My trip to get H&R Quattro Sport Springs installed. Story and pics(VERY LONG!)
12-17-1999, 09:13 PM
#1
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My trip to get H&R Quattro Sport Springs installed. Story and pics(VERY LONG!)
<center><img src="http://users.neca.com/jenner/audi/pics/lowered/loweredTTfrontangle2800.jpg"></center><p>I started out this morning (12/17/99) at 6am heading south from CT to PA to get H&R Sport Springs installed on my Quattro TT. Drive started out fine, got a few high beam flashes from other cars that think xenon’s are high beams, but I’m used to that by now.(Left index finger poised by high beam stalk to show them what I really got!)
About 1 hour into my into my trek south, I spotted a Silver FWD CT TT with the plates "AUDITT"(Anyone here?!?!). The only noticeable mod were yellow painted calipers. I could not tell if the stock calipers were painted, or if they were indeed new aftermarket calipers. I followed him for several miles. Let me tell you HEADS WERE TURNING! The most memorable was a luxury boat (read Buick) filled with 5 older people. The woman riding shotgun pointed with arm fully extended at the FWD TT. Then she saw me right behind and her face lit up and all the heads in the car were weaving and bobbing to get a better look at the two TT's driving together. The FWD and I parted when I stayed on I-95S and he took the Merit Parkway. It was nice to see the TT in motion from someplace other than the drivers seat; It is a feast for the senses! I was let down with the way the tires looked. I am 90% sure he had the 17” tires and at 225 wide, they just didn’t look wide enough for the TT. I’m curious to see if 235 looks any better from behind, but its really not that much wider. I just think the car looks so wide, strong and Porsche like from the rear, but the tires just look a little thin. I can’t imagine how the 205 wide 16” tires look!
The rest of the trip was a nice cruise, 40-45 degrees, blue sky with no clouds, and bright sun. I saw another Silver TT driving north on I-95 and another driving north on the New Jersey turnpike. The didn’t respond to my headlight flashes =( I also was followed by a black Boxster(damn that retractable spoiler is cool!) and two SLK Kompressors at different times in my trip. I got hundreds of stares and a few waves esp. from cars filled with old people (they were out in force today!) A pre-1996 Silver A8 was my partner for the last leg of my trip. Police coverage was minimal on my side of the highway, but on the other side(heading east or north) they were out in force! I must have seen over 30 A4’s just in the 250miles DOWN never mind back. The A4 has really picked up in sales and the highways are saturated with them now! Most of the ones I saw were 99.5 or 00 models, none being driven by enthusiasts types. Speaking of 00 A4’s I also noticed xenon’s are more abundant also. I used to see one or two cars with them every half hour, now its about 1 in every 100 cars (I was in heavy morning and evening rush hour traffic so 100 cars would go by in less than 5 min.)
Ok, so about lowering my TT. I ordered the H&R Quattro Sport Springs for $359. Bernhard’s did the install and alignment for $50 an hour X 4 hours. They took great care in working on the Audi, no dirty fingerprints, no scratches on my rims etc. I do wish it didn’t take 4 hours for the whole deal but c’est la vie. The car came out at 3pm and damn it looked awesome. The best way I can think of to describe it is that this is the way the TT SHOULD look! The front(-1.3") is slightly lower than the rear(-1.2") giving it an attack/aggressive stance. There is MUCH less empty space in the wheel wells and the TT looks like it’s accelerating even when sitting parked. I love it!! The real question is, how’s the ride? I have heard horror stories on the A4 forum of how people tried installing aftermarket springs with the stock shocks. They complained that the ride was very harsh or was all over the place and then ended up either going back to stock or going with some form of aftermarket shocks. While I plan to invest in Blisten coil-overs when they become available for the Quattro TT, I am VERY happy with the current setup. My only complaint thus far(250miles) with the new springs is that the headlights of SUV’s are that much more blinding in my rearview mirror and make me wish I had an auto dimming mirror. It seems that my xenon’s point lower now also because I didn’t get flashed once on my trip home. The car feels very tight. The stock setup had a lot of up/down movement in relation to the front and back of the car (not side to side). This, when combined with haldex and a chip caused the rear of the car to squat and the front of the car to lift under hard acceleration, and vice versa when you lift off the throttle. I liked this because it made you feel like you were accelerating faster then you really are but it got annoying after the 10th time. Now with the H&R’s this is not noticeable and the acceleration feels much more linear. Out the door (not counting gas, tolls, or mileage) it cost me just under $600 for parts/labor and tax. I am VERY satisfied with the both the hardware and the people who installed it.
