These are just some basic questions I am floating at the begining of my thought process in case others are ahead of me.

I have just bought a 4x4 & am looking at various mods I dont want to add any body kits/spoilers as I want the basic profile of the car to remain unchanged. (wolf in a Skoda coat if you know what I mean !!)

I do however intend to look at lowering the car & modding the suspension to give slightly better handling but not to the extent that it is uncomfortable for general road use (had a jap STI & got well fed up with it)

Apart from engine mods that just leaves brakes & wheels. The standard wheels are 16 inch. I think the only 17 inch Skoda make are the RS wheels & I am not trying to make it look like a RS. SO, what will look good on a Silver 4x4, anyone seen anything good, any ideas ? Is it worth going to 18 inch, better handling, rougher ride but you can fit even bigger brakes but is it neccesary, I will probably at some point in the future take the car on the track but my guess is this will be the one & only time so I am not looking for Track Brakes, just something for occasional fast road use. I also want to steer clear of heavily grooved or drilled discs as I cant stand the noise they make on everyday driving.

I have been told its easy to fit an adapter to my caliper & then RS discs but how good are the RS brakes. Do they stop reasuringly from well over 100 ? They would certainly need to be a lot better than the 4x4 brakes (still std pads & fluid at this stage).

So Brakes & wheels, Any Ideas appreciated

Stuart

I think 18" wheels are mainly for looks - the handling is certainly no better with my 18" so I would go for 17" wheels if better handling is what you want - BBS RC's are very nice, Kahn RSS also

The RS brakes are excellent - very strong and progressive - a lot of the guys on UKMkIV's forum are upgrading to these brakes.

The Leon Cupra R brakes are supposedly better still, but would cost a packet I reckon. If moneys no object AmD do a Porsche kit for the Octavia :lol:

Stuart,

A pity that I can't share my experience of lowering a 4x4 yet, as I will only be getting the car in 4 to 6 weeks time... :(

Have decided on lowering the suspension by 4cm (1.6") so that it sits slightly lower than a standard Octavia. The ground clearance of a standard 4x4 is 17mm (0,67") up on the regular Octavia: 151mm vs. 134mm.

I have however driven a FWD 150bhp 1.8T Elegance with lowered suspension and while braking and cornering - having managed to overcome my irritation at the car's horrid amount of inherent understeer - found a marked decrease in duck, pitch and roll while it was still very comfortable to drive (just mind the speed bumps!), so well worth the investment. It's possible to lower the 4x4 by those 4cm without needing to replace the shocks - just the springs, so it's relatively cheap.

"Wolf in Skoda's coat" - I like that! 8)

BTW, I will stick with 16" for now, but in Holland 15" are standard on the 4x4, so still something of an upgrade. Will also keep it clean on the spoiler front, so our minds are alike here!

Looks like the 17 wheels, have spoken to a couple of people today & neither saw the point of 18's, Also A 4 pot + bigger discs will sit within the 17 if I end up having to go that far.

Tyres, My first choice is Toyo Proxies, had great experiences with them on the Subaru, Anyone any experience of them on Skodas ?

Lowering yes but not 100% sure 4cm can be achieved, one person has suggested 3cm max but will investigate further.

Can anyone advise any good web sites for viewing various wheels, in particular the ones tobmob recomended.

Oh & Dutch, I am still planning & I am not likely to actually do anything for a couple of months so you may be there before me. I need to get some miles on the car before it gets played with, I just want to check for any faults before I invalidate the warranty.

Hi Stuart,

Brakes, yes, the RS ones are adequate. I can merrily outbrake scoobs which have AP 4 pots and even some with 6 pots. The only thing you appear to be gaining from going to 4s or 6s is improved granularity when braking rather than the "hook and grab" of the single pots. Converting yours to RS brakes would come to about

I'm on my second set of toyo's, think they are great, especially stable at high speed through standing water, but grip = heat = wear, not convinced they are "long life" tyres - killed my last set via an airfield day so am monitoring this "road use" set closely.

