Car sitting lower on one side ?? Help.

[RS4_46]

Hello

Picked up my 2007 RS4 Avant on Friday....amazing car but I've noticed it's sitting lower on one side at the rear (front is fine).

Ground to wheel arch on passenger side is 64cm, ground to arch on drivers side its 67cm (currently has a full tank of fuel).

It's only covered 27,000 and has had the DRC suspension replaced on both sides by Audi a year or two ago due to the leaky shock issue.

My car doesnt have the Sport Plus spring option and I've not noticed any knocking sounds etc.

So, is this to be expected if not any suggestions??

Many thanks

[DazN]

Mine was exactly the same when I got it and I realised it's something to do with the way it's driven.

DRC is purely mechanical so if you corner hard to the right and then park it might sit lower one side, if you did the opposite and looked the other side might be lower.

[DazN]

Forgot - FON!

[RS4_46]

Thanks for the reply.

So effectively when it's resting it could favor one side depending on how it was driven in the moments before parking up, but when driving it levels itself up and is balanced?

[DazN]

Thanks for the reply.

So effectively when it's resting it could favor one side depending on how it was driven in the moments before parking up, but when driving it levels itself up and is balanced?

That's my understanding of it, I had an Audi Master Tech explain it and it baffled me a bit but in a nutshell you're correct.

I wouldn't worry about it anyway

[DazN]

I also asked the same questions when I bought my RS4, funny how much I didn't know then!!!

http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... er#p428545

[P_G]

Quickest way, jack both sides up at the rear, let it hang for a while and then lower onto the floor again. It should sort out the ride height on each corner.

[sar]

i had the same, turned out the bottom 2" of the n/s/r spring had snapped off and gone walkies!.

[ArthurPE]

3 cm (over 1") seems like a lot, mine vary ~5-6 mm side to side
even after driving hard and parking it (I've measured it at least 20 times before and after my H&R install to see the difference and if they settled)

you need to take a good look at it as others suggested
broken spring
broken/disconnected sway bar link
etc.

[rs4blacked]

I had this turned out to be a broken spring best to check them I say

[adsgreen]

Also when you test the car the ground needs to be perfectly level. Doesn't take much to cause a noticeable difference.
Easiest thing to do is:
-Park up
-measure
-turn car 180 degrees and remeasure in same spot
-remeasure.

Everytime I've done mine it's moved to the other side when retesting so ground not level enough.

[Dave_Hedgehog]

or you could just put down the pies

[Dave7]

i would say 3 cms is way too much. Like Arthur says, 5-6mm seems acceptable as its a mechanical system but over an inch would point to a issue somewhere.

Arthur, do your height differences move about from side to side or are they always the same i.e. one side is always higher?

I have just had all shocks replaced under warranty and when I got it back, the fronts differ by about 6mm and the rears by about the same.
My nearside front is high and my offside rear is low - as they are connected (diagonally) it would seem that for some reason its not balancing in the middle like the other diagonal side. Audi Yeovil had it in for 2.5 weeks messing with it and have now told me that they can do no more. Its now going to a different dealer on Thursday this week to see if they can shine any light on it.

It makes no difference how its driven, it always seems to be slightly out on these corners. i was thinking that it could be a valve issue as Audi dont replace valves anymore when they replace the DRC because the new tool can measure the pressure at each corner of the car whereas the old tool (C5 RS6) wasnt able to do this so they used to replace the valves as a matter of course. Althgoh having said this, they told me that the pressure was the same at every corner so that would suggest that its not the valves... A broken spring would suggest my issue as sitting lower at the rear offside would raise the front nearside...

I'll let you know how I get on after its been in on Thursday this week.
I must say though that the car drives and feels fine...

I am thinking the following:

Rear sway bar disconnected / broken?
Broken rear spring
Oil filled top mount issue
valve issue

One thing is for sure, making cars complicated is a pain in the arse!


Dave

[Brooner]

this happened to me recently turn out to be the end of the spring was broken i would think this is the problem if the DRC looks all ok

[ArthurPE]

my passenger side is always a bit higher, both front and rear, but only 3-5 mm or so

.....
Arthur, do your height differences move about from side to side or are they always the same i.e. one side is always higher?

Dave