Hi all, first post here, hopefully someone can help out...

I've got an Octavia II Estate L&K bought new last July, standard suspension set-up, no sports options. We test drove an Elegance spec which dealt with bumps and pot holes about as well as my old Focus (ie very well), which should be the same set-up as ours except for different profile tyres. The L&K we've found very hard and crashy over bumps, at all speeds, to the point my missus would rather travel in the old Focus we've still got. Thought it might just be the shocks bedding in or something similar but it's got no better over time. The car went in for it's first service last week and I mentioned it to the dealer, who blatantly fobbed me off with "It's perfectly normal, and our mechanics drive a lot of Octavia's so they should know!". Also dropped in at a local independent this morning (Volkscraft, Exeter, very helpful), who said that while the springs are soft enough, the dampers are very slow to rebound and suggested I get onto Skoda UK Customer Service.

Just wondering if anyone else out there has experienced a similar problem and if so, if you managed to get Skoda to do anything about it? I'm loving the rest of the car so I don't want to get rid but the suspension is bad enough I'd be looking at changing the shocks and springs if Skoda can't/won't fix it, & I don't want to go to that expense except as a last resort.

Does the dealer have a identical car to yours on the forecourt? if so could you test drive that one & if its the same as yours then you know thats how they are,if its a much better ride then the dealer will have to investigate yours.My octy is a bit harsh over rough roads but mine is a vrs with 18" wheels.

"which should be the same set-up as ours except for different profile tyres. "

you haven't said what the difference is but the tyres can make the world of difference to the ride of Octavia (or any car come to that) - I find mine (Vrs Combi) rides better when it has a bit of a load in the rear, mine is actually a more comfortable ride over bumpy roads that the E class Merc which I rather rashly owned before current Octavia.

I would press dealer for more help and possibly a drive in another similar version... it is all too easy to try to fob us off and if it turns out that there is something wrong with the shocks then they should jolly well fix it on a car that is not even a year old. When brand new it takes a while to settle down and some people say takes about 3000 miles, my earlier Mk 11 was an Elegance and that seemed very crashy and harsh compared to my trusty old Mk1 and took a good many miles to soften up.

Pretty sure the L&K comes with 17" wheels as standard, whereas Elegance will be 16". That would make a bit of difference to the ride quality.

The Elegance we tested would have been 205/55 R16's and the L&K is 225/45 R17's so I understand that would make some difference but ours does seem excessively harsh. The car has had 10000 miles so far and hasn't improved, if anything it's getting worse. Must admit, given the L&K is supposed to be the luxury comfort spec of the Octy, that if the ride quality of mine is normal I don't see how all of you with lowered VRS's put up with them!

I guess that no-one else seems to have had the same so it's not something that affected a batch and probably it is just mine as a one off (assuming it's not in my mind). Look's like I'll have to go try and engage the dealer's interest again...

My 205/55-16 winter wheels are not crashy at all, lovely ride actually, but the Summer 225/40-18s are a bit random on poor road surfaces. I think it is the extra weight of the 18" wheels that does the damage to the response time of the suspension. That said I can put up with the slight deterioration on rough surfaces for the other benefits of the low profiles.

My elegance estate is also rather crashy over rough roads when unladen. When loaded its much better and my continental winter tyres are significantly better than my bridgestone summer tyres despite being exactly the same size (205/55 R16) and wheel type. I don't think Octavia estate ride quality is that great, though I would'nt call it uncomfortable. Changing to summer tyres this year made it very obvious to me what a different tyres can make to ride quality!

have just bought an Elegance estate which seems to have quite hard suspension.

However it had 17" wheels fitted as an option when new. Looking at the options list 17" wheels are linked to sports suspension which could be the reason for hard ride, but this is only my theory.

The suspension set-up on my L&K has been commented on by friends as being harder than an M-sport BMW! Which given it is supposed to be the standard spec (checked the build codes while at the independent garage) does suggest something's not right. Great for cornering but blooming uncomfortable the rest of the time. Anyway, I was in contact with Skoda UK and the dealer is taking it in to look at on Friday and loaning me an identical car for the day to see how it compares.

