Possibly, but using the correct weight rating rather than a higher one will generally result in a less harsh ride.

What about using a lower rating than specified?

12 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

What about using a lower rating than specified?

Your insurance company could get "difficult" if you make a claim following an accident and the assessor notices that the tyres are not rated as specified by the car manufacturer.

 

XL tyres do not heat up as much due to the sidewalls flexing less, so lower rated tyres will run hotter.

I used XL and non -XL Barum Bravuris on a Mk2  Octavia ,admittedly, with sports suspension. No obvious difference in ride or noise to me. That probably had irs though?

19 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Your insurance company could get "difficult" if you make a claim following an accident and the assessor notices that the tyres are not rated as specified by the car manufacturer.

 

XL tyres do not heat up as much due to the sidewalls flexing less, so lower rated tyres will run hotter.

 

5 minutes ago, gregoir said:

I used XL and non -XL Barum Bravuris on a Mk2  Octavia ,admittedly, with sports suspension. No obvious difference in ride or noise to me. That probably had irs though?

 

so a combination of these comments would essentially mean:   use xl rated tyres.  

I ran XL winters which were excellent but harsh. Next time I ran the same tyre in non XL in the appropriate rating and the car was much happier over small faults in the road.

 

big ones were no different as it was all transferred to the suspension anyway.

 

just my 2p worth, however definitely do not go below your cars weight rating.

I wonder how the situation has arisen that this VAG modular chassis has these issues with the ride when other manufacturers of even fairly basic cars have managed to engineer them out?

 

I can only assume that it is as a result of scaling up and down and use of modules across the whole range of cars that has led to the Octavia  sized variations having the issue. Do the Smaller cars or the A6/A8 sized cars  have similar issues?

Having driven into the Yorkshire Dales with the family on board, the car seems much better suited to pressing on a bit (up to family-friendly pace) than it does to jarring and bouncing around at low speed on crap road surfaces in town. My efforts at sound-proofing might have made an improvement too.

 

I suspect that driven harder, it might not be the last word in chassis dynamics & performance (the front tends to push out around fast bends, on my private driveway), but it's certainly fine and much more composed than expected for a non-IRS for smooth & brisk cross-country driving. The steering is better than many other recent cars I've driven.

 

 

Edited 13 April, 20197 yr by MC Bodge

On 10/04/2019 at 09:47, MC Bodge said:

I wonder how the situation has arisen that this VAG modular chassis has these issues with the ride when other manufacturers of even fairly basic cars have managed to engineer them out?

 

I can only assume that it is as a result of scaling up and down and use of modules across the whole range of cars that has led to the Octavia  sized variations having the issue. Do the Smaller cars or the A6/A8 sized cars  have similar issues?

 

It’s all to do with cost and Skoda’s place in the VW Group brand hierarchy. Skodas cost less to make than VWs because of lower Czech labour rates, some of the basic components will be lower grade/sourced more cheaply, and when you put that together you still have a reasonable profit margin at a lower selling price.

 

Even without that Skodas would still be noisier/less refined than their VW counterparts because VW has to justify a higher price. It’s called de-contenting - strip stuff out of model A to make model B seem better, even though the core components are identical.

 

Other manufacturers elsewhere in the world may have different cost bases which mean they can approach the issue of brand differentiation differently. Hence there are cars at the same price point as Skoda which are more refined.

 

For many drivers, a new car which looks smart and has plenty of kit will always trump mediocre performance and refinement. Personally, I’m on what will probably be my last Skoda, a Superb. Its noticeably quieter and more refined than the Octy I used to have, but, once again, isn’t as good as it could be.

Having driven my car fully loaded with family, camping gear (including sleeping bags stuffed into the under boot floor space) and 3 bikes on a rear tailgate rack:

 

The car's ride was very good.

 

There was no booming noise and the whole car seemed quieter.

 

When driving about with the load and bikes removed, the chattering ride over rough tarmac returned.

 

On the way home, fully laden, the car was smooth and quiet again.

 

I need to try driving it empty, but with the bikes on the back to check if that stops the booming noise.

 

 

Does anybody have any new experience of different dampers to improve the ride of a torsion bar estate? 

 

After a few months of ownership, I still find the small bump/high frequency response to be poor, unless fully laden. The whole car feels as if it is rocking over the smallest bumps. 

 

The spring and damper combination has been presumably tuned for heavy loads rather than just a driver and a couple of passengers. 

 

1 hour ago, MC Bodge said:

Does anybody have any new experience of different dampers to improve the ride of a torsion bar estate? 

 

After a few months of ownership, I still find the small bump/high frequency response to be poor, unless fully laden. The whole car feels as if it is rocking over the smallest bumps. 

 

The spring and damper combination has been presumably tuned for heavy loads rather than just a driver and a couple of passengers. 

 

 

I have B6 dampers fitted all round. It's made a big difference to the overall feel and also the high speed dynamics. However, small bump feel at slow speed is still not right. I think it is down to the geometry and spring rate. I plan to fit eibach pro springs which if my theory is right should give a better ride. I'll be keeping the OEM springs just in case though.

