So I've had my vRS for almost 2 years now and I'm thinking it's time for a change. It's almost totally standard as in general I am not a fan of modified cars.

 

All I have done is replaced the worn standard suspension with brand new (OEM/motor factor mix at vast cost!) standard stuff and put in a full set of superpro bushes. Despite that, it is still one of the most uninspiring handling cars I've owned. It's soft, bouncy and just understeers. My other car is a family orientated, 5 door EP3 Civic Type S and I love driving that as the suspension is firm and the grip levels are phenomenal. It's got horrible light steering compared to the Octy, but it's more fun to drive on the twisty bits.

 

Performance wise, 1st and 2nd gear feel OK in the Octy, but in everyday driving, modern diesels can be a problem! And they are doing twice the MPG.

 

I've been looking at alternatives, something that's fun and puts a smile on my face each time I drive it. Honda Civic Type R, Leon Cupra R, Megane 225, all those cars with decent performance for under 5 grand.

 

My question is, can the Octy be made into an involving drivers car with decent performance whilst maintaining the 100% reliability I expect from my daily driver? And yes, I'm aware that I've used the term reliability and Renault in the same post I know I'd have to modify it and that brings a whole heap of hassle insurance wise for me, but how much different can this car really be with a set of coil-overs, an ARB upgrade and a stage 1 re-map? It needs to be like a new car really. To buy say a decent LCR is going to set me back a couple of grand over the vRS, despite mine being a very tidy 75k miler, but can it ever be as good without being a modified, temperamental, filling shaking beast? Can I ever pull up along side the LCR in the Octy, know that I can at least stay close away from the lights, have a chance of not understeering into the scenery at the first roundabout, but then travel on with total reliability and in relative comfort, with the rest of the family and massive boot full of luggage?

 

And please don't think I'm bashing the vRS for nothing, I genuinely want to love the thing but driving is one of my pleasures in live, so it needs to delight! Any advice or personal thoughts are welcomed!

 

Cheers,

 

Nathan.

Have a stage1 remap (£150) and £900 for a LPG conversion. Keep the car (they seem very reliable) instead of pouring loads of money into a new car (which will only depreciate anyway)

Stage 1 map (not a cheapo £150 job) from a reputable tuner, Coilovers or a decent set of shocks & springs and arbs will transform the car no end. Will also get better mpg than any of the above you've mentioned.

Cheers guys,

 

The remap does look as though it will sort out the straight line issue, but I don't feel like the chassis can handle the standard BHP and torque, let alone an increase.

 

MPG wise it's not that bad actually. On mainly commuting type driving I'm getting 300+ miles to a tank (less at this time of year) but I just want more fun! Financially it makes sense to keep the car as I paid top dollar for it, due to the condition and (then) low miles.

 

And is it really that different after those mods? Before I put the superpro's in I read up and heard that the car would be transformed. Maybe that's in conjunction with the above mods, but on a standard car it's sharpened the steering feel, but that's all. Oh and made the wheel shake at idle, thanks dog bone!

 

Nathan.

Like night and day. The arb is the probably one of the best handling mods you can do on the vrs. Combine that with some decent suspension and you'll be surprised at how well it handles.

What are we looking at then?

 

Suspension ~£500?

ARB's ~£300? front and rear? Or more?

Remap ~£300 for Shark or similar?

 

Plus a set of fast road pads I'm guessing? And the loaded premium for insurance.

I ran weitec hicon gt's but the higher priced kw's are meant to be good.

Some ins companies won't differ to much. Mine goes on Bhp, I can run upto 300bhp and any other mods won't affect the premium asking as I stay under that power.

The arbs seem to be 28 rear 23/25 front.

Some others will know better, search through the site sponsors for good deals.

dpm performance

Shark performance

W8 performance

Cn tuning

I think they all offer some sort of discount for freedom members

When I sold my last vRS I instantly regretted it, having driven a lot of civic type R's new, old and imports I couldn't live with one as a daily driver. I wouldn't have a French car as reliability is so hit and miss. LCR is good but very similar to the octy and in my opinion less practical. For reliability and practicality the only thing IMO that comes close would be an Accord Type-R. Just my 2 cents

Buy the sounds of it you love the car but it just needs bringing up to speed compared to the newer and faster models that are around today. Back in the day the vrs was one of the top dogs but performance of cars has moved on alot if you think about it over the last few years, I mean who would of thought a vauxhall astra would be kicking out 270bhp as standard a few years ago but thats the beauty of being able to modify a car to close these performance gaps abit

Yeah, I do love the thing. If anything it's the handling that's so disappointing. After nearly £600 on new suspension, admittedly standard suspension, and superpro bushes I was genuinely expecting a car that didn't rock and roll more than Elvis!

 

I'm almost convinced that the springs I put on are not actually vRS ones, despite the garage saying they were. The front struts are from Skoda so I know they were right. It's a ship :( If I remapped it now I'd be looking at the sky every time I hit the throttle and filing the bumper away when I hit the brakes.

