49 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

They each do plenty miles, being a GreenLine might well make little difference with some types of use.

Were they used as Taxis before you got them?

 

 

had the 15 plate from new

 

i dont believe the 13 plate was

On 24/08/2020 at 09:52, chimaera said:

The spring is correct. Your car is a facelifted model though, so the correct damper is 3C0 513 049 CP. If I remember correctly, the BR part was superseded in production by the CP part, so even if you went into the dealer looking for the BR part I think you would probably be given the CP one.

Thanks again to Chimaera   :-) 

 

Got a PM from another member ( if i succeeded  ), so I was reminded to check   ( strange how a lot of us forgets to say thank's when things are working well ...) 

 

 the ride height is now  380 front ( not done anything )and 395 rear  ( so the front is now a bit low  ? ) used at rear ( weight class 8 springes  3C0 511 115 AG  and the original 3C0 513 049 CP damper ).

If I have not mistaken it could be around 395 , both ? so maybe the font are old , or a weight class low ? car has done 115k km ( 71k Miles ?) 

best regards ulf

On 24/06/2021 at 20:42, ulfnilsen said:

Thanks again to Chimaera   :-) 

 

Got a PM from another member ( if i succeeded  ), so I was reminded to check   ( strange how a lot of us forgets to say thank's when things are working well ...) 

 

 the ride height is now  380 front ( not done anything )and 395 rear  ( so the front is now a bit low  ? ) used at rear ( weight class 8 springes  3C0 511 115 AG  and the original 3C0 513 049 CP damper ).

If I have not mistaken it could be around 395 , both ? so maybe the font are old , or a weight class low ? car has done 115k km ( 71k Miles ?) 

best regards ulf

I was the member that ulfnilsen referred to in previous post.  Since I went self employed in 2015, I always have at least 170kg of kit for work in the boot (and often on the back seats, I know I really should buy a van as everyone on site keeps telling me) of my 63 plate TDI 170 DSG 4x4 estate and the arse end was starting to sag, to say the least, in the 108K miles / almost 8 years since it left the factory (bit like myself after 55 years on this planet :-).  Got to the point where I was struggling to get over even the smallest speed bump at crawling speed without something scraping.  Book ride height for the rear on standard suspension like mine is 394.1mm +/- 10mm.  Fully laden ride height was less than 310mm so was sagging at least 85mm and even with the boot unloaded for the first time in at least 5 years when I was weighing the kit I carry, ride height was only 340mm, a sag of around 55mm.  So decided to bite the bullet and replace rear dampers (and rubber sleeve/cover), springs (and plastic end caps), bump stops and all the consumable fixings.   Local Skoda dealership kindly helped me identify the existing springs and damper by confirming the associated PR code for my car, 0YF for weight range 6 springs and 1JA for standard dampers.  That was the same as ulfnilsen.  He'd gone for weight range 8 springs, 3C0 511 115 AG  and the original 3C0 513 049 CP damper and was pleased with the result.  But as I am carrying at least another 30kg I decided to go up one step more to weight range 9 springs, 3C0 511 115 AH, again with the original damper although in my case the correct part number was 3C0 513 049 CR according to dealer.  Was originally going to use OEM equivalent parts but when I had a price from a local, well respected, VW independent he would only use genuine VAG parts thanks to bad experiences in the past.  Was about to go down that route when decided to see what the Skoda dealership would charge, they were actually about £20 cheaper overall thanks to the independent charging list price on parts and insisting on quoting for a minimum 3 hours work (and charging for more if he hit problems) whereas the dealer I assume quoted based on fixed book timings and so ended up cheaper despite hourly labour rates being roughly twice the independent.

 

