As per the title what's going to give the best possible ride quality for a vRS?

Ie. best ride quality without sacrificing the intrinsic handling attributes of the car. I know i could get a great ride if I put some 16"s on there with balloon tyres and "elegance" spec springs and dampers, but that's not what I want.

To put this in context, I'm perfectly happy with the 500-ish quid i paid for my weitecs, and for the money they are a great setup. The only thing i'd change is that on some broken tarmac they can be a little harder than I'd ideally like - still a better ride than SWMBO's '07 Mini Cooper on OE run-flats but then that's not that difficult!

I'm going to order a new car probably some time later this year, another vRS wagon is pretty much the only viable option for me. Question is, do I go for the same suspension set up again or spend more on say, KW Street Comfort, Bilstein B16? The KW kit is £900 and the Bilstein is well over a grand. Question is, are they going to be that much better than the weitecs?

Before I got the weitecs I found it very hard to get any real first hand experience to base the decision on, so it was very much a step in the dark - uncomfortable, but only risking 500 plus fitting so not too bad if i'd made a mistake. Ideally I don't want to be the trailblazer again if I go for one of the two above (or something else that no-one else has tried..)

I don't do track days, so fast road use and kiddie carrying at the weekends only.

Please don't post if you're going to say "fsd" or "my brothers best mate's girlfriends dad had some xxx and they were ****" etc. I'm only interested in first hand experience and on the octy/golf platform.

.. awaits the tumbleweed

Hi Rob - you know I shifted away from coilovers because of those negatives you list.

I think for what you're after, and the mileage covered and lack of track days, I'd honestly stick to a sports spring/damper setup. I'll await arguments to the opposite on that one too

Happy for you to try my 4090 FSD and Eibach setup 1st hand. I'm happy overall with them. Would I fit them to the next Octy? (whenever that may be) Quite possibly, although I'd like to test drive a Bilstein setup first-hand first. I looked at the B12 setup when I last swapped, if that's still available? I got good feedback about those on the ride compliance aspect, whilst being able to deal well with fast road progress. I think Awesome and Larkspeed offer them, from memory.

As for the total outlay, I know exactly what you mean, but this is probably the prime area on a vehicle where you really do get what you pay for. It's why I spent more on a spring/damper setup than many sets of coilovers cost. I still keep in mind what one vehicle engineer once told me, who works in suspension design - 'the damping is what you pay the money for'. Wish I'd kept that more in mind before I bought some V1s

The biggest issue, and cause for disagreement with suspension setups is that it's such a personal thing. Combined with that the type of roads you mostly travel on. If you came up and saw my local, everyday routes, you'd fully understand why I swapped the coilovers out.

That any help?

Steve.

Have to say that I am very happy with Koni FSDs and Eibach springs too so agree with Wardy. I wasn't too attracted to coilovers given a few back problems that I have but hear that some coilies are quite forgiving. If I were to have a sniff at coilies, it would be the B12s also.

Yeah, FSD always seems to come up when this subject is raised.

It was based on +ve comments on here that I got myself a set of the original FSD's before I'd even taken delivery of my current car. I know koni have revised them since then but I still have a really nasty taste in my mouth over that episode - luckily I got my fsd low-mileage from another forum member for only 250 quid, plus 250 to fit + align only to find them woefully underdamped for the car on a fast undulating road. :S It was a hard decision to walk away from £500 quid invested in the car after only a matter of months, but they were really too bad to live with IMO.

I'm sure the revised type are better, but I really struggle with going down that same route again.. plus I'd ideally like the car at somewhere around 30-35mm lower than stock, which I can only really achieve with coils, hence considering the Street Comforts and B16s.

:|

I have the H&R cup kit on my vRS, very happy with it, car feels a lot more agile than on stock suspension, but its still really comfortable, not sure if this is what your after,

Edited 24 January, 201214 yr by mark_eire

I wasn't too attracted to coilovers given a few back problems that I have but hear that some coilies are quite forgiving. If I were to have a sniff at coilies, it would be the B12s also.

