I am in the market for some new suspension, currently have uprated springs which drop the ride approx' 30 mm, but as with most VAG the car is over sprung and under dampered. So should I uprate the struts or go for a coilover kit? What experiences do owners have? I like the stance but would perhaps like to go a fraction lower but I want rid of the bouncy, bouncy ride I am suffering with the current set up......

Prices and options for both avenues would be appreciated.

Weitecs for me, cost (i think) around £690 from JKM, fitted for under £250 (including wheel alignment) at my local garage.

Very happy with them, almost no noticeable difference in ride comfort from standard but less body roll and a LOT lower!

£467 for FSD's

£840 for Weitec Hicon TX's

£467 for FSD's

£840 for Weitec Hicon TX's

The TX's have adjustable damping but is that really neccessary apart from track days? I was looking at these my mechanic has quoted me £150 fitted and alignment check!

I looked back Pagey on my credit card statements and I paid £631.60 on the 14th of Feb this year for my Weitec Hicon GT coilovers from JKM.

I looked back Pagey on my credit card statements and I paid £631.60 on the 14th of Feb this year for my Weitec Hicon GT coilovers from JKM.

Ahh! The flexible fiend,

Did that price include fitting?

The TX's have adjustable damping but is that really neccessary apart from track days? I was looking at these my mechanic has quoted me £150 fitted and alignment check!

That's what I've got; Weitec Hicon GT coils.

I'm pretty happy with my choice, don't do track days so I don't need adjustability of the damping, had them on for about 25k miles now. My driving is mix of A road communte with a fast twisty B road as an option plus its family transport at the weekends.

There's no substitute for first hand experience however - do you ever get over to hampshire or oxfordshire? No problem to take you out for a run in mine if you want..

Ahh! The flexible fiend,

Did that price include fitting?

Only put it on my credit card so that I get the piece of mind of getting my money back if anything ever goes wrong (not that it did with JKM).

No, I paid (I think) £246 from my local garage to get them fitted - £196 for fitting then a further £50 for a 4-wheel laser alignment a couple of weeks later (to let them settle a bit first).

That's what I've got; Weitec Hicon GT coils.

I'm pretty happy with my choice, don't do track days so I don't need adjustability of the damping, had them on for about 25k miles now. My driving is mix of A road communte with a fast twisty B road as an option plus its family transport at the weekends.

There's no substitute for first hand experience however - do you ever get over to hampshire or oxfordshire? No problem to take you out for a run in mine if you want..

Thanks for the offer mate, I'm not likely to ever be in that neck of the woods unless we find swmbo a new car in the area in which case you will be getting a PM.

Only put it on my credit card so that I get the piece of mind of getting my money back if anything ever goes wrong (not that it did with JKM).

No, I paid (I think) £246 from my local garage to get them fitted - £196 for fitting then a further £50 for a 4-wheel laser alignment a couple of weeks later (to let them settle a bit first).

Thats a lot! I'm a bit gutted as I wanted a set of V-Maxx when Brimma got his from eBay.de, iirc he paid just over 300 sheets posted. :( They are nearer 500 quid now......

£631 is expensive for the Weitec GT's and nearly £250 fitting and wheel alignment seen you coming :p

<sigh>

Having had the FSD/H&R setup on my Mk1 which everyone raved about I would never get FSD's again!

They were terrible, bouncing all over the place, infact they weren't much better than the standard shocks. I would go Coilovers if I were to do it again but even then my past expierience of the FSDs and the apparent harsh Coilover ride puts me off.

My weitecs are not harsh. The ride is better than my 2011 Subaru sti (now sold) and better than swmbo's mini cooper on 17s and run flats.

<sigh>

Oh dear not allowed to voice an opinion now?

Having had the FSD/H&R setup on my Mk1 which everyone raved about I would never get FSD's again!

They were terrible, bouncing all over the place, infact they weren't much better than the standard shocks. I would go Coilovers if I were to do it again but even then my past expierience of the FSDs and the apparent harsh Coilover ride puts me off.

Is there an alternative to FSD's?

There is an alternative, if that experience is based on the first revision of the model for the vRS

Check that model 4090 FSDs are being used. That's what I have on mine and I'm happy with them. To put that in perspective, I had KW V1s on before those and removed them because of the ride quality. That's generally because the roads round here are in an appalling state. I agree with Rob though, if the roads you use are pretty decent then I would have probably kept a decent set of coilovers on.

