I'm looking at fitting ARB's and Coilovers to my PreFL VRS.

I've been looking at Bilstein either B14 or B16, Has anybody any experience with these?

 

What are my options for ARB upgrades and any suggestions for the cheapest supplier of both coilovers and ARBs?

 

If anyone has pics of VRS dropped between 30-50mm it would be appreciated.

Sill trying to decide on what suspension set up to go for myself so can't help there, but I think the only arb options are eibach, H&R, St suspension and white line. All very similar in price so personal preference really.

I did narrow it down to Bilstein or KW, Having googled around H&R also seem to get good reviews. I just can't decide if I should stick with just height adjustment or pay a big chunk more and go for rebound and compression adjustment.

I really don't want a really stiff ride.

 

Have you found anywhere reasonably priced yet?

If you decide that you only want height adjustment, and want a comfortable ride I'd definitely recommend Eibach coilovers. I've had them on 2 previous cars and you will notice hardly any loss of comfort at all - I ran mine on a 35mm drop on both cars. I'll be sourcing some for my Octy from Germany as they are significantly cheaper than anything a UK supplier can get them at.

I'm sure people have said the bilstein coilovers are a very hard ride on this forum

i put my thoughts down here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/278947-chassis-upgrade/

 

.. i had b16's.  Great if you're doing track days but very firm for the road.  i took them off and replaced with H&R monotubes. For road use the H&R's we're much better.  j0hn had the b14 coilovers on his pre-fl - effectively the same spring with a non-adjustable damper - and he took them off to go with H&R monotubes too.

 

not all ARB's are the same - i had the autotech hollow bar initially and couldn't stop the bushes creaking.  i replaced it with a H&R bar that has teflon inserts so no more squeaking.

I did narrow it down to Bilstein or KW, Having googled around H&R also seem to get good reviews. I just can't decide if I should stick with just height adjustment or pay a big chunk more and go for rebound and compression adjustment.

I really don't want a really stiff ride.

 

Have you found anywhere reasonably priced yet?

 

terry - even with damping adjustment you'll still have a hard ride if the springs are stiff.  that was the problem with the b16's i had - even on low setting for damping the stiff spring gave you a very hard / harsh ride quality.  there was no setting that gave you "comfortable".

 

kw's are very good.  i had weitec (ST) coils on a previous vRS and that rode fine, that's the same spring and damping setup as a KW V1 as they are the same company.  AP is also a KW brand - if you just want  your car to sit lower and look cool for trundling around then ST's or AP's will be fine for that.  If you want to drive the vrs as intended and throw it down a challenging b road or do a track day then the AP will not be up to much and will run out of ideas pretty quickly.  You get what you pay for i guess.

pics:

 

my 2010 vRS, down about 35-40mm on weitec coilovers (ST by KW) with bbs rd256:  i did about 50k miles with it like this.

 

Winters on by Rob E, on Flickr

 

same car on OE wheels painted dark anthracite:

 

vRS on holiday by Rob E, on Flickr

 

same car but with the coils wound down to about -50mm or thereabouts just for ****s and gigles.. rode like crap at this height and scraped over speed bumps..  didn't stay that low for long.

 

weitec coilovers vRS by Rob E, on Flickr

 

weitec coilovers at -45mm octavia vRS graphite wheels by Rob E, on Flickr

 

 

Here's the 2012 (current) vRS.  Bilstein b16's first, prob down around -40mm in this pic:

 

2012 Octavia vRS, -40mm on Bilstein B16. by Rob E, on Flickr

 

.. and later on, with H&R monotubes, rARB, brembos, neuspeed etc:

load lugging by Rob E, on Flickr

 

similar pic:

cleaner by Rob E, on Flickr

If you're upgrading the springs make sure you get progressive ones. Even though they are a firmer spring the first coils compress quicker smoothing out some of the harshness smoothing out the initial harshness you can experience with uprated springs and therefore better for normal roads. Once the initial travel has happened the rest of the coil is firmer giving more support. Linear springs give the same spring rate through the compression and better suited to smooth tracks.

