winter upgrades

[Niall]

I have the following upgrades i.e. replacements planned

4 New Winter tyres. Great grip when cold and wet
Full Service + timing belt + Waterpump
Uprated powerflex suspension bushes
20mm Anti roll bar of a Fabia RS

Boy oh boy dis my wallet going to be hurting. But plenty of fun to be had

 

[sssstew]

it will love you for it though.

 

[muddyboots]

Niall - which winter tyres are you getting ?

I've just ordered some Toyo Snowprox 952s, about the only winter tyre you can get in the UK that fits 205/45/16...

 

[slimjim]

Got my heated washer jets winging their way to me .... we will see if they are worth £40...

 

[muddyboots]

Freezing washer jets are the worst thing about my car in winter, no matter how strong I make the screenwash, the windchill freezes the jets up.
I looked into retro-fitting the heated jets to a Mk4 last year but couldn't work out where the wiring went .

Have you worked this out ?

 

[sssstew]

totally agree, and quite dangerous when you come to wash and wipe find they are frozen so your wipers smear the salt spray accross your screen reducing your visibility even more... grrrr

 

[slimjim]

Freezing washer jets are the worst thing about my car in winter, no matter how strong I make the screenwash, the windchill freezes the jets up.
I looked into retro-fitting the heated jets to a Mk4 last year but couldn't work out where the wiring went .

Have you worked this out ?

Worked it out? Nope! LOL!.....

Will just link them up to the mains and either a seperate switch somewhere, or try and hack it into the heated windscreen/mirros button....

Recon it's going ot be hard?

 

[chill14]

Worked it out? Nope! LOL!.....

Will just link them up to the mains and either a seperate switch somewhere, or try and hack it into the heated windscreen/mirros button....

Recon it's going ot be hard?

This i what handbook says about jets so pluging in 'mains' sounds like a good idea.

"The heated windscreen washer jets* are switched on when the ignition is switched on and the amount of heat is regulated automatically according to the outside temperature."

Out of interest where have you got the kit from as im very tempted to retro fit this, as i have the same problem as muddyboots with the screenwash.

 

[slimjim]

This i what handbook says about jets so pluging in 'mains' sounds like a good idea.

"The heated windscreen washer jets* are switched on when the ignition is switched on and the amount of heat is regulated automatically according to the outside temperature."

Out of interest where have you got the kit from as im very tempted to retro fit this, as i have the same problem as muddyboots with the screenwash.

LOL.....

Think linking them to the mirrors/rear screen would be the best plan...

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=62812

 

[Vicky M]

Got my heated washer jets winging their way to me .... we will see if they are worth £40...

it's not so much the Heated bit, it's the salt encrusted bit

ever driven a Ford with "hotscreen" in the winter
my mondeo was using a 2 1/2 gallon washer bottle every other day.
Hotscreen cooks salt to the windscreen, heated jet washers cook salt to the wash nozzles, driving with lights on cooks salt to the headlights.
all this equates to a washer bottle not lasting very long!!!!

especially when headlight wash soaks anyone walking past the car!!!!
guess i needed to wash the headlights quite often

 

[slimjim]

ever driven a Ford with "hotscreen" in the winter
my mondeo was using a 2 1/2 gallon washer bottle every other day.
Hotscreen cooks salt to the windscreen, heated jet washers cook salt to the wash nozzles, driving with lights on cooks salt to the headlights.
all this equates to a washer bottle not lasting very long!!!!:

But can you not just only turn t he screen on first thing in the morning when you are defrosting the car, then turn it off once you are on your way?

especially when headlight wash soaks anyone walking past the car!!!!
guess i needed to wash the headlights quite often

Nice one!

 

[muddyboots]

But can you not just only turn t he screen on first thing in the morning when you are defrosting the car, then turn it off once you are on your way?

I was thinking the same - my g/f has a Focus with the Quickclear screen and it's only ever on for a couple of minutes while it does it's job. Wouldn't want to keep it on any longer because of the amount of current it draws - you wanna see how much the lights dim when you switch it on !
Fantastic device to have though, wish it was available on other cars...

