Just thought I'd wack up some pics and info from my now completed Quattro Avant coil-over upgrade project and hopefully, it may be of use to other like-minded owners with similar issues, or, if they just want a change really.
From my few years on the forum and more specifically the B7 section, ride height issues are known to be an issue, either too high or too low and moreso on the rears of the Quattro avants.
Thus far there doesn't really appear to be a real answer for the low rears even when new, it just seems to be one of the B7's oddities .
My Old bus was afflicted by the said phenomenon which I managed to overcome with reasonable success by going up to Bilstein b8 damper with H&R 45mm drop springs allround.
Over the time I've had the B8's fitted it's been very good, and I was very sceptical about changing to coil-overs, sort of new territory for me but hey I'm always up for something new and a challenge...lol
In my mind the Coilover route would provide just a bit more adjustability on the rears which sometimes did drop a bit when loaded, well it's been more noticeable recently to the point where my wheel arch liner on both sides has worn through due to rubbing.
Anyway, did a fair bit of research and KW Variants seem to offer a very good product, went with Variant 2's but a mess up in the ordering dept meant I received Variant 1's, opted to keep them and I was refunded for the difference and the hassle so all ended well.
The fitting went pretty well as expected with no dramas specific to the suspension swap, fitted new top mounts as well just to cover all bases.
One front was missing the adjuster ring locking grub screw but sorted that out.
Rears can be a bit of a pain to adjust with the adjust at the top of the spring and once they are all fitted the spring tension can make moving the adjuster a tad difficult even with a hex bit holding the other half of the fitting, I found the best way was to remove the shock and camber adjuster bolts and take the pressure of the spring a bit, worked a treat and adjustment was so much easier.
That's about it for the most part, I took measurements from all 4 corners of the current ride height before doing any work, getting an accurate measurement from the rim outer edge to the wheel arch edge proved the most reliable when compared with like for like adjustment on the coil overs all matched.
My fronts were 72mm and 68mm so I went with 76mm on both fronts allowing for a 5mm settlement drop, which is probably about right with new springs, hopefully, after a few weeks, it will settle down to 70mmish .
Rears were 50mm, which I knew was a tad low so set them at 76mm as well with a view that after a bit of settling over a few weeks they will sit down around the 70mm ish mark as well.
The old bus does now sit really nice and level, best it's been for a long, long time, well probably best it's been full stop.
If you have overlooked coil-overs for your B7 whether it's a saloon or avant for whatever reason, then think again as they are a very good product, and get a lot of flack which isn't always deserved, prices vary from a few hundred to over £1500 depending on what spec you choose.
Just keep in mind that if you go with a full set, whatever the total cost is for them, divide it by 4 and you'll get a better idea of how good a quality product you are getting etc.
Pay £200, that's only £50 a corner, so don't expect miracles.
A decent set with a good warranty will be let's say, £1300 which is what I paid, that is £350 per corner but the kit is a few steps up from £50 a corner.
You do tend to get what you pay for with some products, build quality, spec and warranty.
A few pics, sorry they are not brill but you get the basics, I'll get some better outdoor ones tomorrow.
After
From my few years on the forum and more specifically the B7 section, ride height issues are known to be an issue, either too high or too low and moreso on the rears of the Quattro avants.
Thus far there doesn't really appear to be a real answer for the low rears even when new, it just seems to be one of the B7's oddities .
My Old bus was afflicted by the said phenomenon which I managed to overcome with reasonable success by going up to Bilstein b8 damper with H&R 45mm drop springs allround.
Over the time I've had the B8's fitted it's been very good, and I was very sceptical about changing to coil-overs, sort of new territory for me but hey I'm always up for something new and a challenge...lol
In my mind the Coilover route would provide just a bit more adjustability on the rears which sometimes did drop a bit when loaded, well it's been more noticeable recently to the point where my wheel arch liner on both sides has worn through due to rubbing.
Anyway, did a fair bit of research and KW Variants seem to offer a very good product, went with Variant 2's but a mess up in the ordering dept meant I received Variant 1's, opted to keep them and I was refunded for the difference and the hassle so all ended well.
The fitting went pretty well as expected with no dramas specific to the suspension swap, fitted new top mounts as well just to cover all bases.
One front was missing the adjuster ring locking grub screw but sorted that out.
Rears can be a bit of a pain to adjust with the adjust at the top of the spring and once they are all fitted the spring tension can make moving the adjuster a tad difficult even with a hex bit holding the other half of the fitting, I found the best way was to remove the shock and camber adjuster bolts and take the pressure of the spring a bit, worked a treat and adjustment was so much easier.
That's about it for the most part, I took measurements from all 4 corners of the current ride height before doing any work, getting an accurate measurement from the rim outer edge to the wheel arch edge proved the most reliable when compared with like for like adjustment on the coil overs all matched.
My fronts were 72mm and 68mm so I went with 76mm on both fronts allowing for a 5mm settlement drop, which is probably about right with new springs, hopefully, after a few weeks, it will settle down to 70mmish .
Rears were 50mm, which I knew was a tad low so set them at 76mm as well with a view that after a bit of settling over a few weeks they will sit down around the 70mm ish mark as well.
The old bus does now sit really nice and level, best it's been for a long, long time, well probably best it's been full stop.
If you have overlooked coil-overs for your B7 whether it's a saloon or avant for whatever reason, then think again as they are a very good product, and get a lot of flack which isn't always deserved, prices vary from a few hundred to over £1500 depending on what spec you choose.
Just keep in mind that if you go with a full set, whatever the total cost is for them, divide it by 4 and you'll get a better idea of how good a quality product you are getting etc.
Pay £200, that's only £50 a corner, so don't expect miracles.
A decent set with a good warranty will be let's say, £1300 which is what I paid, that is £350 per corner but the kit is a few steps up from £50 a corner.
You do tend to get what you pay for with some products, build quality, spec and warranty.
A few pics, sorry they are not brill but you get the basics, I'll get some better outdoor ones tomorrow.
After
Last edited:
