Clues

Some of you may have seen my post a few days ago as well as read the experiences of a few others. I really want to warn people of going with the above-mentioned setup. It would look to be a very conservative and safe setup given the manufactureres involved and the wheel/tire size - but it does NOT work. n My tires are hitting the fender on hard turns.

The primary culprit IMO are the Pro-kit springs. They clearly drop the front end very low and then allow enough travel for the wheels to hit. Now in fairness to Eibach, two other factors do contribute to the problem - wheel width/offset and the Bilstein Sport shocks. The ET35 wheel offset and width, although standard for aftermarket wheels, do push the wheel profile closer to the fender. Also the extra 1/2 inch of wheel width (7" vs 7.5) also reduces the clearance. The Bilstein Sport shocks are not adjustable in the front. I m told that Bilstein does sell a custom adjustable front shock through Neuspeed which would allow me to raise the front by increments of 10mm. This would reduce the likelihood of rubbing but since the springs compression rate does not change, it would still be possible to rub in hard corners.

So now that I have this setup and paid for the install, I need to make some changes. I have a few options:

- Try a new Spring (e.g., H&R, Intrax or Eibach EuroSport)
- Roll the fenders - I'm not sure this can be done) >
-Buy a set of Neuspeed Adjustable Shocks which would allow me to raise the front by 10mm - 20mm.
- If the Pro-kits dropped my car by more than 1.4", than they may do something to help fix the situation. They said that because I am using a non-stock wheel offset, they cannot be responsible for the rubbing - BUT, if the car dropped more than the advertised 1.4", than the springs may be designed improperly. This seems weird - especially if I can Alter the drop using the Neuspeed adjustable Bilsteins....

The worst part is that it looks llike I'll be out at leat a few hundred dollars just to undo what was supposed to be an UPGRADE!. Any other suggestions?

Chris
A4 1.8Tqs

WClark

My setup: Eurosports, Neuspeed/Bilsteins on stock height perch, 18x8 et35 wheels, 224/40x18 tires.

I get a bit of rubbing from the top of the front fender lip / wheel well liner, but only when in a charp turn AND a lot of suspension compression. This combo can happen in places like turning into my driveway from the street, when the inside tire in the turn is the one that rubs. The rub is not severe and all I have to do to prevent it is to slow a bit or open up the turn radius a little, or both.

One more point. I can also acheive the same rub with the stock 16" wheels (running winter tires) but it takes a little more speed.