Not sure about the springs mentioned above but do know Eibach's and H&R's are progressive springs. Matching the damping to the spring rates makes all the difference and for that reason I find it best to get them as a kit where they have been matched such as the Bilstein B12 or H&R cup packages. Coilovers and adjustable damping/compression I find pretty useless on a road car as most people once set up never adjust them again and very few people actually know how to do this in the first place and then wonder why they have crashy suspension. Fair enough if you know what you are doing, do a few track days and want to setup some bias in the suspension to get the best out of the handling for that given track but otherwise it's best to avoid. Without high and low speed compression settings for the road would make everyday driving worse so may as well save your money and buy the none adjustable shockers. 

If you're upgrading the springs make sure you get progressive ones. Even though they are a firmer spring the first coils compress quicker smoothing out some of the harshness smoothing out the initial harshness you can experience with uprated springs and therefore better for normal roads. Once the initial travel has happened the rest of the coil is firmer giving more support. Linear springs give the same spring rate through the compression and better suited to smooth tracks.

Not sure about the springs mentioned above but do know Eibach's and H&R's are progressive springs. Matching the damping to the spring rates makes all the difference and for that reason I find it best to get them as a kit where they have been matched such as the Bilstein B12 or H&R cup packages. Coilovers and adjustable damping/compression I find pretty useless on a road car as most people once set up never adjust them again and very few people actually know how to do this in the first place and then wonder why they have crashy suspension. Fair enough if you know what you are doing, do a few track days and want to setup some bias in the suspension to get the best out of the handling for that given track but otherwise it's best to avoid. Without high and low speed compression settings for the road would make everyday driving worse so may as well save your money and buy the none adjustable shockers. 

 

 

Couldn't really be more accurate... I have been in cars with 'adjustables' (on cars which are far more sensitive to poor settings than the Octavia) and the truth of the matter is most people cannot get the best out of them and in many cases make the handling of the car is many times worse than the OEM fittings.

 

You really have to be a track day god, to gain any discernible benefit from adjustables. Adjusting damping alone is pointless really, if you adjust the damping you really need to adjust the spring rates accordingly... And I can't see many people really wanting to lug around 5 sets of springs, just to 'hit that sweet spot' for an unknown circuit.

Edited 18 November, 201510 yr by mangham54

Got the H&R -50mm Cup Kit and Whiteline RARB on our CR FL VRS. Lowered it around 20mm although it may have settled another couple of mm by now. Very good ride and handling is sufficient for normal spirited driving.

Edited 18 November, 201510 yr by FatblokeVRS

Primarily it is just to lose the gap between tyre and arch.

I do love a spirited drive on twisted roads but wouldn't track the Octy, I have a Turbo Cavalier for tracking.

 

Thanks for the advise chaps, Obviously it's not worth the extra money for damping adjustment. I don't mind the ride firming up a bit but don't want it to be back breaking....I'm not 20 anymore

If you're upgrading the springs make sure you get progressive ones. Even though they are a firmer spring the first coils compress quicker smoothing out some of the harshness smoothing out the initial harshness you can experience with uprated springs and therefore better for normal roads. Once the initial travel has happened the rest of the coil is firmer giving more support. Linear springs give the same spring rate through the compression and better suited to smooth tracks.

Not sure about the springs mentioned above but do know Eibach's and H&R's are progressive springs. Matching the damping to the spring rates makes all the difference and for that reason I find it best to get them as a kit where they have been matched such as the Bilstein B12 or H&R cup packages. Coilovers and adjustable damping/compression I find pretty useless on a road car as most people once set up never adjust them again and very few people actually know how to do this in the first place and then wonder why they have crashy suspension. Fair enough if you know what you are doing, do a few track days and want to setup some bias in the suspension to get the best out of the handling for that given track but otherwise it's best to avoid. Without high and low speed compression settings for the road would make everyday driving worse so may as well save your money and buy the none adjustable shockers. 

