Hi folks,

Right, we'll I've owned my car since new and the only issue I have with it is the ride quality. It's a standard L&K with the 17" wheels etc. Unfortunately as the road surfaces are getting worse I find the ride increasingly annoying, very jary etc. Could it just be the 17's or is it possible that Skoda fitted sports suspension ? Is there an easy/quick check that I can do ? Many thanks

If you have the 17" wheels the chances are that you have the sports suspension since they usually came as a package together.

 

Perhaps if you can post a picture up, the sports suspension is usually pretty obvious as the car sits slightly lower.

My 56 L&K on 17" wheels has sports suspension. At least on the front, the spring paint codes are different to standard.

The ride height is slightly lower - only 10-15mm on mine though.

The first several motor factors swore all non Vrs's had the same suspension. They claimed that was the info on their computer when inputting my VIN. A VAG supplier had the correct info, and springs.

Funnily enough I spotted an L&K exactly the same as mine but a year newer and the rear was quite a bit higher than mine (clearance between top of tyre to arch). I checked my rear springs incase they had broken but they are still intacted.

'Sports Suspension',  is another term, 'lost in Translation' with Skoda.

 

Harder suspension or 20mm lower seems to be acceptable as Sports with them. Improved handling, or quality of parts like Bushes, Springs or dampers is not necessary with them.

Just as adding Decals can turn a car into a 'Sport' model.

 

george

I have an 07 L&K and mine came with 17" wheels as standard and it has the standard suspension.  I thought the sports suspension was an option.

I thought the 'sports' suspension was an option too and one that I never asked for. So, is there any quick check I can do to see if mines standard or not ?

My 56 L&K on 17" wheels has sports suspension. At least on the front, the spring paint codes are different to standard.

The ride height is slightly lower - only 10-15mm on mine though.

The first several motor factors swore all non Vrs's had the same suspension. They claimed that was the info on their computer when inputting my VIN. A VAG supplier had the correct info, and springs.

Ive had the same issue as you when trying to source new springs after mine snapped. There is a code in the service manual for sports package if i remember correctly.

If I get chance later i will pop to the car, its in the works car park, and see if i can identify the code for the sports package.

My Service book has a sticker in the front cover with all the optional equipment codes. The last code is 2UC, which after a quick search is "sports version" Mine is a 54 plate, so may be different with yours. I was under the impression that all the cars with 17" Pegasus' alloys had the Sports suspension.

 

Also code L58, which is suspension range 58? Not sure what that is referring to.

Edited 20 March, 201412 yr by hobbes42

Thanks for the replies Guy's, much appreciated. So, the codes on the label should hopefully point to which type of suspension has been fitted, it's just a question of what to look for (I will check hobbes42 incase mines the same as yours)

Just checked the label on the boot floor and mine is 2UA,

2UA = Standard design (OEM for Elegance)

So is my suspension fubar'd coz the car's covered 139K now :(

I would have thought that the suspension would be getting tired after that sort of mileage, but i thought it would have got 'softer' rather than more jarring...

I know someone with a 2012 L&K with 17" wheels. He says the ride is noticeably harsher than his previous L&K with 16" wheels. I'm pretty sure he has standard suspension. 

Thanks for the info, I'm wondering if I should just get a set of 16's

Might make all the difference......out of interest what size are the 17"s?....the 16's on my L&K are 205/55 R16. I assume the 17's are profiled to have the same overall diameter as the 16's. 

Edited 20 March, 201412 yr by booke23

Without looking at the car, I believe they are 225/45 17

In that case, you'd get about 10mm more side wall with the 16" tyre, which would improve the ride at the expense of grip and handling at the limit. Personally I've never found the 16's to be wanting for grip when braking etc although I imagine the 17's make corner handling a bit better.   

I know someone with a 2012 L&K with 17" wheels. He says the ride is noticeably harsher than his previous L&K with 16" wheels. I'm pretty sure he has standard suspension.

I can relate on that, changing from 16" to 17" the ride in certain surfaces got harder and just doing this it looked like a scout when parked next to a 16"model.

I can relate on that, changing from 16" to 17" the ride in certain surfaces got harder and just doing this it looked like a scout when parked next to a 16"model.

.

This confirms my opinion that fitting bigger rims (but of course needing to keep the same overall wheel diameter, so you also need to fit lower-profile & more expensive tyres) usually seems to give a harsher ride with negligible (if any) improvement in handling.  I presume most people do it for cosmetic reasons, although in my personal opinion I think smaller diamer rims / higher profile tyres look just as good.

Even the design of the rims - again (in my opinion) the plainer and simpler, the better they look.  I might be being unkind, but I sometimes suspect that the main function of larger-diameter and elaborately-spoked (and harder-to-clean) rims is simply to demonstrate that you have a more expensive "up-market" version of the car in question.  Frankly, if the rims design is extremely fancy, with a grossly over-elaborate spoke design, it can just look as though you're a boy racer who has spent too much money in Halfords! 

But - why does fitting 17" rims make it look like a Scout, if the overall wheel diameter is the same?

    

It did on mine, look like a scout.

Noticed this more when parked next to a 16" version break, mine is also a break.

As for the handling on the contrary, notice big difference compared to the 16".

As for tire prices you buy 4 for the 16" and for the same price you get only 3 for the 17"

Edited 20 March, 201412 yr by alberg

Without looking at the car, I believe they are 225/45 17

Yes your right they are.

I still can't understand that when I looked a the 08 version of mine the other week, how much more room there was between the tyre and the arch compared to mine

On mine before putting the eibach prokit i measured the height from ground to wheel arch, on 17"

Front 68cm

Rear 70cm

After eibach

Front 65cm

Rear 67cm

check the stickers. Decode them. Then you'll know.