They are certainly a huge leap from the P6000's, and not much can compare at the price (

Conti Sport Contact 2 for

Jon,

probably need a new tyre as I was running my left rear under inflated (around 1.5 BAR :shock: ). Outside edge quite worn. Others were ok, around 2 BAR but still under inflated.

2.3 BAR all round now; what a difference. Car feels some much better a speed; more planted although ride is a bit more "nobbly".

I looked at the mytyres web site a couple fo weeks ago and the Conti SP2s are

Ah, I put in the price of the 16s for the 4x4, so 86 is probably right for the bigger RS ones.

I've just got 4 P Zero Nero 225/45 17s for

Have decided on lowering the suspension by 4cm (1.6") so that it sits slightly lower than a standard Octavia. The ground clearance of a standard 4x4 is 17mm (0,67") up on the regular Octavia: 151mm vs. 134mm.

[/quote:a2eac4424e]

Started to doubt my initial statement on ride heights when I stumbled on a multitude of reputed international web sources all claiming the 4x4 sits 23mm higher on its springs.

How does this compare with the figures in my official Skoda brochure, i.e. 151 vs 134mm?

Elsewhere, I read that the (v)RS is 15mm lower than a standard Octavia. Yet I can't find anything about its ground clearance in the Dutch RS tech brochure.

I'm interested to find out which figures are correct, so that I can see what effect a 40mm lower ride height would have on the 4x4. If the 4x4 is indeed 23mm up on the standard car and the claimed 15mm for the RS are true, than my 4x4 would come out 2mm lower than an RS. That would be pretty much OK. But if it's 17mm like the brochure says, I would come out 8mm lower than the RS and those speed bumps will be a real pain...

Like both yourself and Stuart, I was all ready to lower mine when I got it....

..but drive it, lots, espeically fast cross country on less than perfect roads, then make a decision.

Lower does not equal better, nor does stiffer.

..but drive it, lots, espeically fast cross country on less than perfect roads

[/quote:cfeb62c0f7]

Not a lot of those around in Holland, Ian!

Apart from the dykes (that's where Subaru's hillholder comes in :lol: ) and those wretched speed bumps, everything is flat here - flat and smooth at that. Almost all our roads have a perfect, almost circuit-like surface.

But you do have a point when it comes to my trips to Belgium and it awful pothole-filled B roads or my annual trip to Goodwood, for that matter. That's why I'm not too keen on sitting the car 8mm lower than an RS! If that would be the case, I'd be on the phone with my dealer tomorrow to have it lowered to RS height and not a millimeter lower than that...

Dutch4x4

Clearance for the vRS is 119mm. Its in a note at the bottom of the Measurements page in the UK brochure dated 09/02. The other figures quoted are 151mm for the Octavia 4x4 (Estate and Hatch) and 134mm for the Octavia (Hatch and Estate). Which reminds me, I must try and track down a brochure for the vRS Estate for reference.

PS - Rather than lowering the suspension, I drive with the seat and steering wheel fully down - the latter is necessary so that I can see out. Further lowering effect can be achieved by adjusting the seat backrest back. (I picked that up from MaxPower magazine and my teenagers). This gives you the full visual effects of lowered suspension at no cost while keeping the comfort and ground clearance of the original suspension settings (always handy if you want to keep your sump on). Try it and see....you could save yourself

Clearance for the vRS is 119mm. Its in a note at the bottom of the Measurements page in the UK brochure dated 09/02. The other figures quoted are 151mm for the Octavia 4x4 (Estate and Hatch) and 134mm for the Octavia (Hatch and Estate). Which reminds me, I must try and track down a brochure for the vRS Estate for reference.

[/quote:6717b376df]

Denis, thanks for that. These correspond with my figures, which begs the question - where do these 23mm come from that are quoted just about everywhere on the net? :?

PS - Rather than lowering the suspension, I drive with the seat and steering wheel fully down - the latter is necessary so that I can see out. Further lowering effect can be achieved by adjusting the seat backrest back. (I picked that up from MaxPower magazine and my teenagers). This gives you the full visual effects of lowered suspension at no cost while keeping the comfort and ground clearance of the original suspension settings (always handy if you want to keep your sump on). Try it and see....you could save yourself

I agree with both Ian & dutch, The Standard ride is suprisingly good, took the car up to North Wales at the weekend & tried a few of the twisty bits & was as they say well impressed. However as Dutch says it does lok a bit high, had not thought of the ovloV comparison but I must agree it would look nicer lower but I dont want a hard ride.

