Right well I can see I'm going to need a new suspension set up at some point soon.

So what are my options?

1) OEM

2) Springs/Dampers

3) Coilovers.

I don't want anything floaty and soft, but at the same time don't want rock solid.

The insurance co seems to want to charge the same regardless of the change being the OEM rated bilstein b4 or anything up to the B16 coilovers.

So suggestions?

I'll be honest and say I think the FSD's are off as too soft. I don't want too much lowering (if any) so what have people run here, do you have recommendations and what sort of money are people spending including fitting?

Ta

Edited 10 August, 201015 yr by cheezemonkhai

Actually just been digging a bit more and is it me or are the weitec coilovers just none stainless KW products?

Actually just been digging a bit more and is it me or are the weitec coilovers just none stainless KW products?

I am very happy running the Koni FSDs on stock springs. Again, it is all down to personal preference but my car was primarily a daily commuter doing a 60 mile round trip. I wanted to firm up the ride without a spine-jarring compromise and I found the FSDs combined with a RARB put things right where I wanted them. Perhaps adjustable coilovers is the way to go if you are uncertain though.

I am very happy running the Koni FSDs on stock springs. Again, it is all down to personal preference but my car was primarily a daily commuter doing a 60 mile round trip. I wanted to firm up the ride without a spine-jarring compromise and I found the FSDs combined with a RARB put things right where I wanted them. Perhaps adjustable coilovers is the way to go if you are uncertain though.

I know lots of people love the FSD, but if I was going that route it would be the B6 due to superior reliability (based on what I've read around) and the fact that they are a monotube design.

I've been looking at the KW2/3 and the Bilstein B16 kits and have to say that the adjustable suspension is a good thing for me as I can set only a small drop (20mm-30mm) but adjust the damping to somewhere I like. I do a similar daily ride and while I don't want the spine jaring, I really can't deal with the floaty sensation.

Coup[le of questions I have are:

- KW2/3 are these twin tube or monotube designs.

- Anyone know if the B14/B16 coilovers are stainless steel or just painted/galvanised.

Also is there a market for second hand coilovers?

Ta

Looking for pretty much the same outcome Mark, so will watch this one with interest

I'm just seeing that's it fairly big money for adjustable coilovers from a reputable company, and that I'm not really after adjustable height; I just need to get damping to my specification. So what I really want is a fixed drop, say 30mm - but a setup with adjustable damping. It would appear nobody offers that though

Think I'll head down the Eibach/FSD route TBH. Worked for me last time

Also looking to renew suspension bushes at the same time.

Steve

Looking for pretty much the same outcome Mark, so will watch this one with interest

I'm just seeing that's it fairly big money for adjustable coilovers from a reputable company, and that I'm not really after adjustable height; I just need to get damping to my specification. So what I really want is a fixed drop, say 30mm - but a setup with adjustable damping. It would appear nobody offers that though

Think I'll head down the Eibach/FSD route TBH. Worked for me last time

Also looking to renew suspension bushes at the same time.

Steve

To be honest mate, that's exactly what I'm after too, fixed height 0-30mm drop and adjustable damping that goes from about OEM stiffness to firm.

I've heard bad things on the FSD life, hence the B6 as an option and ditto on the bushes.

I'm tempted to have a look at spax as I know they used to do adjustable dampers and now offer these:

http://www.spax.co.uk/modern_products-psx.php

Only problem being I can't find them for the 1Z octavia :(

Edited 11 August, 201015 yr by cheezemonkhai

Have you thought about the KW streetcomforts? I have fitted a few now and they are very comfy over the bumps, and nice and firm round the bends. I will be fitting a set of these on my vRS at some point.

I ran the OE set up, then FSD's with Eibach springs, now running Weitec coilovers. I've posted up some thoughts already on the comparisons here. For me, the weitecs are a good compromise - money no object i'd probably look at something from KW.

A number of guys on here (me, harry_vrs, pete8ch) have taken off FSD's and now run something else (harry has AP coilovers, peter8ch has a weitec ultra gt kit).

This is a very difficult area - a real minefield - very hard to research and compare. If someone says "x are great" or "y are too soft" it really does depend on what you're comparing against and what you're idea of "good" actually is - ie is your target just ride comfort or are you looking for sometihing thats going to serve you well on the track? Also, what works great on a say, a fabia may not work so great on an octavia..

DPM seems to have just about every suspension option available for the octavia (http://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/) and are keenly priced and offer advice. We are actually very lucky in that there are SO MANY options for the car..!

No problem if you want to ride in mine.

You didn't say why you needed to change?

Thanks Rob.

As mentioned if anyone needs any advise just give us a shout, always happy to help.

Damian @ DPM Performance

I've heard bad things on the FSD life, hence the B6 as an option and ditto on the bushes.

I heard the same thing and therefore quizzed JKM (who fitted mine) on this before I went ahead.

Their opinion was that there was a problem with some dampers from earlier batches going back a few years ago but Koni rectified this and they have not seen problems since.

I'm not campaigning that the FSDs are the answer for you but trying to get the FSD problem into perspective (there is a similar story with earlier batches of the Autotech HPFP internals!)

I'm sure the FSD are fine now, but they are very expensive for what they are and don't offer what I'm after.

I have the OEM suspension and it's gone all floaty at higher motorway speeds.

I'm going to have to get all the bushes checked, but at a shade over 80k miles, I'm thinking the shockers are on their way out.

The OEM sports suspension is not bad, but the springs do jar a little bit.

So for me ride comfort is a consideration as the car is a daily driver but at the same time I want the car to handle well around the twisty back roads and high speed corners.

Lowering isn't something I'm bothered about, other than it should be no more than 30mm.

The damping should ideally be adjustable so that I can personally make the judgement on how I wish the car to run and adjust it to suit.

