Lowering S-Line 3 Door

[CoolAsIce]

Hi all,

I've got a broken spring on the front and using it as an excuse to improve things a bit. I find the S-line suspension is ****** hard, although it handles fairly well for factory suspension. The original shocks are on 93k so it would be silly not to replace them especially when lowering too.

My car is a late '08 S-Line Black Edition 2.0Tdi 170, and from what I can find it's around 25mm lower than standard suspension on an SE model.

I'm looking at Eibach springs and Bilstein B4 shocks. I'm thinking the 50/40mm drop will be better as the 35/30mm springs would barely drop it much. It's a daily driver though so don't want it too low.. I have another car for hitting catseyes in the road

So my question is, are the Eibach 50/40mm springs and Bilstein B4 shocks a good combo?

Also anyone got pics of theirs on the same springs? Cheers

 

[strada]

That is the best combination for s sensible drop, retaining as close to OEM ride characteristics as possible.

 

[ab1702]

Hi all,

I've got a broken spring on the front and using it as an excuse to improve things a bit. I find the S-line suspension is ****** hard, although it handles fairly well for factory suspension. The original shocks are on 93k so it would be silly not to replace them especially when lowering too.

My car is a late '08 S-Line Black Edition 2.0Tdi 170, and from what I can find it's around 25mm lower than standard suspension on an SE model.

I'm looking at Eibach springs and Bilstein B4 shocks. I'm thinking the 50/40mm drop will be better as the 35/30mm springs would barely drop it much. It's a daily driver though so don't want it too low.. I have another car for hitting catseyes in the road

So my question is, are the Eibach 50/40mm springs and Bilstein B4 shocks a good combo?

Also anyone got pics of theirs on the same springs? Cheers

I've got same car as you and when I changed springs I went for the eibach pro springs which are only 30mm lower so only 5mm lower from the s Line but you can definately tell to look at it and I can definately say it's a more comfortable ride. I also stayed with standard shocks as I was being tight at the time but it's been fine and as I say it's a better ride. I'm not sure but I think if you did shocks aswell with these springs then I think it's bilstein b8's that go with them but I may be wrong

 

[ch1z64]

Hi all,

I've got a broken spring on the front and using it as an excuse to improve things a bit. I find the S-line suspension is ****** hard, although it handles fairly well for factory suspension. The original shocks are on 93k so it would be silly not to replace them especially when lowering too.

My car is a late '08 S-Line Black Edition 2.0Tdi 170, and from what I can find it's around 25mm lower than standard suspension on an SE model.

I'm looking at Eibach springs and Bilstein B4 shocks. I'm thinking the 50/40mm drop will be better as the 35/30mm springs would barely drop it much. It's a daily driver though so don't want it too low.. I have another car for hitting catseyes in the road

So my question is, are the Eibach 50/40mm springs and Bilstein B4 shocks a good combo?

Also anyone got pics of theirs on the same springs? Cheers

Now dropping your car is a could thing and worth doing ( dropped S3 by 20mm ) but the down side off going to low are the hazards on the road ie pot holes , sleeping police men and hope it never happens to you but think about how you would get your car up ramps without fooking the underneath of bumper if it ever had to be recovered by AA , RAC or an other recovery truck company .

 

[audismart]

I fitted the B12 kit which is eibach springs with B8 Bilstein dampers, at first I fitted the pro line springs which dropped the car 30mm all round and quickly realized I could get away with the lower sportline springs as the ride was that much better than the choppy harsh standard setup and a month later the sportlines went on and I love the ride now, the stance sits near perfect, maybe another 10mm lower on the front to just nail it, but it just looks so much better on the move now.
Fit and forget until you you start thinking Bilstein B16 coilovers,

 

[DPM]

Hi all,

I've got a broken spring on the front and using it as an excuse to improve things a bit. I find the S-line suspension is ****** hard, although it handles fairly well for factory suspension. The original shocks are on 93k so it would be silly not to replace them especially when lowering too.

My car is a late '08 S-Line Black Edition 2.0Tdi 170, and from what I can find it's around 25mm lower than standard suspension on an SE model.

