Shocks & Springs or Coilovers?

sinic

sinic

Audi WAudi
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So what are your thoughts?

I need to replace my aging suspension on my Sport, so the car is already low due to the sport model, but when I put on the 18's it lost some of the lowness as it raised the car by half an inch or so..

I understand that if I buy coilovers that I'll be able to adjust the ride which would be great but I think you get what you pay for and I keep reading horror stories on here from people that have bought JOM or similar who keep getting rubbing or knocking noises that would really drive me round the bend.
I want to spend around £500 as I'm not made of money, so I think that would get me a fairly decent set of AP / FK coilovers, or I might get lucky and find a 2nd hand set of something really nice... but what's the opinion here?

Is there anyone who has upgraded to coilovers and shocks & spring sets who can give a comparable opinion ?

Thanks
 
The price of those has both tempted me and put me off in the past. I don't know enough about suspension to understand why they may or may not be any good.

Are you using them? Do you think they'd withstand the hammering my local b-roads dish out on a daily basis?
 
Been down the coilover route so many times with different cars, great for the stance u want, terrible to drive in tho, I've had various kinds jamex, fk, gmax and spax RSX all harsh!

Id buy eibach springs and bilstein shocks.
 
V8Guzzler said:
eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

These all day long mate..
Click to expand...

Thanks, have seen them advertised & sounds good...think my car is quite a bit heavier than your though?

SmoothAssault said:
The price of those has both tempted me and put me off in the past. I don't know enough about suspension to understand why they may or may not be any good.

Are you using them? Do you think they'd withstand the hammering my local b-roads dish out on a daily basis?
Click to expand...

That's my concern, I've been on bumpy fen roads for almost 2 years & 30k, not good for the car...I have some suspension arms & bushes to sort when I do the shocks & springs....

R2XPT said:
Been down the coilover route so many times with different cars, great for the stance u want, terrible to drive in tho, I've had various kinds jamex, fk, gmax and spax RSX all harsh!

Id buy eibach springs and bilstein shocks.
Click to expand...

This is the kind of feedback I like to hear. Being the sport model with 18's its not too harsh but its not a soft comfy roller either, which sparked my interest for a set of springs & shocks over some coilovers....maybe if I had £7-800 for some really good coilovers I could go for damping adjustment where I could control the ride a bit more. It's a shame you can't try before you buy....can't really afford to be lumbered with £500's worth of coilovers that I don't like but I may have to take a gamble.

Anybody else with feedback or suggestions? I've read a few post on the site refering to Eiback springs with Bilstein shocks but I also want to drop the height slightly back to where it was before I put the 18's on.

Does anyone know of any deals about at the moment?
 
Hi
i have the set up Eiback springs with Bilstein shocks
B12 suspension with rs4 ARB's and all four drop links done aswell
my first long motor way drive and it was nice and sportly
yet smooth aswell
as for the ride height you can go for some diff springs that are lower
then the eibacks , but the bilstein shocks are great ,
I have 235/40/18 and in a perfect world I would like it atad
lower
Hope this helps Alan
 
Stock OEM sport suspension is low enough for me on the Avant.... it's already lower than my A3 TQS and i can only just get a trolly jack under it.... to go any lower on a UK daily driver would be just asking for trouble IMO
 
I say go for a good quality springs and shocks kit, this will give you the best of both worlds with improved handling whilst still retaining comfort.

Damian @ DPM Performance
 
Seems like the sensible thing to do is keep my OEM sport suspension. *sigh* If only I was sensible. :happy:

Might take a punt with the APs. My *** ought to provide enough shock absorption to prevent my spine shattering. Will eat a few cakes to be sure.
 
what will the insurance change be? even an aftermarket eiback+koni suspension setup cost be about £100 extra per year in insurance on my old Golf...
 
Thanks for all your replies....

So who can recommend what coilovers for £500? and what shock & spring combos that will be for my Tdi Sport that will take the car back down to what it was at before I put the 18's on?

