Quick question about Audi a4 coilover kit

[anwar]

Can any one advice me if I can get coilover kit where I can adjust soft & hard ride.
Some one told me you can’t adjust ride on Audi a4 because there is no place in front or back unless you take each suspension out & adjust???????????????????????????
is that true?????????????????? if yes i have just spend £650 on FK coilover kit /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif

 

[Patrick]

I don't quite understand your question.

So I'll have a go at helping you at the risk of stating the obvious.

There is no mechanism to adjust the standard Audi suspension. However, if like many you want to alter the handling characteristics of you car. Say reduce body roll on cornering or lower the height for a more 'sporty' look. You have a number of options.

i.e. to simply lower, you can buy shorter replacement springs from numerous manufacturers. such as Eibach, Koni, H&R, SPAX, LEDA, Bilstein etc. (excuse the spelling) This route can also stiffen the ride but this approach to stiffening the ride is not the best. Better to stiffen the ride/reduce body roll by means of the dampers.

Of course the ultimate combination is a correctly matched set of springs and dampers.

You don't have to go the coil over route to obtain an excellent combination. Separate springs and dampers can provide exactly the same performance as a coil over package. However in most cases the spring pre-load/ride height is non adjustable since.

However, there are exceptions to this general rule of thumb. i.e. SPAX have a kit specifically for the A4 (non S4 possibly excluding Quattro’s in general), which, while not a coil over unit have an adjustable spring mounting which delivers exactly the same ability to adjust spring pre-load.

The coil over route generally allows you alter the pre-load on the spring which in turn alters both the ride height and resistance/stiffness to compression from bumps etc.

Where spring pre-load is adjustable, in nearly all the cases that I know of you don't have to remove the springs/dampers from the car to alter. However, it can be a bit of a pain. That's the springs very roughly covered.

Roughly speaking there are three types of dampers.
1. Those with fixed compression and rebound characteristics i.e. as fitted to most standard cars.
2. Those with adjustable compression and rebound characteristics. But the damper has to be as good as removed from the car in order to get at the adjustment mechanism.
3. Those with adjustable compression and rebound characteristics. But access to the adjusters does not involve removal of the damper.

You could try calling a number of the above mentioned manufacturers to determine what they have to offer.

Oopps this is a long reply I hope this helps. (I've got lots of time on my hands as I bob around out here in the North sea.) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Golfather]

You don't really need to adjust the suspension once its installed. You should always have the setting on medium for road use or extremely hard for track days etc.
The whole point of adjustable coilovers is to get the ride height and damping just right depending on the weight of the car etc. Just play around with it, and once you're happy, you will not need to adjust it.
If you knew that the A4 does not have any access points for
adjusting firmness on the damper, you could have gone for the cheaper option of fixed damping coilovers which are about £200 cheaper.

Some coilovers like H&R or Koni or KW, have adjustability on the bottom of the coilover unit so you can still access them on the A4. I'm surprised FK didnt give you this option.

Make sure the firmness is on medium before installation and you should be OK.

 

[Patrick]

Aa yes I understand now. The seller really should have advised you can't adjust the dampers on the car.

It's not such a major problem for people with their own tools/facilities/experience/time to remove and adjust, but as you rightly say DAMN expensive if you have to pay someone else to do it.

The difficulty as you are now experiencing is in determining what ride height/damping/rebound setting combination suits you and nothing short of testing will give you a complete idea of the kits capabilities.

Of course the advice from someone who has both your car and the same kit is always worth considering better still is to get a spin in such a car to determine for yourself.

I get the feeling a considerable number of the guys on the various sites running adjustable coil over units have stuck with certainly the same ride height setting the fitter made at time of fitment. I also suspect those with dampers that have to be removed from the car to adjust have also stuck with the same settings from initial fitment.

You should be aware that too stiff a setting can be seriously detrimental to a cars handling. In my experience from mark II escort days and an adjustable KONI sports suspension kit even on the softest setting the dampers were so stiff the car would literally skip off bumpy rough B roads. Very dangerous if your not expecting this kind of response on a corner as a friend of mine discovered!

Contact the manufacturer of the kit see what they have to say.