Audi A8L Suspension upgrade

[yagie]

Hey All, I've got a new-to-me 2015 A8L. No warranty, and of course I didn't get an aftermarket one. But my back left bag failed on me at less than 65k miles. Audi service says it's a $3500 job to replace the one unit and do an alignment.

My thought, I can pay 3500 to get it back to stock and wait until another one fails. Or I can swap to a D2 Racing Airlift system, or just swap the air for a nice set of KW v3 coilovers.

Long term, I plan on upgrading to the RS7/S8 turbos, getting downpipes and probably a Capristo exhaust, plus the twin intakes and a tune. I'll also swap out the front and rear bumpers and grille for the S8 version. I was also planning on swapping to the RS7 21" 5 spoke wheels with a suspension upgrade anyway.

Can y'all provide some thoughts on which suspension direction would be a better way to go?

[John_Kaufmann]

I would swap to good coil overs and screw the air suspension. Based on everything I see that crap is designed to drain your wallet. You know those other units are not far behind.

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk

[GIACuser]

I have not heard of anyone putting in an aftermarket air lift kit on these cars and personally I would advise you to live with your new car for a while before making any changes to OEM. If you have not owned one before, take your time and get to know your car. You sound like you want to go fast, so learn how to handle it as is and then start to decide which mods you really want to do. As someone who has in my younger days rushed to mod cars only to be disappointed with the outcome because I didn't take the time to get to know the car and do my homework (really review a mod before you buy it). Not all mods make a car better and some invite a slew of issues. The A8L is a luxury road car and with the 4.0 twin turbo motor an extra special luxury barge. Sometimes deviating too far from OEM can really ruin the character of the car and make it far less enjoyable.

Keep in mind the 3000 or so bucks for the D2 struts (4) also needs to be paired with the 3000 dollar or so VERO management kit that includes the compressor, controller, tank, wiring etc. By the time you are done with all taxes, labor etc you might be looking at upwards of 8-9K to convert it. Personally I like the OEM equipment.

I had a strut go out on my previous A8 and it cost me around 1400 for the part (OEM new) and I put it in with a friend. If I had taken it to an independent shop they probably would charge 500 bucks to install. You can get a remanufactured one from Arnott for about 700 if you want to save a bit more.

KW3 would be a downgrade in my opinion, I used to run them on my A6 and was sorry I put them on, too stiff, too many complaints from passengers about the ride quality being harsh.

Personally I would put a tune on it, stay on stock suspension and lower it a bit but not much and get some kick-ass wheels and tires to make the car look a bit different ..... done.

Switching turbos - try just a tune first
Capristo - fine on an R8 or car of similar nature. To me its just a noise maker that you will get tired of and might wish you had not put it on. If you really want noise I would do some homework and find a system that can provide stock quietness with valves that can be opened when you want the big noise.

These are just opinions, take it as just one of a bazillion out there. I am old and have modded a lot of cars in my life and still love to go fast but I have not loved everything I have done to every car.
Enjoy your new car, you made a great choice.