A4 Allroad, Which lowering springs should I go for?

[jer0628]

I recently, finally, got around to swapping out my old daily (-01 A3 1.6). And althou the lady at home had some other ideas I finally got my will throu with a car that has Proper AWD :)

I'll be collecting it on monday and ofcourse already have som small plans for it. The first one I want to cross off however is lowering it. We were actually looking for a regular A4, but this one turned up instead! We don't need the offroad capabilities, just the extra grip come winter.



It sits on 20" RS4 wheels at the moment, but I'd really like to get rid of that gap...

From what I have found there are three options except coilovers and air suspension (which are both to expensive to get the girlfriend to agree with it)

H&R 35mm springs
A4 Avant S-line springs
S4 Avant springs (euro, said to be 10mm lower than the S-line's)

Or.. RS4, but the regular online stores in germany (much cheaper then buying here in Sweden, and the same shipping costs) don't carry those.

From what I have found, the S-line and S4 has two versions of front springs. For manual, or automatic. They all have the same length, about the same outer diameter, it's just the wire thickness that differ. Uncompressed length differ 40mm.
S-line Manual: 13,75mm
S-line auto: 14mm
S4 manual: 13.75mm
S4 auto: 17.75mm!!
Stock AR: 14,75mm

As for the rear, the differences are the same, wire thickness. Uncompressed length differ 70mm.
S-line: 12mm
S4: 12.25mm
Stock AR: 12mm

Wire thickness isn't everything, the number of coils play a big part aswell! The more coils, the softer the spring. I haven't found any reliable coil numbers thou.. But judging from whats above, the AR front springs should be stiffer than all others, except for S4 auto. I pulled some weight info of my AR and an S4 with S-tronic, the S4 is 70kg heavier, not that much considering it also has more equipment. But say 40-50kg is the engine weight. I should be to far off going for a full S4 setup.

The real question thou, is how something like this would compare to the H&R's? Does anyone have a measurement of the wire thickness so that I can compare?

I'm also concerned with the rear using the H&R's, I've seen several cars that only come down a couple of millimeters at the rear while the front comes down as it should. I've also seen cars that come down great in the rear.. Why could that be?
Are there more things one could do to adjust the last couple of millimeters? Removing/changing the springs seat rubbers? Different spring seats?

As stated, I want to get the car down to a reasonable level, but I don't want the suspension to be softer than stock. Rather stiffer and sportier (hence why H&R or S4 auto setups are what I'm really looking at). Any tips and suggestions would be appreciated :)

[BrewDude]

KW HAS. Set 'em as high or low as you want.

[jer0628]

Those are roughly double the cost of the ar 35mm H&R springs, so I'm doubtful the Mrs will approve :/

I actually think it would be easier to convince her that we need new shocks of premium grade and a set of springs, than just a set of KW HAS. Even thou springs+shocks would be more money than the HAS kit alone. It's almost funny.. when it comes to MY cars, I can do what ever I like, but when it's OUR car, then it's a whole different story :)

Best bet I've found so far would be the Eibach Pro kit for the S4, that should be just slightly lower than stock S4 springs, a bit sportier but the same money as standard S4 springs. (These should also be the same height as the 30mm lowering springs for regular A4's, only a bit firmer if anything)

[Mitchmarket]

I JUST installed the H&R springs on my Allroad this weekend. Looks amazing. Lowered the front 37mm and the rear 19mm, just about what was advertised. I highly recommend them. IMG_0242.JPG

IMG_0247.JPG


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[ATL_wagon_guy]

I JUST installed the H&R springs on my Allroad this weekend. Looks amazing. Lowered the front 37mm and the rear 19mm, just about what was advertised. I highly recommend them. IMG_0242.JPG

IMG_0247.JPG


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

Do you happen to have a link for these? I'm thinking ahead to future mods on my Allroad.

[Mitchmarket]

Yup-

Part # 28969-1 - H&R Springs - Sport Springs. I picked them up from Race Consulting Agency outside of Chicago. http://raceconsultingagency.com/hr/h...i-1976429.aspx they are currently $263 with free ship.

Adam was super helpful. Ride feels like stock on bumps. It is MUCH flatter in the corners.

PS- I'm in Johns Creek. Feel free to PM me if you want to pass by and check it out.

[jer0628]

I'll have to take a couple of measurements and see how much I would like to go down.. From what I have understood the AR suspension by itself is about 25mm higher than the stock A4, the rest is due to the tires. So a 35mm drop gives something between S-line and stock A4 in rideheight.

The few cars I have seen with A4 Avant S-line suspension have looked really nice! But the more I read and compare the more I get the feel that there's a reason why H&R didn't go lower than 35mm. Maybe it's getting a bit close to bottoming out the shocks?

I'm leaning towards Eibach Pro for the S4 or regular Avant at the moment atleast.. That should be a total drop of about 50-55mm. Just not sure how much space I have yet.. :) (collected the car late yeasterday). That and a set of new Bilsteing B4 for the S-Line chassie (OEM replacements) is just a bit more than the H&R's here in Europe..

Fresh pics from this morning:

[ATL_wagon_guy]

Yup-

Part # 28969-1 - H&R Springs - Sport Springs. I picked them up from Race Consulting Agency outside of Chicago. http://raceconsultingagency.com/hr/h...i-1976429.aspx they are currently $263 with free ship.

Adam was super helpful. Ride feels like stock on bumps. It is MUCH flatter in the corners.

PS- I'm in Johns Creek. Feel free to PM me if you want to pass by and check it out.

Very cool! Did you also change the struts, or will the stock ones work?

And thanks for the offer. I don't head into the northern 'burbs that often, but I'll keep it mind.