Hello,

 

I have been riding my S3 estate for 55000 km in two years. Mainly I´m very satisfied in the car: Engine pulls nicely especially after remap, there is more than enough space for everything and the build quality is surprisingly good. In my opinion, overall build quality is perfectly on par with f.ex Volvo, but maybe a slight notch behind BMW (F10). Suspension, even DCC is a disappointment compared to both of my recent drives (S90, 5-series), at least on Finnish roads with lots of yearly ground frost damage to the road surfaces. Our roads are very bad due to the climate and spiked winter tyres being the norm.

 

The suspension is quite wallowy and front axle feels to work a lot worse than the back end. Tightening up the DCC helps a bit, but the front and back feel too different from each other, and full Sport lacks ride comfort being too "surface tight". Basically the best solution might be something like Sport in the front and Normal/Comfort in the back and it would still feel unbalanced. 

 

I have been figuring out possible solutions. As I dont want to lower the car very much, just get a better ride quality, I would like to go for a full air suspension set. In other cars I´ve driven with air suspension sets, it has been ideal, with significantly less overall movement (more controllable car) with no "surface hardness" or vibration you get with tighter traditional suspension sets (tighter springs and dampers). Damper-wise, Koni FSD has been OK and significantly better than f.ex. BMW standard shocks: Tighter damping in bigger movements but a lot softer in small vibration compared to OEM.

 

Has anyone seen any air suspension set for S3 280 estate? I have tried google and start to be desperate.

Edited 7 April, 20197 yr by kepardi

if u put non-dcc shocks in ur car, ur going to b faced with a myriad of errors which can't b easily coded away.

DCC, when fitted, has a network of sensors, and is relied upon by many other modules/features in the car.

 

so i would recommend to proceed with caution.

 

replacing just the springs, assuming the drop is small (10 to 30mm), won't cause any issues for the DCC shocks.

 

Edited 8 April, 20197 yr by JR RS

Interesting... Trying to find similarities in what you describe on your car and my 2 month old 272 Sportline is almost impossible. No notice of any different behaviour or disconnection between front and rear. In Comfort it's wallow-y yes but purposefully so, you go over bumps or other anomalies almost without noticing it at all. Sport on the other side offers surprisingly good body control for the weight and size of the car and yes damping is firmer in that case and less forgiving but it's still miles better than cars with actually firm suspensions. Maybe it's a combination of roads and which cars you're coming from, and surely studded tires don't help to that. We do have pretty smooth roads around here and I've always had firm sporty hatches so the ride of the Sportline for me is as comfortable as I could wish for, while on Sport it offers enough control for the speed that I can sensibly put into it on a public road. I haven't even bothered upgrading the rear anti roll bar which was high up in my list before getting the car.

However you say you've done 55,000km whereas I have less than 2K. What it like that since the day you bought it or it has developed this over time? If it wasn't like this from start I'd first have the suspension checked thoroughly by a specialist.

No idea about air suspension options I'm afraid. I mean even lowering springs options are minimal. You have to go with either Eibach or H&R which for me lower the car too much.

 

7 hours ago, newbie69 said:

Interesting... Trying to find similarities in what you describe on your car and my 2 month old 272 Sportline is almost impossible. No notice of any different behaviour or disconnection between front and rear. In Comfort it's wallow-y yes but purposefully so, you go over bumps or other anomalies almost without noticing it at all. Sport on the other side offers surprisingly good body control for the weight and size of the car and yes damping is firmer in that case and less forgiving but it's still miles better than cars with actually firm suspensions. Maybe it's a combination of roads and which cars you're coming from, and surely studded tires don't help to that. We do have pretty smooth roads around here and I've always had firm sporty hatches so the ride of the Sportline for me is as comfortable as I could wish for, while on Sport it offers enough control for the speed that I can sensibly put into it on a public road. I haven't even bothered upgrading the rear anti roll bar which was high up in my list before getting the car.

However you say you've done 55,000km whereas I have less than 2K. What it like that since the day you bought it or it has developed this over time? If it wasn't like this from start I'd first have the suspension checked thoroughly by a specialist.

No idea about air suspension options I'm afraid. I mean even lowering springs options are minimal. You have to go with either Eibach or H&R which for me lower the car too much.

 

 

Well, Swedish roads are a lot better than ours. There was a comparison lately in the Finnish press between Sweden and Finland regarding the budgets for road maintenance. The outcome was that Finland has significantly heavier taxation for road transport but half the maintenance budget per road km.  A superb 280 sportline costs over 60.000 euros here as new, and the tax part is even used in somewhere else than road keeping... People with higher end cars end up with supporting the socialist state, added to even heavier progression with our income tax compared to Sweden. And the next government will most probably be based on a left-green -coalition so the things will not be a lot better in the near future...