20 quid is 20 quid and the independent didn't offer a courtesy car so the work was completed yesterday at Autosales Burntwood and whilst my wallet is now lighter to the tune of £718.08, it has absolutely transformed the car.  Front suspension is sat at 387mm (a few mm low but still in tolerance) whilst rear is now 403mm empty (about 8mm high but still in tolerance) dropping to 369mm fully laden.  That's still 16mm below the minimum book value but half the depth of the tire wall is no longer hidden in the wheel well (there's now actually a gap between the arch and tyre!) and ride height looks spot on to my eyes.  And all the clanking and majority of harshness in the ride has gone despite being on 18" 40 profile tyres and still on original front suspension.  I suspect it was like this when I first got the car (was a 3 month old dealer demonstrator) but the slow deterioration in ride quality in the 105K miles + 7-1/2 years I've owned the vehicle meant that I'd gotten used to the appalling ride quality as it grew to seem normal.  Just wished I'd done it couple of years ago as only planning to keep it for another 12 months although they will at least now be comfortable months.  Next job is 2 new rear tyres and 4-wheel alignment as the rear camber and toe-in are a mile out which coupled with the extreme loads carried and possibly my driving style when not motorway cruising (4-wheel drive means safe to boot it at every junction and roundabout, so I do, which I assumes biases the torque (and hence wear) to the rear) likely explains why rear tyres last on average just under 12k miles (compared with 24K average for same Dunlop RT Sport (and later on, Michelin Primacy 4) tyres on the front) although they don't wear particularly unevenly, usually no more than a mm variation across the width of the tyre.  Anyway, attached are before and after photos, both empty and fully laden, to illustrate the transformation in ride height.  I'm sure the fully laden before photo must win me a trophy for the most lowered Superb in the world :-).

 

Hopefully someone else will find this information useful and happy to receive PM's if anyone has any questions.

Just now, DrCorbyLee said:

I was the member that ulfnilsen referred to in previous post.  Since I went self employed in 2015, I always have at least 170kg of kit for work in the boot (and often on the back seats, I know I really should buy a van as everyone on site keeps telling me) of my 63 plate TDI 170 DSG 4x4 estate and the arse end was starting to sag, to say the least, in the 108K miles / almost 8 years since it left the factory (bit like myself after 55 years on this planet :-).  Got to the point where I was struggling to get over even the smallest speed bump at crawling speed without something scraping.  Book ride height for the rear on standard suspension like mine is 394.1mm +/- 10mm.  Fully laden ride height was less than 310mm so was sagging at least 85mm and even with the boot unloaded for the first time in at least 5 years when I was weighing the kit I carry, ride height was only 340mm, a sag of around 55mm.  So decided to bite the bullet and replace rear dampers (and rubber sleeve/cover), springs (and plastic end caps), bump stops and all the consumable fixings.   Local Skoda dealership kindly helped me identify the existing springs and damper by confirming the associated PR code for my car, 0YF for weight range 6 springs and 1JA for standard dampers.  That was the same as ulfnilsen.  He'd gone for weight range 8 springs, 3C0 511 115 AG  and the original 3C0 513 049 CP damper and was pleased with the result.  But as I am carrying at least another 30kg I decided to go up one step more to weight range 9 springs, 3C0 511 115 AH, again with the original damper although in my case the correct part number was 3C0 513 049 CR according to dealer.  Was originally going to use OEM equivalent parts but when I had a price from a local, well respected, VW independent he would only use genuine VAG parts thanks to bad experiences in the past.  Was about to go down that route when decided to see what the Skoda dealership would charge, they were actually about £20 cheaper overall thanks to the independent charging list price on parts and insisting on quoting for a minimum 3 hours work (and charging for more if he hit problems) whereas the dealer I assume quoted based on fixed book timings and so ended up cheaper despite hourly labour rates being roughly twice the independent.

 

20 quid is 20 quid and the independent didn't offer a courtesy car so the work was completed yesterday at Autosales Burntwood and whilst my wallet is now lighter to the tune of £718.08, it has absolutely transformed the car.  Front suspension is sat at 387mm (a few mm low but still in tolerance) whilst rear is now 403mm empty (about 8mm high but still in tolerance) dropping to 369mm fully laden.  That's still 16mm below the minimum book value but half the depth of the tire wall is no longer hidden in the wheel well (there's now actually a gap between the arch and tyre!) and ride height looks spot on to my eyes.  And all the clanking and majority of harshness in the ride has gone despite being on 18" 40 profile tyres and still on original front suspension.  I suspect it was like this when I first got the car (was a 3 month old dealer demonstrator) but the slow deterioration in ride quality in the 105K miles + 7-1/2 years I've owned the vehicle meant that I'd gotten used to the appalling ride quality as it grew to seem normal.  Just wished I'd done it couple of years ago as only planning to keep it for another 12 months although they will at least now be comfortable months.  Next job is 2 new rear tyres and 4-wheel alignment as the rear camber and toe-in are a mile out which coupled with the extreme loads carried and possibly my driving style when not motorway cruising (4-wheel drive means safe to boot it at every junction and roundabout, so I do, which I assumes biases the torque (and hence wear) to the rear) likely explains why rear tyres last on average just under 12k miles (compared with 24K average for same Dunlop RT Sport (and later on, Michelin Primacy 4) tyres on the front) although they don't wear particularly unevenly, usually no more than a mm variation across the width of the tyre.  Anyway, attached are before and after photos, both empty and fully laden, to illustrate the transformation in ride height.  I'm sure the fully laden before photo must win me a trophy for the most lowered Superb in the world :-).

