awesome views and epic roads.

Did 3k miles in total (including driving whilst out there). Didn't miss a beat. 



























Parked up in Monaco. What a ridiculous car park!







When I got back I painted the engine cover with HT paint:

[bullawayo]

culpz said:

Welcome mate

They're nice, understated cars with a decent bit of standard poke but good tuning ability from a simple remap if you want a bit more. I really like the look of them too.

It'd be a petrol for me but that's because i don't do many miles, so i wouldn't really need one.

I presume it's a manual?

Hello mate,

Yes - 6 speed manual. Just ordered a short shift kit actually

[bullawayo]

MDifficult said:

Brilliant example of the old rules still applying...

Lower it. Widen it. De-clutter it. Add a spoiler. Murder-out.

Result: Awesome

Great work

Thanks mate. As I get older I move more towards subtle changes. As you said though, that was always my plan with this. I'm fairly happy with the visuals now (except maybe the wheels one day), and will focus more on chassis/handling bits for a while before eventually looking at hybrids.

I must say since doing 3k in France i've really fallen for it. It's a very capable all round car, and comparatively fully loaded given the cost of others with essentially the same setup (golf/audi etc).

[bullawayo]

MrTouring said:

MDifficult pointed me to this thread, as he put it we could be kindred spirits!

He basically said imagine if you owned a VRs what would you do!

Looks great - wagons rule and black, lowered and phat wagons rule more!

Black, lowered, phat and Red engined wagons are simply the bomb!

Love it!

Thats beautiful mate. I am an admin on e60/e61 owners club uk on facebook - still have a big thing for a 5. Love that!!

I don't know how to reply to everyone seperately but just wanted to say thanks for all the comments, wasn't expecting the response i've had. Glad to know people like it as much as I do.

To the guy who said about having a Shark map, that's also what im going to be getting. Everywhere I turn I hear good things. When I had my 530d I got it mapped the day after purchase so never had chance to notice the difference the map made (it made 270bhp on the rollers) so it'll be nice to see the change now i've done 15k beforehand.

I really like how the car looks, and I get a lot of comments on it from people. I've been asked what guise of model it is as a lot of people thinks its an oem option, which again is exactly what I was after.

I will keep everyone updated with any further bits I do. I'm trying to keep on top of documenting my progress as i'm usually really bad at recording any changes. I spend most my life in the garage/playing with my motors so it'll be nice to keep tabs on it.

Thanks again guys, appreciate it!

[bullawayo]

Following on from that, here's some pics from this weekend.

This weekend saw my longest ever brake change/tidy after I stripped the front down and then contracted norovirus which put me on my arse for the whole weekend. Managed to get it back together on Sunday but it was a colossal amount of effort with the sweating and feeling awful!

When driving back from France I noticed some minor squeaking when turning right at 40/50mph. I diagnosed it as brake related, turns out my slider pins weren't in the best shape and my discs look like a stone got stuck between the pads at some point.

Either way, took it all apart and rebuilt properly with the correct greases etc. I'm an engineer and take great pride in doing stuff properly as its preventative. Here's some pictures:



Here on the pad you can see where the stone has been rubbing at some point causing uneven pad wear. Discs replicated this:





The caliper bracket was in desperate need of a tidy up/regrease!







And all rebuilt. Much better!





Went with Pagid front discs and pads. Been using them for years, and as known they are OEM for a lot of car companies. Never had any issues so they will do until I do a front brake kit at some point.

[bullawayo]

Ahbefive said:

Looks good, I think it would look better with anthracite wheels and taking the fake carbon tat off the roof but the rest of the bits work well.

I don't get the de-wipering that people do on cars though, aesthetically it make little-to-no difference but a rear wiper is a handy thing t9 have.

Hey,

I dont think anthracite wheels would look better. Plus as its a blackline, the wheels are limited edition so I don't really want to change them.
I disagree with the carbon comment and how dewipering makes little to no difference. I think aesthetically it actually makes quite a big difference to the back of a car. I use rain-x once a week on the rear windshield when I clean the car so I never have a need for it anyway, as it never gets impaired/dirty enough.

I think maybe we have different opinions on what works on cars, but of course that is fine. Generally I think people agree I have improved the car overall.

[bullawayo]

Hi guys,

Haven't updated this for a while.
So after replacing discs/pads all round, I had a horrendous squeaking noise when the brakes were hot.
I did everything possible to try and track it down, including tolerances/OEM greases/caliper rebuilds etc.
Eventually it transpired I had a dodgy set of Pagid brake pads. This is not something i've ever had from them before, but they have been sent back as they confirmed they were aware of a bad batch of rear pads for the Octavia.

Before I diagnosed, between taking the brakes apart around 30 times a corner, I replaced the OSR caliper as it was sticking. The NSR was also rebuilt. Some pics:


Knackered old caliper


The garage (I live in here)


Also installed a sub/amp I have had for a while. Bought a ISO plug loom adapter from Amazon to give me RCA outputs. Removed most the interior to run the cables in properly. They are all segregated and loom-taped. Tried to be as OEM as possible.


Taking the boot apart


Temporary fuse mount I made up, I have since redone this so it sits perfectly between the air filter/battery and is easy to check/change in case of issue.


Sub in place



And then a couple from a post-brake-fix-FINALLY b-road hoon. So nice driving the car again without an annoying squeak!!







I've since fitted a bass controller to the ash tray, and done some other bits and bobs. Pictures to follow..

[bullawayo]

darren9 said:

I’ve just bought a fl mk2 Octavia vrs (mines a hatch) and I like what you’ve done so I have (just a few) questions.

What suspension have you got?
Where did you buy the spacers?
Is the splitter the triple r one?

