the sports suspension option for the octy 3 is relatively cheap, £150 - is it worth having?

 

any feedback from those who already have it would be useful.

 

also I noticed that all bluemotion golfs have "lowered suspension by 15mm", therefore would having a lower octy improve fuel economy?

A lowered car has a lower drag coefficient (the drag is mainly influenced by the shape of the car and the frontal area, as the air's density is almost the same anywhere in the world). So having a lower car gives you a smaller frontal area, which makes the car need less power to travel through the air -> better fuel economy.

 

That's why all sports cars are so low, but they do it to get to higher speeds, not to save fuel.

good explanation and theory, but actually not totally correct.

 

A frontal area is not reduced it may only be say 10mm nearer the ground.

The Frontal Area is identical.

(often the quoted figure will be 20mm lower, but look at the roof height and it may be 8mm lower on some VAG cars.

 

Lower suspension on Sports cars may give better handling, grip, traction cornering.

Well better grip and traction uses more fuel.

It should, but does not automatically equal faster when giving higher down forces, so maybe requires more power, or fuel or just equals it out and the same fuel is used when all things are taken into the equation.

even if it is cutting through the air more efficiently..

 

So Greenlines etc get ECO (rubbish tyres often.), maybe narrower, or the same width but less good grip.  Less Traction, Grip/Friction, improved fuel economy by poorer traction.

Then streamline under a 'Economic car' with Panels, less friction with air, which again is less traction,

Lower Clearance Height Quoted, but that is because there is something nearer to the ground where the manufacturer measures it.

(so if something that hangs lower makes it slicker, it also increases frontal area.)

A spoiler or Splitter may Increase Frontal area, not reduce it, give downward forces to improve sportyness,

but that may not improve economy or performance efficiency.

 

That is why you might see a Quoted Lower Clearance of 15mm but the roof n

height is only 5mm lower on some Green Models.

Then different Total Diameter Tyres, will be responsible for a MM or 2.

 

Nothing is always as first looks with VAG and terms like 'Sport', if it just means 'Harder', or 'Stiffer'

it might and will normally be an ikle lower..

& if Green or Economic means less Traction & Tyres that last shorter times and costs you more money.

 

george

the sports suspension option for the octy 3 is relatively cheap, £150 - is it worth having?

 

any feedback from those who already have it would be useful.

 

also I noticed that all bluemotion golfs have "lowered suspension by 15mm", therefore would having a lower octy improve fuel economy?

Yes it should improve it but Id suggest it would be marginal. Its the other things on eco cars that make more difference ie eco low rolling resistance tyres (horrible things imo) and tweaked aerodynamics ie front grills/vents closed off, smoothed undertrays and spoilers.

 

I think what youre getting for £150 is a set of Eibach springs (unless anyone knows otherwise?) and Ive always seen good results with them.

It does reduce the frontal area by covering the wheels more, which is why as Yeti_Man say, the reduction is going to be minimal. And so any performance gains (actual performance and/or fuel efficiency will be very difficult to measure in real life).

 

What I would suggest is going for the rather cheap under body protection (just some plastic paneling). This should help streamline the airflow under the car and will provide a bigger impact to efficiency. I don't understand why in this day an age, cars don't come with a complete flat underside, as this will improve the drag coefficient in the cheapest and easiest way. Just put a full size plastic panel attached with screws, that can be taken down in 2 minutes for servicing.

the sports suspension option for the octy 3 is relatively cheap, £150 - is it worth having?

 

any feedback from those who already have it would be useful.

 

also I noticed that all bluemotion golfs have "lowered suspension by 15mm", therefore would having a lower octy improve fuel economy?

 

As for comfort and handling: I testdrove a 1.4 TSI DSG estate the other day fitted with sport suspension and 18 " wheels. It was a dream to drive, even on worn down tarmac. The noise level was low and the ride comfort was excellent. I wouldn't have thought the car had this setup unless I allready knew it. It is lightyears ahead of the Octy II with similar setup, and I'm happy I opted for it on the car that we have on order It looks great too!

Edited 10 July, 201312 yr by Capo79

I have the sports suspension on my octavia 3 with 18 inch wheels. I ordered it blind as there was nothing to compare it to at the time. The dealers were a bit sceptical that i dealt with and did not want to comment on ride or height of car.

I went with it and have no regrets. The ride is fine and make the car look "normal" as the non sports suspension setup always looks a bit to high on the ride height to me. 

I had a Golf GT VII that came with Sport suspension - had to send it back as the ride was terrible, to the point where it aggravated an old back injury, and my wife said she needed to wear a sports bra to get in the car.

 

however, it was _so_ bad I think something was wrong with it. When I realised I had a cooling off period to cancel the deal, I did, Bought an Octy III with standard suspension and never looked back! (well, since yesterday)

Hello everyone!

 

I have now enjoyed the company of new octy 2.0TDI with sport suspension and 18" golus for 1500km, and I am really half-regreting my choice. The car looks great, and I hate the way it looks with normal suspension, but i am suffering the consequences as the ride is in my opinion really bad on rough(er) surfaces.

I feel every smallest bump, but what especially bugs me is going over rumble strips or road gaps that strech over the whole width of the lane, these i feel through my spine, and the rear axel is much louder than the front one when crossing over them.

The ride is great only on highways, but generally is much worse than my old mk2 with sport suspension an 17" pegasus.

So mixed feelings here, even talked to my friend, licenced skoda mechanic, about what can be done to remedy this, but he said that i am looking at about 1000 pounds of expenses....so I better get used to it.