 

Hopefully someone else will find this information useful and happy to receive PM's if anyone has any questions.

Hadn't realised photo attachments came through without file names which described what each shot was .  In the order in post they are as follows:

• After swap - empty
• After swap - fully laden,
• Before swap - empty
• Before swap - fully laden (although I suspect you could guess the last one, the missing tyre wall at the top is a bit of a giveaway ;-)

Thanks to all for the posts in here. Am going to check the ride height on my '61 plate, as I think it's running lower than it should. My bike rack scrapes quite low bumps in the road which is what's made me think of it. Could of course be fine but in that case I'll consider some stiffer suspension anyway.

 

 

 

Looks like I need new rear parts.

 

Chassis is G15 according to the codes. Unladen stationary height from wheel centre to wheel arch is approx 360mm both rear sides, 380 front left and 385 front right.

 

So it seems the fronts are within 10mm of the 390.8 book value but the rears are around 34mm lower than the 394.1 rear book value.

It has a towbar fitted which will affect the height, so that suggests I need tow-bar-rated springs in the rear.

 

But what about the dampers? Car is 10 years old but only done around 54K, so I think I'll start with the springs and see how it goes once they're fitted.

 

Edited 13 September, 20214 yr by Yearofthegoat

1 hour ago, Yearofthegoat said:

Looks like I need new rear parts.

Chassis is G15 according to the codes. Unladen stationary height from wheel centre to wheel arch is approx 360mm both rear sides, 380 front left and 385 front right.

So it seems the fronts are within 10mm of the 390.8 book value but the rears are around 34mm lower than the 394.1 rear book value.

It has a towbar fitted which will affect the height, so that suggests I need tow-bar-rated springs in the rear.

But what about the dampers? Car is 10 years old but only done around 54K, so I think I'll start with the springs and see how it goes once they're fitted.

 

G15 means that the front shock absorbers have OEM part number 3C0413031AS

 

(8)

3C0413031AS

gas shock absorber

Model data: PR-G15

front axle, steering | Skoda Superb 2011, suspension shock absorber (spring cyl.) anti-roll bar front combi

http://www.oemepc.com/skoda/part_single/catalog/sk/markt/CZ/modell/SUP/year/2011/drive_standart/632/hg_ug/411/subcategory/411001/part_id/2561497/lang/e

 

gknautomotive.com list 1K0511115BL as being suitable for the 2011 Superb MK2 estate 2.0TDI 170HP 4x4

 

The colour coding for 1K0511115BL is 1 white dot and 2 green dots.

 

https://web.tecalliance.net/gkn/en/parts/1/86348/detail?targetType=cars&targetId=32789&typeNumber=32789&groups=188#@brc/brands:Car;targetType:cars/assem:SKODA%20SUPERB%20II%20Estate%20(3T5)%202.0%20TDI%204x4;targetType:cars;targetId:32789;typeNumber:32789/lnkparts:Coil%20Springs;targetType:cars;assemblyGroupId:100113;targetId:32789;typeNumber:32789;groups:188;brands:1;page:0/detail:86348;brandId:1;articleNo:86348;targetType:cars;targetId:32789;typeNumber:32789;groups:188

 

Eibach R10759 is sold to replace 1K0511115BK, 1K0511115BL, and 1K0511115BM.

 

Sachs 994783 is sold to replace just 1K0511115BL.

 

(1)

1K0511115BL

coil spring 1 paint mark 2 paint marks

rear white green Model data: PR-1JA+0YK

rear axle | Skoda Superb 2011, suspension shock absorber (spring cyl.) rear combi

http://www.oemepc.com/skoda/part_single/catalog/sk/markt/CZ/modell/SUP/year/2011/drive_standart/632/hg_ug/511/subcategory/511001/part_id/2561497/lang/e

 

If you do have 1K0511115BL rear springs, they will be marked with 1 white dot and 2 green dots, and the car will have build codes 1JA and 0YK.

