Obli

The weekend before last...

It was early Saturday morning (that's a new experience!) and I was all excited... new bits for my '91 90 20V and I was doing the work...!

A set of four new Bilstein Sprint dampers, a set of Eibach "Pro-Kit" lowering springs and bushes galore; top strut mounts, wishbone bushes and rear axle bushes.

"Perhaps I can get it all done and catch the local garage Sunday morning for my wheel alignment" I thought - not so... oh, how I was wrong...

Sunday night, it was getting dark and I had only done 1.5 of the 4 corners. Had to take Monday off work as my car was "off the road".

Anyway, approx 20 hours in all (!) and my car has new suspension on the front (no new bushes though but of course, the top strut mounts are in place).

The operation was not anywhere near as straight forward as I had thought... lack of correct tools and therfore the correct ones having to be puchased, a 'newbie' on the job alone (that's me!) and shifting things that haven't been shifted since that big German man at Audi tightened everything up with a 5 metre long wrench 11 years ago... etc.

Anyway, when I get the opportunity, the original rear suspension will get the same treatment along with the bushes...

As it is, shouldn't my car be sitting lower at the front now? 30-35mm? As it is, the REAR (OEM) looks slightly lower and the front looks almost higher than it was originally... approx 7 days after fitment and the wheel arch gap must be about 8-10cm.

Is it true that it takes about a month until the springs settle?

Has anyone else experienced such trouble or am I just being a fool?

Troubles aside, the handling already feels great... well, it should do - the front shocks were absolutely 'kaput' - the shaft of the damper would fall inside the cylinder under gravity! The rears are apparently worse...!!!

Hopefully this weekend the weather will be better than it was last weekend and fingers crossed, the rear will be easier!!

Ummm... sorry for 'going on'...

Obli

odj

it might have been lower before just due to the fact that your shocks were shot, ya know?

Obli

Yes but wouldn't it be the springs 'doing' the height adjustment... spring sag?! Such a thing?

MrPolak

I just did an '89 90Q H&R spring, Boge Turbo shock and HD strut bearing install. It's easy to put in the springs in incorrectly. Heck, it's easy to put the rear springs in the front because uncompressed rear springs are taller than the fronts!

The top 'hat' of the strut assembly has a detent that butts against the top end of the spring coil. Get this wrong and you could effectively raise the front of your car. This 90Q had shocks that were original, shot and leaking (150K miles). After the install the car now sits nearly 2 inches lower in the front than my '88 90. The rear is about 1 inch lower.

Entire job took 6 hours with a car lift and all the right tools.

Obli

Definitely the correct springs on the front - the fronts are shorter, wider and generally 'beefier'.

The springs are seated correctly, the butt of the spring inside and against the 'recess' of the upper spring cover.

A friend of mine stated that his car took about a month to settle..... but I am not so sure...

Maybe the 20V is lower as standard... and what with knackered dampers and springs...

I shall recheck the installation but I was kind of hoping someone could clarify what my friend told me - about a month or so to settle... ?!

Cheers

Obli

ARK

The old front strut top bearing/bushing had compressed more than the drop of the new springs!