Advice please for A3 3.2 Q sport back suspension (please help new car )

[Davjon747]

Hi guys well I had my merc c220 cdi sport wrote off so have replaced it with a 2005 A3 3.2 Quattro sport back with dsg on 18 inch oem 5 blade rims and I must say I love it. How ever I feel the suspension could be a little better (non sline) plus its a little high, I feel its under steering a little aswell, I don't want the car on the floor and not looking for rock hard suspension setup I like a bit of comfort the car has done 67k with full main dealer audi sevice history including the all important haldex and dsg oil service.
so I have come up with to options please can you tell me how much this would change the way my car drives for each option.

1) fit Eibach pro springs 30mm cost £173.00 please advise on cost to fit.
How much would fitting these change the handling

2) fit bilstien B12 kit wich I understand is the above springs with bilstien b8 dampers, cost £600 please advise on cost to fit.
How much would this change the handling

I really would appreciate your input and advice on this matter is I don't want to get it wrong as don't have a lot of money left after buying new car.

Regards Dave

 

[NHN]

Welcome to the forum Dave.

For me Koni FSD's with Eibach Pro's are a good setup for comfort & a little less tractor look.

Go to Damian@dpm for the setup & advice.

Fitting costs is hard one, as areas differ, along with if you have a garage you've used for years, they may be kind as such on the hourly rate, what's your general area?

 

[Davjon747]

Thanks for your quick reply but in trying to gauge how much this would transform my cars handling by fitting one of the above plus the Koni FSD with new springs is going over £600 which is my absolute max as I have to allow for fitting.

 

[NHN]

Well mine went from bouncy castle to allot better handling, I have also got a rear arb upgrade as well, springs would help a bit but overall those 3 components are a good setup IMHO without harsh ride either, certainly helped with the absolutely diabolical roads we have atm.

 

[S3Alex]

The stock setup on the car is pretty soft and wobbly and a decent aftermarket one like the Koni,kW or Bilstein will make a huge difference to the handling.

 

[Davjon747]

I would love to just get away with a eibach spring upgrade but don't want to have pay for labour twice, do you think it would cost much more in labour to install the bilstein b12 kit then just fitting new springs also do I need my tracking done after.

Do you think I would be happy with just the spring upgrade?

 

[Davjon747]

NHL are you running standard sport dampers (oem) and eibach springs

 

[NHN]

That was going to be my point, no point doing it twice & yes tracking should be checked afterwards.

 

[NHN]

NHL?

As per my previous post I run FSD's & Eibachs.

 

[Davjon747]

Could please tell me where I will find the paint code for my car please

 

[NHN]

Inside page of service book or sticker in spare wheel well.

 

[Davjon747]

Thank you got a few stone chips on the front was thinking of ordering chipex seems better than using a touch up

 

[Ash187]

If you ultimately want to replace the shocks then do as Nigel has said and get both done at the same time.

I have left the stock shocks on mine and replaced the springs with Eibach sportline springs which lowers the car more than the pro kit but still it's very comfortable and less bouncy... Also taking corners are much better although still a degree of under steer which you would expect from a front wheel drive car (I don't have a Quattro)

 

[Davjon747]

Well I have been quoted £210 for springs only or £250 for b12 kit fitted including tracking and camber reset ,so taking this into account the b12 kit which is £600 and fitting total £850 I hope I can feel £850 quids worth of difference was also told I may want to fit a walk kit and if I had it done at the Same time the fitting of it would be free of charge, just £159 for the walk never heard of this before so as you can see this brings me upto the magic Grand and over by £9 pound.
So would I have a £1000 pound smile on my face after when driving over some of my favourite country lanes, or would I be looking in my rear view mirror while talking to myself saying “why did I go and spend all that fxxking money for this I don't ****** believe it" little bit of victor meldrew coming out in me.
I know what I'd like the yep the £1009 Smile.

 

[Ash187]

I paid £150 for the springs to be fitted and for £300 i have noticed a nice difference in ride quality and looks with the car sitting lower now.
for the £1000 you should expect to be driving around on silk but unfortunately that isnt going to happen, that being said it will still be very nice ride especially with the WALK kit holding it firmly

 

[gixerson]

I'd sit and think about what you want to achieve as i don't think your ideal is attainable.

Our 3.2's understeer, not alot you can do about that as having that big lump up front your always going to be fighting against it.
Obviously it can be improved, but suspension is only part of the solution as the haldex system in stock form is alsp partly responsable.

When you say you think the suspension could be a little better do you mean handling wise or comfort wise?

If you mean comfort then by far the worst thing you can do is lower it.

Likewise for handling on the road lowering will compromise the handling.
The problem is that by going lower you are restricting the amount oftravel the suspension has, as a result the suspension needs to be firmer otherwise your hitting the bumpstops on a regular basis (not good).

Problem here is, typically the firmer you go the less grip you have as it forces the tyres to do the job the suspension should do.

What makes it worse is that to most folks a stiff suspensioned car "feels" faster as it's rattling them around, but in reality of public roads it really makes at best no difference and at worst it makes the car handle worse.


If you want it lower purely for looks then that's entirely your call.
But for handling on public roads i would sit down and think about what it is exactly you want.

 

[Davjon747]

Well I can't believe the difference in my car I have owned it for two weeks odd now and with the mention of snow over the weekend when filling up with petrol, thought I'd check tyre presure my fronts were 24/25 and rears 25 so I changed this to front 39 and rear 36 psi what a difference I am more then happy with the way the car turns in now.
Can't believe I did not think of checking tyre pressures before so now I am thinking do I need to spend on the above, we'll to tell the truth I don't think I do apart from maybe just the springs as I would like a little lower stance,But I am reserving my final judgement until I have been out on my favourite bit of twisty again.
Plus with the increased tyre pressure the ride comfort has changed a little harder (must admit like it like this) but would not want to go any more firm with the result of loss of comfort its just right.
( i do feel so ****** stupid though for not checking tyre pressure first)