Hello everyone,

I've been reading up about many of the available upgrades for the mk2 Octy and it's a bit daunting as to what to go for if I'm honest. I've started this thread to ask for some advice...

Time for a bit of a backstory. Coming from a 16v GTI mk2 golf, the world of mk2 octavias are quite a bit different...

The golf in all it's 21yr old dilapidated glory was still an absolute hoon to drive. Yes it rattled and yes it was on a severely lowered, budget coilover guise. It was raw, loud and essentially a road legal go kart. I miss it dearly!

The octavia in comparison, is refined, comfortable, reliable, quiet, substantially more powerful, better on juice, much more grown up, dependable and sensible. The thing is though, it's handling doesn't quite inspire confidence. It's floaty at best, and I want to feel more involved in the drive if you will. What handling upgrades would you suggest?

I'm debating between a set of springs first or a set of ARBS. I know I can get a budget coilover set up but I just don't feel they'd be up to the job for this car, considering it's much more hefty weight and I'd hate for it to upset the handling than aid it.

I'm considering some 50mm H&R lowering springs on OE dampers for now, but maybe a damper upgrade later, I've also seen some Bilstein B4s or some Koni FSDs I could save up for.

Now onto the question of ARBs. I'm battling between the Eibach front and rear set or as many of you have done a single whiteline RARB. The RARB seems to get rave reviews, and at about £170, it's nearly £100 less than the set from Eibach. Would the thicker diameter eibach set really make that much more difference? Or would the whiteline be sufficient? Any views would be especially appreciated here.

Then there's the WALK. It looks fancy, and the videos look like they work but is it really worth the investment? What difference would it really make in the real world? I've been advised that if I were to opt for the WALK then I might aswell get the eibach ARB kit and fit them both at the same time to minimise labour costs.

So the final question is what do I do first?

Lower it on springs? Or fit an ARB(S)?

I appreciate the Octy wont ever feel as agile or nimble as a lightweight nostalgia hatch, but I feel it can be vastly improved if I can get rid of its awful tendency to wallow around corners.

Apologies for all the questions, I can only afford to do things a stage at a time so any advice would be appreciated!

CorridaVRS

I have just opted for some eibach lowering springs and S3/TT mk2 consoles and the car handles fine. It always goes into a corner with very little body roll. The WALK is okay if you track day your car but for every day driving you wont really see the benefit. Id opt for the S3 consoles as they are a solid rubber bush and dont flex like the OE ones. I will be upgrading the dampers once they have worn out to either Koni FSDS or Eibach pro dampers. I dont want coilovers as they wouldnt suit my driving requirements. ARBS do alter the handling but you have to ask yourself if you will be doing lots of fast driving like on a trrack or just normal road driving. I havent had any issues at all with the handling on my car as it is and thats with 252bhp with the occasional quick B road blast.

I would recommend koni fsds and eibach pro springs as they provide good handling with significantly less body role than the standard setup plus the ride is less jittery and they cope with stage 1 power much better (less weight transfer under hard acceleration). Bilstein B12s are well regarded and come as a matched spring and damper set. I personally don't need after market anti role bars as I would never use it on the track so the above is perfectly fine for the B road blast and doesn't compromise the ride comfort on what is essentially the family car.

Ps mk 2 golf gti 16v was a fantastic car and I would swap my vrs for one tomorrow if you could get them new!

Thanks for the tips guys

This tt console mod seems a great alternative, I'll look into that, am I right in thinking if I change these I may aswell get the ARBS done since I'll have to look at alignment anyway?

Maybe just springs first then the consoles and arbs if that's the case.

And yes the mk2 was a fantastic car, if I could find a mint condition one I'd have another in the future.

I fitted the eibachs, walk and Whiteline rarb (hardest setting). Totally transformed the car and although I do track the car, the wife noticed the difference straight away and thought it was amazing.

How much noise does the anti lift kit transmit into the car?

How much noise does the anti lift kit transmit into the car?