I'm not really in a postion to comment on such things as I own a fabia but I'm sure coilovers would sort out alot of your woes with the car, I've just put some ap coilovers on the fabia and it feels alot better, got rid of alot of the roll it had before and seems to grip alot better around the corners and thats with a big heavy diesel lump up front

When I sold my last vRS I instantly regretted it, having driven a lot of civic type R's new, old and imports I couldn't live with one as a daily driver. I wouldn't have a French car as reliability is so hit and miss. LCR is good but very similar to the octy and in my opinion less practical. For reliability and practicality the only thing IMO that comes close would be an Accord Type-R. Just my 2 cents

The only type r i'd have is the atr!

My brothers used to leave my stage 1 vrs for dead.

Best bet is to read through some of the project threads to see what people are running these days. I've not had my mk1 for a while (mk2 vrs now) so I'm going on what was good back then.

Look through the sales pages as bargains do come up, keeps costs down etc

Sell it and buy my type R no light steering on type r btw

If you have a spare 30 mins check out my build thread to see what can be done using all the best parts.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/253213-group1rss-black-magic-2002-octy-vrs/

 

 

 

All I have done is replaced the worn standard suspension with brand new (OEM/motor factor mix at vast cost!) standard stuff

 

 

Here is a potential issue straight away. As yet, I have not found a single motor factor (and that includes ALL of the big names) that can provide either correct front shocks, or correct front or rear springs for the vRS. So I'm wondering what exactly it is you have fitted to your car.

 

It could well be very wrong, unless you've gone for typical upgrades (Bilstein, Koni, H&R...)

 

Unless the motor factor is TPS, I have a feeling this could be part of the problem.

Edited 30 December, 201312 yr by demonufo

Also, a rear ARB alone will transform the car. Upgrade both and it will make a vast difference to how you feel about the handling.

Here is a potential issue straight away. As yet, I have not found a single motor factor (and that includes ALL of the big names) that can provide either correct front shocks, or correct front or rear springs for the vRS. So I'm wondering what exactly it is you have fitted to your car.

 

It could well be very wrong, unless you've gone for typical upgrades (Bilstein, Koni, H&R...)

 

Unless the motor factor is TPS, I have a feeling this could be part of the problem.

I did wonder about this to be honest. But the front shocks are direct from D M Keith so at least they are right. And the ride height looks like the rest of the standard ones on here I've seen.

 

But it has crossed my mind that they might be wrong. I had the boxes for the springs knocking about somewhere and they did state 1.8 RS on them as below pulled from the lesjofores site.

 

RS 1.8 T Hatchback 1U2 2001/05  180 HP (132kW) 4 Petrol Front wheel drive

 

Rear shocks could be wrong though as the back is soooooft. 

I wouldn't go throwing cheap coilovers at it to improve the handling, particularly if standards are new and correct.

Stage 2 remap with supporting hardware (downpipe, intercooler etc.) front and back anti roll bars, a diff, 4 good tyres, and upgraded pads. If everything else is good and considering less lag etc. That should walk all over a standard LCR.

At the end of the day, best thing you can do is try get a drive in somebody else's modified vrs to help you decide. I don't regret it as such but only thing I'd do different is go for a diff before coilovers

Edited 30 December, 201312 yr by michael1

I did wonder about this to be honest. But the front shocks are direct from D M Keith so at least they are right. And the ride height looks like the rest of the standard ones on here I've seen.

 

But it has crossed my mind that they might be wrong. I had the boxes for the springs knocking about somewhere and they did state 1.8 RS on them as below pulled from the lesjofores site.

 

RS 1.8 T Hatchback 1U2 2001/05  180 HP (132kW) 4 Petrol Front wheel drive

 

Rear shocks could be wrong though as the back is soooooft. 

 

 

There are many that state that they are for the RS's, but when you put them both side by side there is a clear difference. I honestly suspect you have the wrong springs on your car.

 

Even if it is just the rears that are wrong and the back end is softer than it should be, this will greatly upset the handling, as the loading characteristics will shift, effectively reducing weight on the front.

Edited 30 December, 201312 yr by demonufo

Different rate, height or both? 

 

Other than buying new ones from Skoda there will be no way of telling will there? I guess it's stick with what I have unless I decide to keep it an stick some aftermarket shocks/springs or coilovers on it.

Spring length is the usual problem. But rate will likely vary with it.

I didn't measure the ones that came off against the ones that went on :( The old ones had the right spots on them though and the car does seem the same ride height as before. But it makes sense why it's so appallingly soft if the rate it wrong.

stick coilovers onit

 

get it mapped but for the best power gains you will need the supporting mods

 

for example:

induction kit

intercooler

exhaust

decat/downpipe

n249 bypass

silicone hoses

uprated d.v

ect ect

 

also I would think about uprated clutch and solid flywheel you will be shocked at the difference

 

oh and for remaps you should go for somthink like revo, jabba sport, r-tech ect and go for a live map aka a custom code remap as it will be set for your car and can be changed and set to future mods ect unlike your standard stage1 remaps

mines stg 1 at mo and flys well did the breather pipe split lol getting fixed soon