Skoda Modifications

[kamold]

Hi Fireside, was wondering if you could share any more of your experience with your suspension upgrades now that you have had some time to settle into them.

Would you think that the WALK by itself would provide a big enough improvement to takeoff performance without any additional parts? I can't afford to do much more than that at this point but am still not a fan of the dreaded front-wheel drive shudder from the TC when trying to put the foot down.

If there were a 4motion Octavia vRS I would have gone for it as I thought the Haldex in my previous A3 was brilliant.

[Fireside]

Hey Kamoid,
I cant really give you the answer to that one mate as I fitted the WALK and roll bars all at the same time.
What I can tell you is that I get a fair bit less traction from a standing start when my rear bar is set to its softest setting.

The Koni FSD / Eibach combo is brilliant though. I put them on about a week after all the bars and the difference in handling and ride comfort was massive. With just bars fitted the ride is really jittery and super stiff, it did my head in so much that I had to upgrade the springs asap. Mind you, I surf a fair bit and I'm always driving down pretty dodgy coastal roads, so you might not have as much need to upgrade suspension as I did. But in my case; Whiteline rollbars and OEM springs = super uncomfortable!

[Fireside]

Can you tell me more about the Koni FSD & the Springs? Also, the ALK has me intrigued.

Very interested in the cons (increased NVH?, excessively noticeable by others in the car, not a good idea for a P-Plater?) as well as the pros.

Hey Brad, here is a list of pros & cons of the Koni / Eibach / Whiteline setup after a few months use:

CONS:
Harder, stiffer ride,
Potholes are a problem, (big ones make the lid on the centre dash compartment spring open),
Gutter scraping (both front bumper and rear exhaust),
Speedhumps have to be teated with respect ,
At low speed you can feel almost every bump on the road.

PROS
Looks tougher lowered,
Great traction off the line,
Flatter through corners (really noticeable on tracks like Winton),
Brilliant handling (better that OEM GTI),
Forgiving over bumps at high speed,
Heaps less body roll,
A lot less nose diving under hard brakes.

The pros out way the cons for sure, I highly recommend it if your looking for sporty handling without being too stiff.
Here's where I got them in VIC:
http://www.toperformance.com.au/index2.html

[kamold]

Thanks very much for sharing your experiences Fireside, no amount of marketing material comes close to first hand knowledge

[bluefrog]

hey gents, I'm giving some serious thought to procuring myself a TSI Octavia RS wagon, and plan throw some APR gear at it .. but I'm more than a little confused by the stage 3 options listed by APR ... has anyone had experience with stage 3 for octavia ??

Turbocharger Systems - Stage 3
- Skoda Octavia vRS 2.0T FSI S3 K04 Turbo Upgrade
- Skoda Octavia vRS Stage III Upgrade
- APR 2.0 TSI Transversal Stage 3 Turbo System

(as shown on APR - High Performance Development for Audi, VW and Porsche Vehicles.)

thanks in advance!

[brad]

Stage 3 is very "balls out" for a FWD family wagon - 235kw & 430+Nm. Don't forget that you probably want to throw some $$$ at suspension & brakes as well.

Your best idea (if you are set on APR) is to give Guy a ring & go through the options. There are other purveyors of go fast bits for Skodas out there too.

My interpretation of the above is that (1) i a conversion to Audi S3 specs with a KO4; (2) is similar but with a GT27, HPFP & injectors; (3) is an inlet & turbo. But you are right - there isn't a lot of info there when you start dealing in specifics.

[bluefrog]

thanks Brad .. yeah after driving the R i'm very keen on the idea of a balls out family wagon ; )

[brad]

Fair enough. It all comes down too how calibrated the right foot is & how quickly you expect to pull out of side streets.

I'd find it somewhat frustrating after the AWD of the R

[dru]

Maybe through some money at getting the AWD running gear from a scout too while your at it

Stage 3 would be nice, although even after stage 1 tune there is already alot of spin & torque steer! Would be fun though!

[bluefrog]

Maybe through some money at getting the AWD running gear from a scout too while your at it

Stage 3 would be nice, although even after stage 1 tune there is already alot of spin & torque steer! Would be fun though!

mmmmm, 300kw family wagon : )

any idea where I should look for the Scout-sourced AWD gear ??