I'm a bit of a stickler for tinkering, and if I can make it OEM generally I will (unless it's ridiculous money for a piece of plastic *cough*PD160 Intake*cough*)...

After talking with my friendly VW independent (who now says he loves my car!), we got onto the subject of wallowy suspension.

Now take into account that this is a stocker MK1 Octy TDI right now, but has been extremely well looked after mechanically...

...He suggested that coilovers weren't particularly worth the trouble they come with, and that there was plenty of OEM stuff that could be interchangeable that would offer a nice suspension upgrade.

So what I was wondering was - What are peoples opinions on this?

Should I dig out ETKA and start hunting down OEM part numbers, or should I just accept that there's not much in the VAG parts bin that is acceptable to improve the ride and go the coilovers route?

I'd be interested to know too. Maybe Bora Sportline suspension..?

Plenty of bits in parts bin but not alot for the extra weight the octy has hanging over the rear end i think,

Suppose it all comes down to budget and what you want from car

Going by the aftermarket fitments, in theory 2wd Bora stuff should work.

Wouldn't it be better to go for vRS springs and decent aftermarket shocks like Koni or Bilstein? Or H&R springs for more lows if required.

I was under the impression that vRS springs wouldn't be up to it because of weight of the engine over the fronts...?

I have considered Bora stuff and/or Jetta parts bin stuff...

h and r springs koni shocks and eibach bars work for me

As for what I want out of the car... I don't need a track weapon. I've been there, done that... I want something that's not as wallowy and boat-like but still retains comfort.

At the end of the day, most of us drive around twisty roads once in a blue moon and even then at the speeds we're talking about as long as you've got control most uprated (and sometimes stock!) stuff will cope unless you're pushing the limits (and then you really SHOULD be on a track!)

h and r springs then

Just adding a set of massive ARBs to mine has removed a huge amount of wallowy handling. Is now 10 times better and still is on standard comfortable suspension, that would be my first recomendation.

vRS struts have different ARB connections too

I was nearly tempted to pick up an Octy 4x4 i've seen and cannibalise stuff from it... Anyone wanna go halves? Hahaha

I changed the suspension on my 4x4 estate for Golf 4motion estate sport springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. Very pleased with the results even Ben at Shark commented on how well the car now feels on the road.

Is yours a hatchback or estate?

It's a hatchback

Can't believe I could literally go grab a 4x4 hatch for about £400 - if I had a lorry to pick it up i'd blatantly do it just to cannibalise it for parts!

The rear suspension on a 4x4 is different than a fwd Octavia. It won't fit yours.

Yeah I know that - I was thinking bits and bobs like the boot lid, and random pieces of trim that need replacing on mine. It'd kinda pay for itself right there!

Then there'd be other bits and bobs that other people could cannibalise

As for suspension however... I was looking at Bora stuff - the Bora TDI stuff would be probably interchangeable when it comes to springs and loaded weights...

As for ARB's - I did see some uprated ARB's that could be used which would be pretty cool... Plenty of OEM ARB's that could be utilised.

As for dampers... That's where it gets interesting. Lots of opinions on those - there's no point uprating the springs without doing dampers... Any thoughts?

If it was me I would go for Bora TDi sports suspension parts but it will be a lot more expensive to buy them new from a dealer than going aftermarket. I spent over £400 on new parts from a dealer which many would say was foolish. You might find a TDi Bora breaking but would you want second hand suspension parts?

Off topic - why is the time on the above post showing as 00:01, its only 23:06?

If it was me I would go for Bora TDi sports suspension parts but it will be a lot more expensive to buy them new from a dealer than going aftermarket. I spent over £400 on new parts from a dealer which many would say was foolish. You might find a TDi Bora breaking but would you want second hand suspension parts?

I guess that's highly dependent on the car they've come off.

If the car is a low-miler or someone swapped them off for uprated parts early in their lives so they've got them lying around spare... Might be worth picking certain bits up.

vRS struts have different ARB connections too

yep, bora set up will not fit a vrs.. i had to leave my 1 month old Coilovers on my Bora when i bought the vrs.. was gutted i could not swap it over.

yep, bora set up will not fit a vrs.. i had to leave my 1 month old Coilovers on my Bora when i bought the vrs.. was gutted i could not swap it over.

Well that one certainly puts the cat amongst the pigeons...

So the damper/hub setup is different then?

Your car is an Ambiente is it not? I haven't ever heard it mentioned specifically but I would guess that those ones don't have the drop links that mount to the Shock platform like the VRS does. Anyone confirm that?

eibach anti's from tt with the thicker rear rule that abd a good spring /shock set and s3 tr con bushes

"Gee-Man"

I have a set of lowering springs from my old bora, will thay fit on to my std Vrs shocks and mounts??

Marko

Has anyone tried golf gtdi shocks, springs etc. coz surely they are uprated in the fact that its a diesel then uprated again for the gt aspect.