Which Coilovers will give the most comfortable ride?

[Rossy]

Evening All

I'm currently running H&R OE springs on standard S-Line shocks but to be honest, the ride quality is very poor. It's a very hard ride (with 275/30 20 tyres) and a bit on the bouncy side to boot! I appreciate that lowering will stiffen up the ride but in this case I feel like I've screwed up the handling and feel of the car.

So... I'm planning on swapping the springs for a coilover setup which should hopefully give me a bit more flexibility to choose how it rides. I know a lot of you guys run coils so it would be great to get some suggestions and feedback on your setups. I'm in the UK so not sure which brands are readily available here and how they price up, although I'm pretty sure KW, Bilstein etc shouldn't be an issue. My budget will be around £1,000 if thats any help.

Essentially I'm looking for a street setup thats as comfortable as I can get it as the roads here are 'not very good' . I don't really drive the car hard, just do a lot of miles per year in it, hence the comfort issue. Just realised I sound old, I'm 32 haha!

Any suggestions / thoughts?

Ross

[NYSpeedRacer]

Evening All

I'm currently running H&R OE springs on standard S-Line shocks but to be honest, the ride quality is very poor. It's a very hard ride (with 275/30 20 tyres) and a bit on the bouncy side to boot! I appreciate that lowering will stiffen up the ride but in this case I feel like I've screwed up the handling and feel of the car.

So... I'm planning on swapping the springs for a coilover setup which should hopefully give me a bit more flexibility to choose how it rides. I know a lot of you guys run coils so it would be great to get some suggestions and feedback on your setups. I'm in the UK so not sure which brands are readily available here and how they price up, although I'm pretty sure KW, Bilstein etc shouldn't be an issue. My budget will be around £1,000 if thats any help.

Essentially I'm looking for a street setup thats as comfortable as I can get it as the roads here are 'not very good' . I don't really drive the car hard, just do a lot of miles per year in it, hence the comfort issue. Just realised I sound old, I'm 32 haha!

Any suggestions / thoughts?

Ross

If you don't plan on any heavy tracking, I would highly recommend the Bilstein Electronic Ride Control.

[JamesRS5]

Either the Bilstein iRC or the KW DDC will give you the best quality ride. Both are electronically adjustable from inside the car, both use a control box which incorporates an accelerometer so will automatically adjust the suspension to firm up the damping at what ever threshold you select.
For you guys in the US who cannot opt for the Audi DRC system, these are a much better option.

Just read your post again, you're UK based and slightly under budget for the iRC or DDC systems although it really is worth saving the extra for these. Next option would be the Bilstein PSS 10 adjustable coil overs which are around that price, manual adjustment on these dampers but still a great setup.

[Mike@PureMS]

Just put in some KONI Sport shocks, it'll make a world of difference over the factory sport shocks you have in now.

[JamesRS5]

Koni are rebound only in adjustment and most people find them quite firm, they aren't what I'd call a comfortable option.

[Black S]

I'm actually looking at either H&R OE or H&R coils, after reading your post I think I'll spend the extra and go for the coils.

[srfrboy]

I'm actually looking at either H&R OE or H&R coils, after reading your post I think I'll spend the extra and go for the coils.

I have a B8 S5 cab with H&R OE Sport Springs on stock shocks/struts. Ride is great, not too bouncy and ride is not harsh or too firm. Have Bilstein Sport Shocks to put on, but worried it firm up the ride too much.

[Black S]

I have a B8 S5 cab with H&R OE Sport Springs on stock shocks/struts. Ride is great, not too bouncy and ride is not harsh or too firm. Have Bilstein Sport Shocks to put on, but worried it firm up the ride too much.

Good to hear. After the springs settled, how much of a drop did you end up getting?

[Rossy]

I should have gone with coils straight away really but was hoping to get away with just springs. I also like the idea of tweaking the ride height as another 10mm drop wouldn't go amiss

I've been checking prices and PSS10's here are about £1500 so a bit out of my budget unfortunately. Anyone got KW v1's that could give me an opinion?

[JamesRS5]

How about the KW HAS springs Rossy? They are height adjustable, maintain a good ride and are well within budget.

[Rossy]

Hi James, thanks for the suggestion. I had a quick google and they look like just springs with extra helper springs and ride height collars. Do the helper springs make them a bit 'softer' overall? I'm not sure if the stock S-Line dampers are firm enough to match stiffer springs so not sure if I'm better going with a complete kit or not.

How about the KW HAS springs Rossy? They are height adjustable, maintain a good ride and are well within budget.

[JamesRS5]

The helpers are there purely to prevent the shorter spring from dislodging when the suspension is at full extension, a loose spring would be an MOT fail in the UK, the helpers have no effect on spring rate at all.
I'm only going off reviews I've read on the various Audi forums as I haven't tried them myself but the KW HAS are supposed to be a better ride than standard springs but still giving you the lowered look you want.

S Line dampers should work ok with the springs, I'd give KW a call to double check though.

