Hi Guys, thought I ought to knock up a bit of a project thread

Recently picked up this Octavia after owning Passats for a while.

Bit of a long shot I know but would anyone happen to know if it had been on here previous? After cleaning it I think the chrome grille surround had been plasti dipped black at some point in the past.

As with every car I didn't have many plans for it but I'd just be kidding myself.

 

Anyhow this was the first time I went to have a look before buying it.

 

When it first met my old Passat which is back in a more standard form.

 

One of the first things I did was to stick my old HID kit in and change the coding as per the guide on here for a "non-canbus" kit. Rubbish pics to show unfortunately, are there bulbs available that are upside down as such because I get the shadows down the middle of the beam?

 

I got some tailored rubber mats, bit boring I know but I like to keep the interior in good nick.

 

Next up was something I intended to do in a more distant future, but at the price it came up at I decided to take a punt. It was an air suspension set up, the reason it was a bit of a punt was that the kit was originally for a Passat B6. Plus although I'm not afraid of working on cars (was a mechanic in the past) I'd never been anywhere near an air suspension setup. So heres the obligatory pic of a box of bits.

 

And one with the wiring just testing it and working out what goes where and why.

 

Decided I'd want new pipework and connectors at least and started to run the piping in.

 

Eventually after a weekend at it and then spacing the front 16mm and rear 20mm I ended up with this, I didnt want to space them so much but it was all I had for now.

 

Still got some bits to tidy up and interior to put back in but the main thing was getting it working well and leak free. Eventually I have a set of wheels I plan to run which I still have from my previous car which I'll grab pics when I get them on.

 

Hope you arent too bored after all that

 

 

 

 

 

I like this already.

I wasn't a fan of air but I think in the long run it'll be more user friendly than static on Coilovers so who knows.

Look forward to the updates

I think it looked better at the original ride height.  Looks more right with wheels and arches concentric.  But then I'm a boring old fart.

 

Otherwise a great looking car.

I don't really plan to drop it all the time. I only wanted air this time round as I usually have my cars pretty low on coilovers but wanted the practicality and have messed up enough arches in the past. As a quick example this was the last Passat in its prime lol

But yeah otherwise its just going to be the boring story of air and wheels mainly. Maybe a head unit upgrade in future. I have got the new style badges to go on and some ally trims to come too for the interior (pedal rest and seat inserts)

Great start and air is definitely more practical and will save chassis and bodywork damage,look forward to seeing how this project progresses

This should be fun. Whats the height like when moving?  

 

Will air give you better or worse handling as apposed to springs/coils?

It's weird because the higher it is the firmer it is with the bag being stiffer with more pressure in. So at a standard sort of height it's noticeably firmer. But as you go lower it's more comfortable but probably not great handling wise, I don't tend to press on in the corners having being in the Passats before anyway, so I was never really going to do it from a performance point of view. But overall I'm quite happy with it, I just keep expecting a leak or something leaving me stuck pretty bad but that's probably just the pessimist in me.

I've just received a pair of 3mm spacers which should be just enough for me to run the other wheels I have but I'll keep you hanging on for those ;-)

I do still quite fancy air tbh, the fact I can't even attempt speed humps static now.

The price puts me off though.

Sort of height do you have it sat at for daily use?

I was thinking about air, but I really do like the handling of my coils so for me personally I will stick with coils but I do like the look of your car on the air set up. 

SNH I wouldn't have even considered it for quite a while but the kit I got was second hand at £450, I've spent about a further 50ish on some new bits like the lines and connectors and water trap so it owes me 500 currently, and helped me to learn a bit in the process for the price of some half decent coilies.

As for driving height I've been at a pretty standard looking height but I have only had it on since Sunday. Plus I don't currently have the gauges up in the front anywhere so don't have anything to monitor bag pressure other than how it feels, once I know where I stand with it I'll probably look to run with barely any arch gap but practical enough not to catch anywhere.

The main reason for wanting air is because we moved house back in October, and a route that knocks some massive time off my work journey involves a stretch of speed bumps. I ended up raising the Passat I had for that reason, and was immediately gutted at the ride height I had to leave it at to clear said bumps.

Overall though I'm really chuffed with the Octy, I miss my RS6 half leather Recaros (not as cold in winter compared to the full leather in this) but otherwise the other refinements more than make up for it.

Welcome to the Forum Remember me?

That's a bargain!

I can see why it swayed you then, I have to choose routes carefully now as speed humps are a no go. I think air is the way forward tbh.

The passat does look well though

I'll keep my eye on this for future updates

Hi Zeb lol, I do remember yes. So I'm not alone being an Octavia convert!

SNH yeah in my case for definite, for handling I reckon coils are the winner but I tend not to chuck the bigger cars about (I have the Mrs' Polo for that :-D )

I'm not sure the updates will be anything too special from now on but I'll keep it posted, I like reading some of my old threads from start to finish to remind me how much I actually put in to some cars and I reckon this will be no different eventually.

Lol haha...That's right your not the only one Liking what you did to your Air rided Octy, still got the Passat? 

I still have it at the moment but only until I get my number plate transferred, then my Mum is having it... how cool is she! Lol

So I've chucked a few more bits at it. Needs a good clean but the weather couldn't make its mind up and I've got decorating to do or our lass will be castrating me.

Wheels are 18x9 and 5x114.3 et45 but with 3mm front spacers and 5mm rear spacers. They're a slightly different red but I had the wheels before I even considered getting the car so its not too bad

Do you have any side pics of the car? What make are the wheels? 

Looks good that

Haven't got any yet Zeb. They're BBS and are stamped as RS789 on them. I bought them from Rowan on UKP who got them from LucasG60 so they've been around a while.

Just gave the car a wash as I won't get a chance at the weekend. Still need a side on shot for Zeb. The suspension comes in useful when doing the roof as I can nearly reach right over. Handy for when the polish came out too

How to spend a Friday evening

Just need to get a coat of wax on, I'm hoping to get up early enough to do it as I need to be out by half 8 in the morning :(

Edited 4 April, 201412 yr by 88rsr

Looking good pal

surprised i missed this mental looks wicked :love:

Managed to get it waxed. Seems to have scrubbed up alright

As someone asked before this is the height I can drive it without any issues really.

These are just showing the paint off really

Red looks so good when clean. That's looking flipping nice