 

I would disagree about progressive springs.  I find that the variable rate of the spring doesn't play well with the lineal damping rate of the damper.  The quality of the ride depends on the spring type, damper, rim diameter, tyres brand / model, sidewall height & tyre pressure, condition of the bushes etc.  

 

I run Eibach Pro-Kit springs that are lineal rate & am very happy with the ride.  Most vendors say they are progressively wound but the type of winding varies depending on the vehicle.  On my Octavia Estate springs they are definitely Lineal wound - it even says so on the TUV certificate.  It pays to check the TUV cert rather than take the vendors word for it.

 

 

Matching the damping to the spring rates makes all the difference and for that reason I find it best to get them as a kit where they have been matched such as the Bilstein B12 or H&R cup packages

 

Brad, obviously you misread what I had typed as I clearly mentioned that matching the damping to the spring rate makes all the difference. 

 

Strange that yours are linear as I've never actually seen Eibach do anything but. A quick search for images of their actual spring rather than a stock image and it clearly shows a progressive coil

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OCTAVIA-EIBACH-SPRING-/141809731465?hash=item210484c789:g:KO0AAOSw4SlV7cxc

 

 

 

 The quality of the ride depends on the spring type, damper, rim diameter, tyres brand / model, sidewall height & tyre pressure, condition of the bushes etc.  

 

Couldn't agree more but the OP wasn't looking to upgrade everything just the springs and dampers. The rest of what you mention has to be a compromise between ultimate handling, comfort and economies. The later more so with road use as creating camber and toe in for the most agile steering will soon eat through tyres. Same with tyre profiles very low you reduce the lateral movement but with very little cushion for road imperfections which can easily damage tyre side walls and rims. Wide rim diameter creates plenty of grip but reduces fuel economy too. 

Brad, obviously you misread what I had typed as I clearly mentioned that matching the damping to the spring rate makes all the difference. 

 

Strange that yours are linear as I've never actually seen Eibach do anything but. A quick search for images of their actual spring rather than a stock image and it clearly shows a progressive coil

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OCTAVIA-EIBACH-SPRING-/141809731465?hash=item210484c789:g:KO0AAOSw4SlV7cxc

 

 

Couldn't agree more but the OP wasn't looking to upgrade everything just the springs and dampers. The rest of what you mention has to be a compromise between ultimate handling, comfort and economies. The later more so with road use as creating camber and toe in for the most agile steering will soon eat through tyres. Same with tyre profiles very low you reduce the lateral movement but with very little cushion for road imperfections which can easily damage tyre side walls and rims. Wide rim diameter creates plenty of grip but reduces fuel economy too. 

Here's the TUV certificate for the springs I have on my car (but it covers several Skoda kits).  It clearly states LINEARE.  I was surprised (and pleased) when I opened the box as I was expecting progressives.  I only bought them because they were mega-cheap (70% off the new price) and was willing to put up with the compromise for the price. (nb: Eibach seems to have removed the certification from an obvious place on their website & you have to go hunting for it now - milotec.de seems to have a lot of the TUV approvals online)

 

As I said, I don't think the variable spring rate plays well with lineal damping.  I also don't like the way that when you hit a bump, the soft part of the spring compresses immediately and uses up half the spring travel & the heavy part of the spring (which is way heavier than a lineal wound springs) has almost no travel available to absorb the impact.

 

The reason I disagreed with your post is that it implied a progressive spring would be the answer to any ride comfort issues.

Certainly states linear. 

 

Progessive springs shouldn't be staged with soft then hard. it should be a smooth progression through the spring travel. Couldn't agree more about difficult getting shocks to match the spring rate hence why I recommend getting them as a set. The shockers in these are usually tuned to the spring so the slow compression on the soft part of the spring travels matches up well and the high speed compression for the higher spring rate 

 

http://automotivethinker.com/suspension/linear-vs-progressive-rate-springs/