AudiWorld Forums

Audi A6 C6: Suspension Modifications

This article covers the best and most popular suspension modifications for your hard earned money. No matter if you want your car a little lower for looks, or if you plan on doing track days or autocross, the suspension is a great place to start your mods.

By Brett Foote - April 13, 2016

This article applies to the Audi A6 C6 (2004-2011)

Suspension modifications are right up there with powertrain mods when it comes to popularity in the aftermarket. After all, who wants to make their car faster if it can't carry that speed into a corner without winding up on the wrong side of a ditch (sorry, drag racers)? There are a plethora of suspension mods for pretty much every usage of your Audi A6, and even though these cars came from the factory with pretty stout handling, there's always room for improvement in looks and function.

Suspension Modifications

Figure 2. The Audi A6.

The most popular suspension upgrades for the A6 are springs/coilovers, wheel/tires, and sway bars. All three can significantly change the handling characteristics of your ride, as well as the ride quality and appearance, so several considerations must be taken before taking the plunge and dropping your hard earned money on any of them. But in the end, all three are very worthwhile investments.

Springs/Shocks

Koni shock and spring set up

DIY Cost – $200-$800

Professional Cost – $400-$1,200

Skill Level – Moderate; removing springs requires a good quality spring compressor.

Aftermarket springs are a cheap and easy way to improve your handling, stiffen the ride, and lower the car up to two inches. Generally, the lower you want to go, the stiffer the springs to avoid bottoming out. Sure, these aftermarket parts tighten things up and help the car stay flatter in the corners, but too stiff, or too low, and you are going to have a car that is a pain to drive on anything but a smooth race track.

Since you have to remove the shocks and springs from the car, and then remove the springs from the shocks, in order to install lowering springs, why spend a little more money and save some time by replacing your shocks at the same time? Companies like Koni and Bilstein even offered matched kits with springs and shocks ready to install, which allows you to avoid having to take apart the stock shock assembly. Good quality aftermarket shocks will deliver better handling, and still have a nice daily ride on the street, and they are better matched to the lower, stiffer shocks.

Wheels and Tires

Audi equipped many S6 performance models with 20 inch rims

DIY Cost – $500-$2,000+

Professional Cost – $700-$2,000+

Skill Level – Beginner; anyone can install with basic tools and skills.

While not technically a suspension component, the right wheels and tires can have a massive impact on the way your car handles in corners, and rides on the bumpy roads. Lightweight wheels mean less unsprung weight, which means better suspension performance overall. Large, heavy wheels tend to put undue strain on the suspension and literally slow things down. Avoid upgrading to cheap larger diameter wheels just for the look, because even the high quality wheels tend to get heavy as they get larger, seriously affecting your acceleration, and the required low aspect ratio tires will ruin your ride.

Tires are available for all types of driving environments, and the right set of sticky summer tires can dramatically improve the handling characteristics of your car, without affecting the ride much at all. Couple a nice set of lightweight wheels and sticky tires with some quality shocks and springs, and you'll likely have all the cornering ability you'll ever want. At least for a while...

Sway Bars

Aftermarket sway bars for the A6

DIY Cost – $200-$500

Professional Cost – $300-$600

Skill Level – Easy; basically just a straight bolt on that anyone can complete.

Sway bars can have a dramatically positive effect on the handling of any Audi, which tend to have a lot of understeer dialed in from the factory. Replacing your factory rear sway bar with a thicker one is a cost effective and easy installation that improves weight transfer, and keeps the rear of the car planted in corners without affecting ride much. Replace both the front and rear bars, and you can transform the handling of the car in corners, eliminating virtually all of the body roll. It all adds up to a win-win situation that easily explains why Audi owners love sway bars so much.

Adjustable Coilovers

A set of aftermarket coilovers

DIY Cost – $700-$1,500

Professional Cost – $900-$2,000

Skill Level – Moderate to Difficult; installing coilovers is only moderately hard, but adjusting them properly takes some skill.

While you can simply swap on a set of springs or shocks, adjustable coilovers are a better but more expensive option. Coilover shock absorbers allow you to adjust the ride height on the unit with a threaded collar. On top of that, many of the better units have damping adjustments as well, so you can soften them for daily freeway commutes, then stiffen them up for a weekend canyon drive.

Installing adjustable coilovers is only as hard as changing the springs and shocks for other factory type units, so you can do it yourself. The only issue that requires a little skill is setting them up to actually improve the handling of your car, and not just the looks.

Related Discussions