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Golf mk8 / Re: car battery
« Last post by fredgroves on 25 January 2026, 19:27 »OK I'm wrong.
In that case pay halfords a fiver for fitting it
In that case pay halfords a fiver for fitting it
Recent Posts
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Golf mk8 / Re: car battery
« Last post by Carlosfandango on 25 January 2026, 18:09 »Bosch or varta are usually the pick of the brands. I could be wrong but I believe the coding is only necessary if the battery has different parameters to the one you have now (capacity, type etc).
Easiest swap is to look at what you have now and replace it like for like.
Your car is five years old, not unexpected to need a new battery by now.
https://www.yuasa.com/uk/info-hub/start-stop-battery-replacement
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Golf mk8 / Re: car battery
« Last post by Carlosfandango on 25 January 2026, 17:51 »Bosch and Varta are exactly the same battery , and neither would be my first choice. YUASA batteries are probably the best available currently. Exide are, as said, also very good, particularly their premium offering.
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New forum members / Re: Hello from Portugal
« Last post by The WolfMan on 25 January 2026, 16:04 »Thanks Exonian.
I don't have any car. Once in a while I drive a Passat Typ 3B with a 1.9 TDI.
I don't have any car. Once in a while I drive a Passat Typ 3B with a 1.9 TDI.
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New forum members / Re: Hello from Portugal
« Last post by Exonian on 25 January 2026, 09:37 »Welcome Filipe 
Your knowledge and enthusiasm will be very welcome here!
Hopefully you will decide to get a GTI 50 but what car do you drive now?
Your knowledge and enthusiasm will be very welcome here!
Hopefully you will decide to get a GTI 50 but what car do you drive now?
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Golf mk8 / Re: GTI Edition 50 order thread
« Last post by king monkey on 25 January 2026, 07:30 »Ordered. 18.1.26
Tornado Red
Performance Pack with Warmenau wheels.
Ordered from VW Oldham. 3/5 build slots now full.
Anyone interested, speak to Harry. Brilliant to deal with.
Did you get a discount then?
Not a penny! 🤣
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Golf mk7 / Re: What have you done to your MK 7 today ?
« Last post by Adam T7 on 25 January 2026, 06:21 »I use on of these short vario lances on the end of my Karcher gun, have it at 90 degrees and it removes salt and road crud easily enough. I use it medium power, it’s a bit to fierce on full. About £15.00 off eBay for a Karcher copy.
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Golf mk7 / Re: What have you done to your MK 7 today ?
« Last post by A-Kai on 25 January 2026, 00:59 »Reasonable day here today so managed a decent wash and wax and cleaned underside.
Looks immaculate! Any tips + equipment for doing the underside? Looking to give it a good clean this spring.
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Golf mk7 / Re: What have you done to your MK 7 today ?
« Last post by A-Kai on 25 January 2026, 00:56 »Fitted some actual winter tyres and drove to the northern most part of The Netherlands, where it’s been dumping fresh powder every day. Fair to say that my PS4S’ would’ve killed me by now. Bonus: there is something oddly satisfying about a white car on fresh snow.
How did you find the car in the snow? Have recently picked up a set of wheels with winter tyres as I'm planning on driving to the alps for a ski trip. From what I've read they seem to cope fine with good tyres - time will tell!
Car felt well planted and barely triggered the traction control, despite the constant sound of snow and sloshing all around. Good rubber is vital. For reference, I have a set of 19” Hanook Winter i*cept evo3 on with approx. 7mm thread all round, which are a good mid-premium range tyre. They got me through heavy snow just fine, and I passed several cars on All Season tyres awaiting recovery.
That’s being said, the roads leading to ski resorts are usually well maintained, so I’m sure you’ll be fine! If the car does lose traction. I found it to be easily controllable as long as you’re driving smoothly.
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Golf mk8 / Re: car battery
« Last post by The WolfMan on 24 January 2026, 21:56 »Bosch or varta are usually the pick of the brands. I could be wrong but I believe the coding is only necessary if the battery has different parameters to the one you have now (capacity, type etc).This is not correct. You should always code a new battery! They way the battery is charged changes as it gets old. When you put a new battery, you should code it in order for the car to know that has a new battery and restart the "charging method".
Easiest swap is to look at what you have now and replace it like for like.
Your car is five years old, not unexpected to need a new battery by now.
This sholud be done in order to maximize the battery life. Of course that you can replace a battery without coding and it will work. The car "sees" 12 V, it works.
I don't understand why Bosch batteries are one of the firsts to be mentioned because I never saw a car with a genuine battery made by Bosch. I'm not saying that Bosch batteries are rubbish, but at least for manufacturers they are not a choice.
Varta, Exide, Moll, Fiamm, Banner. This five brands are OE suppliers. If the genuine is too much I would choose one of these.