I took some before and after pictures to help illustrate what an awesome change this is to the looks of the TT.
If you want to check out the before and after shots please go to: http://users.neca.com/jenner/audi/pics/lowered/lowered.htm
Please let me know what you all think of the new look!
-Jenner
'00 180QX TT Garrett H&R Sport Springs
About 1 hour into my into my trek south, I spotted a Silver FWD CT TT with the plates "AUDITT"(Anyone here?!?!). The only noticeable mod were yellow painted calipers. I could not tell if the stock calipers were painted, or if they were indeed new aftermarket calipers. I followed him for several miles. Let me tell you HEADS WERE TURNING! The most memorable was a luxury boat (read Buick) filled with 5 older people. The woman riding shotgun pointed with arm fully extended at the FWD TT. Then she saw me right behind and her face lit up and all the heads in the car were weaving and bobbing to get a better look at the two TT's driving together. The FWD and I parted when I stayed on I-95S and he took the Merit Parkway. It was nice to see the TT in motion from someplace other than the drivers seat; It is a feast for the senses! I was let down with the way the tires looked. I am 90% sure he had the 17” tires and at 225 wide, they just didn’t look wide enough for the TT. I’m curious to see if 235 looks any better from behind, but its really not that much wider. I just think the car looks so wide, strong and Porsche like from the rear, but the tires just look a little thin. I can’t imagine how the 205 wide 16” tires look!
The rest of the trip was a nice cruise, 40-45 degrees, blue sky with no clouds, and bright sun. I saw another Silver TT driving north on I-95 and another driving north on the New Jersey turnpike. The didn’t respond to my headlight flashes =( I also was followed by a black Boxster(damn that retractable spoiler is cool!) and two SLK Kompressors at different times in my trip. I got hundreds of stares and a few waves esp. from cars filled with old people (they were out in force today!) A pre-1996 Silver A8 was my partner for the last leg of my trip. Police coverage was minimal on my side of the highway, but on the other side(heading east or north) they were out in force! I must have seen over 30 A4’s just in the 250miles DOWN never mind back. The A4 has really picked up in sales and the highways are saturated with them now! Most of the ones I saw were 99.5 or 00 models, none being driven by enthusiasts types. Speaking of 00 A4’s I also noticed xenon’s are more abundant also. I used to see one or two cars with them every half hour, now its about 1 in every 100 cars (I was in heavy morning and evening rush hour traffic so 100 cars would go by in less than 5 min.)
Ok, so about lowering my TT. I ordered the H&R Quattro Sport Springs for $359. Bernhard’s did the install and alignment for $50 an hour X 4 hours. They took great care in working on the Audi, no dirty fingerprints, no scratches on my rims etc. I do wish it didn’t take 4 hours for the whole deal but c’est la vie. The car came out at 3pm and damn it looked awesome. The best way I can think of to describe it is that this is the way the TT SHOULD look! The front(-1.3") is slightly lower than the rear(-1.2") giving it an attack/aggressive stance. There is MUCH less empty space in the wheel wells and the TT looks like it’s accelerating even when sitting parked. I love it!! The real question is, how’s the ride? I have heard horror stories on the A4 forum of how people tried installing aftermarket springs with the stock shocks. They complained that the ride was very harsh or was all over the place and then ended up either going back to stock or going with some form of aftermarket shocks. While I plan to invest in Blisten coil-overs when they become available for the Quattro TT, I am VERY happy with the current setup. My only complaint thus far(250miles) with the new springs is that the headlights of SUV’s are that much more blinding in my rearview mirror and make me wish I had an auto dimming mirror. It seems that my xenon’s point lower now also because I didn’t get flashed once on my trip home. The car feels very tight. The stock setup had a lot of up/down movement in relation to the front and back of the car (not side to side). This, when combined with haldex and a chip caused the rear of the car to squat and the front of the car to lift under hard acceleration, and vice versa when you lift off the throttle. I liked this because it made you feel like you were accelerating faster then you really are but it got annoying after the 10th time. Now with the H&R’s this is not noticeable and the acceleration feels much more linear. Out the door (not counting gas, tolls, or mileage) it cost me just under $600 for parts/labor and tax. I am VERY satisfied with the both the hardware and the people who installed it.