The current recomendation I have had is to drop about 30mm & fit Koni shocks with Eibach springs. Any thoughts anyone.

Stuart

Dutch,

Just read your post again, Goodwood you say, would that happen to be the Festival of speed or the Revival, If yes we will be there.

Perhaps if others are interested a meet could be organised, The events offer something for the Wife & kids to do as well as us Petrol Heads

I am going to be different and declare that I like the looks of the 4x4 as is. It 'stands tall' and [b:ecc5bd2ccc]looks[/b:ecc5bd2ccc] different to the rest of the Octavia range - something I am very happy with.

:wave:

I agree with both Ian & dutch, The Standard ride is suprisingly good, took the car up to North Wales at the weekend & tried a few of the twisty bits & was as they say well impressed. However as Dutch says it does lok a bit high, had not thought of the ovloV comparison but I must agree it would look nicer lower but I dont want a hard ride.

The current recomendation I have had is to drop about 30mm & fit Koni shocks with Eibach springs. Any thoughts anyone.

[/quote:c4b34bb072]

Stuart: I also understand the standard ride is very good, partly due to the different suspension lay-out that comes with the 4x4 - although surprisingly it's still semi-independent. :? Here in Holland, I've read several accounts of the 4x4 outclassing smaller Leons in the handling department

I think I would echo the recommendation that was given to you. I need some sorting out with my dealer on the definitive height - still plenty of time! - but if the official ground clearance figures are correct, then 32mm as opposed to 40mm will bring it down to RS height. Fitting Eibachs will be enough to accomplish that, as the standard shocks will give a comfortable but firm enough ride - or so I've heard. :lol:

Having said that, I will never fail to advertize the virtues of the (pricey) objects produced by that world-renowned shock absorber firm just around my corner 8)

Would that be Koni or Reiger? If its the later could you get me a discount on some with the remote gas??

:mrgreen:

I was referring to the company founded by Koos and Nico...

But hey, I always thought Reiger did bike suspensions! Now I see on their website that they actually do the Skoda (and Ford) WRC team. That's pretty cool 8)

You never stop learning...

Is that KW?

Variant 3 would be a good choice as it is height adjustable, not cheap though at about 1360 Euros (must get the Euro symbol added to my keyboard :roll: ). Front and rear are adjustable by 35-65mm drop. Did look at it for mine but at the time they weren't supplying to the UK. Part number for the KW kit for the 4x4 is 35282052 (I think).

I've heard very good things about the kit.

Is that KW?

[/quote:25ecf70d92]

No, it's really much simpler - [b:25ecf70d92]Ko[/b:25ecf70d92]os & [b:25ecf70d92]Ni[/b:25ecf70d92]co makes Koni... :lol:

I'm not into race shocks at all, so won't be able to help you any further. All I know is that I have found that cars fitted with any kind of Konis have had outstanding ride characteristics - especially when transporting a bigger load.

I fitted Koni load adjusters (shock absorber + spring) to the back of my Audi 100CD5E when I towed a heavy caravan. They were very good, and the ride remained comfortable in normal use too. I've also used Koni strut inserts which did wonders for the car's handling.

PS Doesn't Reger do lingerie, or am I confused as usual? Must go and clean my glasses which are steamed up... 8)

I had Konis on my RS. I took them off. They were actually not as good as the standard RS ones. I had to have the rears replaced twice under warranty as the seals kept blowing. The fronts performed well, but the rears were all wrong. Not helped by the fact that to adjust the rears you had to take them off the car which wasn't ideal. I think the problems were due to the kit being based on a Golf which has different weight distribution to the Skoda.

I'm surprised Colin hasn't commented yet as he has modified the suspension on his 4x4 estate.

Colin,

Any chance of your thoughts ??