Interesting reading. Must say I have no complaints about the ride comfort on my 1.4 TSI hatch, SE on 17 inch wheels. The compliant suspension setup suits me unlike the constant jittering that I endured in my previous F10 5 series on 18's with RFTs.  Big wheels invariably ruin the ride, and it seems like the Superb is more susceptible than most in this regard.

 

 

1 hour ago, newbie69 said:

Brave colour! Stands out for sure in that ocean of grey and silver (mine is grey lol). The best thing about this car apart from the great underpinnings is it's on a platform where everything is possible and off-the-shelf no matter if you plan on turning it into a drag weapon or a track car.

PS. Re-reading my post above now and I realized "average" driver might have a negative meaning in English, In my native language the same term is used to refer to the statistical mean of some distribution and I was referring to exactly that, in terms of priorities and requirements, not about driving skills or anything like that!

😁 no offence taken..I read it as you meant. 

55 minutes ago, J.R. said:

This thread would suggest that the worst thing about this executive sized car is that it is on the same common platform  as the VW Golf.

 

You can only do so much by varying spring & damper rates & if you look at the part numbers the same items are used across all the models, the two vehicles at the extreme ends of the range really should not be sharing the same suspension set up.

Wrong on so many levels it's impressive...

This car wouldn't have been even possible if it wasn't based on the MQB platform to begin with. A car which let's not forget has received lots of praise from owners and reviewers repeatedly. Also, the MQB platform was not developed for the Golf exclusively, several bigger cars are built on it, some similarly sized to the Superb like the Arteon and the Passat, simply because the platform offers that sort of versatility. Now, apart from being able to offer a great powertrain and overall underpinnings, tech and equipment at a price which is probably half from the next real competitor in this segment (when stepping away from the MQB cars) the other great thing about it is the aftermarket upgrade and support on power, chassis, brakes, you name it. 

Skoda's decision (or shall I say obligation?) to tune it overly towards the comfort end and not even make a vRS version despite that it would have been entirely possible on this very same platform with little changes, has absolutely nothing to do with how good the MQB is and what capabilities it does offer. That statement is like saying living in a sunny place is basically bad because you can get sunburns if you decide to go out without sun-screen...

But please do elaborate on this as I'm curious: To what did you you change your Superb's shocks and springs and what effect did it have exactly that left you un-satisfied? Also which variant do you drive? 
Because already owners that have upgraded their fixed rate shocks to Konis have reported that the car has become a joy to drive and I have personally found out that a Sportline DCC with just Eibachs and a rear arb is quite an improvement over stock that would be enough for most owners. Looking forward to hear your experiences.

Edited 19 October, 20205 yr by newbie69

I have learned over the years to recognise certain types of postings & not respond to or engage with the author , very few but yours is one of them.

 

I have never owned or modified a Superb.

Edited 19 October, 20205 yr by J.R.

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

This thread would suggest that the worst thing about this executive sized car is that it is on the same common platform  as the VW Golf.

 

You can only do so much by varying spring & damper rates & if you look at the part numbers the same items are used across all the models, the two vehicles at the extreme ends of the range really should not be sharing the same suspension set up.

 

5 minutes ago, J.R. said:

I have learned over the years to choose not to respond to or engage with certain types of postings, very few but yours is one of them.

 

I have never owned or modified a Superb.

So quick recap: You stated that the Superb essentially suffers from its MQB underpinnings and that the shock and spring modifications are not enough - Then when asked when/where/how this was proven true you replied you don't actually own (let alone have modified) the car.

Thanks for the clarification. Unfortunately I can't say this is something one does not come across often on the internet today when asking for advice.

13 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

 

So quick recap: You stated that the Superb essentially suffers from its MQB underpinnings and that the shock and spring modifications are not enough - Then when asked when/where/how this was proven true you replied you don't actually own (let alone have modified) the car.

Thanks for the clarification. Unfortunately I can't say this is something one does not come across often on the internet today when asking for advice.

That's why he is on my IGNORE LIST. He knows everything without any actual experience of owning or running the car he is talking about.

Just to confirm, I did not make any observations about peoples modifications to their vehicles, I said that to use the same suspension system on a Golf and Skoda Superb would be a compromise for one if not both the vehicles.

 

I have not owned a Golf either before you ask.

8 hours ago, J.R. said:

This thread would suggest that the worst thing about this executive sized car is that it is on the same common platform  as the VW Golf.

 

You can only do so much by varying spring & damper rates & if you look at the part numbers the same items are used across all the models, the two vehicles at the extreme ends of the range really should not be sharing the same suspension set up.

Just to play Devils advocate here for a second, but I read this post as meaning, The superb is a great car and if the only thing that was cause for concern was a great chassis (MQB) then Skoda have done a fantastic job. 
The second paragraph I read as meaning, it’s more down to the fact that they’ve used a set of suspension units that are more rated for a VW Golf than they are for a Skoda Superb given they are the same basic units. Therefore they would be underrated for a Superb sized vehicle. 
Maybe the post lost some meaning in translation?

