I have a L&K combi with the optional 17" wheels.  This comes with "sports" suspension.  When a spring broke last year it was a slight faff to get another, and they are quite expensive.

I have hit sleeping police men, although very rarely, and less than my standard mk1 of yore.  

Fenland my be flat at the horizon but very bumpy where the roads sink in to the bogs and fens.   The L&K copes pretty well - it is a bit noisier than I would like, but Octavia's are a relatively noisy car unless you fit sound deadening.  There was a recent thread about fitting this.

 

All the aftermarket springs I have come across also lower even further, and I am beginning to think that a stiffer and longer spring is not readily available.  Especially as it has to support the extra weight of a Diesel engine.

There are companies who make custom springs - I found one up in Sheffield, they do a lot of work in the motorsports area, so the quality and durability should be better than a local ish place in Leicester who specialise in trucks and didn't show much enthusiasm for solving problems, just copying the existing component.

 

Correction: 

I have found two.  Both seem to offer the possibility of upgraded spec.

http://www.springcoil.co.uk/suspension_springs.html

http://www.coilsprings.co.uk/

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

ps. I do a lot of continental touring, and generally the motorways and country roads are far better than here.  Except in towns.  That applies several fold in France where they have become very wedded to the speed hump.  Some are pretty tall and have extremely steep approach angles.   The only thing that works then is good forward observation or a bulldozer.

Nick

 

Sounds like some good leads for something I need as well - So, is ANYONE  interested in trying to do some sort of Group Buy for some such springs as we would probably get both a better reception and a better price if we were to do it together ?

John

Nick

 

Sounds like some good leads for something I need as well - So, is ANYONE  interested in trying to do some sort of Group Buy for some such springs as we would probably get both a better reception and a better price if we were to do it together ?

John

 

They'll either be able to make them or not - generally volume isn't an issue for custom spring manufacturers.

 

If they know what they are doing they'll be able to make a spring that sits at the exact height you need and should be able to recomend a spring rate.  At a guess, you'll need to go up about 50% (sounds crazy but it works).

 

I have a 1.8tsi hatch & I run Eibach vRS springs for a diesl wagon.  The spring rates are fantastic but the front is a bit short on travel - if it had an extra 30mm height it would be great.  If you can find out the spring rate of an Eibach or the OEM sports spring then add some travel you should be fine.

 

Keep in mind that the higher the spring rate the stiffer the damper needs to be (as it controls spring oscilation), so you might think about an adjustable Koni Yellow damper or similar.

 

Perhaps your best solution might be some Scout springs or quality height adjustable coilovers (weitec, kw, etc)

I never did get around to contacting the places in Sheffield.  Once I had swopped to the L&K, despite being slightly lowered, the incidence of hitting things with the sump lowered so the need diminished.

 

The spring place in Leicester I mentioned, I had to deal with occasionally to get truck springs made.  They did everything as a one off, so qty didn't come into it.  The production process it pretty crude whoever does it. 

They would have made whatever I wanted, but only by copying wire size, coils and free length.  Not so inspiring.

 

The two specialist places I linked to in Sheffield, if their intertube pages are anything to go by, seem to offer exactly what the posters above are asking for - stiffer springs and different ride heights.

 

A phone call should reveal all.

Lets us know how it goes.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Something that Brad said at the end of his post prompted thoughts about alternative standard VAG springs, as opposed to getting specials made up.

 

Maybe not Scout springs because that would probably raise the ride height too much, but I suspect that the diesel 4WD option on the normal Octavia II might well use stiffer, but standard height springs, both front (to cater for the extra weight of the transmission and transfer box) and the rear (to handle the extra weight of the propshaft, diff and driveshafts).

 

Certainly that's why I used the front springs from a Quatro-based A3 on the front of my old Golf IV diesel estate, and they worked pretty well.

 

So, would anyone have any ideas as to what those 4WD springs might be? For myself I will take a look at the US TDIforums and the UKMkIVs websites as they could well provide some leads and comparison charts, and will let you know what I find.

 

John

The 4x4 Octavia uses the same springs as the Scout and has a higher ride height than the FWD version. The Scout has a greater ride height than the 4x4 due to using a wheel/tyre combination with a larger combined diameter.

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The 4x4 Octavia uses the same springs as the Scout and has a higher ride height than the FWD version. The Scout has a greater ride height than the 4x4 due to using a wheel/tyre combination with a larger combined diameter.

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Well, that seems to scupper one avenue to try!

If you find out the axle loads that will give a guide as to spring rate / height.

 

One of the guys fitted vRS springs to his 1.9tdi manual (probably the lightest drivetrain combination) and it sat higher on the vRS springs than the std 1.9tdi springs.  He was expecting a 15mm drop.  He did mention that it made the car a lot less like a boat though.

