Hello to all you good people!

I have a 2015 Octavia 2.0 Tdi Vrs estate/combi that has now 245k kilometers on the dash.

I'm thinking about changing the front and rear shocks+springs and all the associated parts.

The current ones are still original from the factory and while they passed Mot the ride isn't that great anymore.

I'm also installing a new Golf Gti clubsport RARB+links, new bottom&top suspensions arms and track rods in the rear axle. In the front axle i have changed already new lower control arms+ball joints, antirollbar links and inner+outer track rod ends.

This car is my daily driver with 80/20 highway/town cruising and i'm thinking that i'm going to keep it for another 2-3 years atleast.

What do you suggest i should get? I wasn't thinking of lowering the car from the standard vrs ride height and would appreciate a comfort ride that has that "sportiness" when i have the feel to go fast through corners and roundabouts etc. I understand that you can't really get the best of both worlds so its always a compromise.

And here in Finland the roads are not in that good condition especially after winter so I don't want too firm ride that corners like Mika Häkkinen getting away from Schumacher in Suzuka Grand Prix😅 but most of the time makes you feel nauseous from every single pothole/uneveness that our roads have to offer.

I'm thinking of going with new oem vrs springs like lesjofors and bilstein b4 shocks. Would that be the best solution for a daily driver or is there something better to be had with spending a little more money, like Koni Special Actives or Bilstein B6? Not going to get any coilovers for a car this old.

Thanks for the replies!

36 minutes ago, Jo88Mak said:

...Bilstein B6...

Bilstein B6 are for standard ride height.

Bilstein B8 are for lowered ride height.

Edited 19 July19 Jul by Carlston

Carlston, do you mean that B6 is for the standard Vrs ride height which is 15-20mm less than non Vrs, and B8 is used when you use lowering springs like Eibach Pro Kit?

Isn't the Bilstein B12 Kit just like that, B8 shocks and Eibach Pro Kit lowering springs. I have seen the B12 Kit go for like 650-700€ in ebay.de, but would it make the car too firm and teeth rattling for a daily driver? Sure the looks and body roll would get way better but is it with the cost of comfort?

How about the Koni Special Actives with stock Vrs springs? Does anyone have any experience with that setup? Or the B4's with stock Vrs springs?

Any recommendations?

I would go for B6 with stock springs if you don't want to lower but after a handling upgrade as they will be just slightly firmer at lower speeds but offer tigher control and faster rebound, when pushing on.

I fitted an Eibach spring kit to our last VRS estate, they were still on it when sold 10 years/150k miles later.

I fitted Lesjofors to the front of my Dad's Ford Focus, one broke within 2 years.

I rate Eibach !

Ok, so Johnmack, were the Eibach springs you fitted in your Vrs the Pro or Sport Kit lowering springs or the replacement line springs that are made to OE-spec? For front and rear springs going with Eibachs the cost versus like Lesjofors isn't more than 50€ so don't really matter.

The shocks i'm more interested. The B6 are over double the price of B4. Are they that much better and will they make the car too firm for daily driving if paired with OE-spec Vrs springs?

I'm fitting everything myself so there isn't any labour cost...only blood, sweat and tears🤣

On 20/07/2026 at 11:53, Jo88Mak said:

Carlston, do you mean that B6 is for the standard Vrs ride height which is 15-20mm less than non Vrs, and B8 is used when you use lowering springs like Eibach Pro Kit?

In the UK, the Octavia MK3 VRS has lowered ride height not standard ride height.

In some European countries with a lot of snow in the winter, it might have been possible to order the Octavia MK3 VRS from the factory with standard ride height.

The Bilstein B8 shock absorbers are aimed at VAG cars with a nominal 15mm lower ride height than standard ride height. Bilstein B8 shock absorbers are about 20mm shorter than Bilstein B6 shock absorbers.

Bilstein B8 are chosen for short springs such as Eibach Pro and Eibach Sport because they are 20mm shorter than Bilstein B6, not because they are optimized for springs that are shorter than VAG's lowered ride height springs. Bilstein optimize Bilstein B8 for VAG's lowered ride height springs, not Eibach Pro/Sport springs, etc.

