Coilovers

audigex

audigex

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Hey

I've been fancying a set of coilovers on my A3, but with my insurance already being extortionate I've held off... but I've just discovered that it would only push my insurance up by about £150, and that has a lower excess than the stock policy I'm going for otherwise.

So, it looks to me to be time to take a look. What would be my best option for an A3 Black Edition - I'd like to get some extra grip/sportiness but without compromising too much on ride comfort (I'm 23 so I don't mind a few jolts, but the BE ride is fairly hard anyway so I don't want to shatter my spine). What's the cheapest set worth having? I'd rather avoid the cheapest options if they're a false economy, but I don't know what the lower end are like.

Brand/models and a ballpark price I can expect to pay fitted would be great. Cheers.

And I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but I need them to fit with a set of standard 18" Black Edition rotor alloys to start with (I can't do both mods at the same time) but not break things with an aftermarket set of either 18s or 19s. Possibly the 19" rotors off the larger Audis.

Thanks muchly
Jon
 
I've just bought some budgets 'JOM' from DPM performance. I haven't fitted them yet but to be honest I'm not expecting an amazing ride. I'm just going for some cheap stance lol
£180 delivered
 
I'm very happy with my AP coilovers on my S3, I had H&R springs on before and they were too bouncy (35,000 mile car)
approx £450. Made by KW just a budget version.
Perfect for me. And a nice hight adjustment too.
 
V-maxx coilovers are a good option, quite cheap but a good build quality! If you look around you can pick them up for about £350ish. Or FK do a budget coilover too, FK AK street. There about £200! All depends on what quality you want on the car! Most places charge about £150 to fit I think
 
Excellent, thanks guys - a few options over a bit of a spectrum there, so I should find one that fits. Cheers. I'll get some photos up if/when I get it done.

Edit: another thought. My commute is half down country lanes - it's all tarmac, no ruts or similar to deal with, but I occasionally have to go onto the verge a little to avoid a bus or lorry etc. How much of a drop will I get away with before I'm likely to start catching the underbody? Or is it just a case of "the lower you go, the more likely it will catch"?
 
Last edited:
r7ano said:
I'm very happy with my AP coilovers on my S3, I had H&R springs on before and they were too bouncy (35,000 mile car)
approx £450. Made by KW just a budget version.
Perfect for me. And a nice hight adjustment too.
Click to expand...

After a lot of research, I went for the AP coilovers for my A3. Can't fault them at all and I've found them to be a better ride than my standard sport springs. I'd definitely go for AP's rather than JOM's or cheaper coilovers personally, but saying that, there's aload of people running JOM's and are very happy with them.

General rule is the lower you go, the more you're likely to catch the underbody on speedbumps and stuff. As long as you don't fly over them, you shouldn't have too many problems, dependent on how low you go of course.
 
talk to Damian get some Bilstein B14's
 
Not particularly Damien, the point of this thread was a fact finder - as I said, I've been considering it for a while but thought that it would push my already fairly expensive insurance through the roof so hadn't really looked into it. I've just discovered that the insurance would only be about £150 more, with a lower excess, though, so I'm trying to get some prices and just include that £150 in my head :p

I'm trying to keep it reasonable, but I'm also aware that I've got an expensive car and I want to do it justice... so I'm trying to work out how much I'd have to spend to maintain at least the current level of handling and comfort, without causing myself problems on a country lane or breaking the bank. The last thing I want to do is make the car worse in any way other than my grandmother's ability to get in and out of the back.
 
audi upgrades
Got AP's on mine and very happy. Ride is more responsive but more comfortable then the standard s-line suspension.
its not dropped to the deck, but lower and practice for everyday use. I'm insured with Adrian Flux, and it makes no difference to the cost of the policy. George
 
r7ano said:
I'm very happy with my AP coilovers on my S3, I had H&R springs on before and they were too bouncy (35,000 mile car)
approx £450. Made by KW just a budget version.
Perfect for me. And a nice hight adjustment too.
Click to expand...

Hi Mate,

Really concerned to read this, as I was considering lowering springs for the very near future. I have an S Line TFSI and want a more strong and more control drive, what audi do you have?

And how bad were the springs in comparison to the standard springs?
 
Unmatched springs/ shocks will never ride 'that' well, particularly if the shocks are worn.

In response to the OP, its a really difficult question to answer to without a budget. If you actually want a decent ride, I'd be looking at Weitec/KW or Koni as a minimum. £600+ ish at a guess.
 
khan637 said:
Hi Mate,

Really concerned to read this, as I was considering lowering springs for the very near future. I have an S Line TFSI and want a more strong and more control drive, what audi do you have?

And how bad were the springs in comparison to the standard springs?
Click to expand...

S3, it's all down to budget, if you can afford coilovers then go for what you can afford!
the H&R springs were good for me to start with but then I was talked into trying the AP's and KW's and I'm glad I did as they are a lot more controlled. (as they are matched springs and dampers.)
obviously lowering a car on standard dampers you are going to loose the amount of travel and you are more likely to move into the bump stops so the springs have to be stiffer, then the dampers are not damped enough for the stiffer spring this = A rebound bounce!
i hope the helps?
 
Budget is looking to be somewhere between £300-700 fitted ideally - so that by the time I factor in the extra £150-200 on my insurance I'm still in 3 figure territory and don't get castrated by the girlfriend.

I don't want a mega drop - I hate stupidly low cars - but I think the A3 BE, while better than the SE/Sport etc, still rides a little high. I also find that the ride is slightly hard, so if I can improve the ride and lower it a touch without affecting handling (or even improving it) then I'm happy to spend a little extra.

Would the suspension change affect my warranty? And in what way? Would it just mean that I wouldn't be covered for the suspension (obviously) and presumably any damage as a result of the car being lowered, or would it void anything else?
 
gex told you to check out the Bilsteins B14's they are adjustable to so can lower and higher them as much as you want really.. they are stiff and on a smooth road its almost like your gliding on it but thats just me as i had them on my old S3 and now on the 2.0TQ
 
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r7ano said:
S3, it's all down to budget, if you can afford coilovers then go for what you can afford!
the H&R springs were good for me to start with but then I was talked into trying the AP's and KW's and I'm glad I did as they are a lot more controlled. (as they are matched springs and dampers.)
obviously lowering a car on standard dampers you are going to loose the amount of travel and you are more likely to move into the bump stops so the springs have to be stiffer, then the dampers are not damped enough for the stiffer spring this = A rebound bounce!
i hope the helps?
Click to expand...

thanks for this
 
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