Basically if Skoda's top of the range Superb that might be used as a Taxi or Airport Transport and carry 5 people and luggage can not go at the UK NSL or a bit quicker on a road with bends and humps without the suspension bottoming out there is something very wrong.

If it can not drive well at 60 mph or more with just a driver then basically it is crap.

 

It really really does very fast at 60 mph. It gets to 60 mph really really quick.   

All has all the gear and the suspension options required & all you need to do is steer. (Lots of engines on offer if economy wanted, Briskoda member note...)

 

 

Edited 20 October, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

1 hour ago, UndertheRadar said:

Just to play Devils advocate here for a second, but I read this post as meaning, The superb is a great car and if the only thing that was cause for concern was a great chassis (MQB) then Skoda have done a fantastic job. 
The second paragraph I read as meaning, it’s more down to the fact that they’ve used a set of suspension units that are more rated for a VW Golf than they are for a Skoda Superb given they are the same basic units. Therefore they would be underrated for a Superb sized vehicle. 
Maybe the post lost some meaning in translation?

Can we please stop discussing stuff which is not even accurate? The Golf R estate and the Superb are not on the same suspension and being based on the MQB is an infinitely good thing for owners in so many ways. Quite unfair to blame that for Skoda's decisions. Despite the shocks of a Superb and a Golf R sharing several common digits/letters in their part number (but not the entire part number) there is different DCC coding for the damping as the R (as anyone who has driven both would be able to confirm) is a clearly firmer car and there is not more than 50-70kg difference in weight between them depending on equipment. I have driven both the R and the R estate in several occasions, on one of them there were 3 people in the R estate and it was still not showing the same bounce tendency the Superb has.  In fact if Skoda had fitted to the Superb the exact same suspension as the R estate we would probably not be having this discussion in the first place, it would have sufficed perfectly for most people. Instead they have clearly opted for a more compliant setup at the expense of body control, which at least is easily addressable.

To clear it up. 
Im agreeing with you!!

I see daily what they share and don’t share across not only platforms but completely different manufacturers. 
I think it’s fantastic that people like ourselves who don’t like a certain aspect of the standard setup have so much choice as to how we go about improving it. And that’s a bonus, as a lot of other manufacturers are very limited for aftermarket choice. 
All I’m saying is, I may have read the post in question to have a different meaning, whether it was accurate or not. 
On a different note, I have my friend trying to source me a set of B6 damptronic’s which I’m going to try with original springs, so I can retain normal ride height for now. I’m not sure whether to do that first before the roll bar and see how it drives then, or just fit it at the same time I change the shocks. 
 

1 minute ago, UndertheRadar said:

To clear it up. 
Im agreeing with you!!

I see daily what they share and don’t share across not only platforms but completely different manufacturers. 
I think it’s fantastic that people like ourselves who don’t like a certain aspect of the standard setup have so much choice as to how we go about improving it. And that’s a bonus, as a lot of other manufacturers are very limited for aftermarket choice. 
All I’m saying is, I may have read the post in question to have a different meaning, whether it was accurate or not. 
On a different note, I have my friend trying to source me a set of B6 damptronic’s which I’m going to try with original springs, so I can retain normal ride height for now. I’m not sure whether to do that first before the roll bar and see how it drives then, or just fit it at the same time I change the shocks. 
 

The arb upgrade has zero effect on the ride. You won't know it's there until you corner.

Doing them at the same time makes sense from an installation economy point of view but you will not be able to appreciate how much each upgrade affected what and you will most probably (and unfairly!) attribute all of the improvement to the shocks. There's two things that will significantly change with those upgrades:

- Body-roll and under-steer bias will be reduced and the rear end will be more active during cornering  (that's the ARB)
- Overall firmer response from the chassis, less squat/dive/roll, much better connection with the road (shocks)

You're getting the same results no matter if you do them both or one at a time obviously, it's just for your own curiosity and evaluation of each upgrade that it would be preferable to do them separately, but I can also understand someone just wanting to improve the car overall without caring too much how this was done exactly.

Please do report back on the B6 Damptronic when you get them. It's been the main upgrade many people have been waiting for to turn this into a truly great car.
 

I find the suspension on my Superb a bit too noisy, but I can totally live with it, considering the price I paid for the car. I have also experienced something similar to bumpsteer on many occasions, which is even worse, but I guess I can live with that too. I have no plans of modifying the suspension so far. I am not an automotive engineer, but from what I've read replacing springs or shocks will not solve the problem of bumpsteer.

 

Just for information it's a DCC-equipped non-sportline Superb with 18-inch wheels.