Bilstein B6 and Bilstein B8 shock absorbers have the same damping characteristics.

Edited 22 July22 Jul by Carlston

Thx for the input Carlston.

So the B8 is the right shock for a stock Vrs sport suspension, right?

What about the B4? Bilstein code 22-230539 is for the front shocks and 19-230559 is for the rear shocks.

Are these the right B4 variants for my car? They go well with stock Vrs springs?

Also, Carlston, do you know that does a Vrs have shorter shocks than a non Vrs car when they left the factory or is the ride height difference only made with different springs?

19 hours ago, Jo88Mak said:

Ok, so Johnmack, were the Eibach springs you fitted in your Vrs the Pro or Sport Kit lowering springs or the replacement line springs that are made to OE-spec? For front and rear springs going with Eibachs the cost versus like Lesjofors isn't more than 50€ so don't really matter.

The shocks i'm more interested. The B6 are over double the price of B4. Are they that much better and will they make the car too firm for daily driving if paired with OE-spec Vrs springs?

I'm fitting everything myself so there isn't any labour cost...only blood, sweat and tears🤣

Now there's a question, 'twas over 10 years ago! I remember at the time the springs were just lowered/uprated to suit a normal Octavia. When fitted the car sat exactly the same as it did on 6 year old factory springs.....I took it to a 4-wheel alignment place and it needed no adjustment according to the fancy picture/print-out I got.

At the same time as fitting the springs I replaced the shockers with Monroe ones... I wasn't impressed with them even at the fitting stage, push and pull test didn't impress me. I changed to Bilstein ones later, I think they were just OE spec?(bought from Autodoc)

I've fitted KYB shockers to other cars (not mine), was quite impressed with them during fitment.

16 hours ago, Jo88Mak said:

What about the B4? Bilstein code 22-230539 is for the front shocks and 19-230559 is for the rear shocks.

Are these the right B4 variants for my car? They go well with stock Vrs springs?

When choosing aftermarket shock absorbers, it's best to first get the OEM part numbers of the original factory fitted shock absorbers.

Aftermarket shock absorbers usually have a list of OEM part numbers that they are being sold to replace.

Often this list is very long, in which case the aftermarket shock absorber might not be a close match to the original...ie. a one size fits all approach.

With the Octavia MK3 VRS it might be best to go for original Skoda shock absorbers...that way the shock absorbers will be what Skoda intended. Price is around twice that of OE quality aftermarket shock absorbers such as Bilstein B4, Sachs, KYB, etc.

An alternative to genuine Skoda shock absorbers is Bistein B6/B8. These have a superior mono-tube design rather than the usual twin-tube design of most other shock absorbers. Bilstein B6/B8 shock absorbers might not cost much more than genuine Skoda shock absorbers.

The factory OEM part numbers for the shock absorbers can be found on the "skoda parts com" website by setting up an account and putting the car's VIN number in the online garage. Then when genuine Skoda shock absorbers are searched for, only the correct OEM part numbers are shown.

Edited 22 July22 Jul by Carlston

Thx again for the replies. I have used in the past the mentioned skoda parts website when sourcing for parts to my car, its a very good site.

It shows that my parts numbers are:

• Front shocks 5Q0 413 031 LH, 5Q0 413 031 FP

• Rear shocks 5Q0 513 029 RR, 5Q0 513 029 FL, 5Q0 513 029 KF

• Front springs 5Q0 411 105 HE

• Rear springs 5Q0 511 115 R

The B4 i can get front shocks for 60-70€ each and rear shocks for 50-60€ each so total for 4 shocks is like 220-240€.

The front and rear springs if i go with eibach oem-specs are 200€ in total.

Whats interesting i have found from ebay.de an eibach pro kit for my car for 180€. Also have seen a Bilstein B12 kit which contains B8 shocks and eibach pro kit springs for about 700€.

The B6 or B8 are double the price of B4. The genuine skoda shocks(made by whom?) are sold for about the same price as B6/B8 in skoda parts website.