I took some before and after pictures to help illustrate what an awesome change this is to the looks of the TT.
If you want to check out the before and after shots please go to: http://users.neca.com/jenner/audi/pics/lowered/lowered.htm
Please let me know what you all think of the new look!
-Jenner
'00 180QX TT Garrett H&R Sport Springs
12-18-1999, 06:13 AM
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Not exactly sure how much of an effect it has, but(more)
Both MNE and myself have had this done. MNE got an alignment for $80 and later said the mod did not change enough to warnt the $80 and that I shouldn't have to worry about it.
With my install they did the alignment for me(didn't ask how much, if anything, needed to be changed. Which added on about an hour of labor($50).
MNE did make the comment of piece of mind and its nice to know everything is aligned and no worries about it.
I am sure the camber changed and that they compensated for it. If this is important to your or anyone else considering this, I will get you the info. Please let me know.
-Jenner
'00 180QX TT Garrett H&R Sport Springs
With my install they did the alignment for me(didn't ask how much, if anything, needed to be changed. Which added on about an hour of labor($50).
MNE did make the comment of piece of mind and its nice to know everything is aligned and no worries about it.
I am sure the camber changed and that they compensated for it. If this is important to your or anyone else considering this, I will get you the info. Please let me know.
-Jenner
'00 180QX TT Garrett H&R Sport Springs
Trending Topics
12-18-1999, 06:22 AM
#8
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Posts: n/a
My take on the mods....
"In order to enhance the Audi TT's handling under conditions like those described above, Audi will replace the front stabilizers in front-wheel drive Audi TTs, and the front and rear stabilizers in Audi TTs equipped with quattro all-wheel drive. A modified control arm will be installed in front together with firmer shock absorbers in front and rear. In addition, a rear spoiler will be installed."
I am hoping that when the mods come around I will be able to have them install the new control am/stablizers and new shocks, BUT not new springs(if they are even adding new springs). From this exerpt, I can't tell what of the suspension is getting changed exactly, is the entire shock/spring unit, just shock or just spring? Nothing at all? When the time comes I'll find out and ask that if they do the mod, the H&R springs stay. If they can't then no mod for me.
Like MNE(following his lead actually) I plan to do the Blisten coil-overs when they become available for the Quattro TT. So other than what sounds like a control arm and stablizers, I'll eventually have my own H&R/Blisten suspension setup.
-Jenner
'00 180QX TT Garrett, H&R Sport Springs
I am hoping that when the mods come around I will be able to have them install the new control am/stablizers and new shocks, BUT not new springs(if they are even adding new springs). From this exerpt, I can't tell what of the suspension is getting changed exactly, is the entire shock/spring unit, just shock or just spring? Nothing at all? When the time comes I'll find out and ask that if they do the mod, the H&R springs stay. If they can't then no mod for me.
Like MNE(following his lead actually) I plan to do the Blisten coil-overs when they become available for the Quattro TT. So other than what sounds like a control arm and stablizers, I'll eventually have my own H&R/Blisten suspension setup.
-Jenner
'00 180QX TT Garrett, H&R Sport Springs
12-18-1999, 06:47 AM
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: My trip to get H&R Quattro Sport Springs installed. Story and pics(VERY LONG!)
I think you are correct about the new look. Its awesome!!! where can I find out more about these springs... Your car is all that. Did you have trouble picking out your color? I sure am... I am planning to get the roadster TT Next year 225bhp. I have been inlove with this car since march of this year. I heard of a recall but don't know too much about why the TT coupe was recalled. Thanks a whole bunch and I know I will have as much fun with mine as you are having with yours. Thanks for sharing all the info.
Rick...
Rick...