Spacers/springs help

R90 STL

R90 STL

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I am looking to get 50mm H&R springs at the end of the month for my black edition a3. I have a feeling that if I drop it on these springs the alloys aren't going to fill out the arch and look a bit silly. So I'm trying to ascertain if spacers are going to make the stance look better so I can get it all done at the one time. I would also like to know what you would expect to pay for this sort of thing. My thoughts were 12mm rear and 10mm front with wheel arch mod. Any help at all would be great as I have no prior experience on this. Cheers
 

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You should try it without the spacers 1st and see what it looks like... with the rs4 reps, it might actually not look that bad.... s3 is only 20mm up from that n they look ok.. i'm gonna drop mine and I think it'll look decent without the spacers... what offset are they alloys Richard?
 
S3_Jacko said:
You should try it without the spacers 1st and see what it looks like... with the rs4 reps, it might actually not look that bad.... s3 is only 20mm up form that n they look ok.. i'm gonna drop mine and I think it'll look decent without the spacers... what offset are they alloys Richard?
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suppose that is sensible would just save a bit of hassle if someone knew what would look better. They're not reps :p just don't want the wheels to be kinda hidden if u know what I mean? Spacers make it look a bit more aggressive. I'm sure offset is et45
 
I know they are not reps in the term that they are genuine alloys, but the design is rs4 reps lol... Yeah I know what you mean but if you want to make it that more aggresive, lowering should do that... personally i'd try lowering it 1st mate, then its not too much hassle fitting spacers at a later date... but adjusting the widths of the 2 tracks between the front and back would be a no go for me... i'm thinking maybe unusal tyre wear or an unsafe back end.. i'm unsure, but try doing a wee bit more digging on that 1st... the wheels offset will prob be 50something mate.. the standard s3 alloys were et56 they rotors I have now are 54... usually only drop down to 40's on a 8.5"j rim
 
Ah right that's really helpful actually. It's on s line suspension so would probs only be like a 30 mm drop at most. Seen some horror stories online about spacers which has made me a bit uneasy but they do look pretty sweet! A guy that has the setup I spoke about is going to message me some pics. I do agree that I'm as well getting springs on then deciding is probs wise. FT arch gap haha
 
Yeah mate, ultimately its your decision what setup you want to run... personally I wouldn't run 2 different track widths as it will change the performance of the car.. might be slightly, but any track change will change the handling ... i've also heard that spacers put excess stress on some of the joins, but again might be slight..... The offset of the alloys you have are the same as those rotors...ET54 7.5j

I came from 8J wheels on my old 2.0tfsi and thats 1 of the things I noticed that the wheels on the s3 were recessed and didnt like it... although the rotors are only 2mm offset difference, i think they suit the arches better... but maybe thats just my mind playing tricks lol....

Get some 19" 8.5 J rims.. ET43-44.... the arch gap is offski... lol
 
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Yeah plus from what iv heard they are pretty expensive for what they are haha. I'll just get the springs on first and foremost and if it's not what I'm after I will get the spacers and give u a pretty a good idea of how ur car will look on springs if they are the same offset!
 
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audi upgrades
I put spacers myself and ****ed up the arches ... So had to fix that which City me around 100
 
R90 STL said:
dont do springs or spacers? Or both? Haha
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Trust me, I had mine lowered with the same springs and it looked decent, but stupidly enough I also put some 10mm spacers for rear as front didn't needed...

For the first week or two if was only knocking, but after a month I notice that the rear arches lip were completely ****ed up and even couldn't sorted myself with touchup paint, so had to take it to bodyshop n just for that paid about 100 quid...

Now it's up to, I might grab some photos and show of my old car, the spec was exactly as yours and what you have in mind, I know what you're talking about as at the time i did lots of research about it and I remember lots of people were saying exactly what I'm telling you now!!!

Hope this helps...
 
I'm going to lower my A3 V6 over this weekend, was thinking to go for coilovers so I could play around with adjusting the height...
Have you considered coilovers over springs...
Also you might need to change your shocks as well...
 
A visual aid would be helpful. Especially of ones before you fitted spacers. I think I'll take your advice and stay clear of spacers. I have been a bit wary of them and for the price and risk that come with them I just don't it's worth it. Just hope the wheels look right on that drop because I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my car haha. If not then looks like I'll be buying new wheels!
 
10mm rear spacers each side was maximum with my 7.5x18 et52 oem wheels (50mm H&R). Well maximum without removing "the screw" or getting any tire rubbing with passengers or road bumps. I am very happy with this, looks just right. I did not put any spacers on the front as I don't think its needed.
 
STYLEZAU said:
10mm rear spacers each side was maximum with my 7.5x18 et52 oem wheels (50mm H&R). Well maximum without removing "the screw" or getting any tire rubbing with passengers or road bumps. I am very happy with this, looks just right. I did not put any spacers on the front as I don't think its needed.
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have you got any pics? I'm just worried that once springs are on car will look like this..
 

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R90 STL said:
have you got any pics? I'm just worried that once springs are on car will look like this..
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No way, it won't. I don't know whats wrong with the car in that pic. Firstly, 50mm won't get you THAT low. Second, it depends heavily on your ET of your current wheels. Mine didn't look like that even without spacers. Check the forum for pics of 50mm lowered cars. There are a lot. I will take pics of my car on Tuesday when it comes back from APR to give you an idea what 10mm looks like with ET52 so ET42 now. Everything below ET40 will rub normally but I heard there are some people that don't have any issues.
 