8 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

The arb upgrade has zero effect on the ride. You won't know it's there until you corner.

Doing them at the same time makes sense from an installation economy point of view but you will not be able to appreciate how much each upgrade affected what and you will most probably (and unfairly!) attribute all of the improvement to the shocks. There's two things that will significantly change with those upgrades:

- Body-roll and under-steer bias will be reduced and the rear end will be more active during cornering  (that's the ARB)
- Overall firmer response from the chassis, less squat/dive/roll, much better connection with the road (shocks)

You're getting the same results no matter if you do them both or one at a time obviously, it's just for your own curiosity and evaluation of each upgrade that it would be preferable to do them separately, but I can also understand someone just wanting to improve the car overall without caring too much how this was done exactly.

Please do report back on the B6 Damptronic when you get them. It's been the main upgrade many people have been waiting for to turn this into a truly great car.
 

Just heard back that the B6’s are out of stock and quoting 6-8 weeks for delivery. So may be after Christmas before I get them and fit them. 

Edited 20 October, 20205 yr by UndertheRadar

17 minutes ago, eurotripwagen said:

I find the suspension on my Superb a bit too noisy, but I can totally live with it, considering the price I paid for the car. I have also experienced something similar to bumpsteer on many occasions, which is even worse, but I guess I can live with that too. I have no plans of modifying the suspension so far. I am not an automotive engineer, but from what I've read replacing springs or shocks will not solve the problem of bumpsteer.

 

Just for information it's a DCC-equipped non-sportline Superb with 18-inch wheels.

Never heard of or experienced bump-steer on the Superb till reading this post. How fast do you go over broken pavement or bad roads for this to become an issue? I have a tendency to slow down considerably when I'm driving over anything not an actual "road" (meaning half-decent tarmac) and I have never had an issue even after lowering which in theory can provocate additional bump-steer than stock on any car. Goes without saying that the car was aligned afterwards.

7 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

Never heard of or experienced bump-steer on the Superb till reading this post. How fast do you go over broken pavement or bad roads for this to become an issue? I have a tendency to slow down considerably when I'm driving over anything not an actual "road" (meaning half-decent tarmac) and I have never had an issue even after lowering which in theory can provocate additional bump-steer than stock on any car. Goes without saying that the car was aligned afterwards.

Happens in town at 30-50km/h most of the time. The perfect recipe for bumpsteer is to go over any slight imperfection mid-turn, even a manhole cover. It came like that from the factory. Alignment has been checked once and it is spot on.

 

I don't agree with the topic title about worst suspension, because my car ownership includes an even noisier GT86 that is all over the place when going in a straight line. However it is a brilliant car to drive on twisty roads, it just requires steering input all the time. Superb on the other hand is a pleasure to drive on a smooth autobahn. So one or the other is not better or worse, they are just different. 

13 minutes ago, eurotripwagen said:

Happens in town at 30-50km/h most of the time. The perfect recipe for bumpsteer is to go over any slight imperfection mid-turn, even a manhole cover. It came like that from the factory. Alignment has been checked once and it is spot on.

 

I don't agree with the topic title about worst suspension, because my car ownership includes an even noisier GT86 that is all over the place when going in a straight line. However it is a brilliant car to drive on twisty roads, it just requires steering input all the time. Superb on the other hand is a pleasure to drive on a smooth autobahn. So one or the other is not better or worse, they are just different. 

Ok now I know what you mean but personally I've never experienced this in the city, the speed is not enough to cause this (or maybe Swedish manhole covers are more forgiving? ) . I've only had that on the highway at 110-120km/h when going over a specific point on a road where there are metal bars installed across the road in connection to some road patches.

However, even there, the effect is basically the same as almost every other car I have driven over the same spot as far as I can remember, not better not worse. Oh and definitely when I drive over that spot in Comfort or Normal it is worse than when driving in Sport, makes sense actually, and I imagine upgraded suspension would cure it even more (less bouncing) although it would transfer more vibrations to the steering wheel. But definitely not a behavior of the car that stands out as needing particular treatment, in my experience of-course, your mileage may vary.

Edited 20 October, 20205 yr by newbie69

20 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

I've only had that on the highway at 110-120km/h when going over a specific point on a road where there are metal bars installed across the road in connection to some road patches.

Yes exactly, on curved bridges with expansion joints it seriously gets hard to ignore. Maybe it is an issue on all other vehicles with similar suspension geometry, I just find it more noticeable in my Superb because it normally shows a decent directional stability.

4 hours ago, UndertheRadar said:

Just to play Devils advocate here for a second, but I read this post as meaning, The superb is a great car and if the only thing that was cause for concern was a great chassis (MQB) then Skoda have done a fantastic job. 
The second paragraph I read as meaning, it’s more down to the fact that they’ve used a set of suspension units that are more rated for a VW Golf than they are for a Skoda Superb given they are the same basic units. Therefore they would be underrated for a Superb sized vehicle. 
Maybe the post lost some meaning in translation?