I'm looking at Eibach springs and Bilstein B4 shocks. I'm thinking the 50/40mm drop will be better as the 35/30mm springs would barely drop it much. It's a daily driver though so don't want it too low.. I have another car for hitting catseyes in the road

So my question is, are the Eibach 50/40mm springs and Bilstein B4 shocks a good combo?

Also anyone got pics of theirs on the same springs? Cheers

It depends on your budget, if it allows the Eibach Sportline springs and Bilstein B8 dampers, basically the B12 kit, is a much better option.

Damian @ DPM Performance

 

[CoolAsIce]

That is the best combination for s sensible drop, retaining as close to OEM ride characteristics as possible.

That's what I'm after really so sounds good

I've got same car as you and when I changed springs I went for the eibach pro springs which are only 30mm lower so only 5mm lower from the s Line but you can definately tell to look at it and I can definately say it's a more comfortable ride. I also stayed with standard shocks as I was being tight at the time but it's been fine and as I say it's a better ride. I'm not sure but I think if you did shocks aswell with these springs then I think it's bilstein b8's that go with them but I may be wrong

Thanks for your reply, it's not a huge drop I'm after, just something subtle to close the arch gaps up a bit. I will look into the B8's.

Now dropping your car is a could thing and worth doing ( dropped S3 by 20mm ) but the down side off going to low are the hazards on the road ie pot holes , sleeping police men and hope it never happens to you but think about how you would get your car up ramps without fooking the underneath of bumper if it ever had to be recovered by AA , RAC or an other recovery truck company .

I've had lowered cars since I was 17 so well and truly used to it haha. But the extra 5-10mm drop I'm after wont be an issue.

I fitted the B12 kit which is eibach springs with B8 Bilstein dampers, at first I fitted the pro line springs which dropped the car 30mm all round and quickly realized I could get away with the lower sportline springs as the ride was that much better than the choppy harsh standard setup and a month later the sportlines went on and I love the ride now, the stance sits near perfect, maybe another 10mm lower on the front to just nail it, but it just looks so much better on the move now.
Fit and forget until you you start thinking Bilstein B16 coilovers,

Sounds good! Unfortunately the B12 kit is out of my budget really, this has already gone from a £40 spring to over £300! It's my daily driver which I do close to 20k miles a year in, a lot of which is country roads, so want to try and keep some comfort.

It depends on your budget, if it allows the Eibach Sportline springs and Bilstein B8 dampers, basically the B12 kit, is a much better option.

Damian @ DPM Performance

Unfortunately anything past the B4 shocks are just well out of my budget it seems.

 

[DPM]

I'd look at matched springs and shocks kits then, maybe something like the AP kit.

Damian @ DPM Performance

 

[ab1702]

If it’s down to money then you could just change the springs for now as I’m running mine on standard dampers and it’s fine and then if any of them fail then change them at a later date.
As I said I have the eibach pro springs which are an extra 5mm lower than S Line and I think they cost me about £120 last year if I remember right off amazon or eBay

 

[audismart]

If it’s down to money then you could just change the springs for now as I’m running mine on standard dampers and it’s fine and then if any of them fail then change them at a later date.
As I said I have the eibach pro springs which are an extra 5mm lower than S Line and I think they cost me about £120 last year if I remember right off amazon or eBay

Pros or sportlines will fit on existing dampers, unfortunately any dampers past 80k miles will suffer quickly and will be a false economy unless you can fit them yourself.

 

[CoolAsIce]

Pros or sportlines will fit on existing dampers, unfortunately any dampers past 80k miles will suffer quickly and will be a false economy unless you can fit them yourself.

I will be fitting them myself as I'm a mechanic I will probably go with springs for now, and then get shocks in 6-12 months time. It's come at a bad time while I'm rebuilding a project car right now.

 

[DJ_26]

I will be fitting them myself as I'm a mechanic I will probably go with springs for now, and then get shocks in 6-12 months time. It's come at a bad time while I'm rebuilding a project car right now.

Having been in the same sort of position as you finding the S-line ride a bit too hard, I went for a Vogtland -50mm springs and shock setup but unfortunately can't really recommend it. Whilst the handling is fun for a daily driver, you can only really enjoy it when you push it, which to be honest, you can't really do that much on our roads. I rarely ever get to do that on my daily journeys.

