vRS - does it handle well?

[gmaster]

As already posted by RedBaron, if you get the suspension and brakes sorted out it will totally transform the car to the extent of you thinking you have more horses under the bonnet, as you can now use the power you have to the best of your ability, especially in and out of corners, as you now have a car thats handling the way it should have from the factory, but there again, if these things had been added at the factory, then the car would not have priced as it was in the first place.

Get KW3 coilovers with a Neuspeed 28mm rear anti roll bar, together with either Tarox G88's and fast road pads, or OEM with Ferodo DS 2500 pads, and see the difference for yourself.

Regarding driver ability, this will always be different as we all have different abilities and skills......................and weakness's.

Yeah have to agree, i've only gone down the koni fsd route, rear arb, strut braces and polybushed wishbone's the difference is night and day!

Also a set of decent tyres helps.

[okenobi]

Yeah have to agree, i've only gone down the koni fsd route, rear arb, strut braces and polybushed wishbone's the difference is night and day!

Also a set of decent tyres helps.

So on that basis, what tyres are considered decent around these parts? Is 225/45/17 the accepted replacement standard around here, or do people pay the extra for the the factory 205/50s? How much do you need to spend for a rear arb and decent coilys (be it KW or otherwise)?

Skinnyman, what you're saying makes sense. I would imagine that if you can keep up with a modern, electronically-aided Ford in your vRS, then you're likely a better driver than them. That said, there are plenty more variables to consider, such as conditions, road surface etc. etc.

[roberttrvrs]

I have to say i like the handling of the octy vrs mk1. I have driven all sorts of cars including my mates M3 and i get just as much fun drivng my octy as driving the M3. Even my mate rates the handling of the octy he likes how direct the steering is. I can't complain. I also think the Focus has a bloody good chassis so the handling is excellent too but unless you get a Focus ST or RS then there is a lack of power to pull it out of the corner but then of course thats a different matter being FWD.

[Beretta]

So on that basis, what tyres are considered decent around these parts? Is 225/45/17 the accepted replacement standard around here, or do people pay the extra for the the factory 205/50s? How much do you need to spend for a rear arb and decent coilys (be it KW or otherwise)?

Re the coilies, these are few and far between for the Octy vRs, and although a lot claim to be right, their spring loadings are wrong, so stick to a well known one such as KW etc that make a specific coilover for the Octy vRS, and as for price, budget around £900 for the KW3's, yes they are dear, but they work.

Rear arb, I have the Neuspeed 28mm rear arb, and budget around the £190 ish for one, and again there are cheaper ones, but Neuspeed and Eibach are favoured amongst most for their build quality (lack of rusting, fitting kits etc)and performance.

Tyres are, and always will be a subject of personal choice, but most of us running modified Octy vRS's have gone to 225/45/17 with no ill effects, and as stated they are cheaper with a greater choice of makers.

I usually favour Toyo T1-r's, but again its personal choice.

Hope this helps?

[richm]

on a value for money, get very quickly from A to B, and stupid grins per mile basis - get £6.5K out of your piggy bank and buy a decent 4x4 Cosworth Sierra

Loved mine to bits, with cheap suspension mods, bush replacement etc, and near on 300 reliable bhp it makes a very capable car even 18 years on.

Out of the box for the ££ it costs, the vRS behaves very well IMO. With a few fairly cheap mods in the suspension area and a remap it is a totally transformed car as Gerry says

PS, Gerry - have you tried Bridgestone RE-070's yet? Transformation to a different level (as long as it's dry lol) By comparison the T1R's won't shine a light.

[greg123]

It's all relative. The octys are very solid and very safe. I drove an Almera up today, it was very light and rolled less. Nice to steer but felt a little more unsettled. An Astra felt more settled, but light and very flickable. An a4 just stodgy and lacking in feel straight ahead. A VRS rolls less and is firmer, but that rear suspension is basic and lets all the bangs and bumps though, more than the front. Jump into a 5-series bmw or an e-class and you'll think somene has repaired the road.