 

1K0511115BL on autodoc

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/oem/1k0511115bl?supplier[0]=112&supplier[1]=32

 

 

Before making any decisions, it's important to identify what rear springs the car came with out of the factory. It might for example have 1JB or 1JD build codes as follows:

 

suspension shock absorber (spring cyl.) for models with heavy duty suspension

PR-1JB

 

suspension shock absorber (spring cyl.) for vehicles with higher vehicle chassis

rear +10MM

PR-1JD

 

Build code 1JB means that the car has heavy duty suspension.

 

Build code 1JD means that the car has a higher vehicle chassis.

 

If the car has either of these build codes, the 1K0511115BL rear spring would not be correct as that belongs to a car with build code 1JA which is standard suspension.

SPIDAN Coil Spring Rear Axle

Article number: 86348

• Fitting Position:
  
   Rear Axle
• Spring Design:Coil spring with constant wire diameter
• Length [mm]:365
• Diameter [mm]:115
• Weight [kg]:2,40
• Colour Coding:Green (2x), White
• Wire Diameter [mm]:12,50
• SPIDAN:Coil Spring

 

 

ОЕМ NUMBER

OEM reference number(s) comparable with the original spare part number

1K0 511 115 BL

 

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spidan/7445753

 

Edited 13 September, 20214 yr by Carlston

3 hours ago, Yearofthegoat said:

Looks like I need new rear parts.

 

Chassis is G15 according to the codes. Unladen stationary height from wheel centre to wheel arch is approx 360mm both rear sides, 380 front left and 385 front right.

 

So it seems the fronts are within 10mm of the 390.8 book value but the rears are around 34mm lower than the 394.1 rear book value.

It has a towbar fitted which will affect the height, so that suggests I need tow-bar-rated springs in the rear.

 

But what about the dampers? Car is 10 years old but only done around 54K, so I think I'll start with the springs and see how it goes once they're fitted.

 

You should fit springs and dampers as a matched set. I've cross-referenced all of the rear combinations in the pdf attached to the OP in this thread. If you're not sure what rear setup you currently have, take off one of the rear wheels and see what paint marks are on the spring. Each spring has a unique paint code that we can cross-reference to the part numbers and figure out what you might need to go up to from there. For the front, like for like is probably fine as the front axle load doesn't vary nearly as much as the rear between laden and unladen. Again, taking a wheel off and noting the paint marks at the front will identify what's fitted and that's easy to cross-reference to a part number.

I have had a quote to replace both rear springs with standard ones - the chap I spoke to said fitting up-rated springs would affect the usual ride height (which is right, I believe) so recommended normal springs with the existing normal dampers. £78.54 per spring, £306.26 two springs fitted.

 

More than I'd like to pay but I'm not sure I could do this myself very easily. I'd need to add some MAD spring assisters to that total to help with the towing sag.

I'd check what weight range the car has as standard, it's pretty common for UK/IE cars to get weight range 6 which tends to be too soft, especially with a towbar fitted. Mine has weight range 6 fitted, and even with new springs/dampers to that spec it sat 14 mm too low at the back. At that stage the helper springs from MAD were better value than replacing everything again. They brought the rear back up to where it should be and it rides and handles fine.

 

It's not much work to pop the rear wheel off and see what colour the paint marks on the spring are, and we can figure out a (probably) better option from there.

On 13/09/2021 at 20:38, Yearofthegoat said:

I have had a quote to replace both rear springs with standard ones - the chap I spoke to said fitting up-rated springs would affect the usual ride height (which is right, I believe) so recommended normal springs with the existing normal dampers. £78.54 per spring, £306.26 two springs fitted.

 

More than I'd like to pay but I'm not sure I could do this myself very easily. I'd need to add some MAD spring assisters to that total to help with the towing sag.

