New Audi rear springs fitted - car looks like it's on stilts - Not impressed

s3mad_dude

s3mad_dude

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Hi Chaps,

I had new Audi rear springs fitted today. These are the -10mm "sports" springs according to Audi but now that they have been fitted the car looks ridiculous. It sits about twice as high off the rear wheels than it did before. I am seriously not impressed.

Has anyone else ever had new rear OEM springs fitted and if they have, is this normal behaviour? Will they settle or bed in, and if so, how long do I need to wait.

The thing is I don't want it to look lowered, I just want it to look how it's always looked! Perhaps I should ask for some kind of refund and get some sportier springs...?

Sorry for the rant.
 
Not sure mate, are they specific ones for your car, are they the right way round, how long have you had them on, as they do need time to settle.
 
Yep, they are the official genuine Audi ones. Only been on a few hours and fitted by an Audi specialist garage, so I'm sure they are on correctly. It just looks odd, as the car doesn't seem to look flat any more, ie. it sits too high at the back compared to the front.
 
They need to settle, if new they will take a few weeks, but you can encourage them as above.
 
not sure if this does happen, but if your front springs are still the original then they may be a little tired and sit lower than new springs anyway, so your back may sit slightly higher than the front even after they settle. I am hypothesizing here, im not sure if springs shorten when they get old and tired.
 
Mine went up about twice the difference between top of tyre and body like you have noticed. I will also add though that the driver side spring had snapped once and the passenger side spring hadd snapped in two places and was missing a full coil. It then settled a bit lower within the first few weeks of driving.
 
Hi All, thanks for the suggestions. It definitely wasn't lowered before - bog standard in every way. I bought from the original buyer so I know the car's history inside out. I'm going to wait a few weeks for it to settle but at the weekend I need a huge bag of stones for the front garden so I'll put my seats down and put them in the S3!!

If after a few weeks it's no better, I'll bite the bullet and get some Eibach or H&R springs put on it.

Has anyone else had the above mentioned springs fitted to their S3, and if so, what's your opinion of them in terms of looks and ride quality?
 
my dad had his changed 4 weeks ago on his A4. I was cracking up when i saw it. it looked like a drag car without the huge wheels at the back lol. Im still laughing now when i see it. Its dropped a lil but not a great deal. He doesnt use it much mind nor does he have much weight in the back usually.
 
Eibach tend to be a little softer than H&R, so i've heard. They're also cheaper. Apex are cheaper still and firmer than Eibach.
I had my H&Rs fitted at the same time as B8 dampers, so can't give an accurate account of how the springs on their own differ from the gmbh (-10mm) OEM springs I had before, sorry.
 
Apex springs are jolly good.

I swapped my Eibachs out for Apex springs 2-3 weeks ago and I prefer everything about the Apex's.
Lower ride height (so lower centre of gravity)
Noticably less boaty through the corners, much more confidence inspiring.
The ride isn't quite as comfortable but it's a million miles away from being unacceptable and for an s3 that handles a lot better I couldn't care less! lol

I'm running B8's as well.
 
Hi S3mad_dube, I had new springs fitted and have same issue as you, looks like Ive got some kind of monster truck suspension going on :), did your settle ?
 
I had both my rear springs done, didnt notice much difference, not on the scale you guys speak off. These were offical audi springs done by audi themselves, 5 pink spots
 
drfeelgood said:
I had both my rear springs done, didnt notice much difference, not on the scale you guys speak off. These were offical audi springs done by audi themselves, 5 pink spots
Click to expand...


Out of interest how mch did Audi charge parts wise ? Im pretty sure on mine the garage used generic rear spring for a that doesnt have the 10mm drop, but it if you go th parts websites ecp etc thats what thy seem t supply for the reg of car going to call them tom, looks like it will be a pain in *** to sort if ecp say they are the correct part.
 
ok as per the audi invoice it says this, 5x pink, part number W1J0 511 115 CR, parts price £120.36 2x, must be both of them, so 60 quid for one
 
JS1500 said:
Eibach tend to be a little softer than H&R, so i've heard. They're also cheaper. Apex are cheaper still and firmer than Eibach.
I had my H&Rs fitted at the same time as B8 dampers, so can't give an accurate account of how the springs on their own differ from the gmbh (-10mm) OEM springs I had before, sorry.
Click to expand...
hey johny seen your s3 on friday morning at the airport roundabout, looks like your springs have settled fine! car was looking good:drool:
 
Hi Minge Blue - Yes the springs look fine now. But for the first week the car looked horrific!!! I did drive around for three days with about 10 "cement sized" bags of stones in the boot though. No....I didn't buy them specifically for the car, it just so happened to tie in with some work I was doing to the garden!!
 
Update on my rear springs are they still look sh*t :(, the garage (local MOT place) have been cr*p as well washing there hands of it saying this is what they were supplied. My mistake was not to specify Audi parts I just didnt think to ask, it seems the parts companies do not differiante between the sport and standard model so you end with standard model springs.
 
DenCar said:
Yep, 2 weeks at least or even a lot more time to settle.

DC
Click to expand...

Mine have been on 2 months and still look terrible the problem is defo them being none OEM parts, if you search any of the part supplies for rear springs for a standard 1.8 and a 1.8T sport the part numbers are the same, yet the OEM parts they are not the sport is 10mm lower. It doesnt sound much of a difference but with orginal lower springs on the front it shows it up more. I was able to do a side by side comparision with someone who had OEM rear springs fitted recently and mine just look plan wrong. Though I dont like the look I could live with it at a push but what I cant live with is the angle the car now sits makes the drivers sit higher and feel pushed forwarded Ive had the car 7 years and this is the first time I can't get comfy in it.
 
I measured mine yesterday the rear from centre to top of arch was 38.4cm, I have attached a pic as well, the springs look like they are stretching the rear out do you think it could be the way they fitted them ?

image.php


How do I post pick this is the URL I was given, seem to work if you click on below.

[img=http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/th.36215d8bd7.jpg]
 
Last edited:
So did anyone conclude as to weather the suspension will settle ? i have the same problem (rear springs) massive gap its looks naff
 
just fitted some 2 red dot TT springs to the S3 the gap has reduced to 2 fingers, it looks good
 
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