Suspension tweaks

[cloverleaf]

Heyup, this is going to be my first proper post despite having been lurking for a fair while. I picked up my 05 plate vRS about 8 weeks ago now and am now beginning to look at the options available to tweak the chassis. I think the dampers on the car are a little shaky so i'm first of all going to see if I can get some new ones sorted from Skoda (the car has a full Skoda warranty). However, even should they change them over on the rear for me I will still be putting a full kit on it.

So there are a few options which I have been looking at with the Bilstein B12 (full kit)/B8 (dampers only) and the Koni Adjustable dampers. I have had the Koni adjustables fitted on my old Vectra ST with some -50mm Eibach springs and the handling was superb however most guys on here go for the Koni FSD's. I'll be honest and say that I have been very disappointed in any car which I have been in which has had these dampers fitted so I'm going to give them a miss.

So either the Koni full kit or the Bilstein full kit are probably top of the list matched with either their own springs or the OEM ones. In addition I am going to look at the Whiteline Adjustable Sway bar and some alignment products from them. Why Whiteline? Well, a lot of the other bars are huge and IMO way too stiff for the sort of driving which I mainly do. The roads which I am generally driving fast on are very broken at the edges and having been on these roads in cars with ultra stiff sway bars has given a very unstable ride. I'm basically wanting to dial out the understeer without adding a lot of very twitchy oversteer - these are public roads remember! That and criticism has been levelled at the quality of the WL bar's finish. It's a part which is going to get peppered with gravel and covered in mud most of the time and, as it will be getting painted satin black before fitting, this doesn't even begin to concern me. In fact, Whiteline are a company I would probably choose in suspension componentry for items such as this before any other.

So what's everyones take on this idea and more importantly, have any people been able to compare the Bilstein & Koni kit's?

Also, the impression which I have had from the Haynes manual would tend to hint that OEM ARB is irremovable. So is it basically the case that the stock bar is left in situ and connected when a new one is added? If that is so then everybody saying that the Whiteline bar is only a tiny bit tighter than using the stock bar has been making their %age calculations wildly innacurately?

Thanks

[RobClubley]

The Whiteline rear ARB is additional to the OEM one:

[UncleRic]

IMO the addition of a rear ARB definatley makes things more than just a 'little' tighter. Its a noticable difference made even better if you do the front two at the same time.

[mattbeef]

Firstly id get the S3/Cupra R lower strut brace for the front end and then a rear ARB which improves the handling the most with the OEM set up.

Dont know anyone thats running a set of Billys on an Octavia but for the price of FSD's i think that id be going with a set Weitec's as they arent much more expensive as KW3's are the daddy but to rich for me

[cloverleaf]

Ok, cheers for clarifying the sway bar thing. Having looked at those pics previously, it certainly gave the impression it was in addition.

I'll look at the S3 lower brace too. Has anyone got pics to show how it actually sits on the car?

The Koni's i'm actually looking at are the adjustables which are around £400 for the full kit instead of the FSD's which have been disappointing to say the elast on any cars I've tried them on.

Whilst the KW3's are ultimately very good and would allow for more specific tuning of the spring rates, I would say that they are perhaps overkill for what I can justify spending. So back to the original thoughts, I think it's the Koni adj's or the Bilstein B12's. Has anyone used the Bilstein's on a Mk4 Golf platform on here?

[claytarget_god]

hi mate,

were have you seen the Bilstein B12????

are they made for the octy?

do they lower the car at all?

[Jigger72]

Are Eibach Pro Dampers not an option? They're about £400 with the Pro Springs. I'm looking at getting these fitted to my 1.8T but I can't find any threads on the dampers, just the springs, which everyone seems to rate.

[gmaster]

Hello mate! You say you dont like koni fsd's can i ask why though? You can't really compare fsd's to koni adjustable and bilstein b12 as fsd's are a compromise between comfort and handling, not out right handling.

[ROI354]

I'll be very interested to know the outcome of your findings and what you eventually go for as I'm in a similar position with mine.

Only difference is mines an estate which might make things awkward

[cloverleaf]

Originally Posted by gmaster

Hello mate! You say you dont like koni fsd's can i ask why though? You can't really compare fsd's to koni adjustable and bilstein b12 as fsd's are a compromise between comfort and handling, not out right handling.

As you say, the main reason is that it is a compromise and as such I have found it to provide quite inconsistent handling on the roads I generally drive which tends to make the dampers work overtime to keep up. I'm yet to be convinced that they are right for my driving (not to say that they're bad or unsuitable for most people).


I've been looking at the options a little more over the last few days and I think i've decided on the Bilstein B12 kit which I have been assured is a specific kit. I haven't found any evidence this and think it may be more of a generic Mk4 platform setup. In which case, i'll throw a set of KW Octavia specific springs on the back to compensate for the marginal extra weight on the rear. I was chatting to the KW guys at Autosport International this year who said they would happily supply rear springs only as we were originally looking at the KW1's with the potential of using uprated springs on the rear.

So the spec I'll go for is first of all a Whiteline adj. rear ARB to start with and then a few months down the line a set of the B12s as I will need to fit the sump guard either from Sparco or the 4x4 Skoda one at the same time and budget aint unlimited!

Also, are there any specific tracking tweaks which can be used to create a more planted feeling? Having experienced the modified setups for the Impreza's, i'd be keen to try any other geometry settings available for the Octy.

[gmaster]

Originally Posted by cloverleaf

Also, are there any specific tracking tweaks which can be used to create a more planted feeling? Having experienced the modified setups for the Impreza's, i'd be keen to try any other geometry settings available for the Octy.

Yeah i would be interested to know this too.