[evil_grin]

I have a 2019 Octavia 1.8 TSI with slightly higher sidewalls of 205/60R16 P4ST changed at 25k km(for more ground clearance and more comfort) that's run 45k km. It's a lovely car. I'll write up an ownership thread sometime
The only thing that irks me a lot since the beginning is the suspension.

Highway speeds
It's fine if loaded. Over undulating roads, there is too much vertical movement. That's somewhat acceptable because I rarely go on the highway without packing the boot.

City speeds
There isn't a lot of feel or feedback from the steering wheel. That's downright disappointing for a car made for enthusiasts. Also, over bad roads, there is too much of sideways movements before settling down. I hate that.

I wanted to get an RS, but it wasn't available when i bought the car.

Benchmarks
My other car is a 2010 Honda city with Teins dampers and upsized 195/60R15 Yokohoma Earth1 tyres. I love the feedback from the steering and the stability it has over bad roads irrespective of speed or load. It's more comfortable than stock though less than the Octavia over bad roads.

I've also driven a Laura with stock 15 inch wheels and loved it's suspension.

I've also sat in an RS245 and felt it's suspension to be tight enough to handle well without being too stiff for bad roads.

Needs
What can I do to improve the suspension of the Octavia? I need
1. a lot more feel and feedback from the steering wheel and
2. less sidewise movements and thuds over bad roads and
3. less vertical movement over undulations.
4. I don't want to make it harsher over bad roads though.

Alternatives
I have thought of the following alternatives based on reading threads here but since there is no place i can try them out, i don't know which approach to take.

1. Bilstein B6 dampers
The default choice according to many. Dampers will wear out eventually. So why not upgrade when they do?
But these will make slow speed ride a little worse. Will they hel with the sidewise movements over bad roads?

2. RS245 dampers
How do these fare over the Bilsteins?

3. RS245 springs
Changing the springs might be a better solve for the sidewise movements over bad roads and vertical movements over undulations but they probably won't help with steering feel and feedback. Also, springs are supposed to last the lifetime of the car so I don't want to throw away perfectly working springs for more expensive ones.

4. Any other?

I'd like to leverage the collective wisdom of this experienced group to decide the path forward.

[jinojohnt]

Long back there was a review in Auto Car India Magazine about retrofitting Koni FSD shocks in an Octavia. A bit expensive, but reportedly makes a huge difference in handling without any compromise in ride quality.

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

Long back there was a review in Auto Car India Magazine about retrofitting Koni FSD shocks in an Octavia. A bit expensive, but reportedly makes a huge difference in handling without any compromise in ride quality.

Thanks. They used to be the default upgrade for VAG cars about a decade ago But they turned out to have short lives. At least that's what I've read.

[itwasntme]

Hi, I have a MY16 pre-facelift Octavia 1.8 TSI (bone stock on P3ST 205/55/16), so can comment somewhat. You're already connected to mrpitt & sharan1988, so my gyan is strictly theoretical compared to theirs.

The stock suspension on the pre-facelift was tauter than the facelift, but even then I find it wallowy unless with full load. Your facelifted Octavia was made softer even though the rear track is a little wider. From a mod point of view, first thing to know is your budget!

In my humble opinion, I'd suggest the following:
A. Change your 60 profile tyres to either 225/50/16 in PS3 (if you can get them) OR change to 225/45/17s in PS4 if you have the budget. A lot of the floatiness and wallowing will immediately be ironed out, in my opinion. P4ST is not ideal for the Octavia with the FWD and 178 bhp.

B. Go for the Bilstein B6 (my preference) OR vRS230 springs like sharan1988 has. I'd prefer the former because it is already running on zillions of modded sedans starting from BMWs to Skodas without any huge issues. You are also in HYD which (like BLR) has an active modders scene. Take a few opinions/estimates from good modders and take a call. Worst case, you can drive down to BLR or even KL and make a holiday of it.

Let us now how it goes! I would have loved to move to better/fatter tyres and lower it, but the Octavia is now almost exclusively chauffeur-driven. Touch it and better half will lower me into the grave :-).

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

A. Change your 60 profile tyres to either 225/50/16 in PS3 (if you can get them) OR change to 225/45/17s in PS4 if you have the budget. A lot of the floatiness and wallowing will immediately be ironed out, in my opinion. P4ST is not ideal for the Octavia with the FWD and 178 bhp.

B. Go for the Bilstein B6 (my preference) OR vRS230 springs like sharan1988 has.

Thank you.

The budget I've earmarked is 50k-1lakh, although it's flexible.

A. When i changed the tyres from the stock Goodyear NCT 55 profile to P4ST 60 profile, some of the wallow went down. That's because the softer tyres absorbed the movment so that the suspensions didn't have to. I'd rather not go back to harder rubber like PS3 or PS4 because some of the wallow will come back. Also ride will be harsher.
I don't want to reduce sidewall height because I use this car as a long distance tourer so I need high ground clearance.
I will have to upgrade the alloys to be able to fit 225 tyres. I don't want to waste the stock alloys. Plus i like how they look.

