Adding a Racingline Carbon Fibre brace?

So this one is specifically for the MQB vehicle owners! (Golf 7 & 7.5 / Leon / Octavia). This may not be a mod you have even seen before, never mind knowing the benefits to your vehicle and overall drive! The Racingline Carbon Fibre Rear Brace reinforces the bodyshell at its weakest point for a more precise and pleasurable drive.

The MQB platform vehicles have a pretty stiff bodyshell. Between the front end suspension the chassis is very rigid however, at the rear the chassis has much more flex. This means that with hard driving the handling of the vehicle is much harder. You can upgrade the suspension underneath and try to strengthen and secure however it won’t affect the flex of the body up top! VW have acknowledged this and the Clubsport  S Golf gets a factory rear brace!

How does it work?

Adding a Racingline carbon fibre brace creates a stronger, stiffer rear body. It solves this issue by locking the crucial hard points together. Despite the added stiffness, this improved handling performance comes without sacrificing any ride quality or introducing any additional noise, vibration, or harshness into the cabin. Solid billet aluminium mounts are used and secured into beautiful, ultra-stiff carbon fibre link bars drastically stiffening the rear of the chassis.

Easy to fit?

All you need to fit the brace is a set of triple square drive sockets! The brace comes in pieces, with instructions on how to put together and fit to the vehicle. That’s another pro of this performance part, you can easily fit it yourself! The clever design means that installation is simple, using existing body mounting points with no drilling and no removal of trim required, and is completely reversible. You can use the brace with the back seats up or down and it doesn’t really take up any boot space!

You can purchase the Racingline Carbon Fibre Rear Body Brace here at our sister company. ‘VAG performance’ You also have the option to pay conveniently with Klarna!

If you have any questions regarding the fitment or whether its for you, pop us a message ‘Here’. We always have someone available and happy to help with any queries.

Thinking of upgrading to a REVO Air intake kit? You’ve come to the right place! We’ll go through the benefits of upgrading and the hardware/software options to go along side. Air intake kits are a complete replacement of the OEM standard already fitted to your vehicle. Initially you may be thinking about having a Stage 2 remap, in which an upgraded intake kit is required. This is because the standard kit cant allow enough air through the engine to allow for the stage 2 power, Therefore it becomes a restriction on power. Upgrading allows the engine to access enough air and reach the turbo as quickly as possible whilst minimising turbulence and restriction.

What does it do?

So as a result of the air being able to travel through the engine effectively, there are many benefits. Boost can be maintained for longer which will give you access to more power through the rev range. You will experience a more aggressive sound, which is why upgrading the Air intake is usually the first port of call for hardware upgrades. You can also gain a lot from just upgrading this one part. They are also not too complex to fit, and usually only take half an hour with a specialist.

Why REVO?

REVO have worked alongside some of the biggest names in the Air Filter industry. Therefore, engineering and designing one of the highest flowing kits available. They carry out extensive testing and use the highest quality materials to enable their products to be top of the market.

Where to buy?

You can purchase the REVO Air Intake Kits through our sister company: VAG-performance. If you require any information on fitment, best software and hardware to go hand in hand, you can email us or fill out the contact form here: Contact

What are the benefits of upgrading to a Superpro Anti Roll bar on your VAG Vehicle?

As most people should know now, we are a Superpro performance dealer. Therefore, any Superpro bushes, anti-roll bars and control arms, you can purchase through us or our sister company ‘VAG Performance’ https://www.vag-performance.co.uk/

We get a lot of enquiries for Superpro upgrades. However, a lot of people don’t actually know how the parts actually benefit your car. To start with lets find out how the anti-roll bars affect your vehicle!

What does it do?

Anti-roll bars or Sway bars help keep the vehicle structure and contact to the road when turning. The Bar will distribute your vehicle’s weight over all four tires to keep your vehicle as flat as possible through a turn. Sway bars improve a car’s handling around turns and corners by controlling the vehicle’s weight transfer, including body roll. By working to keep the wheels on each side of the car as even as possible, they help keep the car more planted and maintain a strong contact patch between the tires and the ground.

Certain vehicle models struggle more with poor traction and road handling therefore would massively benefit from having an upgraded Super pro anti roll bar. The most common vehicles we fit these too are Golf R’s and Audi S3’s. It reduces under steer in quattro vehicles having the upgraded rear anti roll bar fit.

What are the differences?

So what are the differences between stock anti-rollbars and upgraded ones? Aftermarket bars are often solid rather than hollow stock bars, with wider range of adjustment. They are largely beneficial for performance vehicles or vehicles that carry or tow loads. That being said, anyone can benefit from an upgraded Anti-rollbar as it will give an overall better driving experience.

You can contact us here: https://www.northeastautotech.com/contact/ to enquire or get a free no obligation quote.

Upgrading to a Superpro Anti Roll bar?

Common Skoda Fabia issues… what to look for? Following on with our monthly study of a popular vehicle; We thought we’d move onto a slightly more standard daily driver, the Skoda Fabia.

What to look for?

One of the most common issues we come across is with the Windscreen washer pump. The pump itself either packs up or (throughout the winter months) the pipes block up and split. Water then leaks in the passenger footwell. Because of this people usually assume it’s their door seals and the water pump is overlooked.