 

[slimjim]

I was thinking the same - my g/f has a Focus with the Quickclear screen and it's only ever on for a couple of minutes while it does it's job. Wouldn't want to keep it on any longer because of the amount of current it draws - you wanna see how much the lights dim when you switch it on !
Fantastic device to have though, wish it was available on other cars...

Bloomin Ford....

Bet if they licenced it out they could make loads.....

 

[Niall]

Lee,

Toyo's came out well in the anual german test of winter tyres. I am going to be running 15' with firestone winterhawk's. Got michelin's on at the moment but they are rubbing because they are slightly to large but were cheap, dirt cheap. 80 pounds incl wheels.

The difference will be huge compared to summer tyre's


Full Service + timing belt + Waterpump has been done still to get the susnepnsion done. But run into problems, as the console holding the wishbone onto the subframe has a torn rubber. So the whole subframe and whishbones need taken apart to replace both of them.

I think this could be a good alternative to the non heated jets. http://www.webasto-hotshot.com/index_en.php

Lee i can have a look tomorrow when my car gets it's first MOT how the jets are wired if you want.???

 

[prc]

I luckily don't have the freezing and winter tyre problem, but I do get new tyres every winter because it rains cats 'n dogs during winter months.

Nail,
IMO I would probably lay off the roll bar til spring comes around. Suspension upgrades like lowering, ARB, and strut braces do tend to make handling worse
during snow & rain.

 

[muddyboots]

Lee,

Toyo's came out well in the anual german test of winter tyres. I am going to be running 15' with firestone winterhawk's. Got michelin's on at the moment but they are rubbing because they are slightly to large but were cheap, dirt cheap. 80 pounds incl wheels.

The difference will be huge compared to summer tyre's


Full Service + timing belt + Waterpump has been done still to get the susnepnsion done. But run into problems, as the console holding the wishbone onto the subframe has a torn rubber. So the whole subframe and whishbones need taken apart to replace both of them.

I think this could be a good alternative to the non heated jets. http://www.webasto-hotshot.com/index_en.php

Lee i can have a look tomorrow when my car gets it's first MOT how the jets are wired if you want.???

Cheers Niall, good to hear the Toyos seem OK. Had the option of Goodyears, Pirellis or Toyos...
The Goodyears "looked" good but had a lower load index (83), which I thought might mean they rolled around more under the weight of the TDI lump at the front (only guessing mind, could be complete bollocks). The Pirelli and Toyos both had a load index of 87, but the Toyos are apparently "reinforced" and have rim protection so sounded better at least...in other words I didn't have a clue

What size 15" wheels/tyres are you running then ? I can't run anything smaller as I need the 16"s to clear my 312mm brakes.

And regarding the heated jet wiring - they disappear from the bonnet downwards just in front of the windscreen I'm told, but it's where they get wired to from there I don't know. I just remembered I have some current flow diagrams now so maybe that will give some clues, shall have to have a look. The pukka Seat wiring seems to be loomed in with the piping in the bonnet, and it looks like it could be quite fiddly to fit, especially if I needed to run the piping right down to the washer bottle. TBH I'm not sure you'll be able to see much more than I know - but no harm in looking if you get the chance

 

[muddyboots]

Nail,
IMO I would probably lay off the roll bar til spring comes around. Suspension upgrades like lowering, ARB, and strut braces do tend to make handling worse
during snow & rain.

LOL @ "Nail"

I've just put off my Powerflex bushes & strut brace due to forking out for the tyres, the theory being that due to the weather & crap roads I'm not going to benefit from the handling upgrades till the weather improves. Hadn't realised they would actually make matters worse though - why is this do you think ?

 

[ALEX**]

Got my heated washer jets winging their way to me .... we will see if they are worth £40...

details please mine keep freezing, are they for leon and ibiza?

 

[slimjim]

details please mine keep freezing, are they for leon and ibiza?

Leon my good man.....

They are yet to turn up .... I will have a word with DLever at IGM today and see when they are goign to turn up.

Might try and couple the whole thing with that "Hot-Shot" thing.... which looks pretty kool.

As soon as I have details I will post them up.

 

[ALEX**]

hot shot thing?

im lost