Which springs are stiffest, and...

[Dennis Moeller]

Going to lower the car and want your opinion on the choice of springs because I'm not so sure after all.

Car is a 2004 1.6 with S-Line suspension so the stiffer and already shortened dampers will stay on. I want the car lowered as much as possible and in order not to rub I think it'll come down to these springs in terms of stiffness. The spring setups all lower the car equally front and back.

But which are the stiffest? And any experience regarding driveabillity, bouncing and harshness?

H&R 50mm (could be only 45mm because of the light engine)?
Vogtland 50mm (----------------//-------------------)?
Hofele 45-50mm (------------------//------------------)?

Any other suggestions? Hope someone can help, getting ready to order

 

[Boydie]

Eibach - every time!!

 

[marriedblonde]

The eibach pro kit is pretty similar to the standard S-line suspension, perhaps a litte less choppy, the sportline kit is the one that lowers it the most but even then the ride isn;t that harsh.

Do you want stiff springs?

 

[Boydie]

Having 19" wheels and lowered, your car will be a hard/stiff enough ride - I know I wouldnt want my car to be any harder!

 

[PNH80]

This is something i've had on my mind for a while now. I'm looking to put some 19's on my A3 S-line Quattro at some point but the lowering spring issue is bugging me...
Obviously with 19's you pretty much HAVE to lower the car for it to look decent. If keeping the standard shocks and dampers and only changing the springs, what gains can you realistically hope to make? I'd only want to lower the car by maybe 30mm. Would an Eibach pro kit achieve this? And is that going to make the ride ridiculously harsh?

 

[Boydie]

From experienve, eibach give a fantastic ride but in saying that, I bought FK Highsport coilovers

These are not dampening adjustable, they are fixed, but the ride is grand (for me but my parents do complain lol)

I do not think its that much harder than the sports suspension and excellent for low profile 19" tyres and lowered 45mm

 

[K-Dash]

I've got the eibach sport springs on mine -30mm (supposedly)

After a short time i noticed the springs have settled it is slightly lower. lower than the few standard a3 sports i've parked next to.

the ride is no more harsh i don't think.

 

[PNH80]

Has any one actually lowered an S-line using only springs though? What are the best springs for good results? I don't want to start with coilovers, replacement shocks, dampers etc etc if possible.

 

[marriedblonde]

I lowered mine with th Eibach pro kit, it was about 5/7mm lower than standard. I then swapped these over to the sportline set which gave the desired drop of approx 25mm.

J.

 

[PNH80]

Top man MB... Thats what i was unsure of. I heard the Sportline lowered the car much further than the Pro Kit and aren't too stiff either.
I think i'll be giving those a look in the near future. For £130-ish you can't go wrong.

 

[marriedblonde]

Heres my car with the pro kit

http://www.arat26.dsl.pipex.com/car_stuff/a3shiny6.jpg

and here with the sport line kit

 

[marriedblonde]

I think i'll be giving those a look in the near future. For £130-ish you can't go wrong.

Dead easy to DIY install as well if your capable of picking up a spanner... Couple of hours tops.

 

[Dennis Moeller]

I was just looking for springs that weren't too soft, thats all. I ride with 235's and I really don't want to go into the whole rubbing thing. Just heard that Weitec are soft and therefore the most comfortable. And that the H&R's were slighty stiffer yet really rideable??

So the sportline springs lower how much?

I want the biggest drop available using ONLY springs and at the same time som relative stiff springs in order not to rub a lot if any??

Any one had the H&R 50mm springs on their Ambition / S-Line?

BTW thanks for all the replies!!

 

[marriedblonde]

Dennis what offset rims are you running? The sportline gives a 55mm drop as per the pics above. I was running 42mm offset rims but only in an 18"

 

[K-Dash]

I have always been advised not to drop more than 30mm 40 tops on standard dampers.

Is this good advice. on a sport or s-line setup.

 

[Dennis Moeller]

Dennis what offset rims are you running? The sportline gives a 55mm drop as per the pics above. I was running 42mm offset rims but only in an 18"

I run with a 47mm offset. 235/35-19 Michelin PS2...

