S4 H&R Coilover Suspension

[DavidT]

Pretty keen to get this on now but I have a few questions, so if anyone can assist, I would be grateful.

1) What ride height did you choose & why ?

2) How has the handling/feel been affected ? (less understeer, better turn in, improved damping etc)

3) Are there other handling modifications you would consider ?


David

[Dippy]

The car rolls much less in the corners, dips MUCH less under braking, and generally feels much more planted on the road.

I also found that there is much less understeer than before.

I did not choose my height, I just let AmD set it for what they think is the optimal ride height. Tweaky, did you notice any improvement in handling when you lowered yours?

The Eibach anti-roll interests me too, although now that I have good tyres, I must say that my car's handling seems top notch now.

[DavidT]

AmD have recommended running the H&R 30-35 mm lower than standard suspension.

[Dippy]

Yes - I think that's about what mine's set to.

[Dippy]

Standard S4 (sorry, this is the only 'close-up' pic I have).



Another view - you can still see the huge gap at the front.



Now here's the latest view with H&Rs lowered 30-35mm.



So which do you think looks better? I certainly don't think the lowered car looks wierd.

[Dippy]

Thanks. Is changing the height a DIY job? And are the H&R's fully variable or does the height have to be changed in discrete amounts?

[DavidT]

Dippy,

You need the tracking done when adjusting height as the steering arm lengths are affected. I assume this is a full four wheel alignment ?

H&R is fully height adjustable because the damper is threaded on the outside and the spring is screwed down over it to set height.

Not sure about different ride heights front and rear though.

Can someone also explain the setting of 'wheel weights'


David

[Dippy]

Thanks David - looks like I'll only raise it (if I do) next time I take the car to AmD for the wheel alignment.

[jeffw]

Can someone also explain the setting of 'wheel weights'

My understanding is that raising or lowering the ride height at each corner will change the weight distribution (assuming everthing else remains the same). You'll find that Race teams will measure corner weights and use this to adjust the handling of the car.

[DrB]

Hi,
this is my first post here, and I must say I am impressed. I have been looking at other sites, but this one seems the most useful. Well done Guys!

Anyway, I am really a novice when it comes to cars. I have had my S4 for 18mths now, and I have been looking at modifications. Since reading the other posts I have an idea in my head what I want to do: I am going to change to a short shifter, the brakes and H&R coilovers, before modifying the engine.

Here you have been talking about height vs performance. My question is, that if you drop the suspension by 30mm, are you faced with problems such as grounding the front spoiler on pavements etc? Another thing is, I drove to France this year for 6 weeks to go skiing and I had to get chains for the car. (As you know you are meant to carry them by law). It took me quite sometime to find chains that would fit the S4, but eventually I did - 'Sport Spiders' - although they were never actually put on!! If you are to lower the car suspension I presume you amy have problems with damage to the wheel arches, from grounding?? How easy is to change the height of the suspension if you don't have easy access to tools etc? (One option would be to change the height of the suspension through the year).


Mark [img]images/graemlins/ban.gif[/img]

[Dippy]

Hi Mark,

Yes indeed lowering the S4 gives problems, which is why I am considering (only considering mind you) raising the car back a bit. I have the following problems:

1) Bottoming out during 'spirited driving' on hilly roads. As a result one of my cat-protectors is fairly scraped, as is the plastic undertray. However I don't really see this as a big problem, and I will just have to replace on or both at sometime in the future.

2) Scraping the front soiler (as you ask). This only happens when driving down a fairly steep slope or drive where it then goes flat at a sharp angle. This has rarely occurred, and the scraping is minor, so I'm not worried. It can also happen when parking such that the front of the car overlaps the pavement or other object. Again this has never been a major problem.

3) The speed bumps down my (not adopted) road. These are effectively about 5 rows of 'coarse' bricks sticking out of the road. If I drive slowly over them they hit parts of my exhaust. My solution is to drive a min of 15mph over them. A bit of a PITA, but I can live with it.

4) High (and usually narrow) speed-bumps in some parking areas or private roads are a total PITA. Even when driving VERY slowly over these my exhaust gets scraped, and driving fast is not an option. The access road outside Audi in Reading has these, as do many motorway service stations (where the pedestrians cross). My only solution in these cases is to drive with 2 wheels on the pavement, find another route, or just have that painful heart-stopping moment as I hear my exhaust (expensive one!) being scraped. This is the main reason why I might raise my car a bit.

I do not have problems with any public road speed-bumps so I assume that the DOT or whoever have specs for speed-bumps which are OK for me. It is always the bumps on private roads, and I can usually see that the bumps vary, proving that whoever made them was not measuring them!

Since I would have to go back to AmD to change my ride height, I'm unlikely to do it in the near future if at all. I am VERY happy with the H&R coil-overs, and am still a bit reluctant to raise the car if it costs any handling.

I too drive to ski resorts. I bought some snow chains which are designed for peformance cars and I checked the clearance, so there should be no problem on my car. However I only ever drive to France, and as you know the French are very good at keeping the roads clear of snow (but not striking farmers or truck-drivers [img]images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]). So I have never had to use my snow chains!