Cheers.

Hey Darren,
Koni shocks/eibach springs
I had them machined by my friend, but you can get 5x112 spacers with bolts on ebay for about 30 quid
And yeah the splitter is TRC

[bullawayo]

darren9 said:

Thanks for the reply. Very impressed with how your looks. Hopefully will get mine to a similar standard.

Thanks mate!

[bullawayo]

So, long time no updates...



Had the car remapped: 205bhp 420nm






Much better!



Changed a knackered wheel bearing. One of the bolts was shot







Did some driving...





Fitted LED headlights:








Fitted a ttRs shortshifter kit, which I got from Darkside Developments:









Really impressed with the ttRs unit - slightly shorter throw making for much more enjoyable gear changes!

ARB's next, i think!

[bullawayo]

Soooo...another update:

Just fitted an anti-lift kit from DPM Performance to the Octy.

Superb service as always.

Wheel hop is drastically reduced and the handling is much better. With the suspension and this mod, it's becoming a much better car to drive as I add each item.

Next up will be ARB's!



Whiteline Anti Lift Kit:












All fitted!




I then got the car tracked.

Given it a bit of a battering down some B roads last night and I have to say i'm very impressed!

[bullawayo]

So,

Fully upgraded the interior lights to LED. I have also ordered some HB4 LED's for the foglights (to match the LED headlights).

Went for a drive with my mates this weekend. We have a good group of guys, and between us have quite an eclectic collection of cars.

During our B-Road blast, I was again suprised at how nimble the Octavia is. It kept pace with all and in some cases was quicker through the twisties. Some of this may be to do with the handling/power modifications I have made, but with its curb weight of 1400kg its fairly light for what it is.



Excuse how dirty it is, did 1000 miles last week!











Fixing my mates MX5 (this is a fairly regular occurance):



And the guys cars in a group:



A lot of them are members on here, I can point you in the direction of their respective threads if needed.


Next up for the Octavia is anti-roll bars and new tyres. Going for Pilot Sport 4's as all of the reviews i've read/heard about have been excellent. They come in at 95 quid for a 225/40/18 which is very respectable!

[bullawayo]

chrismc1977 said:

Some nice work. Octy’s are capable motors!

I’m another who doesn’t like the black on black with the wheels I must say- & those LED plate lights are WAY too white/ bright!!. Less is more

Hey, thanks!

The wheels will stay black as it is a blackline model. I like all the black look myself. I may change the wheels entirely soon...
LED's are awesome!

[bullawayo]

bucks said:

Loving this, great mods

I drove one similar to yours last year that had bilstein b8's and eibach springs all round and it was fantastic. Well worth the money spent as it was able to do things a big-ish estate shouldn't be able to do.

Cheers buddy.

I've had a few estates over the years and the way this conducts itself through bends at speed still amazes me. I'm sure its something to do with the relatively light curbweight compared to equivalent models.

With the anti-lift kit and decent tyres/lowered suspension it really is a hoot.

[bullawayo]

Glosphil said:

I have owned a black March 2012 Octavia vRS CR DSG since June 2013. I have kept it absolutely standard. Keep thinking of changing it, but can never decide to what!

I don't blame you. They tick so many boxes, particularly the estates.

[bullawayo]

Haven't updated this for ages..

Looks like this now:







I've done a lot of stuff, which I will update soon.

Still loving it!

[bullawayo]

MARLBOROLITES said:

That's a fine looking wagon, Skoda should take note of your tasteful visuals and maybe offer an enhancement pack as part of its OE accessory range. Many of its new offerings are almost there out of the box I feel, just lacking that little bit of impact. May I say you've solved that conundrum mightily well.

The spacers make a helluva difference. I'm looking for a set for my Kodiaq as to me it looks under tyred..or wheeled!? I just need to fill the arches, 20mm will be just about perfect.

My Kodiaq is black but I just can't get its paint to gleam like yours. May I ask what you use? You've redefined my understanding of shiny black!

20mm all round works well!

Thanks a lot - appreciate that.

Regarding the paint - I did a 3 stage machine polish on it not too long ago. It gets washed at least once a week now too..





So...
bit more of an update. Took it to surrey rolling road recently. Made 220bhp 330ft/lb torque. not bad for a daily diesel beater!





Fitted prosport coilovers and completely refreshed the rear end...





This was obviously going well!









And some general pics of me abusing the mileage daily! Engineering life!











The mod list is something I will upload at some point. I don't feel like I have done much to it, but when I think back to all the different times I have been working/fitting parts I think in reality I've done quite a lot...

Most recent has been the (heavily modified) Yakima wind fairing for the roof, to stop motorway "windslap" from the roof bars. I wasn't happy with the included fitted kit as it seemed a bit flimsy so made up my own with proper (colour coded black) hardware:

[bullawayo]

darren9 said:

Looks great.

I’ve just had a look at pro sport coil overs. A google search seems to show them as ridiculously inexpensive (sub £250) I’ll be interested to hear how you get on with them.

How was the previous shock/spring set-up? I’ve recently but a tcr splitter on my Octavia and now it needs lowering but as it’s the family car I can’t have it crashy or uncomfortable. It also needs to be suitable for poor country roads so I can’t have it too low either.

Previous shock/spring setup was excellent, and even with the splitter it very rarely caught over speedbumps.

I have lowered every car i've ever owned (please dont judge me) and the Prosport coilovers are the best bang-for-buck ones i've ever used (and i've used every set you can imagine - from £150 to £900 setups).

To be fair the setup I have on it is rather low, but it still drives well. It does catch over speed bumps etc if I go too quickly, but i'm used to slowing down etc.