Skoda UK's response was very quick and positive, will be interesting to see what the dealer says this time around...

205/55 R16's and 225/45 R17's have the same sidewall height (tread width * profile size / 100) give or take a fraction of a millimeter, so it's not tyre compliance unless the 225s run higher pressures. Of course Brand1 tyres can potentially be generally more harsh than Brand2.

That said, if the L&K does have the "sports" suspension as standard, that could give a harder ride.

Well the L&K's in at the dealer today to be looked at. They've lent me an identical spec vehicle for the day and there is a big difference in the ride quality - you still feel the big bumps but they are a lot less harsh/abrupt and most of the small bumps/ripples/tarmac surface vibration is just ironed out. Bit more body-roll round corners which is not such a good thing but I guess something's got to give for a bit of ride comfort...

Be interesting to see what the dealer says tonight when they finish looking at my car and I swap back again.

Out of curiosity, anyone out there got any experience of how Koni FSD's and Eibach spring combination ride comfort is compared to the standard Octy suspension set-up? (now I know what it's supposed to feel like)

And the outcome is...

...the dealer is referring back to Skoda UK as they didn't find anything they think is unusual while after driving their L&K Octy I'm more convinced than ever mine isn't right. Why do I have the feeling this is going to run and run...?

Koni FSD dampers and standard Skoda OEM springs is what I run on my Fabia.....FSD dampers are automatic two stage, and work very well!!!!! Still get the comfort tho' potholes etc...but it firms up around corners!!! Tyre choice, even on the same size rim etc came make a differnce...eg swapping from Dunlop to Michelin say.

KenONeill has me confused re tyre sizes???? The overall diameter and rolling circumference for a wheel has to stay the same for a car otherwise it throws the speedo etc. out. What you change is the "depth" of rubber and the diameter of alloy rim.....so if you say that yours has a 17" diameter rim and you prefer the comfort of the 16" diameter rim...then that is mainly beacause you have taken away 1" diameter from the alloy and replaced it with rubber...so 0.5" each side of the wheel....so you have added an extra 0.5" (12mm to the depth of the sidewall) of the tyre to absorb shock...Please remember that the wheel/tyre is the primary "shock" absorber in suspension design!!

EDIT

Just double checked Ken0Neill's figures....he must of had an "off" moment (brain fart)

205mm/55% profile = 205/100=2.02mm * 55% = 112.75mm depth of sidewall

225mm/45% profile = 225/100=2.25mm * 45% = 101.25mm depth of sidewall

So a difference of 11.5mm!!!

Edited 20 May, 201115 yr by fabdavrav

Be interested in the outcome of this. We have a 2010 Elegance on 16" rims. Definitely much firmer (harsher is maybe the best word) than the cars we tested prior to ordering...

Wonder if the CR engined cars run a different setup to the PD engined ones?

Thanks for keeping us updated and look forward to your feedback.

Koni FSD dampers and standard Skoda OEM springs is what I run on my Fabia.....FSD dampers are automatic two stage, and work very well!!!!!

Ah, so no need to change springs at the same time as the dampers then? I wasn't sure about that as most people seem to change both.

You're right about the tyre depths, but now I've tested the 2nd L&K at least I know that isn't the problem in this case as both are on 17" wheels with 225/45 Bridgestone Potenzas. I'm leaning towards a problem with the dampers (wrong type/bad batch maybe given the problem isn't only on one corner of the car) as my car is very slow to rebound after you lean on either end (very unscientific I know...). Though getting anyone from the dealer to listen to me is even more of a problem as up to this point no-one there has had the slightest interest in what I've got to say.

Wonder if the CR engined cars run a different setup to the PD engined ones?

When I was talking to the independent garage (Volkscraft) and they checked the build codes, there was only three codes for suspension set-up - normal, off-road and sports. Didn't seem to be any differentiation between petrol/diesel.

