When I first obtained my new A4 back in July 97 I knew as soon as I saw a lowered A4 next to a my non-sport suspension A4, that something was going to have to change. Why? Because my car visibly looked too high, and because I wanted to lower the center of gravity of the car to improve handling. Being the analytical beast that I am, I set out to gather data on the various options available for the 2.8 Quattro, in an attempt to make a wise decision.

I first found someone with Eibach springs on their car with stock shocks. The owner of this car, actually an Audi Brand Specialist in California, also had another moderately modified A4 1.8T which he had just picked up. This new A4 of his came equipped with the H&R coilover set-up. I asked him to compare the two for me, and he basically said the coilover set-up was "THE" set-up to get. He stated that the Eibach springs were making his car bottom out on just about anything he went over, and that they seemed to be worn out only after about 12-16 months of use. I ended up going for a ride in his new 1.8T car (which is now owned by Simon Yiu and friend of mine) and felt the ride and handling myself. His car was very aggressive looking and on the test drive, it took freeway onramps like a go-cart. I could tell that this set-up was one that was quickly travelling to the top of my list.

Fellow A4 owner Edmund Louie, of SoCal, also had this set-up. He was visiting relatives in NorCal the next weekend and I asked if we could meet so I could get another impression of the coilovers on a 2.8 30V car. He agreed to meet and let me drive the car myself. I was jazzed. Edmund and I met an Audi dealer and then made our way with his 98 2.8 30V through the Stanford campus up Sand Hill Road to the 280 freeway in the Menlo Park/Palo Alto area. If anybody is familiar with this area you will remember that it is known for its autobahn similarities. We had fun on the onramp off Sand Hill Road to 280 southbound and scared the bejesus out of some elderly couple in a Dodge K car...we must have come out of thin air...or so they thought. My impression...I was sold on the coilovers...not too harsh ...not too stiff...just right for spirited street driving...AND...they had the ability to be adjusted in ride height.

Next came the decision of where to get them. I had shopped around and got quotes from about $1,500 to $2250 (don't ask where this one was from) for the set of four coilovers. I ended up buying them from Pete/Sunny at Autobahn International Motorsports in Portland Oregon. I found a place to get them installed, Motorsport One in Redwood City (no longer in business), and got that done for about $250. The coilover installation is not one that I recommend you do yourself. Have other A4 owners done the installation themselves? Yes, I know of one or two...but I still don't recommend it due to the complexity of the install. During the install we had discussions on what the ride height was to be. According to the H&R brochure, the Audi A4 coilovers can be adjusted from 0.75 - 2.25" below stock height. We initially settled on the middle of that range, or about 1.5" lower than non-sport stock height...which later was adjusted slightly lower. This allowed for good range of motion. Upon initial set-up the car had a slight rake downward in the front. Thinking that my 2.8 was already pretty front heavy, I decided to get rid of this slight rake, and actually make the rear slightly lower than the front. I considered having the car corner weighted to "really" balance the suspension, but I couldn't find anyone who "really" knew what they were doing...or rather...I was to lazy to look for someone who "really" knew what they were doing. Afterwards, I took my car to the local Audi dealership for a 4-wheel alignment for about $95. Proper alignment of a quattro car with a Hunter Alignment machine includes the use of a special attachment to the alignment machine...make sure that whomever aligns your car uses this special attachment.

One additional item you should know is that the H&R coilover for the A4 is currently not adjustable for dampening, that is, you cannot adjust the shock for soft and stiff settings like you can with some of the Koni shocks. The shock in the coilover is preset and cannot be altered on or off the car.

As of August 99, I now have about 44K miles on my car...and about 30K of that mileage was with the coilovers installed. Am I still happy? Yes, very much so. Is the H&R coilover suspension the least expensive option out there? No, it is not. Would I install them again? Probably, but with a slightly stiffer spring since I tend to do several autocross events per year...and several driving school events per year. These type of track events take a toll on springs and shocks. Roland at H&R is currently working with H&R in Germany to come up with a stiffer set-up for the more aggressive Audi A4 owner. For me, this new set-up is exactly what the doctor ordered.

One last note...are there other coilovers available for the A4 currently? Yes there are...KW coilovers, ABT coilovers, and a few others. 

  By: Chris Lynn     Email: NA    (Nov-01)

Make & model of car the product was used on: 2000 S4

About one year after I bought my 2000 S4, I installed H&R's coilover kit.  I was and still am very impressed with the compromise between handling performance and ride comfort, when it works.  The issue that has me considering a different brand of suspension is reliability. After about 6 months the rear PAIR of dampers were leaking and ultimately empty by the time they were replaced.  There had been no signs of damage to any part of the suspension and they were installed by a VW/Audi specialist.  The car had only been driven on the rather tame streets of Houston so the incident seemed to be an unfortunate anomaly, and thus, H&R replaced them on warranty.

Here I am one year later with the left rear shock again visibly leaking oil and rapidly losing damping control.  Only now I live in Denver where there's no H&R dealer and able to get no direct support from H&R USA....  It seems strange that in a town Denver which must have one of the highest number of Audi drivers in the US, that H&R puts in such a poor customer service performance.

On the basis of these experiences, I caution anyone considering H&R's. I'll be trying Abt coilovers next unless anyone has a better idea..?