With our Golf now gone, we are considering an Octy which is showing at a dealership too far away to test drive.

It has "lowered" suspension and visibly, it IS lowered, beyond the regular vRS level I reckon. Dealer confirms all Skoda bits though.

Anyone got experience of this variant, particularly in respect of comparison of ride quality versus the "regular" vRS diesel setup?

It will be the missus' car and we are happy with a firm ride but can't have it rock solid, we are used to a Mk4 Golf GTI for heaven's sake ;-)

Major buying decision rests on this, all insight appreciated!

cheers

Campbell

skoda did an option of from factory having lower eibach springs. So it will be covered with warrantee.

If you PM focusztec he has a vRS estate that came with them standard so he is your best person to tell you what it is like.

HTH

Sy

The ride will be quite firm and you are likely to experience your shocks bottoming out.

PM VRS195 as he has these springs on his vRS estate.

surely skoda would not provide a manufactuers warrantee with these aarts from factory if the shocks bottomed out.

surely skoda would not provide a manufactuers warrantee with these aarts from factory if the shocks bottomed out.

VRS195 told me this when I was thinking of get them fitted on mine at pdi. I didn't bother in the end as I though they would be too harsh and spoil the ride.

gotcha

ive driven them paired with FSD dampers and they were phenominal then. The ride was outstanding. Had the AP coilovers not been so cheap, that would have been the route i would have taken.

The standard set-up is fine for me although if I drove FSD / Eibach combo I would probably want them!

The only reason I wanted to change mine on my last vRS was because I thought is sat a bit high but for some reason my TDi sits a bit lower anyway.

surely skoda would not provide a manufactuers warrantee with these aarts from factory if the shocks bottomed out.

Unlikley to be the shock bottoming out. More likely hitting on the bump stops. When the Eibach/FSD set-up was fitted to my car I shortened the stops by about 30mm front and rear.

See here: Suspension Installation - 2006 2007 MKV VW GTI / Jetta GLI GTI 2.0T FSI

The Eibachs are dealer fit options, not available from the factory.

Mine have full three year warranty as fitted at PDI, otherwise standard 12 month warranty.

As for ride, they really should be paired with new shocks (as 20 mm less travel than standard vRS's 15 mm drop), but Skoda don't offer alternative shocks. When mine give up I will invest in Koni FSDs. The problem is the lack of travel for the shocks results in underdamping during loading up (rebound can fully extend to design specs, so still "safe" in a resonant oscillation sense).

The Koni FSD/Eibach combination is supposed to be a perfect pairing for road holding and comfort.

Without FSDs the resultant bumpstops can be pretty shocking (no pun), thankfully the car is so well built, else it would have shaken bits off or messed the geometry. Sometimes I wonder how the struts stay undeformed from the stresses transmitted. Apart from the cabin shudder and my teeth, I know when I have hit the bumpstops when the dash top box opens and the retractable rear cover (estate) retracts!

I should mention I drive it like a loon (my diesel consumption frequently dropping from a healthy 45-50 mpg to 22 mpg or lower). As such it has a hard life imitating a hot hatch and I would never consider giving up the better road holding for more comfort.

So they get my vote!

Plus you can't beat the look of a dropped Octy:

Edited 28 March, 200917 yr by VRS195

Thanks everyone.

As it happens, we were offered a truly irresistible deal on a brand new Race Blue Octy Diesel estate which undercut the aforementioned 18-month-old car...so what could we do but order the new one!

It's at the dealer now having some extra toys fitted for free and we collect next Saturday.

So the whole question has now gone away...however I am grateful for the advice above in case we DO decide to tweak things in the future.

cheers

Campbell

I have test driven a Skoda lowered 245bhp VRS, full leather heated seats, Columbus, Side door airbags, B14 wheels, Roof mounted video, etc, etc, Fantastic car but very bouncy, due to the extra firmness of the springs, original is more than O.K. for the road.

If you are 20 - 25 years old, lower it, but if you are going to drive it as normal and are over 25 keep it standard you will like it better.

Don't lower a Tdi version they are worse than the petrol.

Without FSDs the resultant bumpstops can be pretty shocking (no pun), thankfully the car is so well built, else it would have shaken bits off or messed the geometry. Sometimes I wonder how the struts stay undeformed from the stresses transmitted. Apart from the cabin shudder and my teeth, I know when I have hit the bumpstops when the dash top box opens and the retractable rear cover (estate) retracts!

You really need to trim those bump stops mate!

You really need to trim those bump stops mate!

What I really need to do is not attack speed bumps at more than thirty !

Plus you can't beat the look of a dropped Octy:

Am I seeing things, or is your exhaust tail pipe exiting on the wrong side?

You are seeing a mirror image (the picture was flipped, as I prefer it that way, for completeness I guess I should photoshop the 'pipes and add a fuel door!)

... or perhaps I have quad 'pipes?

You are seeing a mirror image (the picture was flipped, as I prefer it that way, for completeness I guess I should photoshop the 'pipes and add a fuel door!)

... or perhaps I have quad 'pipes?

I like it.......photoshop that is!

Now that we have had some time to get used to the car, I'm in no rush to lower it...although it could benefit from a few mm reduction at the front to introduce a little rake and even things out fully laden (which it so frequently is with our two kids plus clobber!).

Slightly off-topic but, bottom line, our MY08 Race Blue vRS TDI CR estate is proving to be an absolutely cracking family barge. And I still cannot get over the size of that boot. Huge thumbs up to the dealer, Telfords at Carlisle, for the way we were looked after as well.

cheers

Campbell