Hi all, 

We recently traded in our 2013 Audi A3 SE TDI for a 2021 Octavia iV. We've had the car for just over a month now and I love it apart from one thing. 

 

I understand that it's not a race car but at high speed it just doesn't feel planted at all. It feels extremely floatly. However my main concern is when we hit bumps at high speed the car seems to want to dive to the right each time. Is this normal behavior because it doesn't seem right to me. It went into skoda for a check up but they didn't raise any issues however I hadn't specifically mentioned this at the time as I hadn't owned it that long.

 

Ive done a bit of reading about the car and I'm lead the believe that they have torsion bars on the rear and my experience of them to date isn't the best, however I would of thought it would be quite a refined set up nowadays.

 

Any advice or comments would be welcome about anyone that may own an 2021 Octavia also because if this isn't right I need to get it sorted.

 

Cheers all,

 

Tom 

Change the mode of the car if you have DCC to Sport.

 

It makes it better, you may want to change the tyres for something more sporty Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics or suchlike.

 

Get your wheel alignment checked as well as it might be slightly out.

Edited 15 May, 20242 yr by TheWanderer

Just now, TheWanderer said:

Change the mode of the car if you have DCC to Sport.

 

It makes it better, you may want to change the tyres for something more sporty Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics or suchlike.

 

Hi there thanks for the reply unfortunately it doesn't have DCC. I'm pretty sure it's the suspension causing the issue as opposed to the type tyre but I'll note that one 👍🏻

1 minute ago, TRWood said:

 

Hi there thanks for the reply unfortunately it doesn't have DCC. I'm pretty sure it's the suspension causing the issue as opposed to the type tyre but I'll note that one 👍🏻

 

You may want to seek the advice of a tuning specialist as to what they can do for you, I know that some guys here are into tuning and modification work, so it would be good idea to ask in the performance and tuning forum, rather than the general MK4 section.

Just now, TheWanderer said:

 

You may want to seek the advice of a tuning specialist as to what they can do for you, I know that some guys here are into tuning and modification work, so it would be good idea to ask in the performance and tuning forum, rather than the general MK4 section.

Thanks for that will do

I've had my 1.5 SEL FE Estate for over 3 years now and yes, it can feel a bit floaty at times. I've put it down to the suspension compensating for high tyre pressures; the recommended pressures are a lot higher than on my previous Škodas (2012 Mk2 Octavia, 2014 Mk2 Superb) - I might be wrong in my assumption here.

 

Not noticed any dive to the right over bumps at high speed but I did read, in another thread, of a number of cases where nearside shock absorbers were a bit iffy. Sadly I can't find that thread at the mo but could be worth getting your shocks checked out.

10 hours ago, TRWood said:

It feels extremely floatly. However my main concern is when we hit bumps at high speed the car seems to want to dive to the right each time.

It's most likely related to the suspension setup of the Octavia - it is more "comfort" oriented than what you might be used to from the previously owned A3. 
This "jumpy" behavior that you describe (to the right or to the left - depending on which side the road is bent or curved), is one of the few reasons (but not the main one) I moved away from Octavia which is otherwise a lovely car.
If you really love the car and want to keep it, but you can't live with the "floaty-behavior", you might look into suspension replacement with a stiffer one. There's at least one topic around here on suspension-mods.

@TRWood  Welcome.

 

You never mentioned the first and most important thing.

What tyre are fitted and what pressures are they run at?

 

How much wear / or tread have they? 

 

PS.

What high speed are we talking about.  Just the 70 mph limit and maybe 80 mph, or actual High Speeds, like well above that?

Edited 16 May, 20242 yr by Ootohere

17 minutes ago, SkOmk4 said:

It's most likely related to the suspension setup of the Octavia - it is more "comfort" oriented than what you might be used to from the previously owned A3. 
This "jumpy" behavior that you describe (to the right or to the left - depending on which side the road is bent or curved), is one of the few reasons (but not the main one) I moved away from Octavia which is otherwise a lovely car.
If you really love the car and want to keep it, but you can't live with the "floaty-behavior", you might look into suspension replacement with a stiffer one. There's at least one topic around here on suspension-mods.

 

 

Hi there thanks for the reply. Im ok with the floaty behavior I can manage with that it's just the diving to the right at high speed going over bumpy terrain that feels sketchy. 

7 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@TRWood  Welcome.

 

You never mentioned the first and most important thing.

What tyre are fitted and what pressures are they run at?

 

How much wear / or tread have they? 

Hi there thanks for the reply, 

 

Tyre pressure are manufacturer recommendation 2.5 bar in the front and 2.7 rear, the tread depth and brand are the same on both the fronts 

What brand of tyres are on your car, decent tyres make a nice difference.

 

I want some Goodyears on mine, I'll have to buy them one at a time and then have them fitted later on, as I can't afford to buy them as 4s as I'm retired.

@TRWood  What load is that recommended pressure for?