 

Actually, I have to say that the condition of our roads is more comparable with Russia than Sweden.

 

I bought the car as new, and I think there is no sudden change in behavior with the DCC. The difference between different DCC  mode has always been subtle but noticeable. Basically, I would love Comfort mode for the first cm of suspension play, and Sport after that. Less body movement with more comfort.

 

Maybe the set will be available before my Ford Explorer PHEV arrives  Then the Superb will go to my wife, and I think it will be kept for several years to come. It reminds me of the 90's Saab 9000 turbo's I used to drive back then: Similarly lower segment than german competition, and less jealous toyota driving neighbours.

 

PS. Can you imagine that due to co2-based car tax, the hybrid, officially 78g/km c02 450hp USA-Ford SUV will cost approximately the same than a new Superb 280/272 with higher emissions?

Edited 8 April, 20197 yr by kepardi

14 hours ago, kepardi said:

our roads is more comparable with Russia

believe me, they can't be worse than in Latvia
i'm dreaming about dynamic mode -

comfort for speeds 0-30 km/h, normal 31-70 and all higher must be sport

 

Airlift Perfomance V2
https://www.drive2.ru/l/500212095892062783/

https://www.drive2.ru/l/501003469386154446/

DCC cancellation kit
https://www.awesomegti.com/shop-by-brand/kw/kw-electronic-damping-cancellation-kit-volkswagen-golf-mk7/?fbclid=IwAR1N2QeIQueZq4VTB7nMEVu0-myeJxfcDECE0-X35fOa3iP0PbQRfY78IuY
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/458494-dcc-on-a-sportline/?do=findComment&comment=5159332

 

2 hours ago, MartiniB said:

believe me, they can't be worse than in Latvia
i'm dreaming about dynamic mode -

comfort for speeds 0-30 km/h, normal 31-70 and all higher must be sport

 

Airlift Perfomance V2
https://www.drive2.ru/l/500212095892062783/

https://www.drive2.ru/l/501003469386154446/

DCC cancellation kit
https://www.awesomegti.com/shop-by-brand/kw/kw-electronic-damping-cancellation-kit-volkswagen-golf-mk7/?fbclid=IwAR1N2QeIQueZq4VTB7nMEVu0-myeJxfcDECE0-X35fOa3iP0PbQRfY78IuY
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/458494-dcc-on-a-sportline/?do=findComment&comment=5159332

 

I wonder why DCC wouldn't work with AIR? If it does that's perfect combo right? Air would mean even softer ride but with bit less wallowing. 
Would be real cool if we knew some one who would be able to code additional DCC properties, I think best solution would be like Arteon has (different adjustments). However I don't think sport in high speeds would be good for me. I really love comfort mode on high way at speeds from 130-200km/h. Even after on some roads in Germany its fine. Normal does work somehow "Dynamic" though. It still allows car to wallow though. I did drive replacement Octavia for two days now and got to say the difference in Normal mode vs normal Octavia suspension is just HUGE... Literally the difference is crazy... When you steer really quickly you can feel rear go its own way on Octavia (probably because its not multi-link suspension) but also it feels so soft and unsteady upfront. 

In Slovenia comfort is just fine (I usually drive about 138 on GPS - 145 speedo).

But I do believe normal mode could have some adjustments.

P.S.: I think DCC is made the way it is, cause Superb is not a sporty car. So they wanted to make it soft at 19inch wheels and that kinda failed with the wallowing. However I like that to be honest, when I drive normally I like it a lot. I wouldn't change DCC on Superb for my self. I love it always. I generally use normal mode except on long high way trips where I put into Comfort. But I think there should be more options as every one has its own style of driving. 

On 08/04/2019 at 05:19, JR RS said:

 

if u put non-dcc shocks in ur car, ur going to b faced with a myriad of errors which can't b easily coded away.

 

 

Not even remotely true. Not only can it be coded away but there are actually devices to plug in to fool the system. 

1 minute ago, BGB said:

 

Not even remotely true. Not only can it be coded away but there are actually devices to plug in to fool the system. 

That's probably true. But fooling sensors can cause additional safety issues or issues with the way how car handles. Every electronic system in the car is connected to DCC once its added. Including entire ESC unit... I would never go for "fooling" sensors option. So the only "true" way to remove DCC safely would be to code it out with VCDS/VCP what ever works. 

