GPO - Needs a car!

Ok, Question 1:
I would like to stiffen up my '96 2.8Q suspension and lower it a little as well. Can I get away with just springs and if so, what springs should i get? I'm not looking for a totally slammed look, just something slightly lower than stock.

Question 2:
I bought the car used with around 60,000 miles. There are some rock chips in the front of the hood and a decent gouge in the rear bumper. Aside from a few dings and light scratches here and there (getting fixed on friday), i'd like to take care of the chips and that bumper gouge. Would it be cheaper to buy a new hood and bumper or should i just get them repaired by a body shop? What would ya'll suggest? I'm not real hung up on the cosmetic flaws cause it was a used car but i wouldn't mind fixing them either.

JasonM OOOO

1. You can GET away with it, will it be ideal, no. The car will handle better with shocks. Which ones to get is up to you, Audi sells Eibach thats lower the car, H&R are very poopular, along with Intrax.

2. It will be cheaper to fix the defects, b/c a new bumper is 350 and a hood is like the same and they come unpainted so you will have to pay for that anyway plus the labor to take them off and back on. Get them painted by a good shop and they will look good as new.

WYSIWYG

you might want to check out www.neuspeed.com|audi|springs

Andy Hedin

....with higher mileage, for two reasons:

1) There was no "sport" suspension offered back then, so you have just the standard suspension on there.

2) With higher mileage (you mention you bought it with 60,000 miles), the stock shocks have used up at least half of their life already.

So with standard (i.e., non-aggressive) shocks with 60,000 miles on them, I would not recommend a spring-only swap. Shocks aren't that much $$$....plus you'll pay for just one install (instead of two) if you do the shocks and springs at the same time.