Coilover ride quality

[Humayun]

Hello fellow Audi owners.

I own a B8 tdi 170 black edition. I will be looking to lower it over the next few months. My current setup is all factory but definitely tired.

As I’ll be needing shocks and springs it makes sense for a coilover set up however this car is my daily and I need the ride to be of decent quality.

I live in Chichester West Sussex. Is there anyone who live near by that has coilovers on their A4? I’d love to go for a drive and experience what it’s like.

 

Long shot I know but i’d really appreciate any help.

 

TIA

[Steve Q]

If you live in a speed hump or pot hole area like I do then I'd avoid. You could always look at a suspension kit from Bilstein or similar. 

[Humayun]

The roads are ok round here but not clear of potholes and speed bumps.

I like that the ride height can be set perfectly with coilovers and I’m not looking to slam the car.

 

Shock and springs are of course always a good move.

[Stevey Y]

5 hours ago, Humayun said:

The roads are ok round here but not clear of potholes and speed bumps.

I like that the ride height can be set perfectly with coilovers and I’m not looking to slam the car.

 

Shock and springs are of course always a good move.

Hi coilover suspension is a lot stiffer on the lowest setting so unless you want to spend a fortune on dental implants and suspension arms do as Steve suggested and go for Bilstein, B6 shocks with standard springs thats about as uprated as you need to go without murdering the ride/handling, coilovers are really for trackdays, you don't think the cars testing on the track at Wolfsburg was just for fun these cars have a really good set up which copes well with most road surfaces.

Steve.

[Humayun]

I’ve historically owned Japanese cars from the 90’s and have had coil overs before that have been spine breaking.

I just maybe thought the German cars and equivalent aftermarket equipment would be better/more comfortable.

I have my eye on a set of Eibach springs and KYB shocks. Let’s see what the next couple of months pay brings.

Thank you 

[Stevey Y]

26 minutes ago, Humayun said:

I’ve historically owned Japanese cars from the 90’s and have had coil overs before that have been spine breaking.

I just maybe thought the German cars and equivalent aftermarket equipment would be better/more comfortable.

I have my eye on a set of Eibach springs and KYB shocks. Let’s see what the next couple of months pay brings.

Thank you 

Hi yes the German cars are better built but you are still altering the damping geometry if you use lowered springs and thus you will get a bone shaking ride it won't matter how good the bushes are on the rest of the suspension, also be careful to check that KYB units work with lowered springs as you won't be the first person to discover that the shocks start leaking in record time because the piston travel ratio was never designed to work with lowered springs, thats why Bilstein was recommended as they work with both types of spring standard/lowered especially the B6 as the bump stops are in the body of the shock rather than up by the top mount.

[Humayun]

Ah good bit of knowledge you shared about the b6 units thank you.

My previous car was a B7 2.0 tdi S Line to which I had Eibach sportlines fitted on standard shocks. The ride quality was a huge improvement over the standard s line springs in terms of harshness and improved handling from lower centre of gravity of course.