Lowering the cars suspension

slizza786

slizza786

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Hi guys

I really want to lower my cars suspension but I'm getting mixed opinions from people. Some people say not to do it because the comfort of the ride will go. Others say do it because your comfort won't be affected as much.

So that being said I would like the opinion of a3 owners who have actually lowered their car.

What's the comfort like? Especially over road humps?

Does the mpg get affected alot?

I do lots and lots of motorway journeys, are there any benefits to lowering the car?

Should I go for coilovers or dampers? I want to buy quality suspensions so my comfort isn't as badly affected but that being said I do not want to fork out like a grand for the whole conversion.

Your opinions would really help me make a decision. Thanks in advance.
 
iv jut changed mine to JOM's (cheapest coilies) and the ride was fine not back busting at all and alot firmer round corners.

I think most of the comfort losses comes from changing wheels, and going low profile tyres with less side wall.
 
How much did it cost u in total mate including labour and where can I find more Info about the ones u got?
 
audi upgrades
DO IT! Every car looks better with a bit of a drop.

If you get a decent set of coilovers or springs+shocks, the ride comfort shouldn't be too much harsher than standard. I had AP's on my A3 as low as they could go and they were still comfortable on our shocking roads.
 
I'm so tempted to! I'm also worried about grazing. How low do u think i should go?
 
Also do u think 17" are enough to look good on a lowered car?
 
slizza786 said:
How much did it cost u in total mate including labour and where can I find more Info about the ones u got?
Click to expand...

JOM's were 185 ish from DPM on here. and labour was free as i got a mate to do it.

It should take about 2-3 hours in garage, so £120 labour.
But my cars from 05 and lets just say, things were a bit stuck!

I also had to buy new top links for front arbs, only £9 each tho from europarts.

With my standard 17's i full droped it and no rubbing, however with my 18's i have 235 wide tyres and currently having issues with the back, but everyone says dont run 235's ahaha but they came with the wheels xD
 
JJ.Foulds said:
JOM's were 185 ish from DPM on here. and labour was free as i got a mate to do it.

It should take about 2-3 hours in garage, so £120 labour.
But my cars from 05 and lets just say, things were a bit stuck!

I also had to buy new top links for front arbs, only £9 each tho from europarts.

With my standard 17's i full droped it and no rubbing, however with my 18's i have 235 wide tyres and currently having issues with the back, but everyone says dont run 235's ahaha but they came with the wheels xD
Click to expand...

Cheers for that mate. Mines 04 so I think I'm gonna need quite a few wd40's haha. If i can spend about 500 in total then that would be worth it for me. 750 is probably the max I'd stretch
 
slizza786 said:
Also do u think 17" are enough to look good on a lowered car?
Click to expand...

yeah i think 17's are fine, its just my standard A3 ones looked crap!

Being 04 theres gonna a few ceased bolts, we had to proper heat one of the bolts till it was glowing to hammer it out lol.
But stuff like that will take extra garage time.

People dont rate the JOM's because they are soo cheap, but end of the day its only normal road use, and for 185 quid if i have to replace in 3 years then so what they were soo cheap.
 
Cheers buddy. I think I definitely need to have a browse around because comfort does mean alot to me but right now I think the car looks abit ugly as it looks like it's up on jacks lol
 
You need to decide whether you just want springs or coilovers. I'd always suggest coilovers purely because there's loads have people who have got springs, have not been happy with the drop they give, taken them off and got coilovers which is the expensive way round.

If you're fussy about getting the ride height spot on then go for coilovers.
 
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leeds2592 said:
You need to decide whether you just want springs or coilovers. I'd always suggest coilovers purely because there's loads have people who have got springs, have not been happy with the drop they give, taken them off and got coilovers which is the expensive way round.

If you're fussy about getting the ride height spot on then go for coilovers.
Click to expand...


What he said ^

Coilovers give you the choice on hight, i had to raise mine with diffrent wheels, what if id of bought springs?!
 
JOM's bounce more than a bouncy castle, buy decent stuff or buy twice.

I'd never buy cheap coilover ever again after having mid range coilovers.
 
smurfworth said:
JOM's bounce more than a bouncy castle, buy decent stuff or buy twice.

I'd never buy cheap coilover ever again after having mid range coilovers.
Click to expand...

Nerrr they aint that bad, they are deffo stiffer than my standard suspension. No doubt it will get worse tho, but deffo not as bouncy as standard (i hope) lol
 
audi upgrades
I've had them before, never again. My mate has them on his a3 and side by side with mine on the same road he's bouncing everywhere where as my AP's are settled and smooth.

