Correct ride height for a 2010 le Mans

[Chris A6 Le Mans]

Hi I am new to the forum, I have a 2,0 tdi A6 Le mans 2010 which I have owned from new and has done 155,000 totally trouble free miles - until last weekend.  While on a walking break in the lakes a rear coli spring broke, the AA man advised it was ok to drive and I booked it in at my local garage for 2 new coil springs to be fitted.  When I picked it up the car looked odd at the back like it was sat far too high.  I took it back and they assured me it is all correct but it just doesn't look right - can anyone tell me the correct height for my car from the floor to the underside of the wheel arch.  I have looked everywhere on the internet and cant find any definite dimension. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[Magnet]

Hello Chris,

I’m sorry, but I cannot give you a definitive answer to your question. By the way, you will find the ride height is measured from the wheel centre to the underside of the arch - not from the ground to the arch. 

My money would be on the probability that your local garage has fitted aftermarket springs supplied to them by a motor factors, rather than ones purchased by them from a main dealer. If so, they could well be wrong, and I’m sure you are right in believing it is no longer sitting as it was. 

If this were mine, I would be asking the garage to give you the part number and make of the springs they fitted (they will know this from the delivery note). Armed with that, you should be able to establish what the free/unfitted length is, but it might, just might, not be anything to do with the actual pre-fitted length, but the ‘strength/cross section’ of the spring itself. 

You will be needing to do some homework Chris, to get to the bottom of this, and if you are then still experiencing a reluctance for the garage to sort it out, then you will need to take the car to an Audi dealer for their opinion, and knowledge of the correct part number - from which you should be able to work backwards with your aftermarket make/number.

Good luck in sorting it out. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

[Chris A6 Le Mans]

Thanks for that I am going to take it to the Audi garage Monday and let them take a look - its also 9 mm higher at one side than the other - not happy

Any idea how much a new set of springs would be fitted at an Audi dealer? 

[Magnet]

Hello Chris,

You will be better placed than most to have a ball park figure for the for costings at your Audi dealer, since you know what you paid your local garage, but expect the labour rate to be around £90/ hour plus VAT. 

Personally, I wouldn’t have anything done to this car other than get an assessment at Audi, since your local gagare will understandably wash their hands on any remidial work, if someone else has been working on it.

I would still have the used part number details off them beforehand. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[niedzial1983]

So i have done the same mistake as you. My rear broke both sides so i replaced for new . Rear is higher then before. 

I should have gone with changing all of them to -30 ebaih springs 

 

The sline sport suspenion code is 1bv and its -30 mm to standard. But over time they will sag so if you replace rears only it will naturaly be higher...