The next problem they have is with Suspension. The Fabia suspension is known to be quiet stiff and a firmer drive. Due to this, its prone to failure. When buying a Fabia always do the bonnet test. Push hard on the bonnet and if takes more than 1-2 bounces back to get back to normal, have the suspension checked over by a specialist.

Skoda Fabia’s (1.4ltr Petrol engines) have a reputation for being one of the most oil dependent cars out there. If you are looking to purchase a Fabia and the oil is low, we would question the service history. We would also double check the rest of the vehicle. Purely because, if the oil has not been checked regularly, maintenance on the rest of vehicle may have been neglected.

Window regulator issues.

Window regulators are also a common part for failing on a Fabia. If your windows aren’t going up and down properly, sticking or falling to one side; these are all symptoms of your window regular being faulty! There are a couple of tips to try and prevent the regulator from failing. Once the window is up, don’t hold the button as it puts extra pressure on the motor. Also try using rubber care products. This will stop the seals from going hard and will allow the window to go up and down freely.

The Skoda Fabia electric power steering pump is very common to fail on all models. What starts off as intermittent loss of power steering, usually leads to total failure if left to progress.
Common Faults include:
1. Intermittent loss of steering.
2. Steering heavy on idle & on revs.
3. Noisy power steering pump.
4. Blowing fuses.
5. Steering warning light on.

Gearbox issues

Last but not least the DSG gearbox. Certain 7 speed Fabia’s suffered serious issues with the VW manufactured 7 speed gearbox. Most cars with this gearbox were recalled. However, check when buying that the gearbox is nice and smooth and there aren’t any pre-existing issues. You will get also get a fault on the dash come up when selecting gear if there is a fault with the gearbox. This will simply say ‘PRNDS’. If this warning light occurs, we would advise getting a diagnostics test done asap.

You can get in touch with us on 01642 613852 if you are wanting vehicle inspection/diagnostic test. We carry out a full report on the vehicle which you can also keep for your records!
You can also get in touch via the contact page here: https://www.northeastautotech.com/contact/ or our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/northeastautotech/

Common Skoda Fabia issues

Common Golf R/Audi S3 issues… what to look for?

We often get asked questions about specific vehicles, their common issues and problems to look out for. Customers get a new vehicle and the first thing they want to do is know exactly what potential issues they could face, and rightly so! If you know what to look out for you can spot problems before they properly develop and potentially cause other issues in the vehicle!

We thought it would be a good idea to blog each month a case study of a different popular vehicle! This way you can easily find information from us regarding specific models within the VAG.

So what am I looking for?

This month’s blog we are going to focus on the Golf R and the Audi S3. Both have the EA888 engine which means they carry the same niggly issues. The most common problem people have is with the Haldex, mainly because people do not know it needs to be serviced. Off the back of the Haldex not being serviced the 4WD becomes non-existent and the vehicle essentially becomes FWD. The rear Diff then could need replacing, which would be a much more costly repair! This could be avoided by just having your Haldex serviced at the correct intervals. We recommend Gen 1&2 every 38,000 miles and Gen 4&5 every 20,000 miles.

The next issue we come across is the IS38 Turbo charger having issues. This turbo employs a ‘zero tolerance’ compressor design. There is virtually no clearance between the compressor wheel and housing. Improving efficiency and contributing to the incredible performance of the turbo. The compressor housing is lined with a Teflon insert, as the compressor wheel meets it in normal operation.

The issue is that batches of the turbo have not been balanced properly.  Several turbos have been stripped and examined, only to find the balancing is out by a very large margin on a few turbos.  This causes the compressor wheel to move off centre slightly.  On a “normal” turbo this would not be an issue, but on the IS38 the compressor wheel is hitting the Teflon insert. Digging in and snapping the shaft instantly. Therefore, we would advise before tuning (if that is a route you would want to go down) having an inspection to try reducing the likelihood of it failing.

Clutch Issues

The Clutches in the manual gearboxes also show some issues. The clutches are weak and show signs of slipping early on in age and miles! You will notice your clutch slipping if you are having trouble changing gears, the clutch pedal sticking, vibrating or appearing to feel spongey or loose; or Momentary loss of acceleration caused by a feeling of a ‘slipping’ clutch. The main problem with the clutches is that they are the same that are used in the Golf GTI’s. It has around 70HP less and is only 2WD. With the added traction of the Golf R and the added horsepower this then massively reduces the lifespan. Anybody tuning their car even at stage 1 level would have to consider replacing the clutch for reliability.

To ensure you get the most out of the vehicle make sure you keep up with your regular servicing intervals and keep an eye on the quality of your driving. Harsh acceleration and lots of start stop driving will do the clutch no favours.

What else?

Other common issues on the EA888 engines include piston and piston ring issues and Water pump issues. Squeaking front suspension arms is another concern. Golf R owners also complain of a defunct battery which needs replacing within the first two years of the vehicle’s life.

Hopefully, this gives you a quick overview of what to look out for if you are a Golf R/Audi S3 owner. Or if you are considering buying one in the future you can look at the pros and the con’s, every car has them! You can get in touch with us on 01642 613852 if you are wanting vehicle inspection. We carry out a full report on the vehicle which you can also keep for your records!

You can also get in touch via the contact page here: https://www.northeastautotech.com/contact/ or our facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/northeastautotech/