 

Offtopic...dont know if anybody noticed, but you can hear the fuel wallowing inside the tank when you fill up to full...also not cool

Edited 26 July, 201312 yr by neuroteek

That's strange. I went on a test drive with a Mk2 FL RS with 18" wheels and found it comparable if not better comfort wise than my Leon on 16" wheels (which doesn't say much about my Leon's suspension  ).

Hello everyone!

 

I have now enjoyed the company of new octy 2.0TDI with sport suspension and 18" golus for 1500km, and I am really half-regreting my choice. The car looks great, and I hate the way it looks with normal suspension, but i am suffering the consequences as the ride is in my opinion really bad on rough(er) surfaces.

I feel every smallest bump, but what especially bugs me is going over rumble strips or road gaps that strech over the whole width of the lane, these i feel through my spine, and the rear axel is much louder than the front one when crossing over them.

The ride is great only on highways, but generally is much worse than my old mk2 with sport suspension an 17" pegasus.

So mixed feelings here, even talked to my friend, licenced skoda mechanic, about what can be done to remedy this, but he said that i am looking at about 1000 pounds of expenses....so I better get used to it.

 

Offtopic...dont know if anybody noticed, but you can hear the fuel wallowing inside the tank when you fill up to full...also not cool

Thats quite surprising given most of the positive views on the comfort with the combination you mentioned. I thought (from another post on here) that the sports suspension option consisted of a set of Eibach sports lowering springs. If that is correct why is there a cost of £1000 in simply replacing these springs with the standard ones?

Because that licensed skoda mechanic has to make a living right? Go to Spain/Greece/somewhere-else-where-it's-sunny for vacation with the family etc.

Sports suspension makes the car look better, just where it's worth having it

I have a 2.0 TDI Elegance on 18" Golus with sports suspension.

 

Compared to the standard setup of 17" alloys with normal suspension there is a little bit of difference in the ride.

 

Straight line, good road is near identical, no extra road noise from the 18's an no extra harshness from the suspension.

 

Rough/pitted roads weren't nice in the standard setup but are maybe only 10% worse with the 18's and sports suspension.

 

Cornering isn't an Octavia's strong point, standard setup is very neutral - there is no feedback as to what the front end is doing and you have no real confidence to push hard (not the sort of car you would do that in anyway).  My previous car was a Mondeo ST and that handled like it was on rails - best handling car I've ever had.

 

Cornering with the sports and 18" is marginally better, still no feedback from the steering but it feels maybe 20% 'better'

 

In conclusion - no real detriment to ride quality, little bit better in corners but visually the car looks much better.

the sports suspension option for the octy 3 is relatively cheap, £150 - is it worth having?

 

any feedback from those who already have it would be useful.

 

also I noticed that all bluemotion golfs have "lowered suspension by 15mm", therefore would having a lower octy improve fuel economy?

I have it, and for £150 the car looks and handles better, so definitely worth it

 

Not sure if its the same as the VRS suspension but the drop is the same- 15mm

I feel like i just dropped in to the Senior section, of this forum.  You guys have it all wrong. Im having 8,5x19" wheels for mine with 225/35-19 tires. an 45mm lower suspension. The car is way to high from standart it looks like a 4wd and that a shame. with a lowering and some bigger wheels it looks so much better and the handling is superb.

 

Not sure if its the same as the VRS suspension but the drop is the same- 15mm

 

No, its different. As far as I know it uses the standard damper units unlike the VRS but id like confirmation of this if anyone has actually looked at part numbers. Also, don't forget the VRS doesn't have a torsion beam setup..

 

I feel like i just dropped in to the Senior section, of this forum.  You guys have it all wrong. Im having 8,5x19" wheels for mine with 225/35-19 tires. an 45mm lower suspension. The car is way to high from standart it looks like a 4wd and that a shame. with a lowering and some bigger wheels it looks so much better and the handling is superb.

Absolutely no doubt it looks better but I'm not convinced it actually handles any better at all. Having some movement in the suspension can work to the advantage of higher cornering speeds, especially on roads that aren't track smooth.

but does sports suspension has better ride quality than the standard one???

see post #14 above

I saw today an elegance with 17" and to me it looked a bit too high on default suspension...

maybe the best combo would be 17" and sport suspension... I see this as a good compromise..

(17" tyres are also cheaper to buy)

 

what do you think?

Edited 22 August, 201312 yr by martinko

I had the dealer fitted, optional lowering kit on a MK2 vRS Estate, combined with 18" alloys a few years ago.  It looked great but felt really harsh on our poor quality UK roads.  Moving from that to an FL vRS with standard springs and 18" alloys was a revelation! 

I have just ordered Octavia with sport suspension and 18" alloys. We don't have any dealers around to try the car with that option. Hope I get to try one before I set the final order

I have just ordered Octavia with sport suspension and 18" alloys. We don't have any dealers around to try the car with that option. Hope I get to try one before I set the final order

I have the same setup, and as you can read in few posts above, I find the ride very firm. Yesterday i drove the same course with my old mk2 with sport suspension and 17" Pegasus and the comfort level of the old one is much higher. I drove over a very poor road surface, full of holes and repairs. I believe that torsion beam is also to blame for the ride quality difference. When the rear axel goes over the bumps that stretch across the road you feel the hit through the spine, it is like the torsion beam cant react in a way to soak up the bump nowhere near as good as mk2 multilink.

I really dont know which part is more responsible, the 18"s or the torsion beam....In the winter i will change to 16"s and than ill know.

I have just ordered Octavia with sport suspension and 18" alloys. We don't have any dealers around to try the car with that option. Hope I get to try one before I set the final order

Møller Bil Grorud if you live around Oslo   They have at least one you can go and test drive.

any pics of your cars, guys with sports suspension?