I took delivery of a brand new Octavia vRS CR TDI Estate with DSG in Feb 2010. Previously, I had owned several VW Golfs, all of which I had the suspension modified in one way or another - consistent factor being the fitting of Bilstein Sport shock absorbers, due to the inadequacies of the standard product fitted to the vehicle

In general, I am really pleased with the Octavia. I have covered approx 6k miles since new, but have now reached a stage that I cannot live with the standard suspension set up on the car any longer. The car is ok on smooth roads, but venture on to back roads with undulating surfaces, and the ride comfort becomes a nightmare. I feel I am being jostled from side to side, and the shock absorbers do not cope well with undulations on the road - this all results in handling which is not really in keeping with the performance capability of the car. Problem is that where I live in Scotland, there are more uneven back roads than smooth suraced A class roads !!

Has anyone else experienced similar feelings about this model of Octavia vRS, and if so, what have they done about this. Is there a suspension upgarade available from Skoda that can address these problems ?? I am a middle aged driver, and am looking for a good combination of performance and comfort i.e I do not want a lowered set up where I feel every bump in the road

Other issue is that I am with Skoda's own insurance, and when I contacted them they stated that they would not entertain any modifications to the vehicle which did not involve using genuine Skoda parts - is anyone using an insurance company which is ok about mild modifications to suspension etc ???

Any help/advice from owners who have experienced similar issues would be much appreciated, as I am really at the stage where I am considereing parting with the car as I cannot live with the suspension discomfort on a day to day basis any longer

I know how you feel, i regularly take a let say a "spirited" drive around some country roads around fife, the trossachs etc and experience it all the time, i recently bought an impreza wagon which has had a good few suspension tweaks (kyb agx shocks, Eibach pro springs, Whiteline arb & caster kit and full pro drive geometry settings done) what a difference ok everyday driving is murder but take it out the "city" wow what a difference the grip is awesome but no doubt thats helped with the 4wd, so.... i have bought Eibach Pro Springs for the vrs and Bilstien B6 shocks not sure the Eibach springs would work if not then the B8 shocks either way i need it to be drive-able day to day but giving it beans at the weekend or that it will cope fine.

I have the Eibach Pro Kit Springs ( -20mm) and the Skoda approved kit, along with the revised 4009 Koni FSD's ride comfort is vasly improved as is handling, traction and dive on braking....highly recommended standard supension is over sprung and underdamped....a common trait across the VAG range, you think the VRS is bad try a Leon FR...its a boneshaker!!

6k miles in ~18months and you went for the diesel?

I have the Eibach Pro Kit Springs ( -20mm) and the Skoda approved kit, along with the revised 4009 Koni FSD's ride comfort is vasly improved as is handling, traction and dive on braking....highly recommended standard supension is over sprung and underdamped....a common trait across the VAG range, you think the VRS is bad try a Leon FR...its a boneshaker!!

I have the same eibach and koni setup and highly recommend. Oem ride quality but subtly lower and much better handling, corners much flatter and doesn't jitter at speed on uneven surfaces.

I have the same eibach and koni setup and highly recommend. Oem ride quality but subtly lower and much better handling, corners much flatter and doesn't jitter at speed on uneven surfaces.

How much were the Koni's? I have got to get some, my ride is gash with just uprated springs!!!!

6k miles in ~18months and you went for the diesel?

Agree, doesn't make much sense but each to their own. I tried diesel, didn't like it, too slow and the minimal difference in mgg doesn't make it worth it all things considered

Agree, doesn't make much sense but each to their own. I tried diesel, didn't like it, too slow and the minimal difference in mgg doesn't make it worth it all things considered

Are you ignoring me????? :'(

Are you ignoring me????? :'(

Patience dear boy Didn't see your post was on my phone.

Honestly can't remember, about £500 - £600 I think. I had the Eibachs and Konis plus Revo remap all done at Awesome and it was about £1,300 total.

Awesome Mike will be able to give you a better idea.

Edited 19 June, 201115 yr by Guest

6k miles in ~18months and you went for the diesel?

I had a 1.8T petrol Golf, then had a 110 BHP TDI Golf Estate that I got re-mapped. I really liked the torque of the TDI, and got a really good price for it when I sold it privately. I tried all different versions of the Octavia when I was thinking about buying it - manual/petrol, diesel/manual, diesel/DSG. The diesel was only £400 more expensive than the equiv petrol model, so my decision was more about what it would be worth when I came to selling it. However, because most of my journeys are a 4 mile commute to work, fuel consumption is not brilliant. Because I don't drive with economy in mind, I consistantly average 38mpg, even with some longer trips thrown in. When I had my 1.8T (re-mapped + 18 inch wheels fitted), I regularly only got 24mpg on the same sort of running, and that was on the more expensive 98ron fuel

Patience dear boy Didn't see your post was on my phone.

Honestly can't remember, about £500 - £600 I think. I had the Eibachs and Konis plus Revo remap all done at Awesome and it was about £1,300 total.

Awesome Mike will be able to give you a better idea.

Now I am gutted, I turned down the opportunity for a full set of FSD's which had covered 5k for 200 quid...... :(

The rear suspension seems to get a lot of criticism. Firstly it seems to be to blame for all the road noise issues, secondly for the sawtooth tyres problem and if those two were not sufficient reason in their own right to amend the design then it doesn't even work on rough surfaces where tyre contact with the ground is severely compromised. I would be very tempted to do something about it but modifying is a bit of a Pandora's box: extra cost, extra insurance and then ambition for even more extras. For now I just go that little bit slower on poor road surfaces.

A possible different approach.

When I decided to change the rear anti roll bar on my Octy I found to my great surprise that in addition to taking corners a bit flatter the general ride quality was much improved.

I had found as mentioned above that the car was a little crashy/fidgety when driver spiritedly but after fitting the Whiteline RARB the car was markedly smoother on all road surfaces - link to my write-up

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/152785-fitting-a-new-rear-anti-roll-bar-on-a5-chassis/

A simple fix, changing the RARB only takes an hour or so and much cheaper than new springs/shocks

A possible different approach.

When I decided to change the rear anti roll bar on my Octy I found to my great surprise that in addition to taking corners a bit flatter the general ride quality was much improved.

I had found as mentioned above that the car was a little crashy/fidgety when driver spiritedly but after fitting the Whiteline RARB the car was markedly smoother on all road surfaces - link to my write-up

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/152785-fitting-a-new-rear-anti-roll-bar-on-a5-chassis/

A simple fix, changing the RARB only takes an hour or so and much cheaper than new springs/shocks

the best mod is some ar bar bushes which fit as opposed to gripping the bar (what-ever size) and turning it into a sort of double ended torsion bar with limited travel and applying unwanted exta springing, just my 2 pen'orth

Edited 20 June, 201115 yr by cheshire cat

the best mod is some ar bar bushes which fit as opposed to gripping the bar (what-ever size) and turning it into a sort of double ended torsion bar with limited travel and applying unwanted exta springing, just my 2 pen'orth

eh?