Short drop links when lowered????

S3baddaman

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Hi everyone I have a 2011 audi a3 tdi sline sportback. I'm looking at the hnr lowering kit 50mm. Do I need shortened drop links and with the original sline shocks be OK when lowered that much.??
 
Honestly pal I'd skip the H&R springs, especially if you're on old shocks as lowering on the standard shocks is a recipe for a shock replacement within a few thousand miles - my front right failed on my 2012 S3 after less than 12 months on H&R 25 mm springs and my car has only covered 34k miles - or a bouncy AF ride cos your shocks are not right for your springs which I also experienced.

Get this fitted instead:

These are the 2wd version but there is cabrio and quattro versions for the same price for the A3:


They're budget coilovers, but made by KW and they don't skimp on the quality. I'm now running this kit on my S3 with a 30mm drop (it will go as low as 50 if you really want..) and the ride is amazing, firm at times yes but very smooth and not harsh at all and miles better than it ever was stock or on H&R springs. Awesome GTI will fit for £199 Inc vat including full balancing, tracking and alignment if you purchase from them. Wish I'd fitted these when I first got the car and never bothered with the lowering springs which cost me around £400 in total inc fitting and balancing and were a total waste of money. Ok you'll probs pay £300 or so more in total for this coilover kit in total but you won't end up spending more in the future, trust me it'll be way worth it, and you can always have the height adjusted whenever you want.
 
Honestly pal I'd skip the H&R springs, especially if you're on old shocks as lowering on the standard shocks is a recipe for a shock replacement within a few thousand miles - my front right failed on my 2012 S3 after less than 12 months on H&R 25 mm springs and my car has only covered 34k miles - or a bouncy AF ride cos your shocks are not right for your springs which I also experienced.

Get this fitted instead:

These are the 2wd version but there is cabrio and quattro versions for the same price for the A3:


They're budget coilovers, but made by KW and they don't skimp on the quality. I'm now running this kit on my S3 with a 30mm drop (it will go as low as 50 if you really want..) and the ride is amazing, firm at times yes but very smooth and not harsh at all and miles better than it ever was stock or on H&R springs. Awesome GTI will fit for £199 Inc vat including full balancing, tracking and alignment if you purchase from them. Wish I'd fitted these when I first got the car and never bothered with the lowering springs which cost me around £400 in total inc fitting and balancing and were a total waste of money. Ok you'll probs pay £300 or so more in total for this coilover kit in total but you won't end up spending more in the future, trust me it'll be way worth it, and you can always have the height adjusted whenever you want.
Wow thank you for the reply very informative. Even if I go with coilovers do I still need shortened drop links? I have been thinking I may need to go down the coilovers to achieve the ride height I want.
 
Wow thank you for the reply very informative. Even if I go with coilovers do I still need shortened drop links? I have been thinking I may need to go down the coilovers to achieve the ride height I want.
I didn't need shortened drop links with a 25-30mm drop. Not sure if you would for the full 50mm though. AwesomeGTI would be able to advise, they fit these kits all the time. I don't think they are essential but are a worthwhile addition for lowered cars to reduce/remove pre-load on the suspension and increase stiffness to give more direct response for turning into corners, so if you're planning on tracking the car it'd be worth doing - probably alongside an uprated anti-roll bar on the front (and rear possibly) but as you can imagine this will start to add up the £££ quickly.

For me personally I'm happy as it is currently on just the coilovers for normal/fast road usage. I think in the future if I decide to track the car I would probably go for:
Front and rear H&R ARBs
Racingline performance adjustable drop links
Anti lift kit (Superpro or Whiteline)
 
If you go for coilovers would you still be lowering 50mm or lower?

Damian @ DPM Performance
I'm not sure. The 50mm lowering springs give the right ride hight I'm looking for but worry its too low for the standard shocks and without shortened drop links. As this is my run around car for school runs I'm worried coilovers would look good but ruin the ride.
 

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