A3 8p 2004 - 30 mm lowering springs no difference?

Weechris90

Weechris90

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Just had a set of 30mm lowering springs fitted to my car and tbh i cant barely see a difference? Does it take time for them to settle? Or will i needto get even lower springs?

Cheers
 
2.0 tdi sport mate.. Just seems like a jeep still? Only on 17's the now, dont know if it will look better once i put my 18's on??
 
IMO if your saying it looks like a jeep with your 17's on it'll be worse with bigger wheels.
 
^^Agree

Quite a few people on here lately being disappointed with their spring drops.
 
Weechris90 said:
Just had a set of 30mm lowering springs fitted to my car and tbh i cant barely see a difference? Does it take time for them to settle? Or will i needto get even lower springs?

Cheers
Click to expand...

You do realise that 30mm springs are not going to drop your car by 30mm, don't you?
As your car is a Sport it is already lowered by about 15mm (maybe a little more over time). Lowering springs quoted as having a 30mm drop will be taken from standard height, therefore you will only see a 10-15mm drop on your Sport, which will be hardly noticeable, as you are now finding out.

It's a common mistake/miscalculation people make when buying springs.

If you wanted your car to look "lowered" then you would've needed 50mm springs or coilovers.
 
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Ads, have you had any issues with the tyres on the front wearing on the inside edges since lowering? My sensible head is telling me not to bother and stick with my standard set up (Sline) but I'm still tempted for some Eibach/H&R springs to lower the car slightly.

What ya sayin? :icon_thumright:
 
AidenUK said:
Ads, have you had any issues with the tyres on the front wearing on the inside edges since lowering? My sensible head is telling me not to bother and stick with my standard set up (Sline) but I'm still tempted for some Eibach/H&R springs to lower the car slightly.

What ya sayin? :icon_thumright:
Click to expand...

Not that I've noticed mate. The last time I had a look at the tyres they looked to have pretty even wear. I'll have a proper look though and let you know.

Basically I'm sayin you should drop your car! :yes: Improves its looks no end.
 
Ads said:
Not that I've noticed mate. The last time I had a look at the tyres they looked to have pretty even wear. I'll have a proper look though and let you know.

Basically I'm sayin you should drop your car! :yes: Improves its looks no end.
Click to expand...

Ha I'm tempted i must admit i think a sport back will look smart as one dropped.

I say i'll never lower another car again after i've lowered them though, i always seem to find the tyres wear quicker on the inside edges!

What springs would you go for, I've had Eibach on a MK4 GT TDI and a MK5 SRI Astra CDTI 150, are there any difference between Eibach and H&R?
 
AidenUK said:
Ha I'm tempted i must admit i think a sport back will look smart as one dropped.

I say i'll never lower another car again after i've lowered them though, i always seem to find the tyres wear quicker on the inside edges!

What springs would you go for, I've had Eibach on a MK4 GT TDI and a MK5 SRI Astra CDTI 150, are there any difference between Eibach and H&R?
Click to expand...

Eibach ride a bit softer than H&R, and also eibach springs lower 50mm at the front and 40mm at the rear to reduce/get rid of reverse rake.
H&R spring kits lower 50mm front and rear so you do end up with a slightly bigger arch gap at the front compared to the rear. If you want 50mm front and 40mm rear drop with h&r I think you have to buy their spring and shock kit.
 
audi upgrades
Ads said:
Eibach ride a bit softer than H&R, and also eibach springs lower 50mm at the front and 40mm at the rear to reduce/get rid of reverse rake.
H&R spring kits lower 50mm front and rear so you do end up with a slightly bigger arch gap at the front compared to the rear. If you want 50mm front and 40mm rear drop with h&r I think you have to buy their spring and shock kit.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Ads, I'm not interested about shocks to be fair so i'll probably go for Eibach again, however which kit do i need? My car is currently on S line suspension as it's an S line TDI, i was thinking of a 30mm drop, do they do a kit that offers this or is it just 50mm/40mm rear?
 
AidenUK said:
Thanks for that Ads, I'm not interested about shocks to be fair so i'll probably go for Eibach again, however which kit do i need? My car is currently on S line suspension as it's an S line TDI, i was thinking of a 30mm drop, do they do a kit that offers this or is it just 50mm/40mm rear?
Click to expand...

Yeah, mine is still on its original shocks and they are doing fine.

