S3 handling-improvement

robthehungrymonkey

robthehungrymonkey

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I know there ahve been numerous posts on this over the years. And as far as I can tell (after reading a vast number of opinions and verdicts), the ideal set up is Bilstein Dampers, H&R Springs (though this isn't as clear cut) and Neuspeed ARB's.

Now, me being a cheap skate for various reasons (not earning as much as expected, expensive hobbies a horrible number of unexpected punctures etc!!) I have been loking at doing it on the cheap.

Now, a lot of people of tried the R32 ARB's with good results and are cheaper than the Neuspeed equivalents. As I understand it, the standard S3 ARB's are 19mm at the front and 15mm rear.
Reffering to Glens excellent post (here if you're interested)
the Neuspeed ARB's are 22mm front, 19mm rear. Adding 3mm to the front, 4mm to the rear, proportionally stiffening the rear over the front (and thus reducing understeer).
The R32 ARB's are 23mm front, 19mm rear. Has anyone tried using the R32 rear ARB and the Neuspeed front one??? This to me, seems like a good way to save a few £££'s.

As my car gets scraped a lot where I am, I would prefer to leave the ride height standard, this would also mean I wouldn't require the Adjustable rear arms to correct the camber. Does anyone have experience with uprated dampers on Standard springs?

The Neuspeed front ARB £145
Bilstein Sprint dampers £285

Can anyone help me out with the cost of an R32 rear ARB?
Is there anything else that needs to be costed? What can I expect labour to be?

Any help would be great, and hopefully others will find some this informative
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
 
I have been trying to find places that could supply both the front and rear R32 ARBs as per my thread regarding handling, I'm hoping to get a price back regarding a group buy today or tomorrow.

Still trying to find places that would offer a group buy on the H&R springs and Bilstein B8 dampers again I'm hoping to have some answers soon.

Where did you find the standard Bilsteins for £285?
 
If I remember correctly, the fitting of the front ARB is a mare of a job!

The Bilstein B8's are shortened dampers... not sure how well they would work with standard springs. I would definately change both dampers and springs rather than one or the other.

If you can't afford to do it all, do dampers and springs first.
Then get tie bars and ARBs.

Why not try upgrading the rear ARB first to see how you get on with that first?
 
£285 seems very cheap for Bilstein shocks... are you sure they are the B8 Sprints?

Try http://www.eibachshop.com/ for Bilsteins and Eibach Pro springs. they do not list Bilsteins but they can get them. They quoted me a good price, but I got a price match locally. They may be able to do a group deal.
 
Not sure where I got that price from. It was about 8/9 months ago, so prices could be different.
I got side-tacked, by trying to buy an Elise and selling the S3, but after agreeing to buy one it all fell through, and now I've given up with buying a different car, it's so much work!

Have you looked at European prices? I remember doing it, though I thought I would have noted that in my prices I wrote down.

What prices have you found for them so far?

(also had the H&R springs down for £130)

Would definitely be interested in the relevant group buys.
 
eibachs will give a better ride than h&r`s as they are progressive springs.
Do the rear anti roll bar yourself its a doddle of if ur near huddersfield i`d even help you no probs
 
[ QUOTE ]
eibachs will give a better ride than h&r`s as they are progressive springs.
Do the rear anti roll bar yourself its a doddle of if ur near huddersfield i`d even help you no probs

[/ QUOTE ]

Really? I thought it was the other way round!
Thanks for the offer mate, but am near Brighton so would be a bit of a trek!

We have a garage opposite where I work, and they will always do me a good deal for labour, though i don't really trust them with anything too tricky!!

Can anyone confirm wether or not the dampers will work with standard springs?
 
[ QUOTE ]
eibachs will give a better ride than h&r`s as they are progressive springs.


[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree...
I felt the H&Rs were softer around town...but tightened up when needed because they ARE progressive.

Eibachs tend to feel slightly harsher around town, over potholes etc...at least to me they do.
 
Hi Glen...

Just a quick question how did you find your S3 over bumpy pot hole covered roads? That's assuming you have them north of the border /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif

As I don't like the way the standard suspension on my car deals with bumps etc at all.

Cheers,

Ben.
 
Imola, I think Rob was talking about the B6s if he doesn't want to change the ride height still £285 seems cheap.

I can't remember where I found the best price for the B8s - there on the home computer, I did discover the UK Importer is EuroCarParts from the information I found and Rich pointed out who H&Rs importer is in another thread, so I'll be trying to contact them tomorrow as you would hope they can do the best deal...
 
Last time i was pricing up the billys demon tweeks came out best,even my contact at eurocar parts couldn't match or beat the price.But it was a few months back,the price i had was£420 plus vat i think. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gifAndy
 
[ QUOTE ]

Imola, I think Rob was talking about the B6s if he doesn't want to change the ride height still £285 seems cheap.

I can't remember where I found the best price for the B8s - there on the home computer, I did discover the UK Importer is EuroCarParts from the information I found and Rich pointed out who H&Rs importer is in another thread, so I'll be trying to contact them tomorrow as you would hope they can do the best deal...

[/ QUOTE ]

To be honest Ben, going back to my notes I had them down as B8 sprints, but being the fool that I am, I didn't note where. I could have been mistaken however, as from what people are saying it does sound too cheap. Are the B6's the same damper, but for standard ride height? Would solve a few of my problems.

ROb.
 
gppd link from looking at that the eibachs are defo progressive and simular info on the H&R`s as I now have conflicting info on them. are they progressive or not (is that linear then ??)
 
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