awdinut

ride and does the car still make the same incremental changes with the various ride settings?

MP4.2+6.0

Editorial note: your post seems to be in here twice (look further below)--you ought to delete the other one that maybe you forgot. Plus it's on the "other board"--that all makes for a recipe of making it harder for users to find the assembled info in one place. You decide, but at least I'll be less inclined to contribute w/ info when it's the shotgun approach.

Maybe the ride deteriorates, but only in the most aggressive dynamic setting. Mine is dropped only about 7 mm in front and somewhat more in the back--there is a lot of fender gap in the rear. I now find on rougher pavement like a freeway that needs a new pavement job that the ride gets a bit aggravating so I take it out of dynamic. Usually I have it on the automatic setting though anyway.

Note my car has 20" wheels with the 275/35's in a summer type (PS2's and previously SportMaxx's) In asking his question, I think you want to calibrate it with tires too--will have an effect on ride quality. Car also has non sports air shocks per W12 norm, but the S8 roll bars [started with the sport roll bars stock for W12]. As mine is set up I really like the ride--smooth but really glued down with minimum roll or dive/squat even w/ all the HP.

Yes, it still has the full range of travel, meaning in the dynamic mode it does the full 20mm drop at standstill. My setting isn't that aggressive, but I think I have seen posts saying about 15mm is the limit for dropping it and still have the full 20mm step down. But note, IF ONE HAs THE SPORT SUSPENSION (don't think you could on an '04 though), you don't get the 20mm and playing with the default ride height won't change that. You only get the 5mm. Thus, it's really the non sport version where this mod gives you lots of MMI tunable height variance to deal with the real world of tall driveways and parking stops. In my case by the way, I chose what I did as a real world compromise. The car isn't that high actually to start. For example, if I have a flat in front, you can't even get any normal floor jack under there unless you put it in lift mode. Like most Audi's it has a big front overhang too. Thus, lowering it a lot means lots of scraped chins. Where I ended up with my tire fitment is basically the net ride height of a car with either standard 18 or 19 inch tire fitments. An oft overlooked area is the 20's are bigger in diameter; 27.7" vs. 27.0" more or less (S8's with the 265's about split this difference). Thus it rides a little higher to start, but fills the fenders more at same time. The critical clearance areas are the lower front bumper skin and then up near the front until about the firewall in general; that is, the back really does seem to have more leeway; not surprising given the raked setting of the car for looks and high speed aerodynamics. I could maybe go a few more mm, but in the real world of drveway dips, parking blocks and others occasionally borrowing the car who wouldn't know any better, I think no more than a modest drop is the more prudent choice to avoid the body shop over time.

awdinut

I looked for my first posting of my question after I posted it and it was not on the current page of posts. Seeings how the current page goes back a fair bit in time I concluded that the post did not go through for some reason. Why would I go looking elsewhere on the forum for that post...I figured it would have posted in chronilogic order. No "shotgun approach" by me intentionally.

I am always amazed (and greatful) at the generous amount of time given in doing a lion's share of question answering done on this forum by certain individuals. But one would hope that no one does so if doing so makes one feel put upon.