I can only imagine what KW H&R Bilstiens are like..
 
If you can stretch to £750, buy some AP's and spend the rest of the money on getting them fitted. Will come to less than £750.

I'm sure smurfworth will agree :friends:
 
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smurfworth said:
I can only imagine what KW H&R Bilstiens are like..
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Exceptional. Im lucky enough to be running KW V3s and they have totally transformed the car. Cheap suspension is pure ******. Apparently JOMs are the best of the worst right enough, although still ******. Ever since putting 3 sets of ebay coilovers through my mk 3 golf, at 200 quid a pop, I vowed never to cheap out on suspension again.
 
Bought eibach sportlines for £190. Lowest springs from eibach. Pretty happy about the drop. But took me about 14 hours because I was worried to strip the bolts. I have an 04 myself and the bolts were harsh, it took me an hour per bolt. All went well, but the sway bars. I did manage to remove the nut on the passenger side. Right side, i had to cut off the sway bar. It was impossible. Luckily it didnt cost anything..
 
If anyone has a set of SE springs lurking around after fitting coilovers to their 1.6 FSI, drop me a PM please. I want to go the opposite way because I'm an old fart.
 
JohnE said:
If anyone has a set of SE springs lurking around after fitting coilovers to their 1.6 FSI, drop me a PM please. I want to go the opposite way because I'm an old fart.
Click to expand...

I have a set, but they're rusty and awfull
 
leeds2592 said:
If you can stretch to £750, buy some AP's and spend the rest of the money on getting them fitted. Will come to less than £750.

I'm sure smurfworth will agree :friends:
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree, I prefer the more expensive coilovers so much and see how much better they are than the cheapo crapo from eBay(JOM's) I'm planning on having H&R on the s3 :racer:
 
That's for all the help guy! Looks like coilovers it is. What's the difference between them and dampers? Eibach coilovers are so expensive, anyone know where i can get more info about these AP ones?
 
Basically adjustable height, most people are unhappy with the drop on just springs/dampers.

Go on gnj Motorsport or dpm performance loads on info there.

AP's do state 30% uprated dampening which makes them ideal for fast road use.
 
So AP will set me back around £430 for the kit. I've just been recommended apex or hr, what's the views on them?
 
With my old 8P i went through three sets of coilovers lol. Jamex, JOMs and then the last were FK Highsports £385 at the time or something off DPM performance on here. For how much JOMS were the ride wasnt that bad just didnt go low enough for me.
The FKs were the best and most comfy till i removed helper spring for more lows lol. As said higher the budget the better the ride will be. I now have H&R coilovers fitted to my B7 so i expect them to be miles better than the FKs i had on 8P (once i get the car back).
 
Just installed KW v1 coilovers ($1,300 US) and the change in ride is noticeable, but not uncomfortable at all. The feel is much more connected to the road and the reduction in body roll around the corners is well worth the price. I am still runningt he OEM 17's and plan on going +1 soon so the coilovers will allow me to adjust the height to get the right look. Looks sweet now, but will look even better with a bigger wheel. [ii]D. Cheers!
 
PRCPTN said:
Just installed KW v1 coilovers ($1,300 US) and the change in ride is noticeable, but not uncomfortable at all. The feel is much more connected to the road and the reduction in body roll around the corners is well worth the price. I am still runningt he OEM 17's and plan on going +1 soon so the coilovers will allow me to adjust the height to get the right look. Looks sweet now, but will look even better with a bigger wheel. [ii]D. Cheers!
Click to expand...

Have you got a pic mate? I'm planning to keep my 17 oem for a while.
 
Here's a few....not slammed for sure. Could still go a lot lower, but I'm an "old" dude and thats not really my style. The handling with the KW's is spot on and that's what I was looking for. Looking at front and rear sway bars next and then this thing should turn on a dime! [ii]D

IMAG0688_zps71ae2166.jpg

IMAG0693_zps9469ea5a.jpg
 
Looks good man! How is it going over road humps? Get any curving?
 
Takes normal rough roads / pot holes with ease, but have to avoid those monster divots that seem like they are all over after this nasty winter! No bounce whatsoever.....can still cruise over speed bumps with ease. My only complaint would be a slight "squeak" coming from the passenger side rear after installation. Didn't notice it until recently. Not a big deal at all though
 
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