Has anyone got any experience of Bilstein Coilovers, particularly on the S3? How about a general opinion of used suspension kit?
Bilstein Coilovers on an S3
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Ess_Three
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I would have to question why coilovers over a standard spring / damper combination?
A decent lowering spring kit such as MTM, H&R, Eibach etc will give a level ride height and a decent drop without endangering your sump.
Decent dampers such as Bilstein work well, this is proven....no need for adjustable damping.
You'll need the adjustable tie bars at anything below standard if you want to make the damn thing handle properly.
for the cost of a bare coilover kit for the S3, you can have a proven spring & damper kit, adjustable tie bars and an aggressive suspension set up..which will give better results than coilovers only.
You'll also most likely end up with a few quid in your pocket towards a set of uprated anti-roll bars too.
I just don't see the need for coilovers on a road going S3 as the off the shelf seperates are so good and known to work...let's face it, you'll probably set it to the same ride height as lowering springs anyway and leave it there...hence not much point in havingh adjustable ride height if you're not going to adjust it regularly!
If you do go lower than Eibach / H&R height, you're risking your sump anyway...good luck!
If you feel you 'need' adjustable damping - fair play.
But in my opinion, if it's for a road car, you can get an S3 set up as good as it gets by selecting off the shelf non-adjustable components - Bilstein non-adjustable dampers are absolutely spot-on damping rate wise. No need to adjust from there as they are spot-on.
If you are doing trackdays and feel you need to make the car 'stiffer' in order to get it to lap quicker..I'd still argue that the anti-roll bar upgrade should be higher up the list than adjustable dampers as fitting uprated anti-roll bars increases the chassis roll resistance without compromising it's ability to ride bumps as would be the case in increasing damper settings in an attepms to limit roll...again, there is a proven off the shelf solution out there. It just works.
Of course if you 'need' adjustable ride height and damping, then the Bilstein kit is a quality kit...but if you don't feel the need to be able to tell everyone you have coilovers, and simply want an S3 that handles properly with no understeer at all, and no oversteer....you can achieve that by mixing and matching the best of the seperates available.
As for buying a used kit...why not. If you know the history of it...and nothing is bent / leaking, I see no problem...as long as it's the correct kit for the vehicle.
A decent lowering spring kit such as MTM, H&R, Eibach etc will give a level ride height and a decent drop without endangering your sump.
Decent dampers such as Bilstein work well, this is proven....no need for adjustable damping.
You'll need the adjustable tie bars at anything below standard if you want to make the damn thing handle properly.
for the cost of a bare coilover kit for the S3, you can have a proven spring & damper kit, adjustable tie bars and an aggressive suspension set up..which will give better results than coilovers only.
You'll also most likely end up with a few quid in your pocket towards a set of uprated anti-roll bars too.
I just don't see the need for coilovers on a road going S3 as the off the shelf seperates are so good and known to work...let's face it, you'll probably set it to the same ride height as lowering springs anyway and leave it there...hence not much point in havingh adjustable ride height if you're not going to adjust it regularly!
If you do go lower than Eibach / H&R height, you're risking your sump anyway...good luck!
If you feel you 'need' adjustable damping - fair play.
But in my opinion, if it's for a road car, you can get an S3 set up as good as it gets by selecting off the shelf non-adjustable components - Bilstein non-adjustable dampers are absolutely spot-on damping rate wise. No need to adjust from there as they are spot-on.
If you are doing trackdays and feel you need to make the car 'stiffer' in order to get it to lap quicker..I'd still argue that the anti-roll bar upgrade should be higher up the list than adjustable dampers as fitting uprated anti-roll bars increases the chassis roll resistance without compromising it's ability to ride bumps as would be the case in increasing damper settings in an attepms to limit roll...again, there is a proven off the shelf solution out there. It just works.
Of course if you 'need' adjustable ride height and damping, then the Bilstein kit is a quality kit...but if you don't feel the need to be able to tell everyone you have coilovers, and simply want an S3 that handles properly with no understeer at all, and no oversteer....you can achieve that by mixing and matching the best of the seperates available.
As for buying a used kit...why not. If you know the history of it...and nothing is bent / leaking, I see no problem...as long as it's the correct kit for the vehicle.
The reason is cost - I've found a set, second-hand (1000km) and cheap.
Generally I don't need adjustability and I don't really want to drop the car much. I'm fairly happy with the standard set-up so I'm not bothered about spending lots to improve it. If I can do it without spending lots of money then that suits me.
Generally I don't need adjustability and I don't really want to drop the car much. I'm fairly happy with the standard set-up so I'm not bothered about spending lots to improve it. If I can do it without spending lots of money then that suits me.
