Jump to content

Best suspension set up


Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

Looking for opinions on the best suspension set up for an 08 vrs for under £400.

Coilovers?

Shocks and springs upgrade?

Orjust springs on standard shocks?

Wouljd like to drop the car by 20-30mm if possible.

What do you think?

Cheers

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best suspension set up for £400, in my opinion, is what I said, budget coilovers are a huge no no, so if coilovers are an absolute must then go for the best you can afford. I actually have never been a fan of shock/spring upgrades, when swapping out the dampers then winning the adjustability of coilovers wins every time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i think coilovers for under 400 would be a bit crashy and low quality tbh.

im looking to sort mine out next year and im very tempted to do what turbobell has suggested - however im apprehensive about using oe shocks with aftermarket springs, ive seen so many people do this with other cars and its knackered the shocks and i dont really want that - when i sell the car in the future i may want to revert back to standard and i wont want to 'fork' out(see what i did there)  on a new set.

there is a german ebay shop called HotCarParts who sells bilstein b12, and h and r cup full kits for 470-480 including postage which is dirt cheap.

awesome gti and dpm performance in uk are also pretty good and used by many on here.

awesome are doing some special offers on whiteline stuff atm - rear anti roll bars and anti lift kits are reduced and quite tempting and the rarb are very easy to fit yourself.

Ben

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Best bang for buck mod is to keep stock suspension and just replace shocks all round for Bilstein Sport B6 monotubes. Check stock front shock diameter first (50mm or 55mm), use katalog.bilstein.de to get part numbers. You will not get a drop, in fact on an 08 the ride will roughly be back to factory height, but handling wise it is far better mode than any set of shocks/springs/coilovers within 2x price range you want. German sellers have them on Ebay, I saw them also on Amazon.

 

I have been using B6's on my Superb for past 7+ years, they still ride as new, and far better than factory suspension handling wise, while preserving comfort. I plan to use them on the other car (Roomster) from next year. I used Konis and premium Sachs on Mk1 Octy in the past and was not happy at all with those.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Standard factory original dampers are no good after 15k miles or so anyway, they loosen up too much and the car starts increasingly rolling into/out of roundabouts. Happened on all 3 Skodas (Octy 1, Superb 1, and Roomster) I owned from new. On VRS dampers are probably stiffer from factory, but I still would not expect them to perform well past 30k miles or so. Not to mention twin-tube vs monotube performance loss.

Edited by dieselV6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

there is a german ebay shop called HotCarParts who sells bilstein b12, and h and r cup full kits for 470-480 including postage which is dirt cheap.

 

I bought my B12 kit from them and I am very happy with the kit and the seller  :thumbup:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_odkw=B12&item=141322702958&_osacat=0&_from=R40&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_ssn=hotcarparts&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313&_nkw=B12+Octavia&_sacat=0

 

Nobody in the UK was selling them anywhere near their prices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Sponsor

52k damian

 

I'd say go for a good quality springs and shocks kit.

 

You're not looking for a big drop so coilovers aren't needed and you'll get a better ride quality if you stick with springs and shocks.

Damian @ DPM Performance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for all the info/opinions, sorry it took me so long to respond i've been away. 

 

I will dig more into all this info tonight, but by the looks of it i will go for a stiffer shocks and springs set up. anything to stiffen the car up its too soft for my liking i'm used to hot hatches 

 

cheers

steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Sponsor

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for all the info/opinions, sorry it took me so long to respond i've been away. 

 

I will dig more into all this info tonight, but by the looks of it i will go for a stiffer shocks and springs set up. anything to stiffen the car up its too soft for my liking i'm used to hot hatches 

 

cheers

steve

 

Yes a good quality springs and shocks kit sounds the best way for you to go.

 

If I can be any help please let me know.

Damian @ DPM Performance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What exactly are you looking for from your suspension setup is the first question you should be asking yourself, as previously stated cheap coilovers are a nightmare, even the so called premium cheaper ranges are a waste of money. I have had numerous suspension setups over 3 Octavia vrs's, 2 mk1's and a FL Mk2, the best I ever had were KW V2's on the second octy, they were firm but very controlled and being stainless steel bodies were bullet proof, the worst I had were FK Coilovers ( reputedly made by KW) in reality they were shockingly bad, they disintegrated in one winter, I had the bodies ENP plated so they were okay, the electro-plater I used said that the plating on the original bodies was virtually non existent, but the aluminium spring platforms just broke up from salt corrosion despite being smothered with copaslip and the silicone sealant spray they supply them with, basically suspension is somthing you don't really want to compromise on if you do it wont last long.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

as a footnote to the above, I am now running stock springs with Koni FSD's, this is due to a couple of considerations, the roads round here are dreadful and after running Eibach Prokit springs with the FSD's I just got fed up of the hard ride, put the stock springs back on with the FSD's and took off the uprated 27mm APR Rear Anti Roll bar and its 100% better, funnily enough the handling with this setup is just as good without the spine shattering effect of the harder lowered springs.....think the Eibachs and the ARB will be making their way over to good old ebay!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What exactly are you looking for from your suspension setup is the first question you should be asking yourself, as previously stated cheap coilovers are a nightmare, even the so called premium cheaper ranges are a waste of money. I have had numerous suspension setups over 3 Octavia vrs's, 2 mk1's and a FL Mk2, the best I ever had were KW V2's on the second octy, they were firm but very controlled and being stainless steel bodies were bullet proof, the worst I had were FK Coilovers ( reputedly made by KW) in reality they were shockingly bad, they disintegrated in one winter, I had the bodies ENP plated so they were okay, the electro-plater I used said that the plating on the original bodies was virtually non existent, but the aluminium spring platforms just broke up from salt corrosion despite being smothered with copaslip and the silicone sealant spray they supply them with, basically suspension is somthing you don't really want to compromise on if you do it wont last long.

 

cheers for the info bud

 

basically ride comfort means jack to me........ my usual car is a classic mini with the stiffness of a rock! it has a vtec up front and solid/poly bushes and mounts everywhere. And i happily drive that every day, until it rains or is cold. because then it is horrible.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cheers for the info bud

basically ride comfort means jack to me........ my usual car is a classic mini with the stiffness of a rock! it has a vtec up front and solid/poly bushes and mounts everywhere. And i happily drive that every day, until it rains or is cold. because then it is horrible.

Sounds brilliant! You have to provide pics now ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds brilliant! You have to provide pics now ;)

 

its not a good looking car lol who cares what it looks like when it will find a gravel trap at some point lol

 

i'm afraid these are the only pics i could gather quickly while at work

post-120304-0-60888600-1408537733_thumb.jpg

post-120304-0-02921500-1408537738_thumb.jpg

post-120304-0-34860600-1408537741_thumb.jpg

post-120304-0-71860500-1408537756_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much difference does an ARB make on a mk2 VRS? I need to change dampers and will probably buy a B12 kit, but just wondering what effect an ARB will have? Any links appreciated.

It's made a big difference on other cars I've owned and I have an adjustable front one on the Elise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Made a huge difference on my estate pd. That an an alignment were the two biggest improvements.

Only felt the need for uprating the rear, which is very easy. The front requires some further dismantling.

The guy who does my chassis work mainly sets up sports cars for trackdays. Another of his customers wanted his Golf V uprating at both ends. According to Matt, it became somewhat skittish, even after corner weighting etc, not what he'd like to drive. (his DD is his trackday test mule TVR).

Whiteline did have a few pages on Golf based suspension.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Community Partner

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to BRISKODA. Please note the following important links Terms of Use. We have a comprehensive Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.