And can anyone explain why I might need new top mounts?
Can anyone explain why I might need shorter drop links? and any part numbers?

Thanks
 
Eibach springs up front with B5 spring perches and Weitec shocks and AP adjuster at rear , best of both worlds
 
CMD said:
Eibach springs up front with B5 spring perches and Weitec shocks and AP adjuster at rear , best of both worlds
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting, can you give more detail?
 
Buy some A4 B5 perches along with your choice of front lowering spring . If you buy a 35 -40mm springs the A4 B5 spring perche will give you an extra 10-12mm drop . The peaches can be bought from Audi or tps for about £35 +vat .
 
CMD said:
Buy some A4 B5 perches along with your choice of front lowering spring . If you buy a 35 -40mm springs the A4 B5 spring perche will give you an extra 10-12mm drop . The peaches can be bought from Audi or tps for about £35 +vat .
Click to expand...

Interesting info on the B5 perches, I assume these are the top mounts? or am I wrong?
Also, what is the AP rear adjuster? Do you have any links or it?

Thanks for your help
 
The perches slide over the front shocks once you have removed the spring and the standard B6 spring perch. The peach is a platform for the spring to sit in/on a member from the B5 forum could give you the part numbers. With regards to the rear AP platforms and springs I just phoned up Venom Motorsport and asked could I buy AP adjuster platforms and coil spring's also placed an order for the weitec rear shocks at the same time
 
I Have just fitted Jom blue line coilovers to my 2wd 2.4 sport, ride is good, loads of adjustment on the front, but rears even on the lowest setting its not gone more than -25mm. I would say stick to good quality shocks and springs if your not wanting to run really low.
 
Thanks for all your help guys.... I'm still pondering what to do but stil want to hear from anyones experience. for instance, is there alternaive top mounts other than b5's available like the LCR's for the A3, what is available for the A4 B6? How about RS4 b8 top mounts? Has anyone done that to a B6 sport?

I'm almost leaning towards a shocks & springs set at the moment with adjustable damping and an AP adjuster as CMD suggested. There seems to be some really attractive deals around for my budget but I may have to do top mounts also as I have some minor metal on metal knocking on the front end and suspect its the top mount bearings as I cannot find the play in any of the arms.

I'm still also considering coil overs but theres good quality adjustable damper and spring sets around for £5-600 from the likes of Koni , Weitec and Spax and so on, then there's the Bilstein option with Eibach springs so I think the next dilemna will be which set to go for....there's so many to choose from. I've also noticed that AMD are doing deals on fitting to which is attractive.

Does anyone know anywhere that is suplying a range of suspension options with a fitting service? I'd do it myself but I don't have a spring compressor (might look at buying some and doing myself)

Cheers
 
Unless you are a track day fiend or low-rider cruiser, I wouldn't bother with coilovers as they are expensive (£500 for coilovers will just land you with a cheap ebay set that rides badly and rusts quickly) and take a lot of setting up at a proper alignment centre and need maintenance to prevent the threads from corroding. Also the ability to adjust the shocks will always tempt you to fiddle with them constantly whereas a quality set of fixed height suspension will be 'fit and forget' as they will be pre set to the optimal height for the spring and damper ratings.
 
Hi Sinic.I am down this route now rolling on TA Technix.Can't really say much about them good or bad.As for the money they are allright £180-£200.Bumpy,but not crashy.WOuld I choose them again-NO.I would go for shock and spring kombo something like H&R Cup Kit - A4 Lim.+Avant+DTM Edition+Sedan+SW - 11/00> - Typ 8E (B6/B7)/QB6, 2WD, bis/up to 1050 kg VA-Last/FA-weight inkl. Facelift 04/05 - A4 (B6) - Audi - Shop By Car or A4 (B6, B7) incl. Facelift; (8E, 8H) Saloon, front-wheel drive 11/00- - A4 (B6) - Audi - Shop By Car.Even new genuine shocks with Eibach springs will do TBH,coz you like me are having ours daily's and don't go to The Ring :think:.Hope that helped!
 
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