Finally went ahead this week and had the Eibach Pro-Kit fitted (lowers the front 20mm and the rear 10mm) and I'm very pleased with the result. The car rides the bumps better and yet the handling is firmer / sharper. The lowering of the car is just about spot on as the car now looks like it should have done when it rolled out of the factory (the 19" extremes now fill the arches nicely) - why Skoda (and a lot of other modern cars) insist on producing sporty cars on stilts is beyond me.

 

Great value and service for the work at AMD Tuning, Essex - price included springs, fitting and 4 wheel laser alignment afterwards (which is a must).

I would have like a little more drop at the rerar, but 10mm spacers on the rear wheels helped sorted the look of it out.

 

Ride is excellent with them, better than stock.

 

Sounds good, any before/after pics? How much was this all in?

1 hour ago, ahenners said:

Sounds good, any before/after pics? How much was this all in?

 

£329 all in (although they held the price for me from 2016). I believe it might be about £40 more than that now.

 

No pics I', afraid as I've not yet worked out how to link pics to this forum (and can't be @rsed to open a drop box account or whatever I need)!!

14 minutes ago, Brooksuk said:

 

£329 all in (although they held the price for me from 2016). I believe it might be about £40 more than that now.

 

No pics I', afraid as I've not yet worked out how to link pics to this forum (and can't be @rsed to open a drop box account or whatever I need)!!

 

You can attach images directly to a reply post, as long as it's under 4MB. You should see the options under where you can type.

@Brooksuk - you commented that „The car rides the bumps better and yet the handling is firmer / sharper“

Would you say that comfort is improved, unchanged, or firmer in general?

I primarily mean here in city drive, not the open road.

Thanks.

Also, what's it like over speed bumps? My Alfa GT and Leon Cupra both used to scrape over them :-(

Not the best picture in the world but in answer to the questions:

Yes it ride the bumps better and I'd say that comfort is unchanged.

Rides the speed humps perfectly well as the lowering is quite sympathetic.

 

I did it mostly to get rid of the "on stilts" look but it is also nicer to drive!

Very nice. Might very well go on my to-do list;

 

1.) Full detail - this weekend weather allowing.

2.) Spoiler wrapped in gloss black

3.) Remap (Shark/Revo)

4.) Eibach Pro Kit

5.) Potentially new exhaust

 

Just need to clear some cash and I'll get on with them :-)

Edited 2 February, 20179 yr by stu83

I would love to get my VRS lowered, my worry would be that it turns the car unusable with the road condition here in Scotland. If I do eventually get it done it will be the exact kit you got. Looks nice how its sitting. 

I have it also and recommend it as a no-brainer.

 

Absolutely no impact in comfort - if anything, maybe even more comfortable - and the drop is fairly mild.

I drive it through Finnish weather and i have had no scrapping issues anywhere whatsoever.

 

My previous car, a Saab 9-3 Aero V6, was also lowered on Eibachs and it was a world of pain... It scrapped everywhere, couldn't use certain access ramps to go shopping, etc.

 

The Eibachs suit the Skoda perfectly.

 

Eibach springs

Does it handle better around corners? Has anyone fitted aftermarket rear or front sway or strut bars they can recommend?

Edited 3 February, 20179 yr by mabnz

1 hour ago, mabnz said:

Does it handle better around corners? Has anyone fitted aftermarket rear or front sway or strut bars they can recommend?

 

Eibach, 034 Motorsport, VW Racing, Whiteline etc all do uprated roll (sway) bars AFAIK. Any listed for the Mk7 Golf should fit the fwd Octavia as well, as they are both on the MQB platform.

 

I've been having a look around for a rear ARB for my vRS estate, (I'm sure the extra weight of the estate accentuates the body roll, or maybe it's just the cr4p in the boot :D) but being a 4x4 narrows down the options. Eibach do a suitable one at about £280.

 

IMO a stiffer rear roll bar will make the most difference due to the Octavia's default/factory tendency to understeer. Had one on my MKII Octavia fwd and it really changed the car. Along with Eibach pro-kit springs and a Whiteline anti lift kit it tidied up the handling no end.

 

Uprated front bars are well and good, but can exaggerate the understeer somewhat, and aren't quite as straightforward to fit, IMO.

Cool thanks. Definitely keen to improve handling before I look at a remap.

2 hours ago, mabnz said:

Does it handle better around corners? Has anyone fitted aftermarket rear or front sway or strut bars they can recommend?

 

Yes, it feels more planted and less bouncy, but as you suggest, there are still further upgrades you can do to improve things.

I think for the 4x4 there is only the Eibach kit for front and rear. 034 motorsport do a solid rear that is meant to work with stock front.

 

It is the one thing I don't like about mine is the understeering lean round every corner.

On 02/02/2017 at 19:46, StuFan said:

I would love to get my VRS lowered, my worry would be that it turns the car unusable with the road condition here in Scotland. If I do eventually get it done it will be the exact kit you got. Looks nice how its sitting. 

I dont get any scraping with 18" wheels with an offset of ET42 (sits out further than stock ET51 wheels). The ride is better all round, we get plenty of harsh roads in Ireland and I cant fault them.

On 03/02/2017 at 19:24, mabnz said:

Does it handle better around corners? Has anyone fitted aftermarket rear or front sway or strut bars they can recommend?

The car judders less on bumpy roads so in my opinion it handles better. They are not boat by any means, I dont hang about and really like them.

On 02/02/2017 at 15:00, stu83 said:

Also, what's it like over speed bumps? My Alfa GT and Leon Cupra both used to scrape over them :-(

No scraping, tested at about a ton on B roads. Private B roads of course.

I have Eibachs fitted.

 

No issues and really improves the car. Even had 2 adults, 2 children and boot full of camping gear around the North Wales roads and fields.  Handled it brilliantly.

 

Definitely on my list then. Just some crap to clear off, then I may start with these and the spoiler (it needs to be black) in early summer.