Poor Ride on Bad Roads

[Stuarted]

I have an 07 reg 2.0 litre diesel Octavia 4x4 estate (not a Scout) with 110,000 miles on the clock.

It is fine on good roads, but I find the ride quality poor on bad roads - it seems to crash and thump badly on potholes etc.  It has almost new 195/65R1591H Continental Contiwinter Contact TS850 tyres all round (which are much better than the nondescript previous tyres) and these are at the recommended pressures.  I have even had all four Bilstein dampers replaced, together with any worn suspension bushes and drop links.

Yet the ride on rough, potholed roads is still poor - nowhere near as good as even a modest car like a friend's largely-neglected 100,000-mile Ford Focus.

However mechanics who are familiar with Octavias say that there is nothing wrong or unusual about the way my car rides.

I note that in a recent comparative road test of the newer Octavia compared with other similar cars, there was a passing reference to the low-speed ride of the Octavia, saying that on poor surfaces it was not as good as that of other similar cars.

Is this what other owners find, please?  If this is what they are all like, I might start looking at alternatives ... 

[gregoir]

I'd be upset if the ride was poor on good roads. Just go slower on "bad" roads. Wheels and tyres can get damaged hitting potholes etc. at speed.

[Stuarted]

You mean, you have to go slower in an Octavia than you would in any other car?  That doesn'r say much for the design of an Octavia's supension, does it?

My MkIII Mazda MX-5 has firm suspension- it's a sports car, for goodness sake - but even that does not crash over potholes like my Octavia.

[ednw]

i live in donegal no problem with ride on 05 1.9tdi , i cant imagine you have worse roads than ours !

[gregoir]

Try the same roads at the same speed in different cars to get a proper perspective. I do not come across many potholes and if I hit them unexpectedly , yes there is a loud crash. I take that as a warning to slow down. Just am glad if I escape with no tyre or wheel damage.

I'm as happy as I can be with my Skoda at present and can not complain about the ride even with the sports suspension. You are obviously unhappy having spent all that money to no good effect.

[Stuarted]

Try the same roads at the same speed in different cars to get a proper perspective ...

_ _ _

... You are obviously unhappy having spent all that money to no good effect.

.

What on earth do you think I've done?  I am talking about poorly-surfaced roads I travel on very day and have done for 50 years, having covered around half a milliom miles in a wide variety of cars cars ranging from a Ford Focus, a Mazda MX-5, a Jaguar XKR and a BMW 330D to a Reliant Scimitar GTE, a Citroen BX, a Morris Minor and a Triumph TR3 - among many others.

(As a matter of interest, the most comfortable of all was a Renault 16, followed closely by a Citroen BX and a Jaguar XKR.  Better than a Rolls.Royce or any limousine I have travelled in!)

For a modern car, the ride in my Octavia on poor roads is bad.  It jars, jolts. clunks and thumps worse than almost any other car I've driven.  We're not talking about hitting massive potholes at high speed - we're talking about driving at normal traffic speeds on poorly surfaced roads.  And it doesn't get any better at low speeds - if anything, it feels worse.  Yet the car is fine on motorways or any other smoothly surfaced road.

_ _ _

I'm not sure about what you mean by "having spent all that money".  All what money?

  

Edited 18 December, 2014 by Stuarted

[gregoir]

  I have even had all four Bilstein dampers replaced, together with any worn suspension bushes and drop links.

 

 Unless the above came free?

I'm not psychic- I do not know how you arrived at your views about the comparative rides of various cars.

You mentioned potholes in the original post. Thought your comments related to the here and now- not past vehicles.

I also agree about Renault being comfortable , my old Renault 18 TL was superb IIRC. An Austin Maxi was close. I have also been driving a long time- only 45 years in my case.

[Stuarted]

Does anyone have any constructive suggestions, please?

Having looked at suspension bushes, dampers and tyres, it is difficult to think of anyhting else which might cause the car to ride badly on poor surfaces.

Why should my car be particularly bad?  Or are they really all like it?  Does everyone else think the ride of an Octavia is at least as good as most other modern cars, or are they a bit diappointed by it?

Edited 19 December, 2014 by Stuarted

[nickguzzi]

Mine is not brilliant. 

It does have the optioned 17" wheels and 225x45 tyres.  Fortunately the roads here are plagued by subsidence rather than pot holes, although there is plenty of ripped up road surface. 

Fitting the lightest wheel/tyre combination will help - are you using standard skoda wheels?

You mention you have Bilsteins, they range from mild to wild - which ones in your wheel arch?

 

Having driven Skodas for the last 15 years, perhaps I am inured. 

I get to drive the neighbours Evoque a bit and that seems similar.  Their Jag XJ, while quieter and smoother, has too many other a.spects which I personally don't like.  Access being one.

I also ride rigid old bikes, so most cars short of a series land rover seem acceptable.

[Stuarted]

Thanks for this!

My car is fitted with the original 15" Skoda wheels and, as I said, almost-new 195/65R15 91H Continetal Contiwinter Contact TS850 tyres.  The car is better with these than with the previous nonedescript tyres.