4 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

 

I have B6 dampers fitted all round. It's made a big difference to the overall feel and also the high speed dynamics. However, small bump feel at slow speed is still not right. I think it is down to the geometry and spring rate. I plan to fit eibach pro springs which if my theory is right should give a better ride. I'll be keeping the OEM springs just in case though.

 

The lack of small bump response is the real issue.

I also suspect that the geometry is a factor. The Skoda engineers were presumably given a load of MQB parts to work with and little scope for modifying them to improve the Octavia chassis package.

 

I'd really like to try out a few different spring and damper combinations. Car suspensions are much more involved and expensive to play about with than motorbikes, unfortunately. 

What tyre size do you have? What make and model of tyres are on each wheel? Do the tyres have rim protectors moulded into the sidewalls? What rim width do you have? What tyre pressures front and rear are you running? What are the recommended tyre pressures for the car? What engine do you have?

Edited 27 October, 20196 yr by Carlston

14 hours ago, MC Bodge said:

 

I'd really like to try out a few different spring and damper combinations. Car suspensions are much more involved and expensive to play about with than motorbikes, unfortunately. 

 

I'll do my best to update this thread when I get round to trying the springs.

 

7 hours ago, Carlston said:

What tyre size do you have? What make and model of tyres are on each wheel? Do the tyres have rim protectors moulded into the sidewalls? What rim width do you have? What tyre pressures front and rear are you running? What are the recommended tyre pressures for the car? What engine do you have?

 

This is indeed a factor in how the car rides. However, many of us have had the car a fair amount of time and have tried it on at least 2 tyres and multiple pressures. I am currently running my 18s at 29psi at the rear and find this to be the best compromise of grip/comfort support. Only for light loads though.

21 hours ago, Carlston said:

What tyre size do you have? What make and model of tyres are on each wheel? Do the tyres have rim protectors moulded into the sidewalls? What rim width do you have? What tyre pressures front and rear are you running? What are the recommended tyre pressures for the car? What engine do you have?

1.4TSI 150 estate. 16" wheels. Uniroyal Rainsport tyres on all four wheels. 

 

2.2bar (32psi) is book pressure. I have currently got 34psi in the front (as the Rainsport are a soft tyre and on previous cars handled better with slightly higher pressures) and 32psi rear, but will experiment. 

 

 

33 minutes ago, MC Bodge said:

1.4TSI 150 estate. 16" wheels. Uniroyal Rainsport tyres on all four wheels. 

 

2.2bar (32psi) is book pressure. I have currently got 34psi in the front (as the Rainsport are a soft tyre and on previous cars handled better with slightly higher pressures) and 32psi rear, but will experiment. 

 

 

16" wheels, so that will probably be 205/55R16 tyres on 6.5" wide rims. The load index of 205/55R16 tyres is 91 (615kg) which is good. Maybe you could try 32psi front and 29psi rear, but only if you aren't carrying much weight in the back.

 

If you haven't owned the car from new, you won't know if your springs/dampers have been changed to non-standard. However, even if you still have the standard springs/dampers the estate version might use hard rear springs. The small petrol engined hatchback might use soft rear springs, the big petrol engined and diesel hatchback might use medium rear springs, and your estate might use hard rear springs. If so, changing to the medium rear springs from the big engined hatchback version might help. Your hard rear springs will be there to cope with a full load so when the car is carrying a lot less weight than a full load, the rear springs will feel too hard. 

Edited 28 October, 20196 yr by Carlston

1 hour ago, Carlston said:

If so, changing to the medium rear springs from the big engined hatchback version might help.

 

Do you know if springs are compatible between hatch and estate versions? This may solve a lot of issues for estate owners who bought for the boot volume rather than load capacity.

1 hour ago, Carlston said:

16" wheels, so that will probably be 205/55R16 tyres on 6.5" wide rims. The load index of 205/55R16 tyres is 91 (615kg) which is good. Maybe you could try 32psi front and 29psi rear, but only if you aren't carrying much weight in the back.

 

If you haven't owned the car from new, you won't know if your springs/dampers have been changed to non-standard. However, even if you still have the standard springs/dampers the estate version might use hard rear springs. The small petrol engined hatchback might use soft rear springs, the big petrol engined and diesel hatchback might use medium rear springs, and your estate might use hard rear springs. If so, changing to the medium rear springs from the big engined hatchback version might help. Your hard rear springs will be there to cope with a full load so when the car is carrying a lot less weight than a full load, the rear springs will feel too hard. 

Thanks for the suggestions. My father in law has a hatchback 1.6TDI and it does ride more comfortably than my car. I had assumed softer springs. 

 

I do use the car for family camping trips so do require load capacity, though (My old Mk4 and Mk3 Mondeos drove just as well laden as unladen. Hard acts to follow). 

 

I doubt that the car has been modified. 

 

I am going to do some testing of suspension sag and suspension natural frequency when I have time. 

