Hello,

I am new to this forum. I recently bought a used Skoda octavia 2.0 tdi style plus variant(not sure if this variant is called such in other countries, I have attached a picture for reference). I had a complete inspection report from Skoda before buying and they had mentioned about the suspension strut cut and bushes damage as well. I want to change them now and most of them in my country is biased towards Sachs, but I don’t think they are good as it is very stiff and good for highway rides. My rides will be mostly in the cities with humps and potholes, and I don’t want to go with bilstein as they are very very expensive where I am. Can anyone please suggest what other aftermarket brands I can consider which is pocket friendly and also durable. I heard about Magnetti marelli, monroe & trw. OEM suspension is really bad and stiff like Sachs and also double the price of Sachs which is already expensive and is not worth it for a 10 year old secondhand car. Can you please suggest other options.

As for my taste, Std suspension gives good balance between handling and comfort- and Sachs struts are not stiff!

Installed front Sachs few years ago and it feels like 1:1 as Std- even with 225/45R17 tyres.
Other options are TRW indeed (approx.same as Sachs since both brands are under ZF group), Monroe and black=Std Bilstein (they're not expensive).
MagnetiMarelli? I suppose, they don't make their own struts and there will be something re-branded under MM logo.
As for Sachs, quality had dropped down last years...my new Sachs (1 of them) got wet after few weeks.
As for KYB, have heard various opinions, so not clear for me- are they good/bad/stiff/soft...

Edited 9 June9 Jun by indars
Typo error

Hello @indars,

Thanks for your reply. Maybe the Sachs suspension are 1:1 with europe spec VW suspensions, but for asia or specifically India, I read on reddit as well that VW suspensions are with additional requirements to make it slightly more comfortable. I heard reviews from people who had changed it to Sachs. I finally decided to go ahead with VW struts, Lemforder lower arms and VW mounts and bearings. Also had to change the subframe bush. Now there is a slight sound in steering which I think is normal, I also saw that lithium grease should help this.

The final problem which I am facing is the play in the steering rack, when the car is stationary and I move the move the steering wheel left to right slightly, there is a knocking sound. Skoda ASS asked me to change the rack which I didn’t as it costs me a bomb. I think the issue is to do with tie rod and I will change it and check. I thought that there would be a plastic bush inside the steering rack which needs replacement, but I think this version of the rack for Octavia mk3 doesn’t have a plastic bush. So, hopefully the tie rod change should solve the issue. I will update here after I change