What I wish had done is gone for eibach/bilstein combo that I think has better softer damping for UK roads. The vogtland 50mm setup tends to bounce back a bit too much. So as you go over the hundreds of imperfections on our roads, you are doing little tiny bunny hop bounces in your seat (well not flying up, but more a bump that you can feel through your back, but quite frequently over the space of a minute) and to be honest, the ride just gets spoilt, especially if you are driving for more than 30 minutes. I think this kit is set up more for German roads/autobahns that are smoother and have less imperfections. To be honest, eibach pro 30mm with B4 dampers or the eibach sportline 50/40mm are probs your best bet, especially if you go for aspring/shocks combo.

What I find interesting is that I've been in a slammed mk3 Golf vR6 on FK coilovers and I kid you not, it had a more comfortable ride than the Vogtland springs and shocks setup. I think it really is to do with damping. Now although coilovers are described as "stiff", I now really just associate that with the lack of body roll you get and perhaps the dartiness that comes from having a stiffer spring. But if the damping is softer, you get more of a cushioned feel especially with the rebound, like with the FK coilovers that I experienced. I wonder if this is to do with the fact that the FK street coilovers only have an uprated damping of 30%, which is quite low and so should retain a lot of the ride quality, in my mind. My mate has just fitted a set of FKs to his 8P A3 and I'm going to try them soon and probably report back with my findings. Obviously they are cheaper coilovers and in terms of build quality, there are better kits out there, but if daily use is a priority, then comfort should be an important factor!

@DPM would you agree?

 

[DPM]

The Eibach Pro springs and Bilstein B4 damper setup is popular and a good one at that but in my opinion for the price there's better option in the ST by KW kit.

Quite surprised to hear that you find the FK coilovers more comfortable, especially with them being 'slammed'.

Damian @ DPM Performance

 

[A3JP]

Having been in the same sort of position as you finding the S-line ride a bit too hard, I went for a Vogtland -50mm springs and shock setup but unfortunately can't really recommend it. Whilst the handling is fun for a daily driver, you can only really enjoy it when you push it, which to be honest, you can't really do that much on our roads. I rarely ever get to do that on my daily journeys.

What I wish had done is gone for eibach/bilstein combo that I think has better softer damping for UK roads. The vogtland 50mm setup tends to bounce back a bit too much. So as you go over the hundreds of imperfections on our roads, you are doing little tiny bunny hop bounces in your seat (well not flying up, but more a bump that you can feel through your back, but quite frequently over the space of a minute) and to be honest, the ride just gets spoilt, especially if you are driving for more than 30 minutes. I think this kit is set up more for German roads/autobahns that are smoother and have less imperfections. To be honest, eibach pro 30mm with B4 dampers or the eibach sportline 50/40mm are probs your best bet, especially if you go for aspring/shocks combo.

What I find interesting is that I've been in a slammed mk3 Golf vR6 on FK coilovers and I kid you not, it had a more comfortable ride than the Vogtland springs and shocks setup. I think it really is to do with damping. Now although coilovers are described as "stiff", I now really just associate that with the lack of body roll you get and perhaps the dartiness that comes from having a stiffer spring. But if the damping is softer, you get more of a cushioned feel especially with the rebound, like with the FK coilovers that I experienced. I wonder if this is to do with the fact that the FK street coilovers only have an uprated damping of 30%, which is quite low and so should retain a lot of the ride quality, in my mind. My mate has just fitted a set of FKs to his 8P A3 and I'm going to try them soon and probably report back with my findings. Obviously they are cheaper coilovers and in terms of build quality, there are better kits out there, but if daily use is a priority, then comfort should be an important factor!

@DPM would you agree?

Is it the Vogtland club suspension kit you're referring to? Have been thinking about getting it. I do live in Japan though where the roads are generally super smooth. They do like laying concrete the Japanese!

 

[David_322]

The Eibach Pro springs and Bilstein B4 damper setup is popular and a good one at that but in my opinion for the price there's better option in the ST by KW kit.

Quite surprised to hear that you find the FK coilovers more comfortable, especially with them being 'slammed'.

Damian @ DPM Performance

I have this ST kit fitted to my S-Line A3, basiclly it sits a tad lower than the S-Line setup. In terms of comfort it has the same spirited drive feel as the original but without the crashy harshness. Also the kit has the quality of KW.