The KW street comfort are specifically designed to give OE or better ride quality according to their blurb. Bilstein do two sorts of coilovers for that would fit the octy, B14 (fixed damping) and B16 (adjustable damping). Its the B16's that I'm interested in, given that I could potentially set them up for the comfort level I wanted to have.

problem is, I don't have any first hand info to base a decision on, hence the thread.

IIRC B12 is a fixed height spring/damper set, not coilovers.

If money was no object I'd go to a Motorsport pro. Let the take all the measurements like centre of gravity so they can input them into their software to see what's recommended. Then get something like nitro custom built dampers.

Might be a little bit more expensive then a set of AP coilovers

If money was no object I'd go to a Motorsport pro. Let the take all the measurements like centre of gravity so they can input them into their software to see what's recommended. Then get something like nitro custom built dampers.

Might be a little bit more expensive then a set of AP coilovers

ok, so maybe i should have been more specific..! I know Chris Harris had some bespoke dampers made for his previous 911, but eight grand IIRC? I bit beyond my financial capability unfortunately. Needs to be off-the-shelf and proven on the octavia.

I know where you're coming from Rob.

Exact same situation as myself in that the car is used for spirited road use - not trackdays (too heavy and fwd.... I await the flack on that one )

every thing out there seems to be over sprung and under damped.

FSD's - i'm not convinced by - just dont feel right to me.

I'm tempted (as and when bits wear out) to do the lightening route at the front end - ie superpro arms, then replace those cast iron wheels (nearly 13kg each!)- then only then get someone who knows what they are doing to revalve some dampers to suite.

Many years ago I went down the route of nitrons with my integrale (last thing you want to do is stiffen up an integrale if it hasnt got a cage)- expensive but very much bespoke! dont know if they still offer the service though? looks as if they do on their website. I think they are near you?

Nitron Racing Systems Ltd

Unit 20, Avenue One

Station Lane

Witney

Oxfordshire

OX28 4XZ

just done a search and they have a mk5 golf based set of coilovers.... very sexy! http://www.nitron.co.uk/Shop/Product/1895/vw-golf-5 - perhaps worth trawling the golf forums?

Hmmnnn... I'll take a look at that - Witney is only about 15 mins from me. Cheers.

Nitrons were the damper of choice for all the elise boys - if its good enough for the lotus crowd..?

Rob, firstly I apologise for not giving you a construction comment (but my post will keep the topic at the top! ). Secondly, will your Weitecs fit a pre-FL? And thirdly when you decide which route you are going down, can I have first dibs on them?

I have the H&R cup kit on my vRS, very happy with it, car feels a lot more agile than on stock suspension, but its still really comfortable, not sure if this is what your after, if I was going for coilovers it would be what was mentioned previously, b12s

Thanks Mark. Whats the H&R kit like on potholes? How does it feel in terms of the ride vs. the stock vRS setup? What sort of lowering do you get with that kit?

Sorry for all the questions! Shame you're not closer as it'd be interesting to get a ride to compare..

Rob, firstly I apologise for not giving you a construction comment (but my post will keep the topic at the top! ). Secondly, will your Weitecs fit a pre-FL? And thirdly when you decide which route you are going down, can I have first dibs on them?

I don't think there's any difference pre-FL to FL so yes they would fit, but this is something i'm looking at for my next car realistically, so 6-9 months time or thereabouts. By the time i get to that I'll probably have done 80k miles on them so they'll be pretty shagged so I doubt they'd be any good to you.

:no:

Fully understand your reluctance with Konis again Rob. What should have happened is that they replace that generation with the current 4090s, rather than have you out-of-pocket to that degree.

Check the Mk5 GTi Forum too, as I'm sure there are some Bilstein owners on there. A fully custom and tweaked setup is clearly going to be superior, but even on something as humdrum (relatively) as the Octy, you'll be looking at £2k+.

Fully understand your reluctance with Konis again Rob. What should have happened is that they replace that generation with the current 4090s, rather than have you out-of-pocket to that degree.

Check the Mk5 GTi Forum too, as I'm sure there are some Bilstein owners on there. A fully custom and tweaked setup is clearly going to be superior, but even on something as humdrum (relatively) as the Octy, you'll be looking at £2k+.

Hmmm, will the mk5 GTi set up fit an Octavia estate? Because these were silly cheap!!