B. Upgrading the dampers usually makes the car feel like from a segment above. So when the stock reaches end of life, either the Bilstein B6 or RS245 dampers is what I'm thinking of getting. The RS230 dampers are lower height so wouldn't go for them. If that doesn't make it good enough, I'll upgrade the springs to RS245 as well.

[Akshay1234]

Go for the Bilstein B6s without a second thought. It will give you far better stability, much better damping and reduce the thuds of bad roads. The only downside is a bit more body movement at low speeds, but again well damped so not troubling at all. But once the speed picks up, its in a different league altogether.

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by evil_grin

4. Any other?
I'd like to leverage the collective wisdom of this experienced group to decide the path forward.

Enquire for Koni complete suspension kit consisting high-performance adjustable dampers and matching lowering springs, which i guess reduces the height by 30mm. One of my friend in Chittoor had installed this suspension setup on his laura and handling was spot on.

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Go for the Bilstein B6s without a second thought. It will give you far better stability, much better damping and reduce the thuds of bad roads. The only downside is a bit more body movement at low speeds, but again well damped so not troubling at all. But once the speed picks up, its in a different league altogether.

How do the Bilsteins compare to the RS dampers or the Koni FSDs?
I don't have any complaints for high speeds (except when unloaded). It's the low speeds that I have issues with.

Originally Posted by Gypsian

Enquire for Koni complete suspension kit consisting high-performance adjustable dampers and matching lowering springs, which i guess reduces the height by 30mm. One of my friend in Chittoor had installed this suspension setup on his laura and handling was spot on.

I would rather not reduce the height. I use this car on long drives. I'd rather have higher GC to deal with nasty surprise potholes and killer speed breakers.

How do the Konis compare to Bilstein B6s or RS dampers?

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by evil_grin

How do the Konis compare to Bilstein B6s or RS dampers?

Firstly Konis are damping adjustable and the shock body itself has a thinner overall diameter. I guess it will be easier to install some bigger wheels in the rear with thinner shock bodies. These are some advantages of Konis.
When it comes to out right performance i vouch for Bilstein. I have no first hand experience with RS dampers. Will try to aquire some information soon.

[sunikkat]

I will raise both my hands and scream for ‘Bilstein B6’. My Octavia TDI is running on B6 since 18 months, and that’s the mod that I love the most, more than remap. Did not find much difference in ride quality as Octavia TDI Pre-facelift already had a stiffer suspension than TSI. But the low speed ride, below 60, became more busy with B6. On plus side, the car is just glued to road irrespective of the load and speed.
Though my car is also running on 225/45/17 wheels, after installing B6 the car bottom never touched once, even with 5 passengers and boot full of luggage.
I chose this over Koni FSD and KW as I wanted best performance with less complications. Also retained the stock springs. From the feedback that I heard on B6, it is durable and will outlive the car - hope that’s true.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by evil_grin

How do the Bilsteins compare to the RS dampers or the Koni FSDs?
I don't have any complaints for high speeds (except when unloaded). It's the low speeds that I have issues with.

I'm not sure about both. I'm awaiting my a set of FSDs for my X3 so will know soon. But the B6 in my opinion is better than most stock dampers (save for Porsche), in fact I've got a set of B6 damptronics on my M3.

Originally Posted by Gypsian

Firstly Konis are damping adjustable and the shock body itself has a thinner overall diameter. I guess it will be easier to install some bigger wheels in the rear with thinner shock bodies. These are some advantages of Konis.

I think the adjustable ones you are referring to are the Koni yellows.

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

I think the adjustable ones you are referring to are the Koni yellows.

Yes! The Komi sport yellow shocks which features adjustable valving, which are designed to adapt to lowering springs.

[X0mbIE]

I want to upgrade the dampers on my skoda superb as well. Similar issues. Floatiness, bounciness, sideways movement over uneven roads. How much does the bilstein b6 by cost ? Should I replace both front and rear dampers ? I have zero experience with modding.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by X0mbIE

I want to upgrade the dampers on my skoda superb as well. Similar issues. Floatiness, bounciness, sideways movement over uneven roads. How much does the bilstein b6 by cost ? Should I replace both front and rear dampers ? I have zero experience with modding.

B6 costed me around 95k in Mar 2021 for Octavia, during Covid days. Now that the Covid challenges are less, not sure whether the price has come down. Alternatively if you directly get it imported or buy it from international portals it might cost you less. But then I did not have the patience to search genuine seller and deal with customs approvals and duty.
Suggest you change it for both front and rear.

[X0mbIE]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

B6 costed me around 95k in Mar 2021 for Octavia, during Covid days. Now that the Covid challenges are less, not sure whether the price has come down. Alternatively if you directly get it imported or buy it from international portals it might cost you less. But then I did not have the patience to search genuine seller and deal with customs approvals and duty.
Suggest you change it for both front and rear.

95k total for both front and rear dampers ?