H&R Coilovers - IS THIS THE WAY TO GO ???

[rolskii]

Something that's puzzling me about all ride height units. Are you simply lower the height of the car by reducing the amount of pre-load on the spring? By that I mean simply, unwinding the amount the spring is pre-compressed?

If this is the case then surely this results in the car feeling soggy as you introduce more sag into the damper?

In Theory - NO - think about it, when the shock is off the car, you are shortening and lengthening the extended spring, when its fitted to the car, the car is sitting under its own weight, sprung weight, so when you lower or raise the platforms on your shocks, all your doing is raising and lowering your ride, coz the spring always has the same sprung weight/lenght(or height..??),
unless you get the plasma cutters out -

[s4woody]

well i have a set of h&r arbs and coilovers and my car has been transformed..it sit,s nicely still keeping it,s aggresive stance and go,s round corners like an s4 should.. i,d say 1 of the best mods u can do to these cars.
my girlfriend has arthritis of the lower back and hips and it does not make her feel uncomfortable when she,s in it..and for her to like it ..it must be good..

[rolskii]

Sweeeet - well I have a set of H&R coil-overs, will get the ARB's soon, none fitted yet - eibach's&bilstiens fitted presently... had H&R before, shocks on them are superb, why I got another set to fit, never did the ARB's which I understand will sort out the fall/oversteer in corners..

Can anyone state the difference between RS4 and S4 H&R's ... I have the "Comfort Pack" for RS4 - going on my S4, was gonna get 21mm rear ARB, not 17mm on it - have read a few post's and its whats recommended ffrom most avant owners doing this mod....?
get them shot C links ditched too.....

[s4woody]

this is what she looks like with H&R,s inc rollbar,s..handles like sh,e on rails..

[rolskii]

Simon - looking good mate - very clean 4 a wet day - did notice a spot on the f/wing though ...

David

[s4woody]

i took that pic just after i came back from qstuning..not much dirt sticks to it when its been mequired..(spelling)

[rolskii]

Ah...... infamous maquire ..... im using salt presently ......

[flashyg]

Lowering ur car makes the ride harsh as you reduce the scope of the springs. H&R is very good, would love to try the stasis but concerned regarding clearance on the rear with the movit set up and noise. The bid arb are fantastic as are the bushes.

[Golich]

Something that's puzzling me about all ride height units. Are you simply lower the height of the car by reducing the amount of pre-load on the spring? By that I mean simply, unwinding the amount the spring is pre-compressed?

If this is the case then surely this results in the car feeling soggy as you introduce more sag into the damper?

In Theory - NO - think about it, when the shock is off the car, you are shortening and lengthening the extended spring, when its fitted to the car, the car is sitting under its own weight, sprung weight, so when you lower or raise the platforms on your shocks, all your doing is raising and lowering your ride, coz the spring always has the same sprung weight/lenght(or height..??),
unless you get the plasma cutters out -

Hhmm I'm still wondering about this..

Ok, So they are as simple as reducing the preload on the spring. But as you say, because the car still weighs the same the spring is still preloaded to the same static force. (When I first wrote this question I was thinking from the perspective of my motocross and now mountain bike suspension set up. We set the preload on the spring to give the desired amount of sag for the rider weight.) If you don't have enough pre-load you bottom the suspension too easy.

So from that perspective, you have now gone through say another 20-40mm...etc of the dampers travel coming ever closer to the bump stops. Thus reducing the total force required to hit the bump stops.

This is not a good scenario for the S4/RS4. If the ride height adjustable dampers have the same hieght of bump stop as the stock suspension. As the stock suspension bump stops are not set high enough to prevent the cats and lower chassis from hitting the ground and in a few cases the sump!

Hhmm another..., as a coilover type spring is relatively short in total spring length compared to a wide remote type spring is it possible for the spring to become slack on say a deep hole or heavy corner incident where say you have got a rear wheel to lift? Or is the total lowering limited specifically to eliminate this? Come to think of it I have seen some car suspension units with two coils. Is this what the second coil is designed to do or is this to give a bi-linear spring rate?

[s4woody]

maybe what is needed here is for some1 to measure the spring length and compare it to a stock spring..and also measure the shock body length..im sure when i put my H&R,s next to my stock set up the shock body,s were shorter..if thats the case the springs mite be the same length.. ive gone over a few deep holes and although it aint good for the car im sure the springs stayed in there seats even if i bounced out of mine..

[Golich]

Yeah they are bound to have though of the slack spring issue. I know little about it and I've thought about it so the designers are bound to have covered this.

With respect to the grounding issue. A stiffer spring could of course provide the same ultimate resitance at the end of the dampers stroke to that of a stock one, If designed so.

Hhhmm I guess I just have to try some.

Talking to H&R suspension uk last week. They emailed me to say H&R don't make a PCS kit? H&R only sell a variable ride height kit with fixed damping but they were going to talk to bilstein. Anyone know what the script is?

[s4woody]

before u take the coilover/uprated spring plunge it mite be an idea to get a test ride/drive in a car thats already been modified..i dnt think u will be disapointed.
the ride is firmer yes but the feed back u get is awesome..

[dazzer]

What a day - drove a 650 BHP RS4 at the ring in 8.5 minutes - well on a PS2 anyway at MRC.

Also got my H&R Coliovers and ARBs fitted today, along with an AWE DTS. Got to tell you the transformation is bl**dy fantastic. Lowered the car approx 30mm and will probably drop the front a bit lower. For anyone concerned about the comfort then IMHO don't worry - agree with S4woody 100%, you really won't be dissapointed. Handles like an S4 should do and looks nice and mean into the bargain.

Cheers to those fine chaps at MRC.

[rolskii]

Stuck H&R's on mine this week, tad low on the front for now - but its back on rails as the S4 should feel... arb's next

[rsdreamer]

Hi Guy's.

For the money involved, I don't think you can beat the H&R kit.

Picked up my car from Ed Jackson at AP Services, (ex AMD), on Friday after having H&R Coilovers and ARB's fitted. The car now runs on rails.

Have a chat with Ed on 01280 840491. I'm sure he can explain all of the queries in this post.

First class service, kept in contact and delivered on time, (You don't see that too much these days do you !!!).

Regards,

RSDreamer