Have you tried a bit lower pressures? 

 

What tyres are on the car? 

Does this 'diving to right' behaviour while travelling at speed present itself all the time - or in curves only? if only in curves, is it only in right curves, I.e. bump oversteer? 

8 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Does this 'diving to right' behaviour while travelling at speed present itself all the time - or in curves only? if only in curves, is it only in right curves, I.e. bump oversteer? 

It's happens anytime I hit a pot hole/rough section at high speed ie over 60mph , could be driving straight or corner it's all the time 

31 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@TRWood  What load is that recommended pressure for?

Have you tried a bit lower pressures? 

 

What tyres are on the car? 

Yes tried various pressures and still does the same. Car is on Landsails on the front both same age and tread depth etc. Even on these tyres I don't think it should be behaving like this. 

^^^ There might be the issue, 'Landsails', 

the car behaving like a Land Yacht. 

9 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

^^^ There might be the issue, 'Landsails', 

the car behaving like a Land Yacht. 

Yeah will check it, but don't think it's that. If it was the tyres I'm sure it would do it both ways no ? It's consistent with diving one direction. 

One thing to check - is it possible that the LH transit block is still in place? Bump-steer in RH direction only could suggest more suspension movement on the affected side.  

Edited 16 May, 20242 yr by Warrior193
grammar

2 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

One thing to check - is it possible that the LH transit block is still in place? Bump-steer in RH direction only could suggest more suspension movement on that side.  

Yeah tried that one and theres nothing under there. I'm going to take it to skoda and they can go through it and test drive it as I know for a fact it's 100% not right 

@TRWood  How many miles has he car done?

 

Was it a Skoda Approved Used Car, and do you have the Service History for the car, and the record of any warranty work that might have been done?

?

Has it been through a MOT, and if so any advisories? 

6 minutes ago, TRWood said:

Yeah tried that one and theres nothing under there. I'm going to take it to skoda and they can go through it and test drive it as I know for a fact it's 100% not right 

 

6 minutes ago, TRWood said:

Yeah tried that one and theres nothing under there. I'm going to take it to skoda and they can go through it and test drive it as I know for a fact it's 100% not right 

One problem with that without access to a test track, will be willingness to take it to speeds where this becomes an issue.

Put some proper tyres on it - avoid chinese ditchfinder brands at all costs

 

Hankook, Pirelli, Continental, Michelin etc - the choices are endless

Here is my experience. After I bought my car, it was handling spotlessly on high speeds, which I always liked about this platform, since I had different cars built on it and they were always sticking solidly to the road. I did trips in Germany with half day driving at 170km/h+ and it was just as it should be. Then my front left shock died and car became wobbly even on low speeds. It was changed and just a few days after the rear left died, too. It was changed and at first I thought all problems are solved, but then I started noticing that in some situations car doesn't feel so stable anymore even in city, notably on roundabouts. When I took it on a freeway some time later, it felt like the car is going on its own, like if I'm driving first gen Dacia or smth like that, absolutely no confidence in it sticking to the road. I complained to workshop about that, they did a a few test trips and said all is ok. So now I need to figure out, whether they just don't see the problem (since they don't have equipment to test and ofc they won't bother going with it on freeways to make a proper run) or, with brand new shocks the car is actually worse than with those which were about to die, and then I just need to change my car. No matter what one could say, for me stability on high speeds is crucial.

6 minutes ago, Simon667 said:

Put some proper tyres on it - avoid chinese ditchfinder brands at all costs

 

Hankook, Pirelli, Continental, Michelin etc - the choices are endless

Although the current tyres fitted may not be ideal, it is highly improbable that matching tyres, whatever the make, will cause the OP's issue with bump-steer in one direction only. 

11 minutes ago, Edela said:

Here is my experience. After I bought my car, it was handling spotlessly on high speeds, which I always liked about this platform, since I had different cars built on it and they were always sticking solidly to the road. I did trips in Germany with half day driving at 170km/h+ and it was just as it should be. Then my front left shock died and car became wobbly even on low speeds. It was changed and just a few days after the rear left died, too. It was changed and at first I thought all problems are solved, but then I started noticing that in some situations car doesn't feel so stable anymore even in city, notably on roundabouts. When I took it on a freeway some time later, it felt like the car is going on its own, like if I'm driving first gen Dacia or smth like that, absolutely no confidence in it sticking to the road. I complained to workshop about that, they did a a few test trips and said all is ok. So now I need to figure out, whether they just don't see the problem (since they don't have equipment to test and ofc they won't bother going with it on freeways to make a proper run) or, with brand new shocks the car is actually worse than with those which were about to die, and then I just need to change my car. No matter what one could say, for me stability on high speeds is crucial.

Thanks for the feedback , it seems ok at low speed at the moment it's just the high speed I worry about. I'm currently in Germany on holiday have been on the autobahns so I've done a lot of high speed runs and it doesn't give me confidence in the car.