Anyone got a bagged A3?

[A3_Jeffers]

Looking into the air suspension side of things, just wanting to know if anyone's on here has gone ahead with it? What sort of prices they paid, which kit they got, how the ride is etc? This is the next main thing on my list so trying to get as much info as I can! Feel free to post your pics up too!

 

[Mindak]

I wouldn't mind knowing all this also... Wanna do it too at some stage!

 

[Veedubnoodle]

Yes I have air in my A3. It is fantastic! Full Airlift Performance kit, dampening adjustable, camber top mounts etc. Really quality piece of kit and makes the car so much nicer to drive on a daily basis.

The reason I went for air is cause of the roads round my way (lots of speedbumps) and because I like to go for a nice drive round the back roads at times. Having a static slammed car just wasn't agreeing with me. I couldn't park on kerbs, was scraping over everything and it meant I couldn't drive the car hard on the odd spirited drive.

Air is the best of both worlds. Having that slammed to the floor look at shows but also the everyday usability of a normal car and it still handles great! I've even had it at a drag racing event where it put down some respectable times beating a K04 MK5 GTI with a diff off the line!

The price was a bit steep but in my opinion well worth it. From memory I think it was around £2800 for the full kit fitted.
Obviously you can do it cheaper but I wanted the best kit money could buy for my car.
Any questions feel free to ask

 

[StatedRain]

Were did you get your kit fitted noodle? I'm after getting it done but wouldn't know were to start fitting it myself unfortunately.

 

[A3_Jeffers]

Looks quality, and I'm glad it's a 5 door as not a lot of people go for them. I'm looking at getting air I'm just not sure what to go for as there's that many choices and I'm not overly sure what the difference is between them all. Also I need to know a rough figure so I know what I'm aiming for when saving.

 

[Veedubnoodle]

Were did you get your kit fitted noodle? I'm after getting it done but wouldn't know were to start fitting it myself unfortunately.

A local guy to me in Lisburn fits air. DesignRMC. They're very good at what they do and it's been perfect for over a year now.

Looks quality, and I'm glad it's a 5 door as not a lot of people go for them. I'm looking at getting air I'm just not sure what to go for as there's that many choices and I'm not overly sure what the difference is between them all. Also I need to know a rough figure so I know what I'm aiming for when saving.

Yeah I prefer the shape of the Sportback myself mate. It's all down to what you like. If it was me I would highly recommend the V2 management and then go for either the slam kit or if you need front camber adjustment and dampening adjustment go for the performance struts.

 

[hxrpz]

I have had an Audi A1 bagged & currently own an S3 8P that is also bagged. It really is down to the kit you buy & the person who installs it. Where are you based and I can reccomend an installer?

Management: Airlift V2 or Accuair

I'd stay away from the cheaper manual/paddle managemets - they end up being a ballache. I'd go for a digital management. Airlift - V2 Management is all you really need. It is a simple system with not much to go wrong. You also get 8 ride height presets at the touch of a button so don't have to mess about with ride height/bag pressures every time you get in the car. Accuair E-Level is also very good but it can prove to be very problematic if not installed by somebody with experience.

AIRLIFT V3 is coming soon though

Struts: Airlift or HP DriveTech are the only struts I would buy.

Airlift pretty much own the market in regards to struts for the MKV chassis. You have a choice of either SLAM XL struts or Performance struts which VDN explains above. The SLAM XL struts are all you really need unless your car is designed for performance as you have to lose the anti roll bar/dont get all of the adjustibility that performance struts offer, however these struts go very low and are very comfortable/ a lot cheaper.

HP Drive-Tech are a new company that have boomed this year, I met the guys behind it this year in Austria & visited their HQ - they are producing some amazing kits and the cars handle so well on them. Their struts are made using Bilstein monotube coilovers which are then stripped down & re-enginereed into their air ride struts. I will be making the swap from Airlfit performance this year.

 

[A3_Jeffers]

I have had an Audi A1 bagged & currently own an S3 8P that is also bagged. It really is down to the kit you buy & the person who installs it. Where are you based and I can reccomend an installer?

