[200q20v] Suspension advice for a wagon

[dkpriebe at attbi.com]

I know this has been hashed over a number of times, and
I have read the archives, but I am just looking for a
bit more feedback. I am looking at upgrading the shocks
and spring on my 91 200 wagon. The goals are twofold and
must involve some compromises. First off the wagon has
151,000 miles on it, and needs the stock shocks
replaced. It appears also that the rear end is sagging,
which I am assuming indicates that I need new springs as
well. One of the principal reasons I purchased this car
was for going snowboarding and skiing every weekend in
the winter (and even sometimes in the summer), which it
is fantastic for. So, I don't want lower it too much as
well as make the ride unbearable on rough roads. The
other reason I purchased the car was for its
performance. I started autocrossing last year in a Mazda
MX-6. In order to purchase a 95.5 S6 a couple of months,
I agreed with my wife to get rid of the 3rd car, the
Mazda. So I would like to 'setup' the wagon to serve as
my autocross car. I certainly realize this isn't a very
good choice for an autocross car. I primarily autocross
for fun, to drive fast in a safe environment. I am a
competitive person, but I my goal isn't to win in my
class. It's to have fun and not come in last place. Also
the wagon has the G60 brakes and the stock 15" wheels. I
do not intend to swap the wheels anytime in the near
future. So given that information, I am looking for
recommendations for new springs and shocks. I've taken a
look at the H&R sport springs. It looks like they drop
the car about 1.5". It looks like the car should still
have plenty of clearance. Anyone have any pictures of a
wagon with these springs? Someone on the audifans
registry has a wagon with the Eibach springs, any
feedback on those? I don't want to drop the wagon as
much as my S6 has been dropped with the Eibach springs.
It scrapes occasionally going over speedbumps. For
shocks I was looking at the bilstein sport. My mechanic
also suggested I take a look at the Koni, because they
are adjustable. I could adjust them for the bad roads in
winter, and stiffen them up for the summer. Any
thoughts? Also what if any are the suspension
differences between the wagon and the sedan.

The other thing I need some information on is the
installation. I would like to do this work myself. But I
don't want to get in over my head. I have done some
work, about the most complicated being replacing
calipers, rotors and pads (which was fairly straight
forward). I have the Bentley and have read through the
shock installation, which looks fairly straight forward.
So on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 easy, 5 very difficult), how
difficult will it be to do the springs and shocks
myself? I do also realise that the car will need an
alignment afterwards. That I will not be doing myself.

Thanks in advace for the information. This list has been
a great wealth of information.

Dave Priebe
Kenmore, WA
91 200 TQA 151k
95.5 S6 96k