*Think* the rear axle load rating is different for the estate, for the likelihood of heavier loads etc - so the hatch setup wouldn't work.

*Think* the rear axle load rating is different for the estate, for the likelihood of heavier loads etc - so the hatch setup wouldn't work.

:'(

Sold anyway, so not to worry!

I don't think there's any difference pre-FL to FL so yes they would fit, but this is something i'm looking at for my next car realistically, so 6-9 months time or thereabouts. By the time i get to that I'll probably have done 80k miles on them so they'll be pretty shagged so I doubt they'd be any good to you.

:no:

Thanks for your honesty Rob, so I take it you will just be throwing them away then.......

After my experience with FSD's and H&R springs on my last Octy I'm staying standard, I find "updated" suspension to be either too harsh or bouncy.

Thanks Mark. Whats the H&R kit like on potholes? How does it feel in terms of the ride vs. the stock vRS setup? What sort of lowering do you get with that kit?

Sorry for all the questions! Shame you're not closer as it'd be interesting to get a ride to compare..

There is no real noticeable difference in comfort compared to stock, the fact that it's a shock/spring setup, you won't get it as low as coilovers obviously but it lowers around the same as the FSD's but I prefer the ride and comfort with the H&R's

Thanks for your honesty Rob, so I take it you will just be throwing them away then.......

:no:

TBH I'll probably just leave them on the car and wind them up to something like stock ride height when it goes. I sold my OE springs and dampers last year to offset the cost of the weitecs.

Money no object!

Ohlins or BOS....end of.

Experienced both fitted to Evo's and they are without doubt some of if not the best set-ups in the world.

Will cost many many ££££££'s

hi,

i drive a Fabia mk2 monte carlo.

My friend is driving a fabkia mk2 1.6 tdi and he has Vogtland coilovers that are both height and hardness adjustable, the setup on his car is that the car is lowered 50 mm and are on 3 out of 8 on the soft side and the setup is perfect. Not to harsh and not to soft. I had a toyota corolla TS 2007 with FK Highsport and that cant even be compared to my friends fabia. The fabia has a so much smoother ride...

The vogtlands are about 590 GBP + 10 years warranty!

Ive actually bought these coilies my self, but they havent arrived yet (orderd yesterday)

Edited 24 January, 201214 yr by joten

I recommend what I have: B8 dampers with H&R Sport springs, lowering 35mm. Jars a bit over ruts or holes at low speed. Fine over same at higher speed. Fantastic on open windy roads. So much more control. I avoided the B12 pro kit springs having read often that they're too soft. I wouldn't change what I've done.

Thanks for the responses guys. Keep them coming.

sdmegawuk - Ohlins was mentioned the other day on the forum too, but i could only see one reference to the mk5 GTI on the ohlins site, plus these are damper only so you'd need to add some appropriate springs? I'm don't really want to be the first to try these out/experiment on an octavia TBH.

joten - vogtland do appear to be good vfm - it would be great if there was someone who'd had these on an octy who could comment on the ride quality? Judging purely on price i'd guess they're going to be pretty similar to my existing weitecs - i'm not unhappy with my current setup up, it does a good job at the price, but the reason for this thread it to explore if the top end stuff really is worth the extra?

mafuta - thanks for the info on the B8/HR. "jars a bit at low speed but fine as you speed up" sounds very similar to my weitecs.

:S

As rob and probably most other regular contributors know I went down the Weitec route with my Octy around 10 months ago, AND I am also running 19" rims with 35-series tyres.

Maybe I am just used to it, but I don't find I have any issues with comfort or road-holding, my boss had a back operation last summer and I had to give him a lift into work one morning not long afterwards, I warned him before I picked him up that he may find the rise slightly harsh (and he's a bit of a grump generally) but he said it was absolutely fine when we arrived at work.

I know you say you are happy with your setup rob apart from over broken tarmac but is that such a regular occurence? If your local authority is anything like the ones up here then I know they aren't perfect, but are your regularly-travelled roads REALLY that bad?

I have only done approx. 7K miles since I got my weitecs on though, perhaps they deteriorate a bit (I suppose all suspension does) once they've had 20K+ mileage on them.