The consensus seems to be that the majority of UK and Irish cars with standard chassis have the rather soft weight range 6 springs fitted at the factory, I assume in an effort to better cope with the crap roads we have over here.  Definitely worth confirming exactly what you currently have fitted, either by checking paint marks on the springs like chimeaera suggests or, if like me you are lazy and colour blind, sweet talking local Skoda parts department and asking them to quote for replacement of the standard parts and confirming the corresponding PR codes.  You can then decide how far to upgrade the weight range.  Given the amount of weight my car always carries (a minimum of 170kg in boot) I made the decision to go up 3 weight ranges to 9.  Even with that increase the car still only sits 8mm too high on rear when empty apart from spare wheel (which only happened when it came back from having the work done) which is actually still within the factory tolerance of +/- 10mm.  So in your situation where it sounds like you are looking to improve ride quality / clearance when empty rather than for load carrying capacity as I'd gone for, I'd be looking to stick with a spring in the same standard chassis range (as your G15 PR code for front suspension suggests) rather than going for heavy duty or higher chassis range (which in any case wouldn't be correct for your chassis and would likely throw out handling as would never be combined with the standard chassis setup you have on front) but go up 2 weight ranges to 8.  I suspect that this means empty your car will sit a little above the design ride height (but well within the tolerances although I guarantee it will look odd as you will have grown accustomed to the stance with sagging rear suspension)) but when you do load up the boot or tow, you will still sit considerably higher than you currently do even when empty.

 

With the prices you have been quoted, are they from a main dealer or independent?  The labour for my complete swap (springs, dampers and all the single use bolts and replacements for all the plastic/rubber bits associated  with springs and dampers) at main dealer was only smidge over 200 quid including VAT so the quoted labour for just the two springs isn't necessarily a bargain.   Again, just my take on it but if you are planning to keep the car going for another year or two as I am, I would definitely consider also getting new standard dampers installed at the same time if the budget can run to it.  The dampers were around 125 quid each and whilst yours won't obviously be as worn as mine having done 50K less even though couple of years older, in conjunction with the new springs I reckon it will make it feel like a new car again.  And the last thing you want to do is spend 150 quid getting teh new springs fitted and then find that doesn't give the ride quality you'd hoped for and so then have to spend similar sum of labour again to fit new dampers.

Thanks for the responses folks. The chap at the garage was dead against fit stiffer springs - for fear of ruining the 'unladen'/normal ride quality. Presumably that's because the dampers wouldn't match?

 

All this came about because I have a bike rack which I use to carry 4 adult-sized bikes (I fitted the tow bar last year for that), and I noticed that the car looked a bit low and also the rack scrapes when there are speed bumps or uneven ground. Not too surprising, really but it made me wonder about the suspension.

 

What I need is to stiffen up the loaded ride - i.e. 4up, roof box on, boot full, 4 bikes plus the rack, ideally without badly affecting the normal 2 or 4up no luggage etc. ride quality.

 

@DrCorbyLee Looks like that quote is on the high side then.

 

I also need my Haldex looking at, which was quoted as £150 for a service, £650 for a fitted replacement.

 

It's a bit sad but I think I might just trade it in against an iV or a Kodiaq.

Worn dampers will reduce ride height too as the gas capsule in the damper is basically a spring too.

Yeah, I need to decide whether to keep it and get the work done or just call it day. Not easy, I paid £22k for it, can't get anything close for that amount nowadays.

25 minutes ago, Yearofthegoat said:

Yeah, I need to decide whether to keep it and get the work done or just call it day. Not easy, I paid £22k for it, can't get anything close for that amount nowadays.

Exactly the same reason why I've invested in sorting the rear suspension as not a chance of finding anything similar in Mk3 superb for the 25K I paid for mine when it was 3 months old with 3K on the clock back in early 2014 so biding my time and keeping the old girl running until I stumbled onto a bargain.

 

WRT damper versus spring, they don't know what they are talking about! As long as you select  a spring in the same chassis group  you should be OK e.g. the same damper for my facelift car covers the full range from weight class 5  all the way up to weight class 14 so the standard damper would certainly be fine to cover jump from class 5 to 8 as suggested for you.  It's not like you are buying an after market uprated spring, all these springs are standard factory fit .  Yes, the uprated springs will be slightly stiffer but from my own experience the ride quality with a stiffer new spring and new damper is infinitely  more comfortable than that with the knackered sagging old setup

38 minutes ago, DrCorbyLee said:

the same damper for my facelift car covers the full range from weight class 5 all the way up to weight class 14

 

The weight range 14 rear spring 3C0511115AJ on the Superb MK2 is called a weight range 9 rear spring on the VW Passat, and really should have been called a weight range 10 on the Superb MK2 because that is where it logically is. However, Skoda had already designated another spring weight range 10 so they couldn't do that...and this weight range 10 spring was logically only a weight range 6 spring...but Skoda had already designated another spring weight range 6...