STYLEZAU said:
No way, it won't. I don't know whats wrong with the car in that pic. Firstly, 50mm won't get you THAT low. Second, it depends heavily on your ET of your current wheels. Mine didn't look like that even without spacers. Check the forum for pics of 50mm lowered cars. There are a lot. I will take pics of my car on Tuesday when it comes back from APR to give you an idea what 10mm looks like with ET52 so ET42 now. Everything below ET40 will rub normally but I heard there are some people that don't have any issues.
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that is the picture that has been putting me off. I cant remember where I found it right enough. I have been told my wheels are ET54 but I honestly couldn't tell you if that is correct or not! my wheels are exact same as those ones above ^^
 
Just noticed your pic. Looks like OEM so either ET52 or 54 should be right. You can already see in the pic that your car will not looks like the one you just posted when lowered. You should be fine with 12mm or 10mm each side. 12mm will still work with "the screw" removed in case it should rub. 15mm should be fine with little adjustments (screw out, cut down some of the inner lining) if you really wanna go for it. It doesn't look good pushed out too far in my opinion...

Safest way....lower your car, measure exactly what spacer you will need, install spacers.
 
STYLEZAU said:
Just noticed your pic. Looks like OEM so either ET52 or 54 should be right. You can already see in the pic that your car will not looks like the one you just posted when lowered. You should be fine with 12mm or 10mm each side. 12mm will still work with "the screw" removed in case it should rub. 15mm should be fine with little adjustments (screw out, cut down some of the inner lining) if you really wanna go for it. It doesn't look good pushed out too far in my opinion...

Safest way....lower your car, measure exactly what spacer you will need, install spacers.
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very sound advice. I will get the springs done I don't want the wheel arch gap just looks messy. If it isn't sitting how I want it then it will be easy to sort :) thanks again man
 
Richard the best way to elimate arch gap is just to get wider wheels... Im not a fan of spacers, and anything below et43 will be illegal in the eyes of the law
 
S3_Jacko said:
Richard the best way to elimate arch gap is just to get wider wheels... Im not a fan of spacers, and anything below et43 will be illegal in the eyes of the law
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cheers bro. I am going to get springs on and then make a decision on wheels. I didn't really want to get new wheels because I like the ones on my car and there aren't really many other alloys that I like just now that aren't 3sdm 0.01 or BBS which is a bit predictable.
 
94b6c7e9

if this is what my car looks like after it I will be over the moon :wub:
 
If you use the car as a daily I seriously recommend 30mm springs not 50.....
 
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It's not comfort it's usability..... 50mm if you have people on the car and go over bumps or wanna Park on the kerb or anything like that even with noone in you'll scrape....

I've been there done that and got the tshirt 30mm is far more use able... 50mm does look good but for me it's function over looks...
 
the only thing with 30mm is that would only be about a 5mm drop for me as I am on s line suspension so 50mm would be about 25mm. Looks are what I am after.
 
R90 STL said:
the only thing with 30mm is that would only be about a 5mm drop for me as I am on s line suspension so 50mm would be about 25mm. Looks are what I am after.
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In that case then I reckon get AP coilovers, you might pay twice as much but you would then save yourself all of that hassle, so even if you got some spacers on and for some reason was rubbing or whatever... you could still adjust it and leave it to whatever height it suits you best...

If going down with springs, I'm telling you you either have to got too lowered or lower which I don't think is what you're after...

Have a look here;
DPM - Audi A3 8P Coilovers
 
I like coilovers... but i've got a bit of ocd when it comes to my car... if its not 100% then i'm not happy!

After watching a video about how to correctly install coilovers its kinda put me off a bit unless i'm setting up a race car...As far as i'm aware you have to set the suspension up on scales on each wheel.. the weight distribution of the car has to be pretty much bang on across the axles.. I dont know if everybody does them the same way or even garages do this, bu i've been told by a very reliable source that this is the way it must be done to do them properly...
 
I had Bilstein Coilovers in my old car and I hated it. Too hard!
 
My winter setup right now eibach sportlines 50/40, 18 OEM slines 10mm front and 15mm back. Ride quality is pretty good when there are no more than 2 people in the car.

SDC102288SDC101933SDC101900
 
We're the bilstein really that bad? I'm wanting the b14 on my car next year got a good price for them aswell
 
audi upgrades
Is that a full quad system as it looks like its smoking out of just the one side as per oem.

Give DPM a shout for suspension gear, Damian will advise well :)
 
S3_Jacko said:
I was thinking bout putting that rear valance on mine... did you upgrade it from 8p2 rear bumper or did you just get the full 8p3?
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Bought a full 8P3
R90 STL said:
those quad exhausts are amazing!!! :hubbahubba:
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Thanks :icon_thumright:

NHN said:
Is that a full quad system as it looks like its smoking out of just the one side as per oem.

Give DPM a shout for suspension gear, Damian will advise well :)
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It's just a downpipe connected to a y pipe, both sides do smoke
 
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