H&R Coilover Suspension... Please help!

[s8n]

Hi Guys/Gals

I have been offered these coilovers which are apparently as new for the Audi S3.

This is the kit (same kit for sale)



I have a few question about this kit on my 02 S3.

1) Some kits use a helper spring, as you can see this kit does not. I have been told Helper Springs make the ride firmer and are more designed as a Sport Kit.

2) Is the kit above the 'Comfort' H&R Coilover kit?

3) I love my comfortable ride, will the H&Rs make my kidneys rattle and make my ride uncomfortable? My car is a daily driver and there are alot of crap roads in the area (potholes, rutts and joins) so im after a setup that will make riding this easier. I am using standard 17" OEM Wheels with the Standard Bridgestone Tyres.

I must stress that I dont want a harser ride than now, although I do want to bring the car down maybe 20mm , especially the back of the car.

Is this kit going to do what I want? Comfort over Sport??

And is this kit the H&R COMFORT kit?

Please help!

ps: the price is VERY good!! 1/3 the price of retail and they have covered 10,000kms

[JohnW]

I had H&Rs on my Corrado.

The helper springs do not make it harder.
The main spring may be slightly harder, but the helper springs allow the suspension to follow the contours of the road better.

Imagine going over a hump in the road.
Normally the helpers are almost fully compressed, so the main spring has to do the compression, and so does not soak up as much of the bump as your current setup probably does. As your wheel leaves the other side of the bump with the spring compressed the lighter weight helper spring pushes the wheel to follow the contour.

It is a compromise so that the damping can be set to match the harder main spring, but still allow a bit of compliance for normal road use.

I tried VW sport suspension and also konis with Eibach springs, and both were harder than the H&R setup.

It is tricky to say if you will like them as I have no idea of the type of roads you have to drive.
Personally I do about 50% motorway work, and 50% A & B roads, which around my way are bumpy as hell. The H&Rs were perfect for both.

If you want to spend more money and might want to play with settings for track days, maybe consider a set of Bilstein PSS9s.

hth.

Cheers,
John.

[s8n]

Hi John

Thanks for the advice.. I do mainly short trips on rather crappy roads (lots of joins is the main issue with Sydney roads)

The reason im intrested in these is the fact they are very cheap! around 300pounds your money!

I was told by a friend the helper springs are firmer! so thats conflicting evidence now.. n o one really knows for sure!

Thanks for the advice , will keep searching for mroe answers and opionons!

[JohnW]

If you look at the two springs you will see if you took a slice through the main spring it is like a conventional round profile, wheras the helper springs are generally more of a flat profile.

On my Corrado (and the PSS9s on my Porche) these smaller helper springs are almost totally compressed.

It is pretty obvious (imo) that if they compress first they must be softer than the main spring. [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I don't know what sort of money they normally cost for an S3 over there, or over here for that matter.
The H&Rs I brought for the Corrado were about 700 quid, and the PSS9s for the porsche were around £1k.

Just remember that you will have to factor in a full 4 wheel alignment after fitting.

If 300 quid is a good deal for them then I'd go for them,
but why are they being sold ?

Cheers,
John.

[s8n]

To me, it makes more sense the ride being softer with a helper spring.. I do agree and yes I looked at a helper spring froma set of H&R coilovers and it was almost dead flat.. The kit looked the same as the kit above, except the kit before had helper springs and the rear springs were more like my standard springs..

Perhaps the above kit is a track orientated kit?!

The owner of the S3 they came off parted the car out when we went over seas.. He also had some Oettinger wheels for sale, Movit Brake kit & these H&Rs

It would appear that there are two different versions of the H&R, Comfort & Sport versions but as to what each kit looks like I'm still unsure!

John, thankyou for your assistance

PS: I emailed Gert Carnewal, he is helping me with my Porsche 993TT brakes [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Thanks for that link!

[fade2grey]

Im sure you can convert non-helper H&R's to helpers - as with Leda's. The big plus is that if they are adjustable & are too hard, new springs will only set you back about £20 each as they are probably 2.25" ID so you can get them all over (eg TAS)

Alex

[s8n]

Hmmm.. That is a option, but are we sure the difference between the two is only the helper spring?

[JohnW]

I'm sure Gert will look after you, he is a top bloke.

Are you able to find out what the number of the H&R kit was this guy ordered ?
If so it would be asking Gert about them too, as he has links with the H&R people (and Bilstein for that matter).
He may well be able to advise you on exactly what that kit is.

Cheers, [img]images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]
John.

[s8n]

Managed to source the porsche calipers and rotors locally yesterday cheaper than what Gert could do, landed. By the time I had them shipped, insured, paid duty and tax the local kit was much cheaper so unfortuntely I didnt go with Gert this time..

Found out the H&R's are actually the Sport 1/1 model, which isnt what I want so I've decided against them.. Will keep an eye out for a set of Comforts but!

Thanks for the help guys!

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