 

If you have a spring that is too high but a nice spring rate you can get it reset lower for a fair price.  You can't go higher as they sag back to where they started fairly quickly.

 

edit:  Have a look at partsbase.org in the various Octavia configurations (Superb or Passat springs would probably fit to).

 

just for the front strut, non-4x4 there are 14 different partnos for coil springs.

 

If you can access the Skoda parts catalogue (VagCat??) it should tell you what the different paint codes / partnos mean.

 

look for something like a bad Roads or Rough roads package which usually includes taller but compliant springs

Edited 11 February, 201511 yr by brad1.8T

So the mot advisory for the front suspension misting, is it a Skoda UK advisory to all dealerships? I got it on my last service report too.

If you find out the axle loads that will give a guide as to spring rate / height.

 

One of the guys fitted vRS springs to his 1.9tdi manual (probably the lightest drivetrain combination) and it sat higher on the vRS springs than the std 1.9tdi springs.  He was expecting a 15mm drop.  He did mention that it made the car a lot less like a boat though.

 

If you have a spring that is too high but a nice spring rate you can get it reset lower for a fair price.  You can't go higher as they sag back to where they started fairly quickly.

 

edit:  Have a look at partsbase.org in the various Octavia configurations (Superb or Passat springs would probably fit to).

 

just for the front strut, non-4x4 there are 14 different partnos for coil springs.

 

If you can access the Skoda parts catalogue (VagCat??) it should tell you what the different paint codes / partnos mean.

 

look for something like a bad Roads or Rough roads package which usually includes taller but compliant springs

I don't think I have access to that database, but something that I learned from Vortex forums (I think) is that the suspension codes on a VAG vehicle are shown on the Vehicle Data label (on the boot floor in my case), and that the "LXX" numbers might relate to the front suspension (which tallies with the PartsBase page) - My suspension code "looks like" it could include "L13" and "2UA"  amongst other codes - and that the "L" numbers relate to the axle weights.

 

So it looks like one thing to do is to track down a chart of "L" numbers versus axle weights - and then see what the options are.

 

Edit:

Don't think I can post links yet, but found a page on the VWAudiform  co uk which points to a page on igorweb where you can put in the codes and it decodes what they mean (in raw terms) - still need to find out what the L numbers actually signify

 

Edit 2

Seems I need to access the EKTA data base for the numeric weight data meanings of the L codes - anyone know a reasonably easy way to do that as it's a  long time since I tried?

Edited 11 February, 201511 yr by jeallen01

Just getting back to this thread again, and another question popped into my mind:

 

Just which other VAG models do the Octavia IIs share their front suspension design with (I thought it was just the Mk V Golf, but now I'm not quite so sure)?

 

Knowing that might widen the scope for looking for alternative parts

Depending on which actual parts you want to change:

 

Late model Superb & Passat LCAs & hub carriers & I'd think springs / dampers but it would be a "suck it & see" experiment.

 

Audi A3 & A4 (later models)

 

MK5 & Mk6 Golf

Thanks - think look at the Audi & Golf options as that seems likely to provide the least amount of modification !

would a dealer not change these under warranty if car is still under warranty at first MOT?

would a dealer not change these under warranty if car is still under warranty at first MOT?

Not sure to which post you are referring, but my car is just a leetle bit out of warranty - it's a 2007 that I bought privately 3 yrs ago

Not sure to which post you are referring, but my car is just a leetle bit out of warranty - it's a 2007 that I bought privately 3 yrs ago

Just a question actually, as mine in for MOT just before warranty expires and if dealer says shocks need doing, will it be covered?

Juct checking.

Cheers

Misting would be a coin toss.

 

Leaking should be warranty.  If they are bouncing like a pogo stick but dry then no warranty.

 

When I worked at Toyota (years back), I might have made a few dampers transform from misting to leaking (in appearance) with the help of a little extra squirt from the WD40 can.  This was for some of our "rusted-on" customers that had bought multiple vehicles at near RRP and never considered going anywhere else for service work.  They would have got the warranty claim eventually but we wanted to ensure the work was done sooner rather than later.

Still trying to work out what I'm going to do and have found/downloaded a lot of useful stuff today.

 

However, one thing is eluding me:- I keep seeing reference to the VAG Suspension Range numbers (mine is L13), but what I can't find some sort of chart that gives at least a few of them and outlines the differences (axle weight? suspension height, spring rates?) between them (say from L13 to L14, and so on).

 

Anyone have any ideas about this elusive info can be found?

(IIRC I did see something on one of the US forums a few years ago, but I can't seem to track it down again)