pmpoon

I currently have a 225 TTC quattro with 18" wheels (ALMS). I haven't had the opportunity to really take the car hard on corners to find out how it behaves. I have driven the car in the rain but again did not find an empty road safe enough to test the car's handling characteristics safely. I am also looking into the aftermarket suspensions e.g. (abt or eibach springs bilstein shocks, etc...). Here are my questions:

1. on a stock 225 TTC does the car handle neutral in wet conditions or is there enough power to bring the rear of the car out?

2. on modified suspensions, does it tend to make the rear of the car come out more if power is applied during cornering?

Thanks for any inputs on this.

Pete

TTigg

I purchased my TTR in Apr 01 and by 5k it had new suspension. In our local <a href="http://www.westcoasttt.com">club</a> we do many spirited runs in the canyons. I found that with the stock suspension that the car was getting to it's limit way before I would.

After chatting to many of the members I opted for the suspension change and have never been happier. I truly believe if you do nothing else to the TT you should change the suspension. It comes with Monroe shocks which are used in the UK for the equivilant of an oldsmobile!

There is a guy who drives with us who only has his suspension changed with some different tires and he can fly up and down the canyon roads - quickly!

evan

I have stock suspension (not by choice.). My car plows like a bulldozer. Going to PSS9's ASAP!

pmpoon

When reaching the "limit" does the car tend to have a neutral to understeering nature as evan seemed to suggest above or is there enough power in the stock 225 to make throttle oversteer?

My only experience with aftermarket suspensions was with my 1990 coupe quattro. I have h&amp;r springs and koni adjustable gas shocks. My assessment of this was that Audi had tuned the car with a neutral to understeering characteristic but the car also leaned heavily. When I changed the suspension and set the koni's at medium stiffness all around I found the rear of the car to be tail happy. If I turned into a corner the front would have alot of traction and the rears would tend to slip. Keep in mind the car only had a reported 164hp which is not nearly enough to have throttle oversteer.
Just wondering if this would occur on the TT.

Thanks for any further input.

Pete

TTigg

Honestly I've not had any of those issues / concerns since upgrading. Car feels like it's on rails into most (if not all) of the turns.

joe@vwvortex

TT reacts. Here's my assessment. My TTq 180 had the original MKI suspension, AEZ 18x8.5's with Michelin Pilot Sports 225/40/18 on it - it's also chipped. If I drove the car into a turn too hard, the front would exhibit typical understeer tendencies. If I lift throttle - it will tuck in the nose and let the tail out - similar to a FWD car. If I just came into the corner a little slower and increased throttle, it would tend to not understeer and move more towards neutral. If I hammer the throttle I can use it to steer the car and get some oversteer. I've actually gotten my rear end to come out under WOT in a sharp turn on wet pavement and not quite as drastically on dry pavement. I attribute this to the Haldex's ability to transfer power so quickly. I also own a A4 Avant 1.8T - and i've never been able to get the back end around as easily as the TT - although it did surprise me once in the snow :-)

Ok - fast forward to now. I've got KWVII fully adjustable coilovers on it with 235/40/18 Kumho 712's - all else the same. I've found that understeer has been reduced in most situations - but the WOT oversteer is about the same - although I'm running slightly more rear camber and am 1.25" lower in the rear and 1" lower in the front - car is level now without the 1/4" rake it has coming from the factory. I haven't had it in the wet yet - but I expect it to be about the same.

John P. (TT 225)

H&amp;R springs &amp; Bilstein shocks here. What a difference. Stable, flat, and controlled.

seaTTym

Stock Suspension
I spent 2 days at the track on the stock suspension. I felt that the car tended to understeer as it was designed. However, I also felt that it was very predictable. On sweeping turns, a little throttle oversteer could be induced. I found the body roll to be a little excessive for this type of driving on a track.

Eibach Springs and Bilstein Sports about a 1" drop
Another 2 days at the track w/o camber correction.
I did a number of exercizes (slalom, emergency lane changes, etc) In all cases I was able to break the back end loose. The car behaved more neutral w/ this setup. On the track at speed, the back end broke loose almost at will with the application of throttle and steering. Body roll much much reduced.