The nicest car in the last 2 years to steer is a Hyundai Amica 1.0. It's SO direct, very light and feeds every last line on the road through to your fingers.

Now, slam it into a corner and it would just understeer off while a VRS wasn't even squeeling the tyres. But the VRS would have comparitively heavy steering and a general reluctance to turn in. A focus would run well round it with less banging over the pot holes, but would be very heavy on the suspension with an over eager self centre action on the steering. Nearly pulls your arms off on gentle curves, uneducated jorno's call it 'feel' when nearly all of them can't tell feel if it hit them in the head. Heavy = feel and light = lifeless to them which in reality has nothing to do with feel.

If you can live with the ride, the octy has solid performance in it's suspension. There won't be much difference in ultimate grip between it an whatever. The most anoying bit for me is the general reluctance to turn, which is kind of nice on an A-road. A std astra diesel of recent vintage I had recently would slam into corners seemingly just breathing on the wheel, little body roll and supple suspension it just wanted to slam left/right/left/right as if you only needed 1 finger on the wheel and it was set up for cornering. In my octy it's a few trim creaks, a bit of body roll and a good heave and hang on to the wheel. Probably can go round as fast, but it's more work, so I don't bother.

That's the feel I get back to back with a few dozen other vehicles, I'm willing to bet that the RARB helps a lot. VRS setup compared to a Classic isn't much different, the VRS is better but the general feel of the cars are all the same.

The mk5 platforms are better, particularly at the rear. If you avoid the 16" wheels (very harsh over bumps, had me initially thinking there was no advancement in the chassis) the ride is better too but body control and rear suspension is way better, feels more 'taut' and sprung spring like. It's still not quite astra/focus like in the bends, still feels slightly reluctant, but it's 75% there and pretty easy to slam it through some hairpins while relaxing in the drivers seat. I don't think I have ever had my octy sliding around on the limit of traction because it's just too hard work. But it's easy on a mk5. Disadvantage is you find yourself doing 90mph on A-road bends easily and can probably go too fast easily, the mk1 octy is more at home in cruiser mode, in fact it makes a good one almost as good as a merc or bmw - however you have to avoid pot holes while they just glide over them.

Greg.

So, sunroofs aside:rolleyes:, I can expect to be out cornered by a standard modern hatchback.

Right, question 2.

If this is the case, does this mean that if a standard Mk1 vRS can be hustled along a nice twisty road and keep up with a modern hot hatch, the driver of the vRS is marginally more skilled?

I'm asking these questions for various reasons. I learned my driving skills in Old Skool motors e.g. Capris, Mk1 Golf GTi, Nissan 200sx – nowadays it is an old car - and to some extent I still frown upon a lot of the more recent electronic driver aides,(purely from an ‘I’m a better driver than you’ point of view.)

Something the size of an X5 shouldn't be able to corner as it does, but it can due to some really clever 'stuff' in the black box. A semi intelligent chav in such a car can perform small miracles in everyday driving but in reality, they can’t drive very well as their lack of skill is being masked.

Our humble vRS only has the lovely ASR and ABS, I know some had ESP but most only have the other two. By modern standards it is quite a basic car and if we are able to keep tabs on the more recent offerings from the hot hatch world, then our skills must be reasonable in comparison?

[JimJams]

Only my second post on here ,

just to ad on what you've all said, with regards to the VRS, I've only had mine a week, and only done around a hundred miles so it's all still a bit new to me.

So far I've found the car to be pretty good and does handle very well, just a couple of things iv'e noticed it that the abs seems a little harsh and that the back of the car feels a little heavy, but for the size of the car I've found it very good.

To drive the Vrs feels a little like the Focus ST225 I had year before last, not quite as sure footed but overall very similar. other cars I've had which handled well was the Focus ST170 which I found to handle better than the later mk2 ST, the ST170 was a great handling car, very chuckable, however the best handling car of all was a new Clio182 cup which I had before the ST225, that was in a different class compared to the Octavia, it had sooo much grip and could change direction very quickly and had what i thourght a very goo ride too.

