Egil A64.2s - S6

Talk to the dealer. Does not cost anything to ask them.

PaulW

Brent, I know your car, and I would suggest that you change out the shocks first. That is normally what can cause large changes in suspension feel and geometry. Springs last a long, long time.

Or if you want to buy my OEM springs from my car with 70K on them I'll sell the to you for $100!

However, it's a real PITA to replace rear springs on our cars, but changing the rear shocks is probably a 2 hour job.

Paul

Paldi

Measurements may be neccessary to determine if the rear is lower than other cars equipped like yours. Also may want to check and see if the front end is sitting too high.

barryl

Hello,

you wrote:

Virtually anything tempered that is exposed to heat and/or bending, does lose temper over time. All things metallic exposed to bending, will show metal fatigue over time. It's the very law of nature, and we can't change that - only perhaps make it last a bit longer.

--

I am not an engineer. I don't even play one on TV.
However, I do read (and remember) a lot. And I trust
the experts.

From "Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing" by Carroll Smith:
Page 28 - Fatigue limit - how long will it las?
When a graph of cycles to failure at various
stress levels is plotted - as was done for a bar
of E 4130-N chrom moly steel in the graph that appears
here - it will show that at some level of stress the
test specimens will stop breaking, no matter how many
cycles they are subjected to. At this point the curve becomes horizontal, or nearly so. The fatigue
limit of a material is indicated by the point at
which the curve approaches the horizontal. It is
defined as the maximum stress at which the material
will withstand an infinite number of completely
reversed cycles of stress. IT IS NORMALLY ASSUMED
THAT IF A SPECIMEN CAN SURVIVE SEVERAL MILLION
STRESS CYCLES, IT CAN SURVIVE FOREVER." Caps added
by me for emphasis.

Internal engine parts, like valve springs, pistons,
etc. are different, in that the heat can effect
the molecular composition. Other parts, like coil
springs, sway bars, control arms, etc, do not
experience high heat, so they are not subject to
the same effects. Corrosion, like rust, can and
will effect a part, and will reduce the life.

--

Coil springs do not lose their rate, but they can sag. Perhaps you are confusing this? Perhaps I'm not understanding you?

--

As long as the spring is not overloaded, it should
not suffer plastic deformation (sag). I couldn't
find any information in my books on this. However,
the Eibach web site says that their springs will
never sag or wear out.

I'm done with this.
Barry

ryoung

try to measure your ride height and compare it to other A8's, and replace the springs if necessay.

Even <A HREF="http://www.hypercoils.com/text/articles.htm">Hyperco</a> only guarantees &lt;2% change in free length (the most common problem) or spring rate. The two of the three Carrol Smith articles discuss the problem of sagging springs on race cars, and Hyperco has had reports that the other "lifetime guaranteed spring they were using settled inches". Perhaps the definition of lifetime here is the same as when discussing Audi's tranny fluid.

docmusolf

Dog is RIP see old post for full sad story. Keep the picture there in memory only

April

right this moment ;-) I've tried everything else except replacing the springs - and have seen people try the same in the past.

You are correct in assuming that the milage and age are too low for this to be popping up, without outside influencing factors or a manufacturing defect. I'm just point out that it happens.

Ming Blues

As was stated by a wise sage below, the only way to tell if your springs have sagged is to measure your car against another of similar vintage and equipment. If yours sits lower, replace the rear springs and get on with your life! The previous owner may have been carrying logs in there.