Howdy all!

 

I have a 2016 Octavia Estate 4x4 SE L. I would like to lower it on 18" alloys but also take advantage of the 2000kg towing capability (tow bar recently installed).

 

Will lowering the vehicle change this?

Is there a recommended brand? lowering height? 

Any issues with towing?

 

Any advice appreciated.

If you lower the car, you run the risk of having a tow ball height which is too low. In theory, a 15mm drop should be OK because that's the drop which the VRS suspension is.

 

If the tow ball is too low, not only will it be possibly lower than the minimum 350mm laden tow ball height, it could severally affect your car's handling. 

 

The best thing to do would be to measure the tow ball height whatever your towing and that will give you an idea of whether you'd be able to safely lower your car.

I once had a Superb Greenline as a company vehicle. I had a Witter towbar fitted and towed a caravan. Because the Greenline had lowered suspension it was a nightmare to tow with. Whenever hooking up the caravan the jockey wheel always got stuck. (the jockey wheel was as low as it would go before the"van was hooked on)

I checked tow ball height and found it very low, something like 320mm even without anything hooked on. I took it back to the company who fitted it and to say they wern't interested is an understatement! (think there is a thread on here about it somewhere)

 

I eventually had a different towbar fitted and that was fine.

 

Just be wary of towing with a lowered vehicle.

 

Edited 6 May, 20215 yr by tfspark

I get some jockey wheel strikes with the standard vRS ride height. This usually only happens when the cars loaded up as well. Not sure how the vRS ride height compares to a lowered SEL. 

Bit like tfspark, car was great by itself, but towing, it was like being on a boat on the sea. 🤮

On 06/05/2021 at 16:37, tfspark said:

I once had a Superb Greenline as a company vehicle. I had a Witter towbar fitted and towed a caravan. Because the Greenline had lowered suspension it was a nightmare to tow with. Whenever hooking up the caravan the jockey wheel always got stuck. (the jockey wheel was as low as it would go before the"van was hooked on)

I checked tow ball height and found it very low, something like 320mm even without anything hooked on. I took it back to the company who fitted it and to say they wern't interested is an understatement! (think there is a thread on here about it somewhere)

 

I eventually had a different towbar fitted and that was fine.

 

Just be wary of towing with a lowered vehicle.

 

Thank for this! 

 

I'm thinking, could I lower the SE L on VRS springs? That may answer my question! 🤷 Lowering the SE L by 35mm looks like it might cause problems with a towball height. I will wait until I have it installed and the see where I'm sat

On 06/05/2021 at 17:11, Swirly182 said:

I get some jockey wheel strikes with the standard vRS ride height. This usually only happens when the cars loaded up as well. Not sure how the vRS ride height compares to a lowered SEL. 

Yeah I think the VRS is lowered 10mm rear and 15mm front from factory over the standard SE L. 

This probably rules out lowering the SE L by 35mm and still towing...

The vRS suspension is firmer as well. So an SEL lowered with standard dampers is very likely to blow through the travel and strike the jockey wheel frequently. Uprating the dampers at the same time may offer some mitigation... 

Pretty sure the 4x4 has the same dampers as vrs. Fitting vrs springs should offer an acceptable ride. 

@Kestrel2288 what is it you intend to be towing?

19 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

Pretty sure the 4x4 has the same dampers as vrs. Fitting vrs springs should offer an acceptable ride. 

 

I know it feels like it because they are so f#*#*g over-damped but the cars with sport suspension have different shock part numbers .

 

Don't think lowering it to VRS level using springs would cause a great issue. Personally I would not go any lower than that though as it is one of the reasons I have std-height suspension.

 

I was tempted to put VRS springs up front to level the thing up as it has looked up at the front from the factory but thought better of it as the plastic sump clears the speed humps better 

You could always raise the rear with thicker Audi pads if needed? It's what I'm looking at for the GTE. The suspension is the same as stock Passat sport parts so hangs a little low at the rear from the the extra 150 or so kg. Almost looks lowered at the rear. Estates should be raised at the rear IMO for better load lugging.

 

1 hour ago, MarkyG82 said:

You could always raise the rear with thicker Audi pads if needed?

 

Yeah I've thought about the Audi spring pads (TT MK2 ones from what I remember) just never got round to make up my mind as it would look better 15mm lower front than 10mm higher at the back because it is a mighty big arch gap but the clearance is useful at times. (it is a 4x4 after all )

8 minutes ago, flybynite said:

 but the clearance is useful at times. 

 

I have the same quandary. I want to improve things but don't want to lose too much height. Bilstein b6 is high on the list as I know what they offer but the slight raise in height (due to pressure) is making me think a set of prokit springs would fit well with it. Then some Audi pads at the rear to give some protection against heavy loads (and I like the raked look).

Kestrel, have you tried towing with it yet ? is it a caravan your towing ? I find nose weight of the caravan is critical with my VRS 4X4, the car wallows and is light at the nose when the caravan isn't balanced out, I tend to load the caravan rather than the boot of the car with stuff and set up the nose weight of the van by strategically positioning items in the van, as close to the axle as you can, mine is a DSG and tows the caravan really well.