None at all

If its just on the road, then IMO and experience of both road and track then anti roll bars are the best modification you can do for the handling on your vRS.you will get zero change in ride quality with tthis, but huge reduction in body roll, and loads more grip.

Upgrading the springs/dampers is a very good next step and makes the car more track oriented, but would be the last thing I would do this time around.

Upgrading your lower control arms to the Audi TT lower control arms which are camber adjustable make an equal improvement to the handling as the anti roll bars.

Id wager that a front/rear anti roll bar upgrade(£250-300) and the audi Tt adjustable lower control arms(£250-300) would be a a fair amount better than just upgrading the dampers/springs, whilst being alot cheaper without any of the drawbacks.

I picked up a 08 VRS Tdi estate on friday. I will drive it stock trough the Norwegian winter, but come summertime, I will need to do some small mods. My car wil be a daliy, to and forth kindergarden and driven 50% of the time of my "wife". I will do one or two trackdays a year. (Got a 6 hour drive to the neares track!)

I think it looks a little odd on the stock suspension(Comming from a A4 with s-Line), so I will need to lower it some. I'm not into the slammed look, and the wife will kill me if I put on some stiff setup, so for me it has commed down to these mods for starters:

-Eibach springs. (Already bought)

-4 wheel allignment

-Whiteline RARB

-some decent wheels and tires.

-some decent brakepads and fluid.

-just found out about the console mod, so mabye that will be done aswell.

My goal is to have a car that drives good when pushed, but without my wife noticing that any changes have been made to the car.

Any comments on my plans?

One thing i do wonder; will the RARB make the car more of a handfull in the winter? (We have alot of snow and slippy roads).

Edited 14 November, 201114 yr by rs_t

I ran my car "stock" for a very short period of time before adding the eibachs and FSDs. I was looking for a ride height reduction both for looks and also to lower the centre of gravity, coupled with some better quality dampers than the OE units.

I didn't like the FSDs - way too soft IMO and very floaty, so I swapped for some weitec coilovers. Yes, I know there is a later revision to the FSD which is said to be an improvement but these weren't available at the time.. The weitecs are firmly damped but not harsh - this car is my daily driver covering c30,000 miles a year including load-lugging and family duties.

I'm not going to make any more chassis mods to my car as I'm going to be ordering its replacement in less than a year, but I'm forumlating a plan for the "new" vRS..

Whilst the weitecs have been fine, I'll probably search out something slightly more compliant for next time (I don't track the car btw) maybe a B12 kit or Eibach Pro-Street S or KW street Comfort COs. I will also do the ARB's next time too. The lower ride height and stiffer damping significantly increases resistance to roll, but the car can still benefit IMO from stiffer AR bars.

I've yet to see anyone on this forum who's had either B12, or Eibach or KW SC Coilovers, so its a leap into the dark again unfortunately.

No experience of the TT control arms so I can't comment, but aren't they alloy? Ie lighter than the skoda items? If so that also adds to the positives.

If its just on the road, then IMO and experience of both road and track then anti roll bars are the best modification you can do for the handling on your vRS.you will get zero change in ride quality with tthis, but huge reduction in body roll, and loads more grip.

Upgrading the springs/dampers is a very good next step and makes the car more track oriented, but would be the last thing I would do this time around.

Upgrading your lower control arms to the Audi TT lower control arms which are camber adjustable make an equal improvement to the handling as the anti roll bars.

Id wager that a front/rear anti roll bar upgrade(£250-300) and the audi Tt adjustable lower control arms(£250-300) would be a a fair amount better than just upgrading the dampers/springs, whilst being alot cheaper without any of the drawbacks.

Question: If you're upgrading ARB's front and back, is there really any point also doing the TT control arms? If the car is more resistant to roll, then you're tyre contact patch is less compromised in the corners already? I'm sure it would be better still with the TT arms but is it really worth the extra £300 plus fitting?

Your right, as the car will maintain the optimum wheel geometry for longer due to the reduced body roll so more grip

However, The TT lower arms are much lighter. So less unsprung weight is a very positive thing. But more importantly the 0.5 - 1 degree of extra negative camber is a HUGE difference in cornering grip. Id definitely consider the TT arms and ARBs before doing the suspension.

