Hello Peeps,

 

Been piling on the miles on my 2019/69 plate Octavia L&K. Lovely car. On 18" low profile tyres 225/40 ZR18. We also own a Golf of a similar era and I notice how better and less crashy the suspension is on rough road services. For such a plush car, I am expecting more 'waft' and less harsh riding.

 

Having taken part on several postings about the 18" Vs 19" wheels and tyres, I'm not unhappy with the wheels per-say; I am aiming to better ride handling for the L&K on the slightly dodgy roads up here in Scotland. I know the suspension profile is different between the Octavia and Golf; I am looking for more compliant suspension (maybe springs with a softer profile/more spring turns to give more compliance.) Maybe ride quality something akin to what would be an R-Line in terms of the VW line-up??

 

I like the standard firmness, I think I'm looking for springs that are initially soft and then harder further down their travel. Had a look at Bilstein and also at Koni. Happy to look at other suppliers too. Happy to stick with a passive system; maybe look at a semi-active system with more compliant springs?

 

Thoughts please.

 

 

The 2lt diesel version of my car, same gearbox, trim, etc..was more crashy over potholes, so much so that most of the press lot in 2014 who had test driven the MK7 Golf estate in my trim, which at the time was the top trim, wrote about it & I was ready to swap it out when I got my car delivered...a test drive in a 2lt diesel version of my car also confirmed it...then I got my car...no "crashy"...

 

Go figure!!..

 

I would suggest the Koni "Actives"..basically the new name for the old FSD dampers which I had on my MK1 Fabia & ran with the OEM factory springs...perfect set-up...

 

Koni actives are for standard springs & allow the wheels to be pushed up into the body....so soft for potholes/bumps...but resist the body pushing down on the wheels, so firm for corners, braking...

Edited 27 January, 20242 yr by fabdavrav

On 27/01/2024 at 21:58, fabdavrav said:

The 2lt diesel version of my car, same gearbox, trim, etc..was more crashy over potholes, so much so that most of the press lot in 2014 who had test driven the MK7 Golf estate in my trim, which at the time was the top trim, wrote about it & I was ready to swap it out when I got my car delivered...a test drive in a 2lt diesel version of my car also confirmed it...then I got my car...no "crashy"...

 

Go figure!!..

 

I would suggest the Koni "Actives"..basically the new name for the old FSD dampers which I had on my MK1 Fabia & ran with the OEM factory springs...perfect set-up...

 

Koni actives are for standard springs & allow the wheels to be pushed up into the body....so soft for potholes/bumps...but resist the body pushing down on the wheels, so firm for corners, braking...

Sounds good.  Who do you think would be good people to go to - to get this done?  We have an independant VAG specialist here in Edinburgh - Autohaus.  Any recommendations?

On 27/01/2024 at 22:58, fabdavrav said:

Koni actives are for standard springs & allow the wheels to be pushed up into the body....so soft for potholes/bumps...but resist the body pushing down on the wheels, so firm for corners, braking...

 

🤣🤣🤣

Worth looking into some bilstein b6 shocks too

 

Despite my instinct to resist spending money on our cars I was at point last year where I was questioning whether the shocks on our 1.4tsi 2014 (then 90k km) Octavia needed replacing due to a perceived ride deterioration.

At the same time the 17 inch Michelin Primacy tyres, while still just legal, had been very noisy for the last 10k km (of their near 50k km life) and were obviously due for replacement. I had delayed any expenditure due to possible total vehicle replacement.

Anyway, fitted some well priced Continentals which fixed the road noise AND much to my surprise improved the ride to levels I remembered when new.

The Michelins are considered a premium brand but I think our Australian heat and high UV had affected the tyres normal compliance and close investigation revealed some almost imperceptible cracks on the walls so I think the loss of resilience was our main problem degrading ride quality.

While we don't do high annual mileage we do give our car an occasional rough session such as a recent trip to an iconic remote South Australian outback location which involved 400km of dirt road usually travelled by 4WDs. Not saying it was rough, but being heavily corrugated and with frequent washouts and large gibber sections, the occasional cattle grid actually felt smoother than some of those sections  .  Overall our non-modified Octavia was brilliant off its preferred environment and gave us a memorable experience with another 'bucket list' item ticked off for us!

The age and condition of the tyres may not be the issue with your ride but it was an aspect I had not experienced (to that degree) before and may be worth investigating before committing to new dampers.

It is a good shout @Gerrycan.  However, these are tyres from 2021 (Dunlop Sport) which I think were OEM for this car and they have loads of tread on them.  The car has only done 13k miles.

Yes it is probably unlikely.

I had Dunlop Sport Maxx as oem on both my mk2 and mk3 Octavia and had no real issues with them although others seem to have less regard for them than I. The mk2's had to be junked early as the car came with the rear multi-point suspension misaligned, not the tyres fault. Dunlop replacements are relatively expensive here in Aus and there are usually better value options.

 

I do remember from years back, there was one Briskoda road warrior whose diesel Octavia was fitted with Dunlops and he declared them the worst tyres he had ever encountered and tried to wear them out but gave up after about 80k miles. Huge relief for him when he fitted new tyres but I think soon after he moved onto a BMW anyway and I always wondered how he found the run-flats.

An isolated and extreme case though.

 

Be interesting to hear how you go with damper replacements when you decide on your choice for when I'm forced into it.

Since I would still venture onto dirt roads I would certainly not want to lower the car at all which seems to be a major factor for some. 

 

On 29/01/2024 at 11:09, varaderoguy said:

Sounds good.  Who do you think would be good people to go to - to get this done?  We have an independant VAG specialist here in Edinburgh - Autohaus.  Any recommendations?

 

No idea..I'm a few hundred miles away.....