Tired standard suspension.

[DJG]

My S4's standard suspension is rather tired at 74K miles. To be honest direction changes at highish speeds are not very pleasant and my car has always suffered from the normal front to rear pitch. They don't appear to be actually leaking as my car passed its MOT today, but they must be pretty knackered.

I was very impressed with the H&R coilovers on Dippy's car , but they are just too expensive particularly on a car that its now worth something like £11K to £12K.

Other than leaving the suspension alone, what are the cheaper options. If I was to put new standard parts on would I need to change just the shocks or do the springs wear as well?

I know some people have used standard RS4 suspension, but can I use this on my saloon? People have tended to pick this up 2nd hand, but is it a cost effective solution to purchase the RS4 suspension new from someone like VAGparts?

What about other, non-coilover suspension kits? Any one have experience of these on an S4.

I done want a bone jarring ride, but wouldn't mind it a touch stiffer (Ooh missus!). I'm not looking for the ultimate handling, I just want to tighten things up a bit.

Would like to hear your experiences.

David

[sash]

Hi David, ive had both the rs4 (secondhand shocks and springs) and the H&R on my S4 saloon. The RS4 suspension is better than stock and also less harsh than the H&R coliover setup. Found my rs4 suspension at rs246 in the for sale forum, there are often people selling suspension bits here.
If you could find a low mileage 2nd hand rs4 suspension it would definately be a cheap way of improving your current suspension, it certainly was for me.

[DavidR]

I wouldn't bother with the RS4 suspension on the saloon.

The ride height will be unequal front to rear (it's marginally higher at the back)

To be honest, whilst the damping is improved, overall the car still fails to handle well...

My next option will be some Bilstein dampers with Eibach springs.

[sash]

I have to agree about the rs4 suspension, this is why i upgraded.
Not sure of other spring damper combos so cant comment.

[Kang]

Hi I am in the same type of situation, at high speed my S4 seems to be a bit scitterish so I am considering changing the shocks soon and I have come across a company called Proven Products who sell Koni shocks for the S4 adverts in Audi Driver good price too.

[KayGee]

Sorry guys but I have to strongly disagree about the RS4 suspension. Had mine fitted a couple of weeks ago (cheers Prawn) it's excellent on the S4 saloon. In fact it's truly fabulous... I drive 50 miles a day to and from work. Dual carriageway, A road and B- road. It offers an excellent ride/performance ratio. IMHO the H+R setup is too harsh for british roads. If you spend all your drive time on the track fine, no worries if you use it as a daily driver...go with an RS4 setup. It's peachy.

I also have a set of low mileage S4 (45K) parts if you want to try them. However the fitting costs unless you can do it yourself would probably be a waste of money.

if you want new parts try paul@vagparts
add .com to the end for his email address. I'm sure he would be able to advise on the cost of a new RS4 setup. Forums for S/H parts then try AMD and QST
to see if they have a low mileage RS4 stuff.

[philipwalker]

I have supplied/fitted H+R coilovers to many S4`s all have been suprised by the good ride quality.......

David
I would suggest RS4 dampers onto standard S4 springs combined with H+R rollbars, this would give similar ride quality much improved damping (somthing the standard S4 lacks) and a lot less roll especialy the rear, with the H+R rollbars. The price would not be too bad either.

Fitting should not cost that much as it is a fairly easy job..... about two hours for the springs and dampers.

H+R coilovers £750
H+R rollbars £300

[DJG]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

Mixed reviews on the RS4 suspension. Have spoken to AMD and they said they had not been overly impressed with the results.

In the end I have decided to go with a new set of Koni dampers with my standard springs and am having these fitted by AMD next week. Tempted by some Eibach springs, but there are lots of speed bumps near me and I'm also trying to keep the costs down.

David

[Dippy]

IMHO the H+R setup is too harsh for british roads.

I suppose that does depend on which part of Britain you drive in. However I don't think the H&Rs are too harsh and I drive on some fairly bad roads. The stock S4 suspension is just too soft for a performance car. It needs a step change in improvement and not just a tweak.

[sash]

I dont think the H&Rs are as bad as everyone makes out. Ride is a lot firmer as you would expect but the way in which it transforms the car is worth it if you ask me (roads near me arent that bad really). You really do feel so much more confident in cornering etc. Its a massive improvement over stock. My wife is off work with a bad back and she doesnt seem to think that the ride is that harsh. She definately noticed it was different from the rs4 but it wasnt so bad that she wanted me to change it.

[DJG]

In the end I have decided to go with a new set of Koni dampers with my standard springs and am having these fitted by AMD next week.

Err that was the plan anyway. AMD can't get hold of any Koni or Eibach shock absorbers for 2 months due to the factories being shut for summer....... and I'm pleased to be having 2 weeks off! I've tried a few other places and heard the same.

Don't know what to do now.... standard S4 (mine are tired..), RS4, wait for Koni or coilovers...

How much are they again?

David

[philipwalker]

H+R Coilovers in stock....................Next day delivery available.......

[Dippy]

David needs some encouragement £££?

[s4dave]

DJG (et al)... I'm going through this process (improving the suspension) and, as related elsewhere, have just fitted H&R anti-roll bars and they have tidied things up even with the rest stock.

As for shocks and springs, if you go that way you should consider doing both at the same time to ensure they are properly matched. I intend to fit KW coilovers in a month or twos time (see the KW information on corrosion resistance - worth considering for us in the UK).

Take a look at the KW V1s if you're not worried about adjustability; parts and fitting should give you change from a grand but have a chat with Kim at QST (they can source KW as well as H&R).

Hope that helps,

Dave

[Prawn]

David,

I have had most options over the last three years, Std S4, S4 with RS4 2nd hand kit (with H&R ARB), std RS4 and RS4 with H&R kit.
IMO anything is better than the std setup on either the S or RS.

If you add the H&R ARB's to the RS4 kit on and S4 the difference is very noticable, I even found it to be a significant improvement on the track, to the point that I cancelled the H&R kit I had on order at the time.

For the RS I did go for the full H&R kit and yes it is more harsh but again well worth it IMO, the RS is heavier so needs a bit more help, especially on the track.

If it was me, I would go down the RS4 bits route without hesitation, hope that helps.