After 14 years sterling service I have sold my Xantia Estate and bought an Octavia.

I now find that the towing mirrors that I used on the Xantia do not fit the Octavia.

I am looking at buying some Milenco Aero mirrors but cannot decide whether to go for the ones that screw onto the top of the mirror housing or those that fit with rubber bands. Has anybody got any experience as to stability and security of each method of mounting and whether the screw attachments mark the painted mirror housings?

I am also concerned ,after reading forum posts, about how low the back end might sit when towing the caravan (1992 ABI Jubilee Emperor) as the Xantia's self levelling suspension took care of that previously. I should be able to get the nose weight down below 75kg and there will only be myself and my wife in the car plus some bits in the boot (incuding the car's full size spare wheel) so am I worrying unduly?

Of those members who have fitted spring assistors to the rear, both doughnut and auxiliary spring type, how did you find they worked?

I know how to fit the doughnut type however I cannot find any instructions on how to fit the MAD Auxiliary springs. Does anybody have any instructions that they can email me?

Thanks in advance

Richard

There is a lot of talk on here regarding spring assistors , for me the only way to go is with the MAD system ,this involves removal of the rear spring by lowering the bottom arm remove one bolt and the arm swings down ,as to mirrors i use the Milenco type that screw on the top of the mirrors its a good positive way of fixing them and cuts down on vibration and the rubber feet don't mark the paint .

I use the Milenco mirrors which screw on and they are spot on, No vibrations at all and better than the banded ones as they have more adjustments

, As for spring assistors we tow a 2011 swift charisma 560 and we use the Grayston spring assistors which fit between the coils on the spring. The problem ive found with the other assistors like the mad system which we have also seen fitted is that when travellng solo the rear of the car seems raised. With the Grayston assisters our car still sits normal solo and really helps when towing

Hi Liger1956

Go for the Milenco Aero mirrors, they screw down and hold on well to the door mirror and they are very secure. Do not think you will need spring assistors, it does handle well, and I have 75kg noseweight on.

I have just changed to a Skoda from a Citroen C5 and before that two Xantias.

We used to use the stick on mirrors - easy to fit and adjust with convex nearside..

Tried the strap on ones without much success.

Our new van is a little wider than our old one so bought the areo ones. Easy to fit, but still experimenting with getting the rear view just right.

Thank for all the replies. They are very useful 'real world' experiences.

I will go for the 'screw fit' Milenco Aeros with a flat mirror.

On the subject of spring assistors I have done some rough and ready calculations based on the Octavias wheelbase and distance of towball, and rear seat from rear wheel centre line. These calculations are all based on static loads.

A load of 75 kg on the towball results in an extra load of 110 kg at the rear axle (and 35 kg less at the front axle). The extra load on the rear axle also equates to the same as 2 rear seat passengers weighing 68 kg (10.75 stone) which would also increase the load on the front axle by 26 kg.

What this means is that 2 x 13 stone passengers would give the same extra load on the rear axle as a 75 kg nose weight caravan plus 20 kg (3 stone) of stuff in the boot.

AS there will only be myself and my wife in the car I will try the outfit without any extra spring assistors to start with. If it does need them then I was thinking of fitting doughnut type ones only when going on holiday with the caravan. I understand that they are fairly easy to fit but can be difficult to remove.

Regards

Richard

Thank for all the replies. They are very useful 'real world' experiences.

I will go for the 'screw fit' Milenco Aeros with a flat mirror.

On the subject of spring assistors I have done some rough and ready calculations based on the Octavias wheelbase and distance of towball, and rear seat from rear wheel centre line. These calculations are all based on static loads.

A load of 75 kg on the towball results in an extra load of 110 kg at the rear axle (and 35 kg less at the front axle). The extra load on the rear axle also equates to the same as 2 rear seat passengers weighing 68 kg (10.75 stone) which would also increase the load on the front axle by 26 kg.

What this means is that 2 x 13 stone passengers would give the same extra load on the rear axle as a 75 kg nose weight caravan plus 20 kg (3 stone) of stuff in the boot.

AS there will only be myself and my wife in the car I will try the outfit without any extra spring assistors to start with. If it does need them then I was thinking of fitting doughnut type ones only when going on holiday with the caravan. I understand that they are fairly easy to fit but can be difficult to remove.

Regards

Richard

I may be wrong, but do the estates have heavy duty shockers anyway?

Only going on holiday with the caravan? what about lots of weekends away and do not forget winter caravanning (that's why I got the 4x4, muddy rally fields), enjoy your investment.

Good calculations by the way, will keep them in mind for myself, you do get so use to the Citroens suspension, however I have to admit the Octavia is a better towcar.

Problem...

Solution...

Plus, (just in case), Goodyear Efficient Grip 205/60 R15 95H XL tyres on the rear.

Edited 23 April, 201214 yr by Rab-k

That illustrates the extra load placed on the rear suspension by towball mounted bike carriers.

