stever750

Didn't even unlock mine, let alone drive it today, however, I'm off up to Chester Wednesday afternoon across mid Wales, so it will get a bit of a pasting where safe and legal etc. The new konis have transformed it, it's actually a bit fun to throw around now. Then off up to Sheffield Monday and Tuesday and back home to pembs on Wednesday. I'm thrilled that business and travel is all opening up gmagain, just when petrol is becoming more expensive than malt whisky ffs. Oh and I put my brisky badges on, thanks Colin. One in the rear window and two side bar stickers in the rear passenger windows, so you couldn't miss them. There surely can't be many Dragon Green Superbs covered in Briskoda stickers?

Biggest difference for me was sleeping policemen / speed bumps. I think gliding is a good description, it's far less reactive to the road surface, so much quicker over really bumpy rutted surfaces.

They make a huge difference don't they.

That's interesting, I've found them to be a massive improvement. Much more and it would be too much for stock springs. 9n my car, it feels like my old cupra Leon with dcc on mid setting. Just realised you're talking about octavia. If it was the vrs, the stock springs are a fair bit stiffer than the superb, so the former B6 would probably be better suited than the konis (as that golf gti owner discovered).

Completed a 400 mile round trip last couple of days, first leg was across mid Wales, return trip via M5 and M4. What a difference, I reckon in the dry my superb is quicker cross country than my octavia, you can hurl it into a bumpy corner without any issues. It's possibly slightly stiffer feeling than the octavia too, but on the motorway it still feels smooth and relaxed. It's actually fun to drive now, whereas before it definitely wasn't.

That's true, but they will be a consistent source of error, plus GPS error is not cumulative. Either way, it's likely to be more accurate than the odometer. I don't think that a 1% uncertainty on filling makes the calculation meaningless, but of course what we don't know is the uncertainty of the on board consumption calculation, but would be based off the odo data, not gps. We don't know how consistent any errors are in the on board system, whereas you can make a reasonable estimate using the brim to brim method. The question is why would you need or want a lower uncertainty when measuring your fuel economy?

It's simple enough to get sufficiently accurate data, filling brim to brim is subject to calibrated fuel quantities do that's coveted, and use Google maps or a route tracker to measure distance travelled.

It's well worth doing the research on suspension design wrt spring and damper rates, there are some really useful engineering youtube channels worth checking out to explain the fundamentals. I know from years ago that one of the reasons why the Alfasud handled so well, and gripped the way it did was that it had a fairly long travel suspension, hence leaned a lot. That's not so bad, providing you don't get unwanted toe and camber changes, but for a road car, you want as much travel and soft spring rates that you can get away with for ride comfort, and to retain the highest rebound force on bumpy roads. This guy is worth following:

That's too much of a generalisation. The Konis are not sport dampers, the stock ones on a Golf are higher rated as an example - I watched an in depth review of them and they were worse than standard. Personally I wouldn't use special actives with stiffer springs, if I were uprating the spring rates I would go B6 or Koni STR or Sport, or better still coilovers and be done with trying to match the two. They make such a big difference with the Superb because the OE dampers are so utterly useless, I'll bet they have a much smaller effect on say an Octavia vrs. Of course, this is just my opinion based on limited research and 30 miles driving!

I doubt it, and might make it worse. I read some reviews by golf gti owners, and they were worse than stock dampers. Don't forget stiffer springs are less effective on bumpy roads. If you were changing springs then the bilstein might be a better match.

It's no worse really than the octavia vrs in that respect. I would say that it's slightly taughter than the Octy, put in perspective, it's not as stiff feeling as say a cupra Leon, or a Ford focus ST. Nowhere near like that, it's more like a BMW 5 series. Bear in mind the stock suspension is hopeless unless you drive slowly. I've just been out for a 30 mile mixed route, and it's so much better over bumpy ridged roads. Whereas before it would pitch and dive and crash about, it now glides over the worst of the undulations so is actually a much smoother ride. Driving over speed bumps highlights how different it is. I can take them at twice the speed I used to be able to without risking hitting my sump! For me, its so much better and safer to drive its a no brainer upgrade. If you're not bothered about pressing on, or mostly drive around suburban routes then you might prefer stock.

just collected my car, the difference is immediate, and not insignificant. Only tried it over a 7 mile trip, but over bumpy / twisty B roads and lanes. Feels more like my octavia vRS now, can push it much more on really bumpy stuff without it losing composure. I'm sure turn in is improved as well, though this could be because it just feels stiffer. It's still no sports car, but at least you'll be able to keep up with a Mondeo on the twistys. Downside is that whilst you lose the crashiness at high speed, you lose all of the serene wafting ride comfort at low speeds and on flat roads, it's constantly jiggling about. I'm OK with it, but others might not be. Unless you want to lower the ride height, then I wouldn't bother with changing the springs, you might even reduce the total levels of grip by doing so. I had to choose between this or a remap; this is cheaper especially when you factor in insurance and potential warranty costs, and is a better improvement I think overall in the driveability of the car.

It's easy to check, I bought mine from DC Performance, can check the reg against the part number. I'd be surprised if they're not the same across the range of hatch or estate non DCC.

Getting the special actives fitted to my superb sportline today, retaining the stock springs though. One question I have, if they are replacing the dampers, will the wheel alignment need to be reset at the front? Looking forward to less sea sickness!

That's what I'm doing. I don't want to change ride height, and the softer springs mean better grip anyway on UK roads. My konis are being delivered tomorrow, but struggling to get them fitted before another week or so.

Not arrived yet! Another 2 weeks before I'll get them. I'll report back....

I wouldn't complain, many of us want to actively disable it. It's the daftest eco trick the car industry has pulled. The feature was not developed by an engineer that's for sure, it's almost the reverse of thrashing your engine from cold.

I've got the 220ps version, so smaller brakes / solid rear discs. My 220 feels really quick, faster than my previous Octy 245 vRS The wheels do make them look small....! Just shows how crap your eyes are at measuring dimensions.

Absolutely. They look decidedly puny in 19" rims, and in practice they perform that way too. Mine get decidedly hot and smelly on a cross country drive with 3-4 adults, you'd be daft to remap the car and leave them as standard. The larger discs front and rear that are used on the octavia vrs mk3 would work much better.

I have to say, that's a really tasteful mod. Those wheels work really well. Just need (much!) bigger brakes to set them off.

Nice capture 👍👍

This. That looks a bit of a pita tbh. My car is parked on the road on a fairly steep hill, so I won't be doing it myself, if I can now be bothered to change them. looks

Sorry, UK speak. Nearside is adjacent to the pavement / edge of the road, offside is the side toward the centre of the road. IN the UK, NS is left, OS is right. just did the obvious thing, looked at the unit itself, and checked the OE spare parts list with local dealer, definitely one bulb Next question, is how easy is to replace it as a DIY job?

Pretty sure they're xenon, as that's the OE spec! EXTERIOR Bi-Xenon headlights with AFS (adaptive front light system) and LED daytime running lights AFS is the swivelling version (pointless IMO) not the auto main / dip sliding shutter system.

Bit more research, and appears my car needs a DS3 for dip, and a H7 for main. I'm not bothered about increasing the brightness or bam pattern on dip, so presumably I should be looking at an upgraded H7? At least according to here:] https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/skoda-superb-saloon-hid-xenon-2018-18.html EDIT - update after I spoke to Skoda UK to clarify. God give me strength, but they were utterly useless. Apparently it's one bulb, and it's only available from a main dealer. Couldn't (you mean didn't want) to give me any details.