 

The VW Passat 2.0TDI 4x4 estate uses this rear spring according to gknautomotive.com

rear axle | Skoda Superb 2011, suspension shock absorber (spring cyl.) rear combi

(1)

3C0511115AJ

coil spring 1 paint mark 1 paint mark 1 paint mark

white lilac green Model data: PR-0YP

http://www.oemepc.com/skoda/part_single/catalog/sk/markt/CZ/modell/SUP/year/2011/drive_standart/632/hg_ug/511/subcategory/511001/part_id/2561497/lang/e

rear axle | Volkswagen Passat/4Motion/Santana 2015, suspension shock absorbers rear fr.wheel drv

(1)

3C0511115AJ

coil spring 1 paint mark 1 paint mark 1 paint mark

white lilac green Model data: PR-1JA+0YJ PR-1JL+0YJ PR-UA5+0YJ PR-UA6+0YJ PR-UC8+0YJ

http://www.oemepc.com/vw/part_single/catalog/vw/markt/RDW/modell/PA/year/2015/drive_standart/702/hg_ug/511/subcategory/511000/part_id/0/lang/e

 

Edited 15 September, 20214 yr by Carlston

Re. the dampers, how to tell if they've had it? There is a squeak/tweet noise behind the NS rear passenger's head when going over speed bumps, but I wonder if that might just be the seat catch (will check that out with the missus driving, usually it's me and therefore can't find the source).

 

The car doesn't pogo up and down at all but that's not exactly scientific as a check. Hasn't failed any MOTs (perhaps not a proper check either).

12 hours ago, Yearofthegoat said:

Re. the dampers, how to tell if they've had it? There is a squeak/tweet noise behind the NS rear passenger's head when going over speed bumps, but I wonder if that might just be the seat catch (will check that out with the missus driving, usually it's me and therefore can't find the source).

 

The car doesn't pogo up and down at all but that's not exactly scientific as a check. Hasn't failed any MOTs (perhaps not a proper check either).

If the ride height is below the lower limit the damper is probably knackered.

14 hours ago, Carlston said:

 

The weight range 14 rear spring 3C0511115AJ on the Superb MK2 is called a weight range 9 rear spring on the VW Passat, and really should have been called a weight range 10 on the Superb MK2 because that is where it logically is. However, Skoda had already designated another spring weight range 10 so they couldn't do that...and this weight range 10 spring was logically only a weight range 6 spring...but Skoda had already designated another spring weight range 6...

 

The VW Passat 2.0TDI 4x4 estate uses this rear spring according to gk

3C0511115AJ

3C0511115AJ

The Passat is shorter so the loads on the rear will be different compared to the Superb leading to different weight range designations.

13 hours ago, Yearofthegoat said:

Re. the dampers, how to tell if they've had it? There is a squeak/tweet noise behind the NS rear passenger's head when going over speed bumps, but I wonder if that might just be the seat catch (will check that out with the missus driving, usually it's me and therefore can't find the source).

 

The car doesn't pogo up and down at all but that's not exactly scientific as a check. Hasn't failed any MOTs (perhaps not a proper check either).

Even at 108K miles with most of it fully loaded, the dampers on mine showed no sign of leaking or pogo'ing if you did a bounce test on rear of car. But their performance obviously deteriorates with mileage (and I guess time to a lesser extent) as with the new ones fitted, the car is so much more composed over speed bumps and rough surfaces.  New springs obviously help but you still need correct damping for them to work as designed.  If budget allows then I would say change springs and dampers to ensure you get best payback in terms of improved ride from this investment.  If you can find a decent independent mechanic willing to do the fitting, brand name OEM parts aren't expensive, when I initially priced up sach branded dampers and springs with all the necessary fitting bits were not much over 200 quid from Autodoc thanks to one of their sales that seem to happen every other day.  Only reason I didn't go down that route was I couldn't find anyone to fit them. Would have done it myself as not difficult as long as you have a lift to make access easy.  Way too old to be lying on driveway in pouring rain skining my knuckles to save few quid, hence why I went for dealership and genuine parts.

1 hour ago, chimaera said:

If the ride height is below the lower limit the damper is probably knackered.

 

Probably, yes, but I can't bring myself to gamble £500+ just to find out. If I wanted to check properly how could I do it?

