Chaps,

Have had my VRS petrol test drive this morning, loved it!!! Really loved it, great car, it was a manual, but am looking for a DSG one to order, anyway, quick question, my wife is disabled and find travelling in cars in general quite painful due to bumps in the road etc, she has found the VRS quite harsh, I am presuming this is down to the lowered suspension and the wider wheels compared to normal models, so my question would be, can I put standard Octavia springs on it? We are thinking that if we bought one and it was still harsh for her after a few months and she couldnt get on with, could I put standard springs on it to soften it up? Could it be done and would it soften the ride up much?

Thoughts anyone?

I really want the VRS model as opposed to the others as I know I just wouldnt be happy!

James

That would be a modification for insurance purposes of course independent of how feasible it is technically. What you can certainly do is put 16" wheels and 205/55R16 tyres on and that makes the ride much smoother although somewhat less responsive. Arguments abound as to whether or not 16" wheels are a modification as they are a listed winter wheel.

Yep, easiest would be to put smaller wheels on there.

I would not recommend changing just the springs - you'd need matching dampers also.

In theory there's nothing to stop you putting the wheels/tyre/springs and dampers of any other octavia model on the vrs. You just have to question why you're buying a vrs if its not what you want.. there are "comfy" models out there already.

Hi James,

My other half has a severe back problem and finds many cars really uncomfortable to travel in.

However, I am now on my 3rd VRS and she has been fine with all of them, although the leather seats in the LE we had previously were less "bad back friendly" than the standard seats we now have...??

All of this is subjective I know but good luck in your choice.

You may wish to consider changing the standard dampers to KONI FSDS, as VAG cars are typically under damped and over sprung, and this may be sufficient to make the difference you require.

I have KONI FSD dampers with Eibach Pro Springs and the ride comfort is similar to standard so I would expect with standard springs it would be softer.

:no: Its not hard at all

She'll be fine

Well been back to the dealer this afternoon, and we have agreed a deal on a car, finance all approved and in place, just need to think about it over the weekend and decide whether to go ahead, I think we would try the car for a few months and see how she gets on with it and if needed start by changed the wheels and tyres if needed first of all (we have a set of 205/55/16 alloys with brand new tyres in the garage, what are the wheels specs for the VRS??), then if that didnt work then we would go down the route of the springs etc

In a perfect world maybe it would be more sensible to have a more comfortable model, but I just wouldnt be happy, we both like what the VRS comes with i.e. the bumpers, colours, the various standard bits over the other models) so the chances are we woudl just have it as it is, but it is handy to know what could be done if needed in the future.

We have settled on a Candy White, 2.0 TSI DSG box, with heated seats, auto dimming rear view, rear parking sensors, build week is showing as wk 28 with a wk 31 delivery and September 1st handover for the new reg on the VAT deal, out of interest, can Skoda do better than the current solutions interest rate and has anyone negotiated any extra discount over and above the VAT deal, is there room for a bit extra anyone know??

Going to mull it over this weekend and then as long as its ordered by THursday then its job done :-)

Thanks for the replies chaps, makes me see things a bit better :-)

James

My winter wheels are 205/55 R16 wheels, they make the car very soft. I doubt you'd need to replace the suspension, the deeper tyres make a massive difference.

A bad difference for my wants but might be perfect for your needs.

My winter wheels are 205/55 R16 wheels, they make the car very soft. I doubt you'd need to replace the suspension, the deeper tyres make a massive difference.

A bad difference for my wants but might be perfect for your needs.

So that sounds like a possible solution, the wheels and tyres we have are from a New Beetle, so they ar 5x100 with an ET of 42 I think, would they fit the Octavia or would I need to get some different rims and just use the tyres? Unfortunately the tyres are Pirelli P6000 so they wont be very good, but better than buying a new set, or could I just use spacing adaptors as a way of getting the wheels to fit if needed?

They also said that vehicles built from W21 I think, will be to the new spec, i.e. different dash lighting, new badges, plus any other subtle differences :-)

So that sounds like a possible solution, the wheels and tyres we have are from a New Beetle, so they ar 5x100 with an ET of 42 I think, would they fit the Octavia or would I need to get some different rims and just use the tyres? Unfortunately the tyres are Pirelli P6000 so they wont be very good, but better than buying a new set, or could I just use spacing adaptors as a way of getting the wheels to fit if needed?

They also said that vehicles built from W21 I think, will be to the new spec, i.e. different dash lighting, new badges, plus any other subtle differences :-)

Can't comment on what wheel size is on the new beetle but 5x100 wont do, you need 5x112 for the Octavia unfortunately.

Can't comment on what wheel size is on the new beetle but 5x100 wont do, you need 5x112 for the Octavia unfortunately.

Ok, well thats not too bad the 5x112 size is quite common so often the prices are competitive so if I do need to go down that road then at least I know roughly what I am looking for :-)

Thanks.