31 minutes ago, JackySi said:

I really love comfort mode on high way at speeds from 130-200km/h.

but i felt it so dangerous, that waterbed isn't for speeds over 100kmh,
while steering by both hands on 160kmh i had to ask wife's assistance to set DCC to Sport mode

Just now, MartiniB said:

but i felt it so dangerous, that waterbed isn't for speeds over 100kmh,
while steering by both hands on 160kmh i had to ask wife's assistance to set DCC to Sport mode

I honestly have no issues with that. It even feels better because car evens out all the small imperfections of the road, so it feels like there is almost no bumps at higher speeds. However I DID notice once or twice where there are like super big holes or imperfections that car does get little "insecure" but that was like twice in almost 2 years from the date of purchase. I do drive fast very often so maybe I just got used to it all haha... My Superb is used to high speed driving. I had to buy new Summer tyres this year I think that tells its own story. 
 

I find the stock DCC setup and different modes tuned almost perfectly for this particular car. Comfort is as easy as you'd expect it and of-course there is a bit of wallow-ing that comes with this.  To completely decouple the vertical damping from the roll rate during corners you'd need much more sophisticated suspension like electric anti roll bars found on the Q7 etc. un-realistic to expect such systems on a Superb. Sport on the other hand, on a 272 AWD with Sportline DCC suspension (L&K is a bit different) tightens things significantly to the point that I was able to carry almost identical speeds around corners as in a Golf GTI, with a bit more roll than in the GTI but with definitely less drama (the Superb felt indifferently neutral close to the limit), to me that says a lot. And of-course in Sport all imperfections are coming through clearer but you never have this sharp/harsh compression as if something has broken that you do get for example on cars with firm coilovers or aftermarket suspension. If someones finds Sport "too firm" they clearly haven't driven firm cars... I leave it in Normal for the biggest part of my daily commute which is non-perfect b-roads or switch to Sport if I feel like pushing on.

I can totally accept that someone might want to improve this (everything can be improved) but if this level of performance isn't enough I imagine it will take a lot of money to go beyond it with proper aftermarket suspension (not merely a set of springs).

Edited 9 April, 20197 yr by newbie69

12 minutes ago, JackySi said:

Superb is used to high speed driving.

when police doesn't see and there is some local driver who shows the "right" speed
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/443636-220-sportine-cosumption/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-5105438

 

 

13 minutes ago, JackySi said:

I had to buy new Summer tyres this year I think that tells its own story.

had to replace on 17kKm

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/451930-dangerous-tyre-wear-on-inside-shoulder/?tab=comments#comment-5078827

 

1 minute ago, MartiniB said:

when police doesn't see and there is some local driver who shows the "right" speed
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/443636-220-sportine-cosumption/?page=3&tab=comments#comment-5105438

 

 

had to replace on 17kKm

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/451930-dangerous-tyre-wear-on-inside-shoulder/?tab=comments#comment-5078827

 

Hehe  

I'm getting Goodyear Asymmetric 3 this week i hope they're going to last longer... I didn't have any weird wears though, just both inside/outside edges cause of the cornering, the inside was still 4mm while outer edges were flat. 
How come you got a petrol for that type of driving? 15,8l/100km is crazy. I have 8.5L average at approx. 160km/h average speed on 140kw diesel, tho that's off-topic  

10 minutes ago, JackySi said:

8.5L average

average were quite acceptable -

8.8l/100km (32mpg) on 5900km trip
519,17 litres
699,91 euros

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Riga/Augustov,+15-001,+Poland/Slubice,+Poland/Bremen,+Germany/Hoorn,+Netherlands/Alkmaar,+Netherlands/Haarlem,+Netherlands/Amsterdam,+Netherlands/The+Hague,+Netherlands/Rotterdam,+Netherlands/Antwerp,+Belgium/Bruges,+Belgium/Ghent,+Belgium/Brussels,+Belgium/Luxembourg+City,+Luxembourg/Trier,+Germany/Cochem,+Germany/Boppard,+Germany/Mainz,+Germany/Stuttgart,+Germany/Torzym,+66-235,+Poland/Augustov,+15-001,+Poland/Riga/

 

