I just installed a new set of solowerks S1 coilovers on my 2009 A3 3.2 and figured I’d do a review as I always hear people wondering about quality and performance of these somewhat new coilovers.
I bought this A3 back in February for my daily driver. Found out we were expecting our first and my b7s4 was not going to cut it... I needed to get back into a wagon anyways. I miss driving my mk4 R32 in winter so when this popped up I jumped on it quick as I specifically wanted the 2009. Only 72 were made in the 3.2 in 09’ so they don’t show up often! I immediately started to get the mod itch.
The car is in ok shape cosmetically, one female owner, lots of scratches and few dings but no rust or major dents... it’s ok as it’s my daily. Snagged a magnaflow catback and replaced the downpipes and mid section/cats w magnaflow as well as my flex pipes were leaking. CTS intake w box, and popped my BBS wheels on it that I kept from my S4. Then she needed to get rid of some of that ugly wheel gap...
I had only two requirements for this car... comfort and slight lowering. This car is daily driven and will have a baby in it. I drive my mk4 R32 on bilstein pss9’s hard... not the a3.
I’ve run basically every single major brand of coilovers over the years as I’ve owned over 20 VW and Audi’s as well as other brands. H&R, bilstein, koni, ST, KW you name it. As well many combos of struts/shocks and lowering springs. I like to try new stuff and kept hearing about these solowerks. 98% of reviews were good, to very good. Some people were comparing them to lower brands like raceland etc, which I’ve never messed with. Previously have never run anything under 1,000$ except some ST’s.
Anyways I reached out to solowerks to answer some questions for me and was amazed at how quickly I got a response from Jeremy there. Within minutes he had emailed me back and answered all my questions. Once winter passed and after looking at a few other options and a baby on the way, I decided to try them as the 499$ shipped price tag was just too good to pass up.
I called Jeremy and placed my order, also requested and received a free upgrade to a set of stiffer rear springs to combat any wagon sag that sometimes can happen. Coilovers were shipped out same day.
They arrived and packaged average no concerns. I put them aside and ordered some new strut mounts etc and just got around to the install last week. Upon opening up the boxes I noticed I was missing a rear shock... called Jeremy and he had one on the way in less then 10 mins. So I finished the rest of the install besides one rear corner while I waited for it to get to me here in VT from CA. After a couple days I got it, unfortunately due to a computer glitch I got sent a rear spring not a shock... frustrated, I called and again got the correct part shipped out in 5 minutes. Finally got my rear shock and tossed it in. I got the car aligned yesterday and have put maybe 300 miles on it over the last week... here is my review.
Quality: 9/10 I couldn’t really find anything that felt cheesy, to be honest. Certainly not for 499$ shipped. Solid build quality.
Customer service: 10/10. Absolutely nothing bad to say about solowerks and specifically Jeremy. He is there to answer the phone on the first or second ring, and answers my emails within minutes... what more could you ask for?
Ride comfort: 8.5/10. It’s a coilover. And it rides basically as good and in some ways better then oem. Honestly it’s closer to a 10 for me, but trying to be realistic as it is an aftermarket coilover suspension. I am very glad I opted for stiffer rear springs. It rides smoother then my oem 100k+ mile s line oem setup on the highway. It goes over bumps and dips about the same as oem as well. No jarring feeling over Small bumps etc. you can feel small bumps for sure but not bad AT ALL. I hit one pothole which I really felt, but that was my fault... best part is they are NOT bouncy. I have mine set at a very reasonable level. I could still go up some, but not much, and can go down plenty more.
Performance: 7/10. These are made specifically for what I wanted... to lower a daily driver and maintain oem comfort. They absolutely reduced body roll a good amount and the car feels tighter overall. They are not a track setup or even for very aggressive driving on windy roads, you’ll feel it as they are soft. However for spirited driving around my local mountain roads they have so far held up just fine and way more fun then oem!
Overall: 8.5/10. Can’t be beat for the price. I would compare these to ST, and would say they are a solid mid grade coilover, for sure not the likes of raceland or JOM etc. I would 100% buy again for a daily driver, as a matter of fact I will buy again. I tend to go through cars quickly and get bored. They have a 3 year warranty, and I will probably keep this A3 a while. Warranty covers a good amount like defects and some wear etc. they have a great program to get you out replacement parts to keep your car on the road. Honestly I’d buy another set if these gave out, I can get two for the price of one set of even STs now... I’d chose these everytime over a spring and strut combo as well. I’ve ran Konis w h&r springs, bilstein w h&r springs etc and nothing beats a setup designed together. The springs are progressive which helps massively w comfort.
I hope this helps anyone considering these! I don’t think you can go wrong for this price, and personally would not even bother with anything else in this price range!
Before pic on top and after on bottom. I went down basically an inch all around. All I wanted w me driving this up mountain roads through a lot of snow etc.
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Originally Posted by Creations_Cult
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