S3/A3 Ideal Ride Height - help needed

[poli84]

I've got PSS10's installed in my S3 Sportback with the fronts wound down all the way and the rear's just a little higher.
I love the look but the scrapping (and sometimes rubbing) is starting to wear very thin.

In most situations, I can get in and out of a drive/over a bump without scraping the front but the problem lies in the middle of the car.
There appears to be a "fin" as part of the underbody tray on both sides, around the middle of the car. These "fins" scrape on a lot of speed bumps, drives, etc and it's time for me to wind the car back up a bit.

The other reason for wanting to come up a bit is that the front is super hard as the springs are wound down to maximum, it is beginning to annoy my girlfriend and make her feel nauseous (long term girlfriend, she's not going anywhere).

I'm looking for advice and measurements of how high I should have my suspension which still looks good but removes any scraping over these underbody fins and most of the front scrapes (understood that some maneuverings will still be required over certain humps).

If someone with this desired set up (looks and no scraping) on their S3 or A3 with 18" wheels could please measure their distance from middle of the hub to the bottom of the wheel arch, that would be great!

Thanks in advance.

 

[NHN]

TBH only you can decide on the height suitable to you mate & test accordingly on the roads/areas that are an issue for you now, just jack it up a bit, test, then again if need be.

 

[S.]

TBH only you can decide on the height suitable to you mate & test accordingly on the roads/areas that are an issue for you now, just jack it up a bit, test, then again if need be.

what NHN said.
i had same issue with my kw. had to set them few times to find the perfect hight for handling, looks and going over speed bumps. with only me in the car it scrapes now and then on some bumps, but with passanger it scrapes almost all the time.
can't you make the front softer? i did that on my car, and it's comfortable (as much as it can be), and it actually drives better arround the bends.

 

[poli84]

TBH only you can decide on the height suitable to you mate & test accordingly on the roads/areas that are an issue for you now, just jack it up a bit, test, then again if need be.

what NHN said.
i had same issue with my kw. had to set them few times to find the perfect hight for handling, looks and going over speed bumps. with only me in the car it scrapes now and then on some bumps, but with passanger it scrapes almost all the time.
can't you make the front softer? i did that on my car, and it's comfortable (as much as it can be), and it actually drives better arround the bends.

I see the point you are both making, I just thought it would give me a starting point rather than taking it to and from the shop.
Guess, I'll wind it up a couple of turns and go from there.

Regarding the front being softer, it already is softer than the rear to dial out some understeer.
I think once the fronts are wound a little up, the springs will have more give. I will then come down a notch on the settings and hopefully that smooths out the ride for her (the annoying thing is she is only in the car a couple of times on the weekends while I'm alone on the daily commute).

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[S.]

do you have any picture with bilsteins on?

 

[poli84]

It's sitting like this, which doesn't even appear to be too low.

 

[NHN]

Just take it up a little bit then mate, its obviously borderline.

 

[poli84]

Just take it up a little bit then mate, its obviously borderline.

Yeah will do, hopefully a few of mm should be all the difference.