 

Do dampers usually wear out after 54K miles? Seems poor to me if they do as that's only 4 or 5 years for a 'normal' driver, but then it is 10 years old so maybe it's just age.

 

I think what I'll do is replace the springs myself - seems easy enough to do. If it's still too low after that, I'm thinking the only cause then must be the dampers?

 

Thanks

 

 

@chimaeraLooking at your PDF (thanks for doing that), it looks like I'll need 1K0 511 115 DF or equivalent springs for a like-for-like swap. Garage chap said car is 1JA and 0YF - but I'll double-check the spring dots when I get a chance.

 

If I want to go up a bit like @DrCorbyLee, then I'm looking at 3C0 511 115 AF or 3C0 511 115 AG - with the standard 3C0 513 049 CP dampers? So as long as I get some of those springs - Bilsteins like @rover220 for example, they should be okay. Just need to find the p/n for the control arm bolts so I can replace them. Then I can see about the dampers - which the garage would have to do.

 

(Sorry but here's a dumb question - 'facelift' means the big changes made to Skodas around 2010 right?)

 

1 hour ago, Yearofthegoat said:

@chimaeraLooking at your PDF (thanks for doing that), it looks like I'll need 1K0 511 115 DF or equivalent springs for a like-for-like swap. Garage chap said car is 1JA and 0YF - but I'll double-check the spring dots when I get a chance.

 

If I want to go up a bit like @DrCorbyLee, then I'm looking at 3C0 511 115 AF or 3C0 511 115 AG - with the standard 3C0 513 049 CP dampers? So as long as I get some of those springs - Bilsteins like @rover220 for example, they should be okay. Just need to find the p/n for the control arm bolts so I can replace them. Then I can see about the dampers - which the garage would have to do.

 

(Sorry but here's a dumb question - 'facelift' means the big changes made to Skodas around 2010 right?)

 

No, 2010 was swap from Mk1 to Mk2, facelift is the midlife "smartening up" of the Mk2 that happened somewhere in 2013.  My November 2013 car is an early example of a facelift car.  So at 2011 you are definitely pre FL which would make damper end in BR.  Finnily enough the delaer who did my work reckoned my dampers were CR rather than CP as per the PDF.  I suspect that there isn't a huge amount of difference, if any, in the dampers when the last 2 digits change and so CR, CP and BR are I surmise essentially the same damper with a different part number label on.  It's only when the main part number changes that they are significantly different e.g. Pre FL weight class 5 and below has  3C0 513 029 xx dampers whereas weight class 6 and above has 3C0 513 029 xx dampers .  I worked up a bill of materials for when I was looking at doing swap with OEM bits which has details of all the bolts etc you need.  Worth changing the plastic/rubber seats at each end of the spring as well I think as they are cheap and could explain your noise on speed bumps  if they are damaged and allow metal on metal contact between spring and seat.  Agree if you are DIY then worth swapping springs only to start with

Cool, so that's 3C0 513 049 BR dampers instead then, according the chimaera's table.

 

Have requested some more quotes (for springs and shocks) so will see what they look like.

20 minutes ago, Yearofthegoat said:

Cool, so that's 3C0 513 049 BR dampers instead then, according the chimaera's table.

 

Have requested some more quotes (for springs and shocks) so will see what they look like.

I'd agree based on that table.  When I looked autodoc were cheapest if you pick the right time to order based on what discount sale they have on at the time.  Just done a quick check and complete parts (springs, dampers, bumb stops, cover, spring caps and all bolts) for my car comes to £218 today including VAT and delivery.

 

To find part numbers of bolts etc try http://www.oemepc.com/skoda/part_single/catalog/sk/markt/CZ/modell/SUP/year/2011/drive_standart/632/hg_ug/511/subcategory/511001/part_id/2561497/lang/e.  Malwarebytes always warns me about going to this website but then never actually picks up any threats so is OK I think.  You can then search for the skoda part numbers at Autodoc to get OEM part numbers and prices.  Interestingly they reckon the damper for 2011 is CP and Autodoc shows a total of 32 different versions of the 3C0 513 049 xx part number varying in the last two letters for a single sachs damper (https://www.autodoc.co.uk/sachs/1224280) further confirming my thought that BR, CP and CR are essentially the same damper

 

As an aside, I wonder if with a decent set of spring compressors you could actually swap out the springs (and the plastic caps off each end of spring) without disconnecting the damper negating the need for any new fixings if you wanted to just try new springs?