My dilemma of the day to think about while I am working! After my MK2 vRS TFSi's poor cornering performance on Castle Combe at the weekend I have been thinking about suspensions upgrades. Bear in mind 98% of the time my car is used on the road but I do a fair few track days a year and just want it to be less boaty...

Now I have the decision of Coilovers or Matched Progressive Shocks and Springs... Don't really want to compromise ride quality but with coilovers wound up to their maximum setting (so 30mm in this case) would they still give a decent ride quality?

Obviously looking at fitting uprated front and rear anti roll bars as part of this aswell...

Opinions welcomed!

Whats your budget?

Ive tried alot of Mk2 vRS's with varying setups as well as having has AP coilovers and many other mods on my old Octavia vRS which i used to track a fair amount.

For me, the biggest and best improvement in handling comes from the Anti Roll bars. There is literally no negative to them IMO. Ride quality remains unchanged but the body roll is massively reduced as is cornering grip and turn in is a million times better. I personally wouldnt go for coilovers again on any car unless they were top end setups like AST of Bilstein. Everything else ive tried from H&R, KW, AP etc have felt crashy as hell. What I have tried and was blown away with the blend of handing vs comfort is the Bilstein B12 sping/damper setup.

Im almost certainy going to be picking up an Octavia vRS again at some point as its the best all round car ive ever had.

I learnt the hard way last time were i bought modifications, didnt like them, then upgraded to better alternatives many times. This time my handling shopping list will be:

H&R front and rear ARBs.

Vibratechniks lower engine mount.

Audi TT adjustable lower control arms

Superpro front castor bushes.

Bilstein B12 suspension.

Brembo 4 pots with 312mm discs

Stock Alloys wrapped in Michelin Supersport tyres

Sy

Thanks for the reply Sy - really useful information

I think what I am going to do as on a limited budget at the moment is buy the Eibach Pro Springs and Uprated Anti-Roll Bars then see how I go with that on the standard shock absorbers. Then when I come into some money I can buy the Bilstien Dampers to go with the springs.

Am I right in thinking that most of the MK5 Golf tuning suspension components should fit on the MK2 vRS? I believe the Eibach Pro Kit Springs are the same part number. I imagine the Anti-Roll bars may be different due to the Octy being wider?

It's all the same chassis so the ARB's will be the same. It's only the R32 and S3 that vary on the front ARB and springs etc.

Just had a look again and the Eibach Pro Springs and the Uprated Anti-Roll Bars do have different part numbers with Eibach.

I take it the springs will be manufactured at a different rating due to the Octavia being heavier....

I had the Eibach Anti roll bars on mine. I would recommend going for a stiffer setup like the BSH or H&R instead as whilst it was still a huge improvment over stock, the other two ARBs made an even bigger difference IMO.

Bear in mind these ARBs are designed with the Golf GTI in mind. Yes they fit on the Octavia vRS as its essentially identical, but you have to consider the fact that the Octavia is carrying considerably more bulk over the rear axle so a stiffer bar wil be needed to get the same improvment that a lower stiffness bar would achieve on a GTI.

Some very good advice offered above ^

Only things I'd add:

Personally I wouln't bother just doing springs - wait until you can afford to do springs+ dampers together otherwise you'll have 2x fitting and alignment costs.

My H&R monotube coilovers and the previous weitecs were not crashy. Firm damping yes, but not crashy. There ARE suspension kits out there that are crashy though as you say, but not all in my experience.

If you want a setup thats good on the track it won't be good on the road and vice versa. A good road setup will be too soft for the track and a good track setup will be too hard for the road - decide which is your priority and set the car up accordingly - you can't have both IMO.

Rear AntiRoll bar gives more bang for buck - if you can only afford to do one, do the rear. Mine is adjustable so you could in theory have it harder for the track and softer for the road.

FWIW - i'm just about to remove my TT alloy lower control arms so they will be for sale shortly. Also, IIRC j0hn has some bilstein b14 coilovers for sale at the mo? They'd be great for a road car you do track days in IMO.

From Sy's list:

ARB's - my car has autotech rear bar and i'm very happy with it but i don't have anything else to compare to.

engine mounts - never felt the need for this and would be cautious about additional NVH but i know they are popular (and cheap).

TT arms - yep, got these, great mod.

Superpro bushes: i kept the TT bushes - firmer than stock and OE look plus cheaper than superpro. Very happy with them but not tried the superpros.

Bilstein B12 - never tried it but others say its good. Only lowers a vrs about 15mm IIRC? Very happy with my H&R's (my fifth different setup on a mk2 vrs and best I've had).

Brembos - yep, worth it for the weight saving 2.5kg each side iirc.

Pilot supersports - not available with the correct load rating IIRC? Best tyre I've had is goodyear assymetric 2s - can't fault them.

I would definitely NOT keep the stock alloys though - neptune 18"s weigh THIRTEEN AND A HALF KILOGRAMS each! My neuspeeds are 9kg and make a massive difference in the way the car accelerates/brakes/rides. Light wheels are a must-have as far as I'm concerned.

02p etc.