The moment arm is a lot more than a caravan where the weight is directly on the towball hence the extra load on the rear axle is greater for the same downward force and the front axle is unloaded more.

I do not know whether these bike mounts place any more stress on the towball neck and I assume that the manufacturers have taken that into account.

Do you have a picture of the same setup when the spring assistors have been fitted?

Richard

Unfortunately not.

I couldn't replicate it easily either; the roof box has been replaced with a narrower Thule Pacific 600 series, and the small bike #4 has been replaced with a larger/heavier model; one bike now has to go on the roof as the 4 bikes plus the Thule G5 909 carrier (incl. #9081 4th bike adapter) combined exceeds the 75kg nose weight limit for the car. (The Westfalia detachable towbar's limit is 100kg however).

Although I've noted that under similar loads the rear doesn't drop anywhere near as much as it did, the next time it's loaded up in roughly the same configuration I'll take a pic and post back here.

Yesterday I went and bought a pair of Milenco Aero towing mirrors as suggested.

I was surprised to discover that whilst the 'screw clamp' part has a ribbed rubber covering it the underside part (foot) that fits next to the mirror glass appears to be just hard plastic.

I am worried that this might damage the mirror housing paintwork or slip off at speed.

Has anybody had any problems and is it worth using some very thin rubber/grippy plastic stuff between the foot and the morroe housing to increase grip and protect the paintwork?

Richard

Yesterday I went and bought a pair of Milenco Aero towing mirrors as suggested.

I was surprised to discover that whilst the 'screw clamp' part has a ribbed rubber covering it the underside part (foot) that fits next to the mirror glass appears to be just hard plastic.

I am worried that this might damage the mirror housing paintwork or slip off at speed.

Has anybody had any problems and is it worth using some very thin rubber/grippy plastic stuff between the foot and the morroe housing to increase grip and protect the paintwork?

Richard

Have never had a problem, when on my Citroen and cannot foresee any problem with the Octavia mirrors. They do clamp very firm and they have never slipped even at 60mph into a very strong headwind.

Am considering getting a set of the Grayston rubber spring assisters as I'm off on a trip out with the caravan from Dorset to Cambridgeshire for a wedding. Not only will I have the caravan in tow but my partner in the passenger seat and 18 gallons of beer with over 100 bottles of cider in the back, quite a load for the car to cope with. May try to hide most of the cider bottles in the rear foot well to reduce the load on the rear axle and put some on the front. Don't want to have to stop at a public weighbridge or get pulled over by plod.

I use the Milenco aero and have had noproblems at all re marking the mirror housing. I have also fitted a pair of grayson doughnuts BUT... I have on the advice of 'sherlocks VRS' i have fitted the size below the recommended size. This has the effect of the doughnuts not firming up the rear springs when riding solo but giving good support when towing, and it works really well. The only thing i needed to do was, I drilled 4 5mm holes equidistant arong the doughnuts half way between the top and bottom. I then cable tied them to the coil below i.e on which the doughnut sat. It works perfectly and leaves the suspension as normal when not towing.

ray

Thanks for the feedback.

If it ever stops raining I will trial fit them and go for a run without the caravan.

Ray - I had not thought of fitting doughnuts a size too small but it sounds logical. I had thought of only fitting them when towing the caravan.

What size did you buy?

Richard

I bought the Graystone GE14 and fitted to my car a few weeks ago. I've noticed the rear is slightly firmer but IMO they don't warrant removing and only fitting when towing.

They were very easy to fit (about 30mins for both). I've not done any towing since fitting but I helped my brother & his girlfriend move house yesterday and I was very impressed with how level the car sat when fully loaded

I fitted spring assisters on my fiat Marea 130 estate and they were needed, after it was written off I found my new to me Octy hatch just did not need them. I tend to load pretty much to legal limits and evenly loaded and nose weight set to the 75kg max my train was true and level and a dream to tow and so it was for the five years we had the Octy. Just swapped it for a Superb, different ball game now. Re mirrors I had the strap ons for years and was happy enough but changed to the Milenco Aero 2 when I got the Superb last month after reading comparison reviews in the Club magazine. It does not mark the paintwork but I have still protection using four tiny squares of plastic material that came with it. Less than £40 pair inc p&p with bag new on eBay

I would try without assisters first, load using the rear passenger footwells as well and see how you go on.

Cheers Rob.

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I was about to order some Mad assister's as the garage were going to fit them while they are doing another job on my car. Thought I'd better check with the insurance company (Tesco) first - they want a 25% hike on my premium!

Anyone else had an increase? Or if insurance company didn't want an increase who are you with?

I emailed Aviva about MAD springs. I have confirmation that this will not alter my premium all I need to do is notify them if I actually get the work done.

I was with Tesco insurance but Aviva were cheaper and so far their customer service has been good.

Would the MAD ones be good for my vrs estate I have three dogs in the boot regularly and itsits the rear end right down as they weigh over 100 kgs. Also do you just leave them in when there not required and use car as normal