Eibach do two kits... the pro kit which lowers by 30mm front and rear, and the sportline kit which lowers 50mm front 40mm rear.
But as mentioned, if you lower using the pro kit (30mm)..... 1) you may end up with a bit of reverse rake, and 2) yours being an s-line you won't notice any drop at all. S-line's are 25mm below standard height so the pro kit will only give you another 5mm drop, if even that.

Basically, if you want to lower your car then you have to buy springs that quote 50mm as the drop, otherwise its just not worth it.
But if you are only going for improved ride and comfort then a 30mm spring is also fine.
 
The camber angle of the wheel will always increase when lowering, so you will find inside tyre edge wear. Get a decent alignment after lowwering will help.

I know the rear camber can be adjusted (I left mine alone as it actually helps with my wheel fitment), but I'm not sure about camber on the front though? I know when I had my car aligned they only adjusted front Toe, but I'm getting inner edge wear so I'm assuming front camber cannot be altered without adjustable camber plates?
 
TimG said:
The camber angle of the wheel will always increase when lowering, so you will find inside tyre edge wear. Get a decent alignment after lowwering will help.

I know the rear camber can be adjusted (I left mine alone as it actually helps with my wheel fitment), but I'm not sure about camber on the front though? I know when I had my car aligned they only adjusted front Toe, but I'm getting inner edge wear so I'm assuming front camber cannot be altered without adjustable camber plates?
Click to expand...

This is what has happened to cars I've lowered on these springs in the past Tim.
 
Ads said:
Yeah, mine is still on its original shocks and they are doing fine.

Eibach do two kits... the pro kit which lowers by 30mm front and rear, and the sportline kit which lowers 50mm front 40mm rear.
But as mentioned, if you lower using the pro kit (30mm)..... 1) you may end up with a bit of reverse rake, and 2) yours being an s-line you won't notice any drop at all. S-line's are 25mm below standard height so the pro kit will only give you another 5mm drop, if even that.

Basically, if you want to lower your car then you have to buy springs that quote 50mm as the drop, otherwise its just not worth it.
But if you are only going for improved ride and comfort then a 30mm spring is also fine.
Click to expand...

Basically you're saying i need an Eibach Proline kit in my life aren't you?
 
Oh also Ads, is it advisable to fit anything else to the suspension when the suspension is off the car, mounts etc?
 
AidenUK said:
You're the man!

Thanks again!! :icon_thumright:
Click to expand...

No worries fella.

Also, I don't know if you've got an AMD anywhere near you but they will supply and fit eibach springs AND laser align your wheels for £299 all in.

Eibach Springs Fitted for Audi A3 8P 2.0 TDI PD140
(they quote pro kit, but the deal includes sportlines too)

When you consider that the springs are £155-£170 delivered and alignment can cost £80, that's a good deal.

:salute:


EDIT: There's an AMD in Leeds. Is that any good for you?? AMD Technik Leeds - All copyrights AMD Technik Limited 2010
 
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AidenUK said:
Oh also Ads, is it advisable to fit anything else to the suspension when the suspension is off the car, mounts etc?
Click to expand...

I think the springs come with front top mounts, or at least AMD fitted mine with new ones at no extra charge when they did my car.

Obviously the suspension needs to be looked at when the springs are being fitted, but any good fitter should advise of anything else that should be changed. But if yours is in good shape then just springs is fine.
Mine had covered 50k and all I needed were the springs.
 
TimG said:
Why?
Click to expand...

I haf an ibiza cupra on coilovers and the ride was terrible although handling was superb! And the price aswell as they are a fortune! Haha! I am just going to sell the 30mm springs and get 50mm! Just wish i had researched all this first before buying them!
 
Ads said:
I think the springs come with front top mounts, or at least AMD fitted mine with new ones at no extra charge when they did my car.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't think the Springs come with top mounts, they're about £40 for a pair IIRC (not sure if the OEM ones are even more) so very generous if they were included or changed for free! G Werks who fitted my coilovers said the 8P/Mk5 Golf chassis top mounts are pretty resilient so don't need changing often until much higher mileage than mine (60k odd)

Off topic, your S line hatch spoiler come from Ebay? How much are they normally on there/ did you pay? Cheers mate
 
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audi upgrades
TimG said:
I wouldn't think the Springs come with top mounts, they're about £40 for a pair IIRC (not sure if the OEM ones are even more) so very generous if they were included or changed for free! G Werks who fitted my coilovers said the 8P/Mk5 Golf chassis top mounts are pretty resilient so don't need changing often until much higher mileage than mine (60k odd)
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking. When I saw my old top mounts in the box with my old springs I was surprised they had changed them.
I've seen posts from some people saying the eibach come with mounts and I've seen some posts that say they don't.

