JayS8

Just installed an H&R coilover suspension on the S8. Improve the handling of your A8 with factory sport springs and shocks! Hoppen sells this kit for $2150, I am asking $1400. Will lower your car approximately 20mm. I installed Intrax spring on my 99 A8 and those lowered the car about 3 inches, so these are far more subtle.

Minimarvel

I have also ordered the H&R kit. Is the one you have with Bilstein shocks? Is it adjustable? how have you set it up (what height) Did you have the antiroll bar changed? and finally.....How much improvemnet has it made to the ride and handling.

I am very much interested in your views.

JayS8

there were only H&R markings on the shocks/struts. The fronts are adjustable but the rears are not (separate springs/shocks). I left the fronts at the height set by H&R, per the recommendation of the vendor. This seemed to provide the perfect visual effect but I did not have time to go get the car corner balanced so it could possibly need adjustment. The sway bars are stock. As for the ride/handling, I will report on it later, as I just installed these last night . I will try to post pictures of the car later on as well.

Minimarvel

I found the factory set up resulted in vague steering and soft ride. I am very interested in you findings.

Where are you in the world? I am in the UK. Do H&R have a web site?

Thanks alot for your help.

JayS8

opinions of what is soft vs. stiff. Have you driven a standard A8? The S8 is considerably firmer than the A8. If you want a firmer ride in your S8, you will like the H&R coilovers because it is slightly firmer than the stock S8 setup. After a day of driving with the coilovers, I have to say that the car is tighter, but not uncomfortably so. It is definitely not as stiff as what someone else had rumored to me. If you were going straight from an A8 to this setup, it would be a dramatic difference I suppose. I have had modified M3s and 911s in the past, so I am somewhat numb to stiff suspensions.

As I said, the car is tighter and it does understeer a bit more, but the nice thing about coilovers is that you can change the springs easily with different rates to change handling characterics. For now I don't think I will change springs, but perhaps look into adding more negative camber in the near future. One thing for sure is, the car looks sweet. Here is the link to H&R, although it is in German:

http://www.hr-spezialfedern.de/

Oh, and to answer your question I am in Silicon Valley.