silly suspension question....

[cjhill]

Im looking at suspension improvement ideas.

Can anyone suggest an improvement that doesnt involve lowering the car. It alreay hits lots of small children and the like but i do want to reduce the body roll.

Any ideas. All the aftermarket stuff ive found so far lowers the car.

Cheers

 

[AndyM]

Std springs, koni fsd shocks and anti roll bars?

 

[cjhill]

is it possible to improve apon the standard S3 anti roll bars then?

 

[fingermouse]

pair of R32 arbs , i have the rear one fitted and it improved things, doing the front this weekend hopefully

 

[Grant]

Bilstein shocks and Neuspeed ARBs.

If you want proper handling... don't fit ARBs that were designed for a VW Golf!

 

[fingermouse]

but its the same chassis, same wheelbase unlike the TT. only difference is the engine unit and the spring/damper set up. ppl have had good results with the R32 ARB for a smaller outlay.

 

[cjhill]

But wont blistein shocks lower the car, or they adjustable?

Sorry for asking all these dumb questions... im just trying to understand the concepts.

Would i be correct in thinking that better shocks at the same height would give a better ride?

Also just to check, ARB's = Antiroll bars.

Cheers

 

[cjhill]

oh the other thing i wanted to ask is,

1 - what exactly is meant by toe in/out.

2 - if a car is lowered and the camber not corrected, what whould happen and if you wanted to correct the camber, how would you (is this where adjustable arm thingys come in)

Cheers

 

[bantam1]

But wont blistein shocks lower the car, or they adjustable?

not unless you have lowering springs

Would i be correct in thinking that better shocks at the same height would give a better ride?

No - ride will be harder with uprated shocks.

Also just to check, ARB's = Antiroll bars.

Cheers

Yep

 

[bantam1]

oh the other thing i wanted to ask is,

1 - what exactly is meant by toe in/out.

Roughly speaking, whether wheels are pointing in or out (poor description but you probably get the idea)

2 - if a car is lowered and the camber not corrected, what whould happen and if you wanted to correct the camber, how would you (is this where adjustable arm thingys come in)

Cheers

Possible inner tyre wear at the rear and yes with adjustable tie bars.

 

[bantam1]

P.S. why don't you want to lower the car?

 

[bantam1]

And another P.S.

Not the way most people on here have gone but I have heard of people uprating ARBs to reduce body roll, with a Haldex Performance Part to reduce understeer, without uprating springs and shocks, thereby retaining ride comfort but also improving handling.

Can't comment on this and I'm sure it will be unpopular with some but maybe someone else who has experienced this option can give you their opinion.

Regards,

B

 

[fingermouse]

just go 20mm lower, thats what i plan to do in the future using h&r springs and bilstien shocks

 

[cjhill]

i suppose 20mm wont make too much difference to the number of speed bumps, bits of debris that i hit anyway.

Might be the simplest way.

With a 20mm drop would tyre wear be affected.

 

[AndyM]

The koni FSD shocks are supposed to give an equal or better ride than standard and improved body control. It was an option I considered as I too have some issues with the amount and types of speedbumps I have to negotiate getting to work. This way the driveability is improved without giving me other problems.

20mm should be ok with regards to tyre wear although itll be effected slightly, anything more than that and youll need the rear adjustable tiebars to get camber back in spec.

 

[darko]

i believe that bilstein dampers will also improve the ride over standard - i too will be ditching the standard kit and replacing with bilstein with h&r springs asap

 

[fingermouse]

wasnt there going to be a group buy on h&r`s with bilsteins????

 

[ChriS3]

i suppose 20mm wont make too much difference to the number of speed bumps, bits of debris that i hit anyway.

Might be the simplest way.

With a 20mm drop would tyre wear be affected.

I've got my S3 lowered 30mm, on Eibach coilovers. And with the 8 speed bumps I go over to get to work, there's no problem (and they're the island type where you're wheels go either side of the bump - /¯\ ). Lowering by 20mm shouldn't be an issue at all. I'd recommend the Blisteins over eibach if you want a better ride.

Rear tyre wear will be an slight issue unless you change the tie-arms to allow camber adjustment and it's worth being able to change so you can set the car up better. The uprated Haldex controller is really good, so are the ARB's, then there's the uprated bushes, then the tyres, lighter wheels and brakes, etc...

 

[bantam1]

i believe that bilstein dampers will also improve the ride over standard - i too will be ditching the standard kit and replacing with bilstein with h&r springs asap

Not on my car it didn't. Ride harder but not uncomfortably so. After a couple of weeks you wouldn't notice anyhow.

 

[cjhill]

chris S3 (or anyone), if the best thing to do is to lower by 20mm, change the ARB and fit adjustable rear arm thingys....

question, 1 - how do you adjust the camber properly (i know its by tightening a bolt, but how do you know how much to do it by?

2 - why dont you need an adjustable front arm ?

Cheers

 

[AndyM]

Get the camber adjusted by whoever fits the suspension or get a 4 wheel alignment done afterwards and they will do it.

The front camber is already adjustable.