Suspension and wheel spacer advice

[meaty101]

So having owned my Octavia vrs petrol for a few years I'm thinking about a couple of subtle modifications. It probably won't happen until my current insurance policy expires as my current insurer sadly won't insure non standard cars. So I'm looking at lowering the car slightly. As the car has done just over 100k miles I'm going along with the idea the shocks are past their best although on standard springs the car drives really well considering it's age and mileage. So I'm looking at about a 35 - 40mm drop with new shocks to match. However I'm not wanting my teeth rattled out and drive a little quicker than miss daisy these days so just after similar comfort to standard set up. Then once this job is done I'm looking for advice on some wheel spacers to fill out the arches a little. Hub centric ones will be bought but I'm unsure about what sizes to buy. So any advice on what people have gone with would be very helpful. The car is a 2007 pre/fl mk2 vrs 2.0 tfsi.

Edited 19 October, 2020 by meaty101
Left information out

[meaty101]

Just a quick look on DPM performance the vogtland suspension kit - 55 mm looks a decent kit for the price. Has anyone fitted this to the Octavia?

[Gissin]

H&R hubcentric spacers are the only ones i'll use (and do) I run 15mm each side on the rears 30K miles and no issues 

 

Remember the vRS is dropped -15mm over standard car - suspension listed looks fine although I don't know anything about the brand . winding them down to -40mm drop is going to make them a little stiffer and I see you mentioned comfort similar to standard   something like that would probably be similar to eibach pro springs and bilstein b8 shocks 

[Damian@DPM]

Hi meaty101,

 

What's your budget for the kit?

 

Damian @ DPM Performance 

[meaty101]

Cheers for your replies. I knew the vrs Sat a little lower than a non vrs car. So I'm presuming the vogtland kit would give me a drop of around 35mm as it's quoting 55mm drop for non vrs. I once heard the vogtland suspension is made by h&r or a major brand like that. Damien might be able to confirm or deny!! Obviously I'm not wanting to go mad spend wise the car  is 13 years old now but I'm planning on keeping it for a few more years as it's a great car. So the vogtland kit looks about the right price give or take a little bit. I'm going to replace the top mounts as well. Will I need drop links?

Edited 21 October, 2020 by meaty101

[octaviaprime]

I have 20mm on the rear and 15 up front on standard suspension and fills the gap lovely witha couple of mm fron the arch. I am looking at the stance uk kit to lower my 07 vrs so i dont know how they ride yet though.

[meaty101]

Is your car still on the standard suspension with the spacers fitted? Any rubbing?

[meaty101]

I've seen a few mentions for the Bilstein B4 struts. Two fronts on eBay for under 70 quid at the moment!!

[Munfred]

Bilstein b4s are standard replacements. I have them on mine as i didnt want a drop.

What car are they for? 

Vrs struts are thicker than the non vrs models.

[meaty101]

It's a vrs petrol. So would the b4's be ok with lowering springs or would I need the B4 sports? As mentioned I'm looking for a drop but trying as much as is possible to keep a good amount of comfort.

[Munfred]

You will need b4 sports as these have a diameter of 55mm. The non sport front struts are only 50mm in diameter. 

These are for standard ride height but shouldnt be too bad if you arent lloking for a big drop

I cant seem to find a vogtland lowering kit on dpm that lowers by 55mm. Just one that lowers by  50mm. There is an option to select 50mm or 55mm diameter, but this is the thickness of the strut, not how much it lowers by. You need a diameter/girth of 55mm regardless of the shock or how low you go.

[Munfred]

Also have a look on the Bilstein website, they often do offers on individual items and then you build up the setup yourself. I was was going to get my set up from Damian, but found them on offer direct so ended up getting B4 shocks and B3 springs. Sorry Damian.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

On 19/10/2020 at 16:39, meaty101 said:

So having owned my Octavia vrs petrol for a few years I'm thinking about a couple of subtle modifications. It probably won't happen until my current insurance policy expires as my current insurer sadly won't insure non standard cars. So I'm looking at lowering the car slightly. As the car has done just over 100k miles I'm going along with the idea the shocks are past their best although on standard springs the car drives really well considering it's age and mileage. So I'm looking at about a 35 - 40mm drop with new shocks to match. However I'm not wanting my teeth rattled out and drive a little quicker than miss daisy these days so just after similar comfort to standard set up. Then once this job is done I'm looking for advice on some wheel spacers to fill out the arches a little. Hub centric ones will be bought but I'm unsure about what sizes to buy. So any advice on what people have gone with would be very helpful. The car is a 2007 pre/fl mk2 vrs 2.0 tfsi.

Hi.

If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

[meaty101]

5 hours ago, Munfred said:

You will need b4 sports as these have a diameter of 55mm. The non sport front struts are only 50mm in diameter. 

These are for standard ride height but shouldnt be too bad if you arent lloking for a big drop

I cant seem to find a vogtland lowering kit on dpm that lowers by 55mm. Just one that lowers by  50mm. There is an option to select 50mm or 55mm diameter, but this is the thickness of the strut, not how much it lowers by. You need a diameter/girth of 55mm regardless of the shock or how low you go.

Thanks for the advice I understand now. So I'll need the 55mm diameter strut. I've presumed the vogtland was a 55mm drop. So, that 50mm drop as mentioned is for a non vrs? So the vrs is 15mm lower that gives a drop of 35mm? That would be fine but I've not heard much about what they're like. So a drop of 30 to 35mm say I plump for bilstein B4 sports struts, what would be a good spring to go with them to maintain a good ride?

[meaty101]

31 minutes ago, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi.

If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

Cheers Dan.

[Gissin]

12 hours ago, meaty101 said:

Thanks for the advice I understand now. So I'll need the 55mm diameter strut. I've presumed the vogtland was a 55mm drop. So, that 50mm drop as mentioned is for a non vrs? So the vrs is 15mm lower that gives a drop of 35mm? That would be fine but I've not heard much about what they're like. So a drop of 30 to 35mm say I plump for bilstein B4 sports struts, what would be a good spring to go with them to maintain a good ride?

Eibach pro's are usually used with the Bilstein and pair pretty well.  the eibach's were also listed as an optional extra from factory 

 

https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-parts/skoda/octavia/eibach-30mm-pro-lowering-suspension-springsoctavia-1z-20042013-12tsi-14-14tsi-16-16tdi-18tsi-20fsi 

[meaty101]

I've looked at those but that's not going to drop it much. Maybe 15mm?

[Gissin]

yeah that's correct you wont really notice the drop but an improvement in handling without sacrificing too much comfort. 

 

https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-parts/skoda/octavia/hr-50mm-cup-lowering-springs-shocks-suspension-kitoctavia-1z-20042013-12tsi-14-14tsi-16-16tdi-18tsi-19tdi-20fsi-20tfsi-20tdi-inc-vrs  this would take it to about 30mm lower if you want lower you're looking at coilovers but then it's going to reducing comfort  quite a bit. 

 

I used to have some Gaz coilovers on my ZS180 I remember the ride being very harsh and bouncy on rough roads 

[meaty101]

I've ruled out coilovers out from the start. The endless fiddling trying to get the height sorted for one. But comfort is a priority for me. I'm not wanting rolls Royce levels but as near as possible to standard but with a drop. The H & R kit looks a quality set if a bit pricey. Has anyone fitted this set up to their Octavia? And how does it compare with the standard set up? And pictures too!!😁