3 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

 

Do you know if springs are compatible between hatch and estate versions? This may solve a lot of issues for estate owners who bought for the boot volume rather than load capacity.

Yes, they are compatible between hatch and estate versions. For example, the medium rear springs are used on both the hatchback and the estate depending on model.

 

Here's an online catalog that I found online from GKN Automotive. You can find the Skoda part numbers for the front and rear springs on there for most Skoda models. For example, if you had a Skoda Octavia III 1.4 petrol turbo estate, you would find that it had Skoda part number 5Q0511121AF.

 

https://www.gknautomotive.com/en/AftermarketMotorsport/aftermarket/online-catalogue/

 

You will find that most of the Skoda Octavia III models (hatchback and estate) use one of three rear springs. Let's call them soft, medium, and hard.

 

Skoda part numbers for the soft, medium, and hard variants are:

 

Soft: 5Q0511121AC

Medium: 5Q0511121AD

Hard: 5Q0511121AF

 

The soft springs have a wire diameter of 10.5mm

The medium springs have a wire diameter of 10.75mm

The hard springs have a wire diameter of 11.25mm

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, MC Bodge said:

Thanks for the suggestions. My father in law has a hatchback 1.6TDI and it does ride more comfortably than my car. I had assumed softer springs. 

 

I do use the car for family camping trips so do require load capacity, though (My old Mk4 and Mk3 Mondeos drove just as well laden as unladen. Hard acts to follow). 

 

I doubt that the car has been modified. 

 

I am going to do some testing of suspension sag and suspension natural frequency when I have time. 

The Skoda Octavia hatchback 1.6TDI is fitted with medium rear springs as standard. Skoda part number 5Q0511121AD.

Your Skoda Octavia III 1.4 petrol turbo estate uses hard rear springs. Skoda part number 5Q0511121AF.

 

As the wire diameter of the medium springs are 0.5mm thinner than the hard springs, you should notice quite a big improvement to ride comfort.

 

Google "SACHS 5Q0511121AD" to find the best online prices for the medium SACHS rear springs to fit the Skoda Octavia III. I've seen them for around £32 each. Avoid rip off charges from Skoda dealers/Halfords/Eurocarparts, etc. They often charge more than double.

 

Cars come from the factory with harder rear springs when they are ordered with a factory fitted towbar.

Edited 29 October, 20196 yr by Carlston

3 hours ago, Carlston said:

The Skoda Octavia hatchback 1.6TDI is fitted with medium rear springs as standard. Skoda part number 5Q0511121AD.

Your Skoda Octavia III 1.4 petrol turbo estate uses hard rear springs. Skoda part number 5Q0511121AF.

 

As the wire diameter of the medium springs are 0.5mm thinner than the hard springs, you should notice quite a big improvement to ride comfort.

 

Google "SACHS 5Q0511121AD" to find the best online prices for the medium SACHS rear springs to fit the Skoda Octavia III. I've seen them for around £32 each. Avoid rip off charges from Skoda dealers/Halfords/Eurocarparts, etc. They often charge more than double.

 

Cars come from the factory with harder rear springs when they are ordered with a factory fitted towbar.

Thanks for that. I'll measure my car's springs and have a look at the various combinations.

 

I do need the load capacity occasionally, though. 

5 hours ago, Carlston said:

The Skoda Octavia hatchback 1.6TDI is fitted with medium rear springs as standard. Skoda part number 5Q0511121AD.

Your Skoda Octavia III 1.4 petrol turbo estate uses hard rear springs. Skoda part number 5Q0511121AF.

 

As the wire diameter of the medium springs are 0.5mm thinner than the hard springs, you should notice quite a big improvement to ride comfort.

 

Google "SACHS 5Q0511121AD" to find the best online prices for the medium SACHS rear springs to fit the Skoda Octavia III. I've seen them for around £32 each. Avoid rip off charges from Skoda dealers/Halfords/Eurocarparts, etc. They often charge more than double.

 

Cars come from the factory with harder rear springs when they are ordered with a factory fitted towbar.

Do you know if the dampers are the same? 

Cars are manufactured to a budget, Skoda especially so. 

Expecting Mercedes-like comfort and road holding from the Octy is somewhat optimistic. 

There are an almost infinite number of suspension experts on the interwebs and you should definitely believe everything they say and spend lots of money. Research indicates that spending lots of money always makes you feel better, almost regardless of what you spend it on. 

26 minutes ago, TDIum said:

Cars are manufactured to a budget, Skoda especially so. 

Expecting Mercedes-like comfort and road holding from the Octy is somewhat optimistic. 

There are an almost infinite number of suspension experts on the interwebs and you should definitely believe everything they say and spend lots of money. Research indicates that spending lots of money always makes you feel better, almost regardless of what you spend it on. 

Right. Thanks for that. 

 

I'm currently comparing this car with a simple 13 year old Fiesta and a Mk4 Mondeo. There is nothing wrong with trying to tweak things to suit a particular purpose. If you don't wish to do that, it's fine.