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Octavia mk2 4x4 ground clearance / lift


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Hi

 

I have a chip tuned 2005 octavia mk2 4x4 1,9 TDI. I live in the Norwegian mountains with bad roads. The 4x4 is working great but i would like to have a little more ground clearance and better tyres. Since i soon have to change tires i was thinking of just getting a bigger tire type (Nokian Hakkapeliitta C3) on my stock rims as a first step. It will give me a 1 cm or so more ground clearance. I also think the original wheels look to small.

 

My tyres and rims are 195/65 15, i was thinking of fitting a 195/70 15 tyre. Using a tyrecalculator i get a 1,94 cm or 3,16 % change in diameter.

 

Has anyone done this, is it safe?

 

Any other ideas on how to get a little more ground clearance?

 

rollover octavia 4x4

Edited by rollover
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Can't you get higher lift springs?

Thanks for the tip i will investigate that. Wouldn't i then also need new shock absorbers?

 

I was thinking maybe a bigger tire will be just enough to fit my needs for now, and keep the costs down.

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Try the wheel/tyre combination which is fitted on the Scout - this gives the Scout its increased ground clearance over the standard 4x4 and you will not have to alter any other part of the vehicle.

 

Scout wheel/tyre combinations:

 

DSC06099.jpg

 

Your wheel/tyre for the 4x4 is 195/65R15. If you fit the Scout's 225/50R17 combination you will have increased ground clearance by 11.15mm. Your speedometer will under-read by -3.4%.

 

I also found that the soft rear springs in the Octavia resulted in the tail dropping when rear passengers and any significant loads were carried in the rear. MAD Progressive Springs ensure that this no longer happens. Again, this does not involve altering any other part of the vehicle.

Edited by Rab-k
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195/70r15 is about 2.8% bigger & will be fine.

 

My car is lowered and I've run 225/55r16, 235/45r17 without issues.

 

I currently have 225/50r17 and they rub on the front guards when cornering.  If my car was standard height this wouldn't happen.  So you can go about 3.6% bigger without issues.  If your rims are wide enough you could probably squeeze a 215/65r15 under there (+4%).

 

How much difference is there between the indicated (speedometer) & actual (GPS) speeds? A 225/50r17 makes my speedometer deadly accurate (100=100).  Does your car have enough power to carry the higher gearing?  NB: Your fuel consumption will appear to be worse because of the changes to the odometer - in reality it won't be worse.

 

I agree with rab_k.  Consider some different rear springs - either the ones he linked or something from another VW group vehicle like a Passat, Touran or even a Scout.  They are easy to change as a DIY if you have some basic tools.

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Thanks brad

 

"Does your car have enough power to carry the higher gearing?" Well i have about 140 hps 1,9 tdi. These motors are very strong i think it will be ok.

 

I saw another option on an Audi A6 today it was 215/60R16 and they looked like a good size wintertyres.

 

How do i know if my rims are wide enough for the 215/65R15?

 

I am a little afraid the 225/50R17 profile is to low to handle the bad roads i travel (potholes etc). I have a local friend who got unbalanced rims after awhile on low profile tires.

Edited by rollover
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Try here to check ratio:

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Your wheels should also have a tyre bead profile letter, 'J' for example, which will allow you to establish if the rims are suitable for your preferred tyre size.

Edited by Rab-k
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Ok, Rab-k now i see the ratio difference in the profile sidewall between my 195/65R15 4x4 stock tires and Scout 225/50R17 is not that big, and Scout 225/50R17 radius is bigger so volume should be similar   :clap:

Edited by rollover
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Yea, first step done. I just orderd new summer tires and rims dim 225/50R17 :rofl:

 

Winter tires can wait. I think i will go for something like 195/70R15 Hakkapellita C3 cargo tires with spikes for winter tires since i use the car for mountain access when i go ski touring. I can then deflate them more, and i think they will handle better in deep snow and bad access roads. They are also generally stronger and should handle more abuse than regular tires.

 

I will update this thread with summer tires before after pics in april/may. 

 

Thanks everyone!

Edited by rollover
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Thanks brad

 

"Does your car have enough power to carry the higher gearing?" Well i have about 140 hps 1,9 tdi. These motors are very strong i think it will be ok.

 

I saw another option on an Audi A6 today it was 215/60R16 and they looked like a good size wintertyres.

 

How do i know if my rims are wide enough for the 215/65R15?

 

I am a little afraid the 225/50R17 profile is to low to handle the bad roads i travel (potholes etc). I have a local friend who got unbalanced rims after awhile on low profile tires.

 

 use this one

http://tire-size-conversion.com/tyre-size-calculator/

 

225/50r17 has a 112mm sidewall

195/65r15 has a 127mm sidewall

 

I don't think the 15mm reduction will be a huge issue providing you maintain your tyre pressures on the high side - ~36psi.  Our roads are fairly crap here too - I don't think Norway has the monopoly on bad roads.

 

215/65r15 will fit a 6"-7.5" width rim.  I'm fairly sure the 15" rim is 6" width so it will fit.  Get them as your winter tyres and you won't have to buy new rims.

 

Did you bother to check your speedometer or is this something that isn't an issue in Norway?

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"215/65r15 will fit a 6"-7.5" width rim.  I'm fairly sure the 15" rim is 6" width so it will fit.  Get them as your winter tyres and you won't have to buy new rims."

Yes sir i might do that.

 

"Did you bother to check your speedometer or is this something that isn't an issue in Norway?"

No Issue in Norway i think. I am allowed to change the tire dimensions up to 5%.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Fitted the new 225/50R17 summer wheels today. And wow i like it.

 

The new wheels gave me more ground clearance than i had expected. I now have about 20-21 cm clearance as opposed to before at around 17-18 cm.

I also looked at the GPS speed vs car speedometer and they are now the same 80 km/h on GSP and 80 km/h on speedo.

 

I also test modded the headlights with black tape to see if i gone do a more permanent mod.

 

Her is some pics, sorry for the dirty pic i measured the ground clearance after fitting the new wheels and before washing the car :D

 

Thanks everybody! 

 

PS I might have to start a new rollover octavia project tread with all my tweaks, as it looks like i can't stoop modding this machine :notme:

 

rollover octavia 4x4

rollover New wheels 225/50R17

 

Edited by rollover
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