Management: Airlift V2 or Accuair

I'd stay away from the cheaper manual/paddle managemets - they end up being a ballache. I'd go for a digital management. Airlift - V2 Management is all you really need. It is a simple system with not much to go wrong. You also get 8 ride height presets at the touch of a button so don't have to mess about with ride height/bag pressures every time you get in the car. Accuair E-Level is also very good but it can prove to be very problematic if not installed by somebody with experience.

AIRLIFT V3 is coming soon though

Struts: Airlift or HP DriveTech are the only struts I would buy.

Airlift pretty much own the market in regards to struts for the MKV chassis. You have a choice of either SLAM XL struts or Performance struts which VDN explains above. The SLAM XL struts are all you really need unless your car is designed for performance as you have to lose the anti roll bar/dont get all of the adjustibility that performance struts offer, however these struts go very low and are very comfortable/ a lot cheaper.

HP Drive-Tech are a new company that have boomed this year, I met the guys behind it this year in Austria & visited their HQ - they are producing some amazing kits and the cars handle so well on them. Their struts are made using Bilstein monotube coilovers which are then stripped down & re-enginereed into their air ride struts. I will be making the swap from Airlfit performance this year.

Cheers for the reply mate!

I'm from West Yorkshire UK.

I really like the look of the accuair management, so I think I may be swaying to that side of things. How much would you guess it would cost to be fitted? On just the slam series struts?

Is there anymore info on the V3 been released yet?

 

[A3_Jeffers]

A local guy to me in Lisburn fits air. DesignRMC. They're very good at what they do and it's been perfect for over a year now.





Yeah I prefer the shape of the Sportback myself mate. It's all down to what you like. If it was me I would highly recommend the V2 management and then go for either the slam kit or if you need front camber adjustment and dampening adjustment go for the performance struts.

Cheers for the reply mate.

Is that the kit you have at the moment?

I'm really in two minds

 

[hxrpz]

Cheers for the reply mate!

I'm from West Yorkshire UK.

I really like the look of the accuair management, so I think I may be swaying to that side of things. How much would you guess it would cost to be fitted? On just the slam series struts?

Is there anymore info on the V3 been released yet?

Novak Kustoms would be the closest to you from what I can recall. I would honestly stick with V2 management due to how simple it is & it's a lot cheaper. It does exactly the same thing bar the ride height levelling but it's not something I think you'd notice. I couldn't advise on fitting prices as it all depends on the level of build and the company fitting it.

I believe there should be more information within the month but I can ask my contact. There's currently a car in the UK running the proto-type so very close. If you don't wish to wait though, I can put you in touch with various people in regards to buying a kit. DM me if you want dude

 

[A3_Jeffers]

Novak Kustoms would be the closest to you from what I can recall. I would honestly stick with V2 management due to how simple it is & it's a lot cheaper. It does exactly the same thing bar the ride height levelling but it's not something I think you'd notice. I couldn't advise on fitting prices as it all depends on the level of build and the company fitting it.

I believe there should be more information within the month but I can ask my contact. There's currently a car in the UK running the proto-type so very close. If you don't wish to wait though, I can put you in touch with various people in regards to buying a kit. DM me if you want dude

I'll be sure to search them up mate!

I can wait mate as I'm still in the process of saving for these as its a massive chunk of money to me unfortunately! But deffo taking your advice on board, thanks man!

 

[Veedubnoodle]

Cheers for the reply mate.

Is that the kit you have at the moment?

I'm really in two minds

Yeah I run the Performance kit with V2 because I needed camber and wanted to run with the anti roll bar still in place.

 

[A3_Jeffers]

Novak Kustoms would be the closest to you from what I can recall. I would honestly stick with V2 management due to how simple it is & it's a lot cheaper. It does exactly the same thing bar the ride height levelling but it's not something I think you'd notice. I couldn't advise on fitting prices as it all depends on the level of build and the company fitting it.