I have a 2008 L+K and it is noticeable when I fit my snow tyres on (205x55R16) to the standard 17' Rims.

I chose the L+K over the VRS as I did not want the lowered suspension - but i have been parked next to many VRS's and the ride height has been the same - so not sure what Skoda have done.

I almost kept the snow tyres on this year instead of going back to the 17's as it is so much more comfortable.

Tom

Ah, so no need to change springs at the same time as the dampers then? I wasn't sure about that as most people seem to change both.

You're right about the tyre depths, but now I've tested the 2nd L&K at least I know that isn't the problem in this case as both are on 17" wheels with 225/45 Bridgestone Potenzas. I'm leaning towards a problem with the dampers (wrong type/bad batch maybe given the problem isn't only on one corner of the car) as my car is very slow to rebound after you lean on either end (very unscientific I know...). Though getting anyone from the dealer to listen to me is even more of a problem as up to this point no-one there has had the slightest interest in what I've got to say.

Some people change the springs for Eibach ones as their lowering springs will work with standard OEM dampers (so won't jump out the seats on full damper extension)...Thing is FSD dampers are set up to match the OEM springs...but check with Koni as some of the new kits will work with the Eibach springs much better now (set up properly).

If you say that there is no difference between the two cars with them both running the exact same make of tyre and same rim size etc...then check your tyre pressures.....(OK you have)....then faulty suspension...dampers..like you think....but trying to convince the dealers....hhhmmmm..hard one that!!

Also looks like from others that some of the L&K might be fitted with the VRS suspension????

Unless they've fitted L&K dampers (soft) with VRS lowered springs (hard)....mismatched suspension...leading to it crashing...... over bumps as the springs will override the dampers as they are harder!!

Mine's a 2007 Ambiente estate, and my wife hates it. It does crash and bounce over the very bumpy and potholey roads around us.

My son has a 1996 Fiesta that rides much better, and our old Discovery just absorbs all the bumps. Before we got the Octy, I test drove a Focus which was pretty harsh, too.

We have just the standard wheels with proper tyres - none of this low profile nonsense, and the dealer says it rides normally.

She moans about that so much that I keep quiet about the DMF that I hate.

I'm just totally depressed about modern cars.

Most roads mine are fine with the17" wheels and the sports suspension. Just a lot of tyre noise at higher speeds.

Try checking the tyre pressures. I tried both set ups on the same test route and the sports suspension was little harder.

Right then you lot......just had a thought.......all VAG cars have painted on the springs a series of coloured dots (about 4 to 6 approx, each 8mm dia)......this is the code for the spring.....so how about getting under the car and looking at the springs and just wipe with water the area, and take a photo of each spring....then post the results up here and we can see if the springs are different.......also if you go to the the parts dept. at the Skoda dealership, they should be able to tell you whether it's standard springs, lowered springs etc.!!!

Edited 21 May, 201115 yr by fabdavrav

Right then you lot......just had a thought.......all VAG cars have painted on the springs a series of coloured dots (about 4 to 6 approx, each 8mm dia)......this is the code for the spring.....so how about getting under the car and looking at the springs and just wipe with water the area, and take a photo of each spring....then post the results up here and we can see if the springs are different.......also if you go to the the parts dept. at the Skoda dealership, they should be able to tell you whether it's standard springs, lowered springs etc.!!!

Ok, this is what I get - pink - orange - blue.

Not sure how to add an image as I don't use flickr etc to link it to... (yes, luddite, I know...)

Ok, this is what I get - pink - orange - blue.

Not sure how to add an image as I don't use flickr etc to link it to... (yes, luddite, I know...)

Is that on all four springs???

Is that on all four springs???

Rear springs are yellow - yellow - yellow - white

I can't seem to find info that I need to decipher the code....anyway best to check with a Skoda parts dept...ask them if these colour codes are sports lowering or standard for Octavia!!