This weekend, I have mostly been modding my Octy...

[DaveU]

...some chrome bonnet lifters + an ABD turbo intake pipe (can't see in pic):




...some new rear light clusters courtesy of Milotec:




...some new shoes (size 18):




...a side shot of my beastie:




Only a few more things to do then she should be finished!

[ColinD]

I want some bonnet lifters...keep catching the wonky strut.

Any details Dave on sourcing the lifters?

Wheels and clusters are looking good

[dsmithmobile]

Its looking very nice Dave,im glad you got a picture of those rear lights,because i wanted to see how they looked on a black octy before i ordered some myself and i must say they look good and dont try kidding yourself by saying your almost finished because as soon as the next idea comes along you will be reaching for your credit card again

[vRS_Si]

Very very nice!
Are those in the Highpower black or Hyperblack?

[Quinten]

Nice work Dave !

[ncarring]

Like the wheels not so keen on the light clusters Dave. Quite a beast you're building up there tho

[DGW]

Nice lifters, Dave! It would be helpful to other members to be able to publish source, part numbers and price in the parts list in My Maintenance.

[chrish]

Dave,
What is the difference in torque delivery now you have the ABD turbo inlet pipe fitted? How easy was it to fit?
Chris

[delcac]

Dave,
The Black Beast is looking quite good these days, would have liked a pic of the front though.

That wiring in the first pic, what's that all about.

[stathap]

Originally Posted by DaveU

Only a few more things to do then she should be finished!

[DaveU]

Originally Posted by delcac

Dave,
The Black Beast is looking quite good these days, would have liked a pic of the front though.

That wiring in the first pic, what's that all about.

Just for you Des (not the best pic but only one i took this morning!):


Oh and as for the wiring, it may not be pretty but it was (almost) all working till your mate (we shall call him...Bungle) had a look at it and now none of it works! Gossy to the rescue hopefully


Reviews for those that are interested:

The lifters are direct from Milotec in Germany (www.milotec.de) and cost 69 Euros (about £ 49). They are easy to fit but you will need another person to hold the bonnet for you! Also - WD40 the bolts on the actual bonnet underside itself as they are on very tight and actually snapped one of my star-shaped screw driver bits clean in two! It is also handy to have a torx-wrench thing as they are on extremely tight! Now when i 'pop' the bonnet, after about 6" I can let go and it impressively opens itself right up and stays up! Think of how the boot opens and you'll get the idea.

The ABD turbo inlet pipe was £ 150 from ABD. It is 'mediumly' difficult to fit (I didn't fit mine as I'm not even capable of fitting a DV correctly - am I Des?). You will need relatively small hands - ie not fingers like sausages and be comfortable working with both hands tucked round the back of the engine and not being able to see what you are doing Mine was fitted for me in about 5 minutes from above the engine (ie just the bonnet up - no going underneath the car necessary). It should take you about 1/2 hour if you've not done it before apparently. Appears to reduce low end power ever-so slightly but gives a remarkably noticable gain when the turbo is in full flow. Definately recommended mod.

The wheels are BK Racing wheels BK299 in High Power Black. Took me ages to choose them! The size is 18" and 5x100 et38. Tyres are my personal faves, Pirelli P-Zero Rosso 225/40/18. The wheels look the dogs wotsits and fit perfectly, even tho the car is dropped another 40mm. They do rub everso slightly on full lock - but who cares when they look that good! They were around £1200 from Micheldever including tracking + geometry (had a few tweeks done ). The wheels were originally quite badly toe-out after having the KW's put on (quite understeery) so i'd recommend having your tracking etc checked if you lower your car.
Car now appears to be surgically attached to the road in corners -thanks mostly to the KWs and having 225s makes the car feel much more planted. The diameter of the wheels/tyres is about 10mm different to the 205/50/17s - even so, you do feel the bumps more with the lower profiles. Micheldever did their usual trick of not balancing the wheels properly so i get some shake at 'high' speeds so I now need to find somewhere local who can 'invisibly' re-balance them for me.

Milotec rear light clusters in black - again from Milotec direct in Germany at 199 Euros (approx £ 142). Very nice looking and look a lot better in the flesh than in the above pic. A doddle to fit at 20 minutes:
Remove plastic carpet holders in boot (tamperproof bit needed),
peel back carpet,
unplug old clusters (single plug with all wires in),
remove 4 bolts from back of old lights
gently push lights outwards from the boot (obviously dont let them fall on the floor)!
insert new lights from the outside and follow the above steps in reverse!
They fit perfectly. HOWEVER, the quality is 'questionable'. They do not look like they are sealed properly around the edges. It could just be an illusion but if anyone is thinking of buying them then I would recommend waiting a few weeks and i'll post a follow up to see if they have let any water in etc. Milotec have also now helpfully added a line saying these lights wont fit a RHD car - which is obviously not true as you can see from the pics.

[DaveU]

Oh by the way - ordering direct from Milotec seems quite a bit cheaper than going through a reseller such as 'Butts' - it doesn't come without its drawbacks though:

To buy from Milotec, you order via their online system, they then send you an email with instructions. You will have to transfer money direct into their account in Germany in Euros.

This is not as easy as it sounds. You will need to ask your bank what details they need and make sure you get them from Milotec (dont ask them how to do it as they haven't got a clue). You will also most likely be charged an international handling charge from your bank. Barclays charged me £ 10 as <2000 Euros is classed as 'small'.

[TaviaRS]

Bungle indeed Kin dodgy wiring and as for the controller being wedged in with a bit of cardboard.

Spoke to Gossy, yep, he'll give it a go.Your controller will still work, its the wire that plugs in that is bolloxed.

HTH

[DaveU]

I never named no-one! The cardboard was the piece-de-resistance didn't you think?

[SkodiRS]

Didn't clean it again then?

Lookin' good though.

If anyone wants a detailed description on how to order from Milotec PM me.....it was a real pain in the a**e.

I would suggest that if a few people are going to order you do it together and have one person put the order in. Will be cheaper on shipping and on the Bank charges.

[ColinD]

Dave,

Thanks for review in here, any chance we could twist your arm to add it to the reviews section...most items are listed already, if not, go wild .

Wheels do look ace...TIP, umm 5 mins...concur with the 30mins average as that's what I paid for ( Although only 15 cash ).

[day tripper]

I take it their is drilling required to fit the bonnet struts?

Isnt there a chance of the drilled holes going rusty and crusty?

[DaveU]

No drilling or cutting required - factory bolts out, Milotec bolts in - simple as that!

[DGW]

Fitting instructions can be downloaded from here in pdf format. (You will need AdobeReader to view them).


http://www.milotec.de/pdf/octavia/424_05.pdf

[William]

Have to say I don't like the light clusters and the wheels wouldn't be mu choice. Why 18 inch if they rub etc?