Which coilovers?

[northernpar]

Been looking around at what I could replace the RS4 with but didn't come up with anything so have decided to hold on to it for another couple of years and give it some TLC (wheels need redone, discs/pads all round plus lost some clearcoat over the OSR arch). Anyhoos I have a couple of questions wrt coilovers which I am considering to remove DRC failures from the equation:

What is the consensus on the best coilover to replace DRC SS+; KWV3 or PSS9's?

Is it worth fitting uprated ARB's at the same time?

Any recommendations for an independant in or around Aberdeen to do the suspension work?

No intention of ever taking it on track just some 'spirited' road driving but would like adjustment on both height and handling. At the moment the KWV3's seem to tick all of the boxes so interested in hearing from anyone with PSS9's fitted.

Cheers
Graeme

[Timster]

Sonny's probably your man... to ask.

He's got the KWV3's

[bam_bam]

I've got PSS9s on the C5 RS, thye're ok but if I was to do it all over again I'd get the Stasis RS6 kit. Stasis RS4 kit here.
It'd also be worth looking at AST but I'm pretty sure they've not developed a B7 RS kit yet, if they did, it'd be top shelf too.
Leaving you with the perfectly good KWv3s. I'm sure the Sun will be along soon...

[lma07]

Try Clark motorsport, kintore. Heard good things about them.

[JohnnerLad]

Clark Motorsport next to Polished Bliss

[sonny]

If your looking at a drc replacement then just go for the KWs, the PSS9s are also good. Main reason I went for the KWs was due to the anti corrosion ability, the PSS9s have better access to change the settings, on the KWs you have to jack the car up.

As Bambam says, Ohlins are the daddys but, do cost almost double more.

If you go with the KWs and dont like the firm ride then just dial it out. Having uprated ARBs will make the ride more firmer and at times uncomfortable.

Theres a few cheaper makes kicking around, avoid. Buy cheap buy twice.

[mark758]

KW made the OE dampers so looks they're on a win win situation here

[sonny]

KW made the OE dampers so looks they're on a win win situation here

They made the dampers but not the DRC valves

[gareth_oau]

IIRC, i've heard elsewhere that the STaSIS are higher in ongoing maintenance costs. anyone heard this?

[JackS4]

I am on PSS9's and cannot fault them, just make sure to upgrade your ARB's at the same time as OEM doesn't work so well without DRC.

J

[adsgreen]

IIRC, i've heard elsewhere that the STaSIS are higher in ongoing maintenance costs. anyone heard this?

The question can only be answered with "it depends".

If you are after a good all round maintenance free option then the others are good.
The StaSIS kits use Ohlin dampers which I've had on all my track and race cars. From my experience (and this includes DRC) they are the finest dampers you can buy. The top 3/4 way kits give an on road compromise that makes DRC look like jelly but get them on track and you can really push them. Not saying DRC is bad - far from it, but it does have a little bit more road bias than you'd want. As an OEM shock DRC's are simply excellent.

The downsides? obviously cost - I think I've been quoted over 3k supplied and fitted so looking to be at least twice the cost of a competitor (but still cheaper than a full DRC change).
The other downside is that these a precision engineered shocks and they do need looking after. With my other cars with ohlins I figured in a 4 year lifespan before needed to be stripped down and re vavled. They don't go "bang" like DRC when they fail but you'll notice over a long time the ride not quite as sharp as it perhaps once was.

This is from other cars considerably lighter than the RS4 so I would not be surprised if the extra weight accelerated the wear but then I would also expect the RS4 shocks to be bigger and better able to cope with the weight.

So in summary, if you want to get every last drop out of the car, prepared to put aside a couple k' for the future for servicing them then go for the stasis kit. If you don't think that you'll notice the difference then it's really an extravagance - the other shocks will get close to the stasis for most on the road antics.

[Shoppinit]

I have driven a RS4 on SS+ and My RS6 on PSS9 back to back. The ride, handling and comfort are very similar. I'm very happy with the PSS9.

Don't know about the B7, but on the RS6 you have to remove the KW to adjust them. Royal PITA.

[JackS4]

On the B7 the car does not need to be lifted (+ nothing needs to be removed) and adjusting the shock settings is a 2 minute job.

J

[Shoppinit]

KW made the OE dampers so looks they're on a win win situation here

Are you sure? I thought that was KYB?

[northernpar]

Cheers guys.

On the basis of only looking to keep the car for another 2-3 years (possibly less) it looks like the KWV3's seem the best option for me on the balance of things. If I was planning on tracking the car then the Ohlins would be the way to go. Will probably leave the OE ARB's and see how it goes if there's an issue I can always have these replaced later.

Graeme