I believe there should be more information within the month but I can ask my contact. There's currently a car in the UK running the proto-type so very close. If you don't wish to wait though, I can put you in touch with various people in regards to buying a kit. DM me if you want dude

Just left novaks a message now so hopefully I'll be able to have a decent chat and get some clarification on a few things, plus he's literally 20 mins away from me so it's perfect!

Yeah I run the Performance kit with V2 because I needed camber and wanted to run with the anti roll bar still in place.

Sweet, think I'm gunna have a look at both and decide which I prefer before I make a decision. I will be sure to post some pics once it's all gone ahead! Thanks for your advice man

 

[s3_trev]

Yeah I run the Performance kit with V2 because I needed camber and wanted to run with the anti roll bar still in place.

So whats your opinion on them mate with regards to handling? Would they be as good as a high end coilover in this regard?

 

[Veedubnoodle]

So whats your opinion on them mate with regards to handling? Would they be as good as a high end coilover in this regard?

To answer your question @s3_trev yes they are! I had BC Racing coilovers before and they are as good as those.
Obviously if you were only doing track work I would stick with coilovers (mainly because you can fine tune spring pre-load and corner weight the car) but for daily use you won't get a better suspension system than an Airlift Performance kit. It does everything I ask of it, still handles very well, and is very comfortable when cruising about.

 

[Sayam]

To answer your question @s3_trev yes they are! I had BC Racing coilovers before and they are as good as those.
Obviously if you were only doing track work I would stick with coilovers (mainly because you can fine tune spring pre-load and corner weight the car) but for daily use you won't get a better suspension system than an Airlift Performance kit. It does everything I ask of it, still handles very well, and is very comfortable when cruising about.

And is that comfort whilst cruising relative to the coilovers or relative to oem setup?

 

[Veedubnoodle]

And is that comfort whilst cruising relative to the coilovers or relative to oem setup?

Good question @Sayam. I would say relative to a quality set of coilovers. Similar to KW or H&R. That said my friends A5 on air rides like it's on standard s-line suspension. It all depends how stiff you set your dampers but they are miles better than any fully lowered coilovers because with air you can retain the full damper travel to absorb the bumps.

 

[Orange225]

There's radio-world near Leeds that do the airlift kits, not sure if they fit them too though
http://www.rw-online.co.uk

 

[s3_trev]

To answer your question @s3_trev yes they are! I had BC Racing coilovers before and they are as good as those.
Obviously if you were only doing track work I would stick with coilovers (mainly because you can fine tune spring pre-load and corner weight the car) but for daily use you won't get a better suspension system than an Airlift Performance kit. It does everything I ask of it, still handles very well, and is very comfortable when cruising about.

Interesting. Very interesting.

 

[A3_Jeffers]

Messaged quite a few places now and awaiting quotes so hopefully will find the right one for me!

 

[Sayam]

Good question @Sayambecause with air you can retain the full damper travel to absorb the bumps.

So basically it's like lowering the car whilst keeping the full travel of the spring/damper?

Hmm..interesting lol...

 

[Adam Wilson]

Mines bagged, absolutely love it! I'll probably bag my next car too. It's expensive but you get what you pay for! The quality of the AirLift stuff is exceptional and the ride is great.

The only regret I have is not being a little more patient and having my boot build finished! 8 months on and I still haven't got round to sorting it.


I'd strongly recommend www.caraudiosecurity.com.. My kit turned up with a few bits missing, quick phone call and they had it sorted with next day delivery. No questions asked, they even upgraded my compressor for the inconvenience without me asking.

 

[A3_Jeffers]

Mines bagged, absolutely love it! I'll probably bag my next car too. It's expensive but you get what you pay for! The quality of the AirLift stuff is exceptional and the ride is great.

The only regret I have is not being a little more patient and having my boot build finished! 8 months on and I still haven't got round to sorting it.


I'd strongly recommend www.caraudiosecurity.com.. My kit turned up with a few bits missing, quick phone call and they had it sorted with next day delivery. No questions asked, they even upgraded my compressor for the inconvenience without me asking.

You got any pics of yours mate?

Yeah I've heard of them before, I'll give them a look cheers

 

[Adam Wilson]

 

[A3_Jeffers]

Looks clean mate! Very nice