Suspension options.

[Dani_B19]

Guys im looking at lowering the a4 as its no longer needed as the family car (mrs now has a mk4 mondeo and its huge) so wanting to lower mine.

Now mine's got the standard suspension so im thinking either

Sline dampers and some lowering springs

Or

Pro sport/raceland coilovers

Now looking into both will lower the car to what i want and should handle/ride better than my current 150k tired setup, im just not sure what to go for.

Budget is the driving factor also or i would have gone for some AP coilovers if not.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Forget the s-line damper route just not worth the effort, budget will be a major factor but AP's are agood choice and not overly expensive either.
I'm biased towards damper/fixed spring setup so bilstiens etc, maybe a bit more but well worth it, nice ride height / superb handling and decent ride quality aswell….everything you need really .
But forget the s-line route chap...

 

[Dani_B19]

Thats fine mate, always value your input.

Ive just come across a brand new set of sachs standard dampers with 40mm apex lowering springs for £150.

Thoughts on that setup?

 

[E_KEL95]

Agree with the above I went for springs and standard shocks car can feel very harsh over bad roads,

If I was to do it again I'd go ap coilovers chap

 

[DieselJake]

Eibach springs and AP dampers work well, but obviously I'm biased depends how low you want to go really as springs will never get you as low as coilovers.

 

[jay1601]

Eibach springs with s-line dampers perfect combo for me smooth enough for daily driving and handles well when thrown about

 

[Dani_B19]

Thanks guys.

What about the brand new standard sachs shocks with the apex lowering springs?

 

[Charlie Farley]

The thing is chap, like many things , its all down to personal preference.
One persons ideal suspension setup maybe vastly different to the next person....I had s-line as standard and initially thought it was ok but after a while its short comings became very apparent.

I swapped to H&R 45mm springs and there was a vast improvement over the previous setup but still not as good as others.
So decided to go with Bilstein dampers aswell and it has been 1st rate, well for me that is.
Its a double sided argument really , do you change just the springs or the whole lot, ultimately depends on what you are expecting to achieve from the finished upgrade.

Is it comfort and lower ride height or performance handling and lower ride height ( those two go together anyway) you want, cost will then be a factor .
keep in mind that springs control the ride height and support etc , dampers control the important functions , damping rebound etc all are vital to getting the ride and handling you desire.
Putting shorter springs on dampers designed for longer springs may just cancel out any damping gains , spring rates vary a lot and are specific to model and variant but its only part of the suspension equation.

Maybe try a car with s-line on and then one with s-line with lowered springs and see the difference, you'll be surprised.
Coilovers are very good if you want total ride height control but when you start getting really low the spring rates increase so it kinda cancels out some of the damping making things a bit firmer as the springs are under a bit more tension.
the better the kit you get the better it will work and adjustmenst will be better, that said not all low priced kit is low for a reason as quite a bit is very good.

sorry to make things sound more complicated , but do your homework and it will pay off in the long term , you really do not want to be changing them more than once, cost and hassle...

 

[Dani_B19]

Totally understand all that Rob, im not shy to the suspension world, my old s3 had a small fortune in handling mods, it also had KW V2 coilovers with dampening adjustment i set myself.

The a4 though is a different matter, its more of a plod along car for the next few years so i just dont want to spend £500 on coilovers.

I may have to get a ride in someones car with sline suspension to see how bad it is but like i say i used to use the s3 daily and that was on its **** with solid mounts and bushs haha.

 

[Dani_B19]

I may just have a look for some cheap sline dampers and chuck them on and see what there like, its only a few hours work i suppose. Off to ebay it is to look for some low mileage ones.

 

[8h3tdi]

I went for h r springs and and srt dampener. Apart from bottoming the shocks out on the odd speed bump they are fine but if i was to do it all again I’d go ap coilovers or bilstein shocks.

 

[Baka]

If your cars done more than 60-80k then any new dampers will be a real improvement over used.

My S-Line dampers are shot and the things like a ****** pogo stick.

 

[Dani_B19]

I went for h r springs and and srt dampener. Apart from bottoming the shocks out on the odd speed bump they are fine but if i was to do it all again I’d go ap coilovers or bilstein shocks.

Ive never heard of srt dampers.

 

[8h3tdi]

Ive never heard of srt dampers.

Koni srt.
They are cheap and they do the job - but they are On a 3.0 tdi cab, with h & r springs that fit mine and the rs4. Id presume they would fair a lot better on a lighter car than mine. But didn’t have much money at the time and it was cheaper to get 4 springs than one.

I said to my self at the time I’d replace them when I have a bit of money, but never had.

They are £77 front and £53 for the rear each.