DHS

Friends,
I just took my '01 Nogaro out of mothballs for a spring run. Bought it last November and drove it from Florida to Maine where it has been in my garage since. Ran my 99.5 A4 all winter. I plan to sell it and run the S4 year round. It is a great car and I am pleased to have it. But there is one particular A4 quality that I'd like to have in the S4. With the sport package, I find that the A4 feels considerable more nimble and has less body roll than its big brother. What is the best way to remedy this. Keep in mind that I can not afford to lose much height given snow concerns. There are no track outings in my future. I am running the original Potenzas (car only has 18k on it). I have been through several sets of tires on my A4 and found that good rubber helped immensely. Is this the culprit with the S4, or is the suspension just plain soft? In other words, should I buy tires first and then suspension if need be. Thanks for your help

Hogothorpe

alot of people here are fans of Stasis, but it might be overkill since you don't plan on any track events. There are other options - search for sway bars too.

'Bahn Burner

I know exactly where you're coming from with the softer feeling of the oem S4 suspension compared to the A4 sport. The oem S4 suspension does feel a bit softer, but it really isn't that bad. You might want to drive it for a winter with the oem and then consider a suspension upgrade after that. I went for two winters with the oem supsension and have just intalled the Stasis supsension. I found with the oem that if you keep the snow tires at about 39 psi all around you will have better luck with less understeer.

With the S4, you're experiencing the heavier engine wanting to push the car straight. Chipping the car can also increase this problem... the car will squat & dive badly too. All this can be decreased dramatically with a good set of coilovers on it. And for you, it will probably be ones that are height adjustable too, as you will want to raise the car for winter.

I went with the 600f/700r sport-valved Stasis Tracksports, which are height adjustable & rebound adjustable installed on the car. Although pricy, I am happy with every dime I spent on them. I still need to do some fine tuning, but I love it so far. The car is a different beast now... with the heavier springs on the rear, the S4 loses much of that understeer. Body roll is gone, and the steering is precise. There is absolutely no squat & dive now.

Unlike you, I am hoping to track the car soon (Loudon Speedway is 17 minutes from me) & I won't be doing too much driving in the winter with it, so this is probably not what you want. If I were in the same situation I would not have this suspension on either. Most likely I would have still gone with Stasis Tracksports, but with softer springs (500f/600r, or 450f/500r) & touring valving. I will be doing some weekend winter trips with mine also, so I will probably raise the car an inch or so before then.

There are a few different options for adjustable coilovers on the S4. So do some searching and talk to different tuners. I had also considered the FK Silverline Plus X coilovers from Supreme Power Parts, but I ended up just spending the extra cash on the Stasis because I know it is the best and worth every penny.

Hope that helps

perfution

It's the only C/O system I know of that allows ride height at stock or above for winter conditions -- the reason I bought it. And I've been incredibly pleased with it and Stasis themselves. Warning though--depending on spring weight, some shops will want to remove before cranking back up in the winter. If you don't go Stasis, the Eiback kit works very well. I had that before the Stasis. Good luck!

DHS

Thank you all for your kind replies.

onemoremile

any coilover that does not have a stainless steel body will have issues with the threads rusting. threads rust badly since there is so much surface area compared to the amount of material. i worked at an audi dealership in mid-michigan and saw a guy get a set of H&R coilovers replaced after 2 winters because he could no longer adjust them. his coilovers were stuck in winter 4x4 mode. after removing them they were sprayed liberally with a rust cutting agent (similar to WD40 but wiht better penetration) which loosened things up a bit but the threads were so corroded that they didn't look like they could safely support the spring perch.

i live in grand rapids michigan and we get about 140" of snow a year and the roads are pretty salty. i've been researching coilovers for my a4 avant and have been told by dealers and mfg reps that the owner is responsible for keeping the coilovers from rusting and it is not covered by warranty. this is for all Konis and Bilsteins and Vortrags, etc. the only mfg that doesn't care about salty roads is KW and they are $$$.

i have Bilstein HDs on my 94 jetta and with 70k miles (and a few winters) they are starting to rust. do not trust powdercoat or paint to stop rust. suspension bits live in too abusive an environment for coatings to hold up forever.
-jt

ryans4

...which is a good rust prohibiter. But yearly maintenance is recommended to keep the kit working well all the time. In really poor climates, maintenance every 6 months is recommended.