TimG said:
Off topic, your S line hatch spoiler come from Ebay? How much are they normally on there/ did you pay? Cheers mate
Click to expand...

Yep mate, bought from ebay. When I was trying to buy a spoiler I saw them going for about £90 upwards. My one was listed as £50 odd quid (can't remember exactly now) so I jumped in quick and bought it.

I found the best way to get a spoiler at a good price was by either contacting sellers who are breaking an s-line and asking if they have one for sale, or search for tailgate listings and asking if they'll sell the spoiler seperately.
 
Ads, I posted a reply/question to you on the stance thread, and I've only just seen this thread. I think you've prettymuch answered my query in this thread.

Loads of great info to help me decide on which kit is right for me. Thanks Ads:icon_thumright::icon_thumright::icon_thumright:
 
Elgy said:
Ads, I posted a reply/question to you on the stance thread, and I've only just seen this thread. I think you've prettymuch answered my query in this thread.

Loads of great info to help me decide on which kit is right for me. Thanks Ads:icon_thumright::icon_thumright::icon_thumright:
Click to expand...

No probs mate :icon_thumright:
 
I just installed the eibach pro-kit springs on my 2006 A3 S-Line today and I can tell you that there IS ​a very noticeable difference in ride height. The suspension sits perfect now and eliminates the horrendous arch gap that the OEM suspension has. No, it will not be slammed to the ground on the pro-kit springs but, it provides a perfectly practical ride height for daily driving. Plus, the handling is much improved as well. The pro-kit springs are also safe to use with the OEM S-line shocks to.

It is raining pretty bad in my area right now, but once the weather clears up I will take some photos.
 
jdbvr6 said:
I just installed the eibach pro-kit springs on my 2006 A3 S-Line today and I can tell you that there IS ​a very noticeable difference in ride height. The suspension sits perfect now and eliminates the horrendous arch gap that the OEM suspension has. No, it will not be slammed to the ground on the pro-kit springs but, it provides a perfectly practical ride height for daily driving. Plus, the handling is much improved as well. The pro-kit springs are also safe to use with the OEM S-line shocks to.

It is raining pretty bad in my area right now, but once the weather clears up I will take some photos.
Click to expand...

You're from the US, right?? Denton, Texas??

Is there any difference between US and UK suspension setups or Eibach products.

To me, it's impossible to replace s-line springs with eibach pros and end up with a "very noticeable" drop, because essentially you are replacing 25mm lowering springs with 30mm lowering springs.

There's loads of before and after photos of s-lines with pros fitted and it's always the same story...... "I can't notice any difference in my ride height". (see post #1 in this thread - and that's a Sport, so it started 10mm higher).

Would be interested to see your photos though.
 
Ads said:
You're from the US, right?? Denton, Texas??

Is there any difference between US and UK suspension setups or Eibach products.

To me, it's impossible to replace s-line springs with eibach pros and end up with a "very noticeable" drop, because essentially you are replacing 25mm lowering springs with 30mm lowering springs.

There's loads of before and after photos of s-lines with pros fitted and it's always the same story...... "I can't notice any difference in my ride height". (see post #1 in this thread - and that's a Sport, so it started 10mm higher).

Would be interested to see your photos though.
Click to expand...


Yes there is a slight difference in height between U.K. S-Line springs and U.S. S-Line springs. The U.S. S-line springs are about 5-10mm higher in ride height.

The guys at the shop that installed my springs were also surprised how much the pro-kit dropped my car. When we compared both the eibach springs to the OEM springs, it looked like they were almost the same height.

It is still storming in my area at the moment but once it clears up I will snap some photos.
 
jdbvr6 said:
Yes there is a slight difference in height between U.K. S-Line springs and U.S. S-Line springs. The U.S. S-line springs are about 5-10mm higher in ride height.
Click to expand...

So that puts US s-line at roughly 15mm lower than Standard height, which is the same as UK Sport height.
How much lower than US standard is a US Sport then? Do you even have a Sport model?

Here is goes Standard ---> Sport (15mm lower) ---> S-line (another 10mm lower).
 
In the U.S. we do not have a "sport" or "SE" model offered like ya'll do in the U.K. For 2006, the U.S. trim line consisted of "Base", "S-Line" and "Premium". My car is the S-Line model for that year, which the suspension sits about 15mm lower than the 'Premium" non-sport suspension.


The weather has cleared up now so I will take some pics later today for your reference.
 
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