A6 suspension advice????

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Sep 12, 2005 | 12:18 PM

MW-Denver

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A6 suspension advice????

I'm preparing to change the springs/shocks on my 2000 2.7T 6-speed , but I'm worried about tire rub (primarily with passengers in the back and the trunk full of gear). I'm running 18x8.5 ET 35 wheels with 235/40 tires, which should be ideal for this car. Can I go wrong with any spring setup, if tire rub is a major concern?

H&R sport springs on Bilsteins seem to fit my budget and performance goals. Does anyone have a similar wheel setup, and some aftermarket suspension?

Thanks!

Mark

Sep 12, 2005 | 01:25 PM

Stinkie

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I hope someone responds, 'cause I have same question

I currently have a '01 A6, sport, 6spd. I was trying to real in a slammed M3 on the highway the other night. We must have been doing 110+.. Only thing was at that speed, gentle curves in highway are not so gentle! I noticed that my once crisp-feeling, sport suspension was real "wallow-y"... Not having a true death wish, I slowed down. These questions have nagged at me though...

I have been thinking of H&R sports and 18s (currently have 17" BBS')I am very interested in the highway / highspeed performance, but I am also very interested in the drop from sport suspension to H&Rs ride height... I just don't want to lay out the $2K+ for coilovers...

Advice is much appreciated

Stinkie

Sep 12, 2005 | 02:12 PM

Deuce4.2

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All you need to know and more is right here.

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Sep 12, 2005 | 03:28 PM

MCH 2.7t

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With your wheels and location, you probably don't want to go much lower than 25.75"....

I'm assuming you're in Denver, so you'll need a bit of clearance for snow as well as enough ride height to prevent/minimize rubbing. I'm in Denver as well and started with a similar set-up to what you're describing. H&R or Eibach springs will put you in the 25.5 - 25.75" range (measured from the ground to the top of the fender lip). With similar wheels and Eibach/Konis my front tires rubbed on a regular basis. The rears never rubbed. Additionally, as the springs settled (and they all do) the ride height varied by as much as .5", e.g. left front was .5" higher than the right front.

Eventually, I switched to coil overs with stiffer springs because the inability to adjust ride height bothered me and I wanted sportier performance/ride. The combination of stiffer springs and rolling my fenders eliminated the rubbing. I was also able to dial the ride height to exactly where i wanted it.

Moral of the story is that if you'd like the ability to fine-tune ride height and performance, skip the spring/shocks and go directly to coil overs.

Sep 12, 2005 | 04:49 PM

MW-Denver

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Re: With your wheels and location, you probably don't want to go much lower than 25.75"....

Thanks for the advice. That's not the first time I've heard that the coilovers are the way to go. Have you heard of notched Bilstein shocks that give you the ability to adjust the ride height in .25" increments?

Also, did you upgrade your sway bars?

Sep 13, 2005 | 08:03 AM

MCH 2.7t

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I had additional grooves cut in my Konis...

With this method you need to pull the shock/spring everytime you want to make an adjustment. Good news is that you get really good at doing suspension work. The bad news is that its a pain in the ***.

I've got H-Sport sway bars on my car. IMO, the best suspension mod you can do, other than sticky tires, are H-Sports. They make a huge difference - less body roll, quicker turn-in, and much less understeer.

If you're in the Denver area and are interested in what different suspension and sway bars feel like, let me know.

Mike