You sure about the 55mm drop from the sportline? You have S-Line suspension? If you have; what is the ride quality like in as many words as you can :icon_thumright:

 

[PNH80]

By the look of MB's photos i'd say depending on your choice of tyre you'd get away with 19" alloys using the sportline springs alone.....Unless you're looking to get your wheels sat into the arches, which i'm not.
I just want mine to look as un-modified as possible but with 19's.

 

[Dennis Moeller]

By the look of MB's photos i'd say depending on your choice of tyre you'd get away with 19" alloys using the sportline springs alone.....Unless you're looking to get your wheels sat into the arches, which i'm not.
I just want mine to look as un-modified as possible but with 19's.

I aim at mine to look the opposite. Modified and as slammed as it can get. That said I really don't wish for it to be totally harsh, over-stiff and one bouncy ride. But it's a compromise, right...

19 inch wheels are unforgiving enough to drive but I was amazed with my Michelin tires when I test fitted the wheels the other day. Picked up bumps quite nicely and the ride was obviously harder but not to a degree where I wouldn't want a stiffer and lower suspension setup.

What worries me most is that the Eibach don't lower the car equally front and back. The H&R does...hmmm I have to decide in the next cuple of days...

 

[PNH80]

I aim at mine to look the opposite. Modified and as slammed as it can get. That said I really don't wish for it to be totally harsh, over-stiff and one bouncy ride. But it's a compromise, right...

19 inch wheels are unforgiving enough to drive but I was amazed with my Michelin tires when I test fitted the wheels the other day. Picked up bumps quite nicely and the ride was obviously harder but not to a degree where I wouldn't want a stiffer and lower suspension setup.

What worries me most is that the Eibach don't lower the car equally front and back. The H&R does...hmmm I have to decide in the next cuple of days...

I think i'm right in saying you're going to really struggle to get a car looking slammed with only springs. In fact i'd say it was a little unsafe as the standard shocks and dampers aren't designed to cope with that.
If it were me i'd go for a full set up, maybe bilstein, with shocks, dampers, everything. Although you will have to comprimise the ride comfort.

 

[Dennis Moeller]

I think i'm right in saying you're going to really struggle to get a car looking slammed with only springs. In fact i'd say it was a little unsafe as the standard shocks and dampers aren't designed to cope with that.
If it were me i'd go for a full set up, maybe bilstein, with shocks, dampers, everything. Although you will have to comprimise the ride comfort.

I'm looking for it to be "slammed" but not as slammed as on an Air suspension but to go as low as I can with the lowest springs on the market.

Having S-Line shocks I think it'll work out just fine. Not optimal, but it'll probably be fine for as long as I have the ride. Rear shocks are 2 weeks old and the fronts have 32.000 km on them. A lot of people have done this WITHOUT any problems. Yes you wear out the shocks earlier but not as early as if you did it with standard shocks. If a shock blows out it is not like is a hazard to you or the sourroundings, it will just begin to feel worn, more bouncy and maybe start to leak. It's not going to happen in an instant. You will still have your springs to get you safely home And they won't blow on all four corners at the same time doing your perfect S-curve combo on that sunny afternoon

Yeah you compromise the ride and the comfort, but I'll guarantee you that you will also compromise ride quality with coils that are adjusted very low. Unless you get some that has adjustable shock length.

I'm not looking to spend a lot of money on my 1.6 for it to drive like a track car, I'm after looks...I'll wait 'till the S3 is parked outside to buy good coils.

It's all a compromise mate...

 

[PNH80]

Thats fair enough then...i'm no expert on the matter so i'll take your word for it! By the sound of things you can expect to drop the car by about 50mm with springs only which sounds reasonable.

 

[Dennis Moeller]

Thats fair enough then...i'm no expert on the matter so i'll take your word for it! By the sound of things you can expect to drop the car by about 50mm with springs only which sounds reasonable.

No expert my self hehe but I read some on the matter. Had hands on experience when I installed H&R Cupkit on the 8L...that gave a modest 35mm drop which wasn't really enough and the ride was rather bouncy...Nothing you couldn't live with though.

I'm really torn on this matter. I really want an adjustable kit for two reasons; I live in a place where there is a lot of snow during winter so it would be nice to be able to actually raise the car come winter time and the whole suspension setup would be a lot better than just changing the springs as we discussed.

But I really, really, really can't afford to buy a quality setup right now...or can I...

Hmmm....