The B6 seemed to fit the bill, but are not adjustable which is a shame.

I've seen a few comments around saying don't touch any coilovers that are not stainless, but is that really an issue with something like the weitec, KW2 basic or the bilstein B16 set ups?

Also how often do the coilovers require maintainance (eg clean and lubricate) as obviously shocks and dampers are pretty much a fit and forget thing,

I'll watch this thread with interest as well.

My PD140 is onto 94K miles on the originals now, so really needing changed.

I was thinking about v-maxx coilovers, but since I've covered 30k in the past year and likely to continue for a while yet, I want something that

I could live with and that will last.

Hope the replacements would last to 150k...... what I hope to get from the car before changing it.

Have you thought about the KW streetcomforts? I have fitted a few now and they are very comfy over the bumps, and nice and firm round the bends. I will be fitting a set of these on my vRS at some point.

Interesting. Will look up the specs on those.

Also interested in some input on what bushes to change too. Looking at just Powerflex wishbone replacements at the moment, but if anything else is recommended let me know

I would go Superpro for the bushes. They seem to be of better quality and fit compared to Powerflex.

Thanks Rob.

As mentioned if anyone needs any advise just give us a shout, always happy to help.

Damian @ DPM Performance

Damian - can you confirm that on the Ultra GTs, that these from you guys are the correct choice for 2.0TDi PD140 application?

Seems there's a choice between Octy models.

Thanks,

Steve

Edited 11 August, 201015 yr by Wardy

Also how often do the coilovers require maintainance (eg clean and lubricate) as obviously shocks and dampers are pretty much a fit and forget thing,

I'm not anticipating making any adjustments to mine once they're set up properly. I suppose if you were going to do "shows" and wanted to raise/lower them regularly then you'd need to keep the threads clean, but for me this isn't a requirement.

I'm not anticipating making any adjustments to mine once they're set up properly. I suppose if you were going to do "shows" and wanted to raise/lower them regularly then you'd need to keep the threads clean, but for me this isn't a requirement.

I can understand where you're coming from, and while I wouldn't adjust the height ever once on the car, should the things ever need to come off, either for work elsewhere or repair, then surely you'd need to keep them clean enough to disassemble.

Ive had quite a range of coilovers over the years. The ones with fine threads are a no go. Even after a few weeks of driving the tread become clogged and very hard to adjust. Bilstein PSS9's being the worst. I have had to cut spring seats off on those before. KW and Weitecs have a nice course thread which means they are easy to clean. I just use a course stiff dish brush on those along with an airline to clear the threads, then a little WD to ensure the seats move freely. The KW's are the best and even after 3 years of not adjusting them I could spin the seats by hand after a quick clean. Most other makes seize long before 3 years!!!

Ive had quite a range of coilovers over the years. The ones with fine threads are a no go. Even after a few weeks of driving the tread become clogged and very hard to adjust. Bilstein PSS9's being the worst. I have had to cut spring seats off on those before. KW and Weitecs have a nice course thread which means they are easy to clean. I just use a course stiff dish brush on those along with an airline to clear the threads, then a little WD to ensure the seats move freely. The KW's are the best and even after 3 years of not adjusting them I could spin the seats by hand after a quick clean. Most other makes seize long before 3 years!!!

I assume that's the inox-line stainless versions of the KW shockers?

I assume that's the inox-line stainless versions of the KW shockers?

Thats correct. I like to spend the extra to know they will last and be easy to adjust. The non inox versions still last a long time and dont clog up and rust like the Bilsteins. Even the PSS10's seem to rust very fast.

It's a shame to hear about the bilstein kits rusting as they looked very promising.

I was initially looking at the B6 shockers alone and then considered the coilovers.

I guess it's going to be a major case of springs and shockers and hope I get the range right, finding an adjustable shocker, or looking at coilovers.

I do see there are issues with getting the coilovers set up correctly for a car.

Having never run coilovers before, are these major issues and is it likely to actually make the handling worse rather than better?

The only reason I'm considering coilovers is that they have the adjustable damping as an option.

If you do end up going down the fully adjustable coilover route Mark, I'd strongly suggest you goto a suspension specialist to get them sorted, if not for the fitting process, then after they're on. I know people who've gone to V3s and very nearly took them back off again as the car's felt very lively and in some cases undriveable

There's that many variables with a setup like that, it's a bit of an art getting it just right IMO.

My next step is to test the Weitec Ultra GT setup.

Hmm you see it's that comment about the fully adjustable, that makes me think is it worth it.

I really do wish people would do adjustable shocks for the 1Z octy.

Actually as a side issue, who are suspension specialists these days anyway?

Edited 11 August, 201015 yr by cheezemonkhai

To be honest mate, that's exactly what I'm after too, fixed height 0-30mm drop and adjustable damping that goes from about OEM stiffness to firm.

I've heard bad things on the FSD life, hence the B6 as an option and ditto on the bushes.

I'm tempted to have a look at spax as I know they used to do adjustable dampers and now offer these:

http://www.spax.co.uk/modern_products-psx.php

Only problem being I can't find them for the 1Z octavia :(

I've had them on my Octy II vRS for about a year.I strongly recommend them.55 mm strut diameter is readily avaialable.

http://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/spax-rsx-coilover-suspension-kitbr-octavia-1z-19tdi-20fsi-20tdi-fwd-0604-p-4271.html

I've had them on my Octy II vRS for about a year.I strongly recommend them.55 mm strut diameter is readily avaialable.

http://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/spax-rsx-coilover-suspension-kitbr-octavia-1z-19tdi-20fsi-20tdi-fwd-0604-p-4271.html

That's coilovers though rather than the standard shocks and springs with adjustable damping only.