Terrible_One

Hi All,

I just recently traded in my 2013 BMW 550i M-Sport ("sport" suspension is a joke!) for a 2015 Audi S6 Exclusive and it's SO MUCH more car than the Beamer. However, as much as I love the air ride, I wish it would go lower. So I have been using the search feature and seeing stuff about lowering modules and VCDS. I'm just not clear on what does what and how much. Does VCDS, for a fraction of the cost, allow me to lower the ride height as much as the plug and play modules like Vogtland, LLTek and H&R at over $2K each? I have seen a few threads of folks saying VCDS should be your first mod, as well.

So to clarify for me, if I leave my car in "Dynamic" mode, is that the lowest stock settings will allow it to go and stays at that height until I change it? Now will a VCDS allow me to go lower than that? If so, how much lower? Now what about the PnP modules? I am guessing if they don't go even lower than VCDS, they at least allow you to adjust ride height on fly or at least in car whenever you want. Is that really what you're paying for?

MikeS6

As far as I recall you can use VCDS to lower the stock air suspension 8 - 10 mm's, up to 17 mm's, I think once you go below 17mm's it really messes with the radars and camera detection systems. (Driver's assistance Package)

Terrible_One

That's great! Looks like I'm getting VCDS. Thanks for the info.

snohman82

elp_jc

I'd only go with VCDS, like most of us do. Car looks really good, and you retain full use of the suspension, meaning no issues, and really acceptable handling... and I traded a fully optioned 2016 Cayman GTS with sport suspension for this thing. How much you can drop it depends on what your factory numbers are. You can physically go up to 414.0 with VCDS, but I had issues. Also had issues with 412.0, so went with 410.0, and everything worked perfectly, so use that as your limit. You might be able to add more than 17, as I mentioned, but don't go over 410.0. Therefore just deduct 410 from your highest number, then add that to all 4 numbers. Hope this helps.

MikeS6

One question I guess I'd have, is I assume one of the "risks" of lowering the suspension are of an obvious nature; as in your S6 is now lower to the ground, theres less clearance for certain obstacles and that is you are traveling at speed theres less of an ability for the suspension to absorb a huge pot hole, etc.? and subsequently you could end up with a damaged rim, suspension, etc?

Terrible_One

Didn't see this lowering links things, will check that out, though I don't need a major drop so VDCS sounds like my option.

That's super helpful man! Thanks a lot for the reference points and information.

Same with any car man. I don't leave anything stock height. The only thing I have ever damaged even on my slammed SVT Lightnining is the front lip from low curbs or parking blocks. It's super rare for anything on the roadway to cause an issue. And anything that will damage a rim is going to do it regardless of your ride height. Lowering mostly affects comfort, only absurdly slammed vehicles done wrong get damaged suspension. But the looks and handling outweigh any of that for me.

snohman82

elp_jc

That is a great point, but in this case, the drop is so minor, and more importantly, done within the system's limits (unlike with links), that the system adjusts automatically to stiffen suspension as it travels. I don't know exactly if it's easier to bottom out dropped like we do, or it just gets stiffer and would bottom out just the same, but either way, the difference would be minimal. In some markets, the car is a lot lower, hence the ability for Audi to be able to lower it or raise it just via coding (thanks to air suspension). After I dropped mine, noticed very little difference, so it might be the equivalent of a 'progressive' shock, where it starts getting stiffer as suspension compresses. Some people have gotten suspension errors, but I didn't, fortunately. Maybe those are the ones who lower the car via links, where the car doesn't 'know' it's lowered, which I'd never do. The car looks awesome with a VCDS lowering, so I wouldn't like any more anyway. Finally, the S6 is substantially higher than all other sports cars I've owned, so zero issue. But even if there's an issue, remember you can raise the suspension by clicking on 'raise' on the upper left corner of the car screen, and it'd clear basically anything you need, even lowered. And yes, when you lower via VCDS, it lowers all settings by the same amount, including the 'raise' feature. Hope this helps.

Terrible_One

Looks damn near perfect! Thanks for sharing. Love those rims - in fact, I already ordered some similar ones!