I'm sure I'll find more niggles with the Octavia's handling but for now I've found it to be a great all round car, that hanles very well for the size of boot it's got.

Edited 7 October, 2008 by JimJams

[Leeboy]

I'm looking back in on this site for the first time in a while; good to see health debate! I drove my vRS for the first time in about seven months last week; a quick drive out while it is in storage.

In the meantime I've been driving around in a Superb which as you'd expect is exceptionally cumbersome by comparison. I'll second Redbaron and Gerry in that if you spend a bit of money on damper/springs and a rear ARB, the car will be a fun to drive as these modern up starts.

[andypandypoos]

Mine was stupid good value when I bought it nearly new, let alone as an older car as it is now. Plus you dont have to deal with Ford dealers!

I've driven several spec Ocy's with a spec and in a way that few here would have the opportinuty to and have to say that it's a very capable car. The mk2's handling is as good as most would need on a road too. There are better, faster cars out there, but not at the money IMHO.

Better to buy a VW/Audi group for Ocy money than a Ford any day, even if the new RS does have a tried and tested good engine.

must admit, I didn't realise the mk1 vRS was priced as well as it was brand new...:eek:

TBH, in terms of sheer problems/issues with cars Fords are are absolutely killing VAG in our family - I've got a dodgy VSS and had a return spring break on the gear lever, brother had naff all(?) wrong with his old Fiesta, a dodgy coilpack on his Focus and then he got an Octavia...but that's pretty OT

[okenobi]

Re the coilies, these are few and far between for the Octy vRs, and although a lot claim to be right, their spring loadings are wrong, so stick to a well known one such as KW etc that make a specific coilover for the Octy vRS, and as for price, budget around £900 for the KW3's, yes they are dear, but they work.

Rear arb, I have the Neuspeed 28mm rear arb, and budget around the £190 ish for one, and again there are cheaper ones, but Neuspeed and Eibach are favoured amongst most for their build quality (lack of rusting, fitting kits etc)and performance.

Tyres are, and always will be a subject of personal choice, but most of us running modified Octy vRS's have gone to 225/45/17 with no ill effects, and as stated they are cheaper with a greater choice of makers.

I usually favour Toyo T1-r's, but again its personal choice.

Hope this helps?

KW1s or 2s no good? I don't necessarily need all the adjustment (or expense!) Rest of that sounds good. Thanks.

On that basis. I would say the vRS stacks up pretty good against the competition.

Interesting to hear about the rear end situation. I didn't realise that IRS setups made so much difference.

[billy2981]

Ive been told not to go for KWv2.

KW v1 are stainless steel and are spose to be good. hight adj. rest is done for you.

a select few of us have gone for the Weitec hicon GT ones. they are made by KW and are the same as the v1 but are made from galvanised steel. the good thing is they are £475 not £600ish

i love them.

[vader vrs]

As far as I was aware, a standard Focus has been a better handling car than anything standard based on the MK4 Golf chassis, since it's inception. I don't like it, I hate Fords. But I'm sure that was the whole point of launching the Focus - to "out drive" the Golf.

Whilst the vRS obviously has some improvements over the standard Octy and may possibly stand up against a similar age Focus. I would imagine it would be no contest with most new cars. Modern cars are just stacks better than they have ever been, not to mention fantastic value.

That said, would I rather pay £3.5K and drive my vRS, or who knows how much and have a blue oval up front? Tough one :P

The biggest plus point for my vRS over a new Focus or any other new car for that matter is that it is paid for and 100% mine..

[Delcac]

Where can I get a sun roof?

[richm]

Where can I get a sun roof?

[Beretta]

You will have to expalin to Des what that does, as he is banned from his kitchen...:rofl:

[Delcac]

You will have to expalin to Des what that does, as he is banned from his kitchen...:rofl:

I KNOW WHAT THAT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's err, umm, it's a umm........I KNOW WHAT THAT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!