Lenie

Or INTRAX? Do all of these springs match well with Koni or Biltein dampers? Which Set should I go for?

JeffK (B6S4)

If you are looking for a CUSHY ride, stick w/Eibach . . . but look out for rubbing if you are running wider tires.

My Intrax springs still ride quite nicely . . . 15K miles after they were installed. They are stiff when they need to be, yet softer on smooth flat roads.

All of the springs you mentioned will work just fine with Konis or Bilsteins . . . but you will see more people running Koni/Intrax or Bilstein/H&R or Bilstein/Eibach b/c they have been sold as "matched sets" in the past by various aftermarket tuners.

jasyn³

~7k miles on them. i'm thinking $800.

Ray Khan

I drove a car with some A4 ones this weekend and it was definitely better than my vortrag/bilsteins setup...stiffer, but the handling made up for it.

RKA

I had the Eibach and Bilsteins, and I wasn't happy with it. The Eibachs were very soft, and the Bilsteins were pretty firm...overall, they just didn't seem to work well together. I've driven in other cars with H&R Sports and Bilsteins, and body motions were better controlled in those cars, with little to no sacrifice to comfort when compared to the Eibach/Bilstein set up.

If you have the money though, I would highly recommend coilovers. At least get a ride in a car with coilovers, so you can judge for yourself, before you finalize your decision.

Regardless of which direction you go, you're going to sacrifice some ride quality for the increased performance. In my opinion, while the coilovers are slightly firmer, the ride is equal to or better than an H&R Sport and Bilstein set up. If you test drive the two set ups, you'll probably see what I mean. BTW, I'm talking about the A4 coilovers, not the S4 coilovers...though I suspect the S4 coilovers will work just fine in an A4. I have S4 c/o's in my S4 and they feel too soft...almost as if they were designed with the A4 in mind.

Ray Khan

Of course everything is subjectoive. I went from Intrax springs to vortrags and I am still not happy. I've driven cars with H7R sport/bilsteins, Eurosport (eibach)?bilstiens, H7R coilovers, OEM sport springs/bilsteins and of course my own setups. The worst were the H7R sports/bilstein and Intrax/bilsteins. They were too soft. The OEM sport with bilsteins feels prety close to my current setup. The best were both Eurosport/bilstien setups and the H&R A4 coilovers. A lot less body roll, a bit firmer, but worth it for the performance gain. I know people say the Eibach's are soft, it seems the Audi Eurosport ones might be different than the pro kits after all. My car still feels floaty and has body roll. I think the spring rates a BS. Also, I am wondering about my shocks. I bought them used. Maybe my shocks are gone. Either way, I'm confused.

RKA

I've spent a bit of time with Stasis, asking questions and such, and I think what I've learned is only the tip of the iceburg. Throwing a good suspension set up together is a science, and as each day goes by, I find a little more respect for the guys at Audi that spend their days doing suspension tuning on these cars. It's just a shame that they design the suspensions with cheap parts, and uninspired goals.

Anyway, you can put a set of 600 lb springs in a car and make it feel relatively soft, compared to a car with 400 lb springs. It just depends on what kind of shocks you package with the springs. There is also a delicate balance between shock valving front to back. Some of the better shocks have digressive valving, where the valving changes based upon piston speed. The relationship between the piston speed and the shock valving is also very important. There is also variance in shock valving for most shocks on the market (koni, bilstein, etc.). You can buy four identical shocks and bench test them, and you'll find that they don't perform identically.

It's damn near impossible for a consumer to evaluate a suspension using numbers alone. Add to the equation the subjective nature of observations being made, and it's hard to make a decision based on the input of other people...you just have to experience it for yourself, and decide. Hopefully, if the tuner that put the suspension package together took their time and tuned it correctly for your car, then as a consumer, the only thing left to determine is did this suspension strike the right balance between performance and comfort *for you*?

Yes, what you say is true...it is a big black box. With the experience you have now, perhaps it's time to move towards a custom set up that meets your requirements? Yeah, there is the money aspect, and unfortunately, there is really only one place for Audi owners to go at this time, if they want a custom suspension set up.

As for the discussion of Eurosport springs and Eibach's, that door was closed and sealed a long time ago. The key to that door was buried on the North Pole the last time I heard....

Ray Khan

if I can land a new pairt of shocks for free, it might be the way to go for now. If there is a differnce, great, if not, I can probably sell the whole setup to someone who isn't looking for a stiff setup. Since the hyperco springs are so expensive right now and can only be bought in a package, I shoudl have no problems getting rid of them. I can't see myself throwing down big bucks on coilvers. I would take my chances on something used most likely and see what happens. I am trying to get the rates on a set of v1 KW S4 coilovers for sale locally. That might be the way to go for me. Who knows. As much as I want to accept my suspension and move on to big turbo, I can't be happy with this car and knowing how much better it could be. I have to address this and move on. On that same not, driving the stage 3 car last week was a bad idea too. I need not tease myself like that.

RKA

Well, I've been seeing a lot of used H&R coilovers for sale in the $800-900 range. For all practical purposes, I already sold mine, and they will be on the car for the next month or so. If you're patient, I'm sure you can fine a good deal on a nearly new set (<10K miles) for under $900.

I had KW V2's in my A4 early on. They are a bit "stiffer" than the H&R's when you have the rebound dialed in just right. Handling in the turns was amazing, but I objected to the ride quality (it was good, but not as smooth/soft as I wanted). If you don't mind a penalty to ride quality, you will be impressed with the performance you'll see out of these. AFAIK, the V1's and V2's only differ in that the V2's have adjustable rebound (only adjustable when suspension is removed from the car).

I feel the same way as you though...I would like to move on to downpipes and an exhaust, but I'm just not happy with the suspension where it is, and if I leave it that way, it'll just bug me! So, I'm just going to deal with it until I'm happy, and then move on.

And yes, driving in the big turbo car probably wasn't the best idea! :-P Just don't drive down to PES and get a ride in their 700+ hp 996TT. That would probably unhappy with every car you'll ever own! :-P

Ray Khan

thanks for the info about the KW's...they are only $750 and have 7000 miles on them