As said, there's no substitute for checking them out 1st hand - and you're not really close to Manchester either are you?!

I take the point that users were unhappy with the first model of FSDs, and that put me off initially as well. But the 4090 model is a re-design.

Oh, and my other option was the Bilstein B12 setup. That's worth considering and I nearly went that way, but I got a good deal on the Eibach/FSD 4090 combo through Awesome at Christmas, so went that way.

My weitecs are not harsh. The ride is better than my 2011 Subaru sti (now sold) and better than swmbo's mini cooper on 17s and run flats.

But your write up on them says

"but unfortunately the ride quality suffers a little when you've wound these right down which is a shame - i'll run it like this for a few months i guess and see how i get on."

Which doesn't fill me with confidence really, are they better wound up a bit?

I find the standard set up perfect for every day driving and wouldn't want it much harsher. My mate has an S4 with coilovers which tbh aren't too bad.

You sold on a 2011 Sti, is the Impreza really as bad as they say? :wonder:

But your write up on them says

"but unfortunately the ride quality suffers a little when you've wound these right down which is a shame - i'll run it like this for a few months i guess and see how i get on."

Which doesn't fill me with confidence really, are they better wound up a bit?

I find the standard set up perfect for every day driving and wouldn't want it much harsher. My mate has an S4 with coilovers which tbh aren't too bad.

You sold on a 2011 Sti, is the Impreza really as bad as they say? :wonder:

I think he's settled on a -36mm ride height as a compromise, correct me if I'm wrong Rob?!

I was thinking about these http://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/kw-20mm-lowering-springs-shocks-suspension-kitbr-octavia-1z-rs-20t-fsi-rs-20tdi-0504-p-5393.html

I'm finding the handling much better on my new vrs compared to the one it replaced. I would just like it a little lower though

i have kw coilovers in mine and they are excellent, firm but not hard, plenty of adjustment height wise, very pleased with these for a a sub 300 notes coilover.

But your write up on them says

"but unfortunately the ride quality suffers a little when you've wound these right down which is a shame - i'll run it like this for a few months i guess and see how i get on."

Which doesn't fill me with confidence really, are they better wound up a bit?

I find the standard set up perfect for every day driving and wouldn't want it much harsher. My mate has an S4 with coilovers which tbh aren't too bad.

You sold on a 2011 Sti, is the Impreza really as bad as they say? :wonder:

"wound right down" = -45mm ride height which is where i had them set initially, which i subsequently found out was 5mm below the minimum height recommended by Kw :eek:

Running 10mm or so higher (ie a 35mm drop) significantly improves the ride quality, as does having the right tyre pressures. FWIW it isn't "harsher", just different in they way it works vs. OE setup. I'm not a chassis engineer and its very hard to describe how it feels, but to me it feels like the damper is doing more work, and the spring is maybe the same or even a little softer than stock (it will still drop at the rear when you have a heavy load on which it wouldn't do if the springs were harder). When people who don't have coilovers describe their concerns the word "harsh" seems to come up a lot, which is really strange as they really are not like that - its more like "tightly controlled".

STI was awesome, but hard to justify as a toy when i also have the vrs.

HTH.

i have kw coilovers in mine and they are excellent, firm but not hard, plenty of adjustment height wise, very pleased with these for a a sub 300 notes coilover.

KWs? Sub £300?

I'm confused.

I've got the revised FSD's, I got them before Wardy and researched them thoroughly, as Steve says the problem with the first FSD's was that they were made for the Golf and did not work very well on the Octy, the new 4009 set however is brilliant, the roadholding and comfort is exactly what I was looking for, TBH they are better than any of the coilover setups I had on my previous Octy VRS's as they absorb mid corner bumps much better and dont skip mid corner like the coilies did ( not cheap coilovers either, KW V2's, B & G and FK's).......I would try a car equipped with whatever setup you want though, I personally don't think ( from experience) that any coilovers are particularly suited for road use due to the hardness of them and the low quality materials used in pretty much all but the KW's ( stainless steel)the plating on just about all of the cheaper units is woefully inadequate, that also goes for the FK's......just my opinion / experience, many will disagree, no doubt. :p

KWs? Sub £300?

I'm confused.

+1

Although the cars listed are a Fabia and I would guess a mk1 vRS based on the bhp.