TT Arms are deffo my next upgrade the ARB's made a massive difference so hopefully i'll see or more feel it more with the TT arms.

Your right, as the car will maintain the optimum wheel geometry for longer due to the reduced body roll so more grip

However, The TT lower arms are much lighter. So less unsprung weight is a very positive thing. But more importantly the 0.5 - 1 degree of extra negative camber is a HUGE difference in cornering grip. Id definitely consider the TT arms and ARBs before doing the suspension.

Good info, thanks!

Sorry for the total noob question but VAG stuff confuses the hell out of me with all the variations, I understand JDM & BMW!

TT & S3 stuff, what year of donor cars should I be looking for parts off?

I've just bought an almost new 5k mile set of OEM Mk2 VRS suspension for my FL as my 66k old stuff is leaking on the front but I was wondering how good H&R or Eibach springs in the stock dampers would be? Bouncy? Would the springs kill them?

My car is s daily, I don't want coilovers as it's purely a road car and I want improved handling and the car to be a little lower.

I'll ipgrade my ARB too at some point.

Cheers

I put Eibach Sportline springs on at 103,000km  (so the dampers were getting a bit tired) and had it all apart again 10,000km later to fit Koni Sports dampers.

 

Keep in mind that lowering doesn't necessarily mean better handling.

 

IMO, best handling improvements are high quality dampers, pulling as much unsprung weight off the corners as possible and premium quality tyres...  And change the rear console bush in the lower control arm to a non-voided S3 unit

Just going to add my 5p worth....

I fitted a whiteline rear anti roll bar and yes it has help but for me no where no are much as some of the reviews lead me to believe :-/

Still worth fitting but is deffo not the be all and end all...

I am going for some springs next

H&R -50mm Cup Kit and Whiteline RARB. Lowered the VRS around 20mm (maybe another 5mm or 10mm drop would be better) but handling is much better but still a comfortable ride. Also still gives a bit of clearance for our crap roads.

Edited 24 July, 201510 yr by FatblokeVRS

An interesting read. Am liking the sound of these S3 lower control arms. Do people just buy them direct from Audi?

I've been in highly modified cars for a while and all have been on premium coilovers so I'm well aware that springs won't be everything but on a road car they should be enough coupled with a good think ARB.

I have heard that the White line ARB's are hollow and so I'd always go for Eibach which are thicker and solid as I understand... Plus I live in Germany so they are cheap too.

With new dampers they should be ok, I mean mine are on 67k or so, my new ones are on 5k so fresh and I think they should be up to the job for the moment.

I mean I could buy Bilstein B12's, I'm paid in GBP and the Euro exchange at the moment is awesome.

What year S3 drop links should I source then?

Are the standard springs/set up on the vrs lower then standard?

I am wanting to fit lowering springs to mine I want to keep the ride the same comfort wise but just take it down a bit 20mm maybe?!?

I think the VRS is approx 15mm lower than standard. The H&R -50mm cup kit I hak fitted lowered it an additional 20mm.

An interesting read. Am liking the sound of these S3 lower control arms. Do people just buy them direct from Audi?

I bought mine from somebody that upgraded to Supaloy arms.  Wrecker might also work.

 

Passat arms are alloy also but the drilling on the console bush is different

 

I've been in highly modified cars for a while and all have been on premium coilovers so I'm well aware that springs won't be everything but on a road car they should be enough coupled with a good think ARB.

I have heard that the White line ARB's are hollow and so I'd always go for Eibach which are thicker and solid as I understand... Plus I live in Germany so they are cheap too.

With new dampers they should be ok, I mean mine are on 67k or so, my new ones are on 5k so fresh and I think they should be up to the job for the moment.

I mean I could buy Bilstein B12's, I'm paid in GBP and the Euro exchange at the moment is awesome.

What year S3 drop links should I source then?

 

Whiteline aren't hollow.  They aren't that effin smart.

Any one got any links to the right springs to get then if I wanna take the vrs down a bit?