mwardA4

I know one thing, I came from a rear wheel drive sports car into an A4. I wouldn't change my set up unless I was going to do it right.

jorgecopa

Sounds better. The installers are both Audi techs with 10+yrs and I usually have around 30k at turn in time.

VipinLJ

I am running 034Motorsport lowering springs on my car. I googled and read 100s (I'm not kidding) of threads regarding lowering springs, blowing struts, ride quality etc. I was willing to take a chance with the ride quality since I have two other cars at home in case I wanted a plush ride. Installed the springs and I've done around 300 miles on these new springs and I can guarantee you that the ride quality is as good as stock. I'd go to the extent of saying the ride quality is slightly better (maybe because I expected the ride quality to become stiffer with the lowering spring; idk whether it is placebo or not but it DEFINITELY isn't worse than stock).

Regarding half-assing it. Well. I didn't want coilovers since I'll probably return this and buy an S4 once the lease is over. That will have coilovers since I'll be keeping it.

mwardA4

300 miles

yb28

My bad jorge hahah

I'm not bashing on coilovers, I had them when I was modding my B6 .. but I dont understand why people keep stating this, it really depends on the manufacturer and how they engineer the springs, I got 034 and it literally felt the same (and I'm a guy that notice very little things) in terms of ride quality. How I know? I put on about 1000km a week over the same roads, trust me.. I know all the pot holes and rough patches without even looking at the road. Couple guys here got ED and H&R are satisfied with their purchases. All these manufactures did their R&D using the B9 (at least 034 and ED for sure), so its designed specifically for the car. I dont see how that is 'half - assed', I mean its not like we took the angle grinder out and cut the springs...

with H&Rs (not bashing it, just stating what I've gathered), many of my friends have reported rougher rides, but again, the springs are also more aggressive than what they have for b9s.

Also ride quality is subjective, Vipin and I both said its the same doesnt mean you will feel the same. But to be honest, I had no idea how it feels before I order them as I'm one of the very few that ordered the springs before it was released. If youre lucky enough I'd suggest finding someone that has the type of spring youre interested in installed on their car and go for a joyride..that way you can know for sure..

I know a bunch of people that got coilovers and said the ride is too stiff for their daily commute but awesome on the track. It all depends on your application and what youre trying to achieve (Looks, track, comfort...etc) IMO.

btw I've put about 3000-3500km so far on the springs

jorgecopa

I was just like you thinking why the hell am I messing around with the suspension of a brand new car and I'm going to ruin the ride quality. I just hated the look of my car it looked like it was on stilts. The ride quality only suffered when I went from 18s to 19s that smaller sidewall is what made the difference not the springs. I'm very happy with the look and the ride quality Its still very comfortable and quite. I could have saved money and time by getting the sport suspension but didn't know any better until I came upon these forums. Trust me it won't happen again.

VipinLJ

Yup. I guess before, people used to say lowering springs are crap and coilovers are the best. But I think that time is long gone. Lowering springs obviously aren't better than coilovers but they have definitely closed the gap. And yes. I've read about people with coilovers complain about ride quality too.

SoySaucePrince

TBH I'm looking at coilovers simply because they seem to be the only option without the risk of blowing a strut down the line.
The reason I want to lower my car is for the look, not to mention my previous car was a 328i, so I'm used to low cars and how they handle.
I love how the B9 looks already, I just want it to look more aggressive with the lowered body.

Back2BA6

i had h&r sport springs on both my b8.5 a4 and c7 a6 3.0. each car was driven for 40-50,000 miles with aftermarket springs on from almost day one. both cars had factory sport suspensions. Total amount of struts needing replacement over that 80-100,000 miles of driving on lowering springs with sport suspension = 0. hope this help a little bit. I cant speak for non sport suspension owners unfortunately.

tjones78

Just like it depends on the spring, it depends on the coilover. A lot of the coilovers without adjustable dampening ride pretty poorly in my experience, and usually add more noise due to the design. If you aren't opting for a PSS10 or something similar, personally I don't think you are doing yourself any favors versus a properly developed lowering spring. From my quick googling, it seems that there are many complaints about hr springs and the ride quality. Time will tell, but it seems 034 and emmanuele design have a better solution that will play nice with the factory shocks. It also makes sense (to me at least) that if the spring rates are much stiffer then the shocks will have a difficult time absorbing the rebound energy (leading to decreased life).