 

You understood exactly what I meant as I'm sure most people did including those who could start a fight in an empty house.

 

There is a potential to misunderstand where I said "there is only so much you can do.............." which related to the car manufacturers having chosen a common suspension design across very different body types and not the owners trying to improve what they are dissapointed with, they are limited by the compromise they were delivered and you cannot polish a turd.

 

I recognise the potential for misunderstanding in my posts, I have difficulty expressing myself in English these days but I also recognise the style of those who choose to misinterpret to provoke.

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

 

You understood exactly what I meant as I'm sure most people did including those who could start a fight in an empty house.

 

There is a potential to misunderstand where I said "there is only so much you can do.............." which related to the car manufacturers having chosen a common suspension design across very different body types and not the owners trying to improve what they are dissapointed with, they are limited by the compromise they were delivered and you cannot polish a turd.

 

I recognise the potential for misunderstanding in my posts, I have difficulty expressing myself in English these days but I also recognise the style of those who choose to misinterpret to provoke.

I couldn't care less starting a fight with you rest assured, in fact I don't think I directly offended you or made any statements regarding what you can do in an empty house or the rest of your intentions as you just did, and I won't do it now either. But when you are stating something that is far from the reality, it is normal to be corrected on it.

So to prevent further derailing, this thread is about possible suspension improvements. And while every platform naturally has its limits, what is possible to be done on an MQB car like the Superb is already MUCH more than what people are looking for here. I appreciate you wouldn't know anything about it (and this is a mere fact rather than criticism) since you have not been in a position to quantify the issue, let alone try and remedy it but that's even more a reason to refrain from irrelevant generalizations that send out the wrong message about what are the solutions and don't help other members at all.

You definitely don't need to radically change the strut design or worse the entire suspension to be able to control damping and rebound better on a Superb, that's hilarious. Shocks, springs, bushes, control arms, arbs, geometry all are readily available and all come before such radical changes like a "Superb bespoke suspension from scratch"  and are probably an overkill for what people would like to achieve over the stock setup.

Come to think about it, it was probably a poor interpretation from your side as to what people are complaining about in the first place, only to be further enhanced by the lack of hands-on experience that made you assume the problem was some orders of magnitude greater than it actually is, that's the only logical explanation.



 

Edited 20 October, 20205 yr by newbie69

Trading up from a 10year old civic, I find the sportline 280 suspension better. Not massively but better. Helps that it's 2+years old when I got it... 

 

Motorway speeds is when it's most comfy. Everything else I have no issues with except I know it's not the best. 

On 20/10/2020 at 09:12, UndertheRadar said:

To clear it up. 
Im agreeing with you!!

I see daily what they share and don’t share across not only platforms but completely different manufacturers. 
I think it’s fantastic that people like ourselves who don’t like a certain aspect of the standard setup have so much choice as to how we go about improving it. And that’s a bonus, as a lot of other manufacturers are very limited for aftermarket choice. 
All I’m saying is, I may have read the post in question to have a different meaning, whether it was accurate or not. 
On a different note, I have my friend trying to source me a set of B6 damptronic’s which I’m going to try with original springs, so I can retain normal ride height for now. I’m not sure whether to do that first before the roll bar and see how it drives then, or just fit it at the same time I change the shocks. 
 

I have a 4wd DCC estate. My only complaint is the noisiness of the suspension on rough roads more than the handling (sport mode helps) Should Bilstein B6 help? I've looked and I can't find a relevant review even for other cars.

38 minutes ago, Ttr said:

I have a 4wd DCC estate. My only complaint is the noisiness of the suspension on rough roads more than the handling (sport mode helps) Should Bilstein B6 help? I've looked and I can't find a relevant review even for other cars.

I’m hoping they will help. I just find the standard setup is too loose and uncontrolled, causing it to become very crashy on certain types of road. Sport tightens it up but just makes the crashes even worse. The rear roll bar will then tighten up the body roll/twist on similar B roads. I won’t know until I get them and fit them whether I need springs as well, but don’t want to change the ride height, so fitting OEM ones for now to see how it goes. 

Hello everyone.

 

I bought my Superb with only 18,000 km, from the first moment I noticed it strange and with vibrations that change depending on the asphalt and how hard you accelerate.

After several visits to the official service, several balances and a change of transmission without cause, I believe that the problem is the shock absorbers.

 

In addition to being soft, I have the extra "bad roads", especially for dirt roads and that raises the body 15-18 mm.

My idea is to put the springs on the Sportline and change the shock absorbers, but if I don't know how the Koni SA work, I've had B6 + Eibach in a Focus XR and it was fine 10 years ago, when I was younger and more crazy.

 

How would the combination of sportline and Koni FA springs be?

 

Thank you.