Edited 9 April, 20197 yr by MartiniB

1 minute ago, MartiniB said:

average were quite acceptable -

8.8l/100km (32mpg) on 5900km trip
519,17 litres
699,91 euros

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Riga/Augustow,+Poland/Slubice,+Poland/Bremen,+Germany/Hoorn,+Netherlands/Alkmaar,+Netherlands/Haarlem,+Netherlands/Amsterdam,+Netherlands/The+Hague,+Netherlands/Rotterdam,+Netherlands/Antwerp,+Belgium/Bruges,+Belgium/Ghent,+Belgium/Brussels,+Belgium/Luxembourg+City,+Luxembourg/Trier,+Germany/Cochem,+56812,+Germany/Boppard,+56154,+Germany/Mainz,+Germany/Stuttgart,+Germany/Torzym,+66-235,+Poland/Augustow,+Poland/Riga/@53.9119363,8.1500012,4.44z/data=!4m139!4m138!1m5!1m1!1s0x46eecfb0e5073ded:0x400cfcd68f2fe30!2m2!1d24.1051865!2d56.9496487!1m5!1m1!1s0x46e0505609dd208d:0xea806f10b88a9f4a!2m2!1d22.9796024!2d53.8434431!1m5!1m1!1s0x4707a262e3e28de5:0x7e329f339a2016f7!2m2!1d14.5604649!2d52.351065!1m5!1m1!1s0x47b128100ceee335:0xc2e8885cf937df51!2m2!1d8.8016936!2d53.0792962!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c8a90c31fad5df:0xcf99fa4d78d3ef18!2m2!1d5.0602124!2d52.6423654!1m5!1m1!1s0x47cf57b2d7368c5b:0x400de5a8d1e7470!2m2!1d4.7533754!2d52.6323813!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c5ef6c60e1e9fb:0x8ae15680b8a17e39!2m2!1d4.6462194!2d52.3873878!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c63fb5949a7755:0x6600fd4cb7c0af8d!2m2!1d4.9035614!2d52.3679843!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c5b72f4298bd71:0x400de5a8d1e6c10!2m2!1d4.3006999!2d52.0704978!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c5b7605f54c47d:0x5229bbac955e4b85!2m2!1d4.4777326!2d51.9244201!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c3f68ebfc3887d:0x3eaf448482a88ab8!2m2!1d4.4024643!2d51.2194475!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c350d0c11e420d:0x1aa2f35ac8834df7!2m2!1d3.2246995!2d51.209348!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c370e1339443ad:0x40099ab2f4d5140!2m2!1d3.7174243!2d51.0543422!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c3a4ed73c76867:0xc18b3a66787302a7!2m2!1d4.3517103!2d50.8503396!1m5!1m1!1s0x479548cd9df32c57:0x400d1d6d1056d10!2m2!1d6.1319346!2d49.611621!1m5!1m1!1s0x47957c9bd11cfbc5:0xfe0ca3a54dcd724b!2m2!1d6.6371433!2d49.749992!1m5!1m1!1s0x47be4774bc008229:0xf7918a52d802e254!2m2!1d7.166667!2d50.146944!1m5!1m1!1s0x47be704de48bf719:0x4fc1495af64bf585!2m2!1d7.58853!2d50.2311996!1m5!1m1!1s0x47bd912e33df1379:0x422d4d510db1ba0!2m2!1d8.2472526!2d49.9928617!1m5!1m1!1s0x4799db34c1ad8fd3:0x79d5c11c7791cfe4!2m2!1d9.1829321!2d48.7758459!1m5!1m1!1s0x47065338dc385afb:0x583d8854fc911c86!2m2!1d15.082202!2d52.3123803!1m5!1m1!1s0x46e0505609dd208d:0xea806f10b88a9f4a!2m2!1d22.9796024!2d53.8434431!1m5!1m1!1s0x46eecfb0e5073ded:0x400cfcd68f2fe30!2m2!1d24.1051865!2d56.9496487

 

Not bad for 220 - 2litre TSI. I'd say Diesel would probably return only about 2L per 100km which depending on your views is nothing. I do like new TSI engines a lot. Though I'd still probably get diesel until electric. Some how they're quieter (at least for me) at higher speeds. That's some trip though =). You love driving don't you? =) 

4 minutes ago, JackySi said:

You love driving don't you? =)

yeah, and love my Superb then too

there my trip from 2017.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Riga/Lublin,+Poland/Miskolc,+Hungary/Budapest,+Hungary/Timișoara,+Romania/Bran+Castle,+Strada+General+Traian+Moșoiu,+Bran,+Romania/Burgas,+Bulgaria/Santa+Marina,+Bulgaria/Belgrade,+Serbia/Bratislava,+Slovakia/Brno,+Czechia/Bialystok,+Poland/Riga/

 

TDI tractor isn't the choice for me, next car maybe will have smaller TSI,

this week i'm driving Octavia 1.4 TSI, enough for the city and consumption is 9l 100km instead my 12l

 

we have to stop, going complete OT