Suspension really is hit and miss and unfortunately you need to invest in a good system for it to work well, the cheaper coilovers available out there will lower the car but at the expense of possibly making a worse handling car. The two kits listed above would transform the car but they are out of your budget unfortunately.
How about the Eibach B12 kit which includes the Bilstein B8 dampers and Eibach springs, that should be in budget and a great setup.

If you have an iPad, download August 2012 edition of Audi Driver magazine, it has an article on transforming the S5 using Eibach equipment.

[John P.]

H&R coilovers are comfortable ..,

[srfrboy]

Good to hear. After the springs settled, how much of a drop did you end up getting?

Here is a pic of my car on OE Sports/Stock Shocks.

[bknewtype]

Here is a pic of my car on OE Sports/Stock Shocks.

beautiful cab. off topic, but what splitter is that?

[Mops@Nemesis]

beautiful cab. off topic, but what splitter is that?

+1 ... and +1.

[srfrboy]

beautiful cab. off topic, but what splitter is that?

Thank you very much for the comment... Deval.

[WAF]

I'm enjoying my B16 Irc's the best part is being able to tune it on the fly

[Rossy]

I'm enjoying my B16 Irc's the best part is being able to tune it on the fly

Hi WAF, what are the B16's?

Cheers

EDIT - Just realised they're Bilstein PSS...

[Rossy]

I've compiled a quick list of the different coilovers which are readily available here (as much for my own benefit as anything):-

H&R Street - £1,000
KW v1 - £950
KW v2 - £1,185
KW v3 - £1,450
Bilstein PSS10 with remote ride - £1,820
Bilstein PSS10 - £1,580
Eibach Pro Street - £850

Looking at this list, the KW v2 look the best value but I've heard that the rear springs are too short sometimes. Anyone got these and can give me an opinion?

Would love a Bilstein setup but can't stretch to that at the moment. The B12 kit looks great value however I like the idea of setting my own ride height to be honest.

[Hippyshakes]

++1 on the well done Cab srfr. Can't comment yet. Interested and gathering info on adjustable system for my RS cab.

[srfrboy]

++1 on the well done Cab srfr. Can't comment yet. Interested and gathering info on adjustable system for my RS cab.

Thx! I am really interested in the PSS 10's, but not sure they are worth the $. H&R Streets look appealing, but what am I missing with them being at least $1500 cheaper than the PSS's?

[WAF]

I've compiled a quick list of the different coilovers which are readily available here (as much for my own benefit as anything):-

H&R Street - £1,000
KW v1 - £950
KW v2 - £1,185
KW v3 - £1,450
Bilstein PSS10 with remote ride - £1,820
Bilstein PSS10 - £1,580
Eibach Pro Street - £850

Looking at this list, the KW v2 look the best value but I've heard that the rear springs are too short sometimes. Anyone got these and can give me an opinion?

Would love a Bilstein setup but can't stretch to that at the moment. The B12 kit looks great value however I like the idea of setting my own ride height to be honest.

FYI the Bilstein iRC control module was 500$CA on top of the PSS10's ERC price. Also onething to consider is that the install time will be more costly or time consuming, as there is extra wires and labour involved.

[srfrboy]

FYI the Bilstein iRC control module was 500$CA on top of the PSS10's ERC price. Also onething to consider is that the install time will be more costly or time consuming, as there is extra wires and labour involved.

Is the Bilstein IRC just an automatic way of controlling the dampening on the shocks instead of the dial at the bottom of the PSS 10's?

[WAF]

Is the Bilstein IRC just an automatic way of controlling the dampening on the shocks instead of the dial at the bottom of the PSS 10's?

This should help you. There is no dial on the shocks it's all electrically adjustable. Not sure if you have ADS, but if you do you'll need a KW ADS Error Cancellation Kit to remove the error code.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrP_deVzlrg

http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/e...stein-b16-irc/

[srfrboy]

This should help you. There is no dial on the shocks it's all electrically adjustable. Not sure if you have ADS, but if you do you'll need a KW ADS Error Cancellation Kit to remove the error code.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrP_deVzlrg

http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/e...stein-b16-irc/

Thanks for the links. I do not have ADS.

[WAF]

No problem, good luck.

[Rossy]

FYI the Bilstein iRC control module was 500$CA on top of the PSS10's ERC price. Also onething to consider is that the install time will be more costly or time consuming, as there is extra wires and labour involved.

I think the Bilstein with remote ride would be that bit, the price difference is about $500 so ties up. Would love those ones but nearly double my budget unfortunately.

[Rossy]

Thx! I am really interested in the PSS 10's, but not sure they are worth the $. H&R Streets look appealing, but what am I missing with them being at least $1500 cheaper than the PSS's?

I've heard people upgrade from H&R and KW's to the Bilstein PSS so there must be something to it. I'd imagine it's the sort of thing you'd only notice on track though. At least that's what I tell myself as I order the cheaper ones!

[Rossy]

H&R coilovers are comfortable ..,

Hi John, what are the roads like round your way? They're pretty poor here in the UK, hence the comfort concerns! Interested in your opinion as I'll probably go either KW v1/2 or H&R Streets. I'm happy with fixed damping if they feel ok