Also i think that the original skoda shocks are twin tube design rather than the superior mono tube, right?

On 21/07/2026 at 06:10, JohnMack said:

I fitted an Eibach spring kit to our last VRS estate, they were still on it when sold 10 years/150k miles later.

I fitted Lesjofors to the front of my Dad's Ford Focus, one broke within 2 years.

I rate Eibach !

@JohnMack , wrt the Lesjofors springs that you fitted to your Dad's Focus, I think that was probably due to the lack of paint or surface protection being applied to these springs by Lesjofors, I think that Lesjofors product should be good quality as they are in the "steel for springs" business, but I've sadly discovered that after just one year - or just one Scottish winter, all 4 Lesjofor springs are showing signs of surface rust - so my cunning plan of replacing the original VW Group springs on my wife's 2015 Polo after 10 years - to avoid suffering a snapped spring, will possibly have backfired on me! I've just had too many snapped springs at inconvenient times in the past, so for once I've tried to avoid this on this 2015 Polo.

And I'll repeat what Carlston said about many aftermarket brands offering a "short" range to cover a "large" range of VW Group part numbers, both for springs and dampers - my wife's 2015 Polo now sits almost "flat" instead of being raised at the rear, which is okay as it looks better and normally only 2 of us are in that car - Lesjofors did list a matching front spring for that car but excluded "5 door" and the actual correct part number for the rear springs - so I took a chance!

I also tought that lesjofors would be good quality but who knows, maybe they also produce different quality parts.

How about eibach or bilstein replacement line spring quality? Not the lowering springs but oe-specced ones.

Rustproofing is also a big factor here in Finland because we have long winters and they salt most of the roads🤬

The original springs are still in place, the fronts have ok surface still, the rear springs have lost some of their paint in the bottom sections.

I might spray a coat of bilt hamber dynax uc/ub on the new springs for rustproofing. Also on the shocks body, not the shaft.

If the springs are not badly corroded or sagging you could reuse them and put the funds towards b6 shocks. Mono tube will be superior compared to twin tube as it has digressive valving so it will feel stiff when cornering but soften up the faster you travel so it is still comfortable when cruising at higher speeds.

7 hours ago, Jo88Mak said:

• Front shocks 5Q0 413 031 LH, 5Q0 413 031 FP

• Rear shocks 5Q0 513 029 RR, 5Q0 513 029 FL, 5Q0 513 029 KF

• Front springs 5Q0 411 105 HE

• Rear springs 5Q0 511 115 R

5Q0413031FP is listed against both Bilstein B4 22-230539 and Bilstein B6 35-229872 front shock absorbers.

5Q0513029FL, 5Q0513029KF, and 5Q0513029RR aren't listed against any Bilstein rear shock absorbers...but Bilstein B4 19-230559 and Bilstein B6 24-229890 rear shock absorbers appear to be listed against all of the Golf MK7 rear shock absorbers with lowered ride height.

Edited 23 July23 Jul by Carlston

On 21/07/2026 at 20:42, Jo88Mak said:

What about the B4? Bilstein code 22-230539 is for the front shocks and 19-230559 is for the rear shocks.

Are these the right B4 variants for my car? They go well with stock Vrs springs?

Bilstein B4 22-230539 front shock absorbers and Bilstein B4 19-230559 rear shock absorbers do appear to be the ones to go for...if you want Bilstein B4 for an Octavia MK3 with lowered ride height, 55mm front struts, and multi-link rear suspension.

Edited 23 July23 Jul by Carlston

Ok, thx Carlston. So whats the general opinion, are the B4 the best option if going down oem route or should i consider something else like Sachs, Monroe etc? Anybody with real life experience?

The B6/B8 are almost 400€ more than B4 for all the 4 shocks in total.

On 23/07/2026 at 13:14, Jo88Mak said:

Ok, thx Carlston. So whats the general opinion, are the B4 the best option if going down oem route or should i consider something else like Sachs, Monroe etc? Anybody with real life experience?

The B6/B8 are almost 400€ more than B4 for all the 4 shocks in total.

Anyone?