The new dampers are Bilstein B4 replacements for the original spec. Skoda ones, not stiffer or the B6 uprated ones, and the car feels just the same with these as it did with the original dampers.

http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/frame-detail.asp?PAGE=/bilstein-suspension.htm
_ _ _

It would be a pity to have to consider buying something else - the Octavia is spacious, soldily-built, handles OK, seems reliable and has perfectly adequate perfomance.

But the harsh, clunky ride on anything but perfectly smooth road surfaces is tiresome and irritating.  And I am not impressed by the 42mpg fuel consumption (which improves to only 45mpg even if I drive everywhere with a super-light foot and with the lying built-in computer showing 50mpg+ at the end of every journey).

I am disappointed - I had consistently heard such good reports of the Ocatvia estate, and they certainly seem very popular.

Is it just me, or is it just this particular car?

(And as an additional question for other owners of 4x4 Octavia estates: if you had the money to buy any car you liked to replace it, but had to continue to pay all the running costs yourself, what car would you choose, please?  I do NOT want a great ugly SUV; what I like about the 4x4 Octavia estate is that it is what I call a "stealth" 4x4 with a 6' long load bay!)

Edited 20 December, 2014 by Stuarted

[trundlenut]

I have a 56 plate 4x4 like yours. I wouldn't describe the ride as crashy. It is certainly better than our mkI Leon. I average about 45mpg and can get up to about 50 on a long run.

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[brad1.8T]

Your problem certainly is an odd one.  I have a 2007 FWD 1.8tsi and when it was relatively new and on stock springs, 205/55r16 tyres & 36psi it was nominated among my mates as "not the sportiest car in the world but the car you'd want to do a lap of Australia with".  I can't see why your setup would be overly different.

 

Certainly the money you've spent has been channelled into the right areas so I can understand your frustration.

 

What tyre pressures do you regard as "the recommended pressures" and what are the current alignment readings / settings?

 

You Brits seem to get a lot of corrosion on the suspension & brakes - could it be the springs have sagged?  Is the ride height within spec?

[wiilydog]

Don't think there is anything wrong with your car, it is just the focus having better tuned suspension as I've driven a mk2 focus and the ride is much nicer but handles well too. I've upgraded to billy b6 and currently running 15" conti winters and ride is very similar to stock but the damping is much nicer as it has very quick rebound. It's firm but will not call it harsh, hit a bump and you feel a little thud and it settles immediately and the faster you go the ride gets better, but this is probably due to the mono tube qualities of the b6 dampers. Just trust you mechanic if he says it seems fine and enjoy other good aspect of your car as it seems like you have changed everything that can be changed that affects the ride.

[nickguzzi]

It is possible to replace suspension bushes incorrectly. 

I mention this because you said you recently had suspension stuff replaced.

Bushes should be tightened up with the car at its ride height and the  suspension loaded, so the compliant medium is not pre loaded.

This is often difficult at home.  You need a pit or ramps, and then there is sometimes not room to swing your tool.

In a commercial garage, it should be easy on a 4 post lift, but some places only use 2 posters - these usually can only be wheel free ie suspension dangling.

 

When your bushes were replaced, were standard VAG parts fitted?  The lack of compliance of the polymer with certain types of polybush could be causing your type of problem. 

Member Lannigrahm had this problem quite severely with a Freelander.

 

I worked in QA and later as a warranty manager for a while and had to deal with quite a few brand new but broken parts.  I always smile when people have continuing problems and assert that "it can't be "xyz" they're new!".

Was everything checked throughly?  All parts articulating freely?

[Mike N]

FWIW the ride quality on my 2UC factory sports suspension equipped PD140 improved hugely when I fitted a Vogtland kit with progressive rate springs. The main difference was on the type of roads you mention. Obviously you wouldn't replace the Bilstein dampers you have but you would be likely to see an improvement in ride if you fitted Eibach Pro-kit springs, or indeed any recommended springs which are progressively wound. SWMBO has a Polo on standard suspension and the ride is worse over poor roads than my kitted Octavia.

[davidbird]

My 2005 Estate has become almost unbearable lately - its never been smooth and from the start i thought it the worst car of many that i had owned re rough ride - i love the car in most respects but suspension or things connected seem poor .It used to creak if going over a speed hump but now creaks over most road services and feels when going over a manhole that may have sunk 1 inch that i have hit a 3 inch hole and its getting on my nerves - just wondering wether some bushes need changing with the creaks and rough ride . Had car in mechanics a couple of weeks ago to check front suspension and all joints appeared ok .

[rob_e]

Does anyone have any constructive suggestions, please?

Having looked at suspension bushes, dampers and tyres, 

 

looked at?  it may not be possible to assess the condition of a bush just by a visual check.  if you've only replaced stuff that's visibly worn, there may be other bushes that are also past their best but still look fine.

 

If you've got new bushes all round, new dampers, good tyres, geometry set right then the suspension is essentially just as it left the factory and should perform as such.

 

Are you sure you're not experiencing some other issue that is not suspension related?  e.g. worn wheel bearings, loose or worn steering rack/mount etc?  Don't want to patronise, just trying to think what else could make the car feel as you describe.

[davidbird]

when i say looked at i probably should have elaborated - He had the car jacked up and pulled all manner of things in different directions and did take the wheels off to come to the conclusion.