favorite - strut/shock/spring combo?

[martinkuetzing at att.net]

Bernie,

I guess, I don't know quite how posting on this list works.  My part 2 lists a bit of what I have done.

I purchased all of the parts for your strut tower brace, but I could never bring myself to cut the sheet metal in the car to make room for it.  Sorry.  Instead, I bought one of the list-sponsored tower braces that required no mods to the car.  Even if it is not as strong or beneficial as yours, it has done its job in stabilizing the car.  So - although my mechanic does the work - the alignment specs are within factory spec (as he has told me).  The alignment stays rock solid.

But other than springs (Eibach), dampers (Bilstein), a Stebro exhaust and IA Stage III ECU (if I remember correctly), the car is stock.

If the other half of my post comes through, it will show the various spring/damper combo setups that I tried.  The originally supplied Yokohama tires (when I bought the car at 73K) were also very noisy.  Those tires may have been more of a problem than the H&R/Koni setup itself.  For my driving, I really prefer the Michelins.    Right now, I have a new set of Michelin Primacy MXV4 on the standard BBS 15" wheels.

It's getting old, but still runs very well.  I just crossed 200K miles.  And, I still love the 200q20v, though.

Thanks,

Martin
-------------- Original message from Bernie Benz <b.benz at charter.net>: -------------- 


> Martin, 
> 
> What other suspension mods have you made? i.e. strut or tower brace? 
> V8 anti roll bar? S4 rear anti roll bar? 
> What alignment specs are you running with? 
> 
> Spring spacers are easy to make. Originally Audi had 3 different 
> thicknesses of spring seat isolators available, see Bentley 40.13, 
> called Damping Rings. Used to adjust level across the front. The most 
> common 2 lug version is 441 411 109, others NLA. Just cut a ring of 
> rubber of the desired thickness and place over or under this damper 
> ring. 
> 
> IMO harsh ride is attributable to the selected high spring rate, not 
> the damper paired with it. Further, a “resonating, vibrating ride 
> with 70 mph freeway driving“ is caused by, the forcing function is 
> wheel imbalance or an out of round tire surface, and is amplified by 
> an under damped suspension at the resonant frequency. 
> 
> Bernie 
> 
> 
> On Jul 10, 2008, at 8:06 AM, martinkuetzing at att.net wrote: 
> 
> > Part 1 of 2: 
> > 
> > Over the years, I've tried to post what I have on 200q20v springs & 
> > dampers, but recently, the mail list limits the size of the post to 
> > less than my writeup's size. So, I'll post this info in two emails. 
> > 
> > I happen to like the 200 being lowered about an inch, which is 
> > something that H&R as well as Eibach desgined into their springs 
> > for this application. The disadvantage of lowering has been 
> > driveways and speed bumps, as my Sebro exhaust sometimes gets 
> > scuffed a bit. There have been many posts about using spacers to 
> > bring the ride height back up again using the springs I've listed. 
> > Perhaps, some lister can provide the part numbers & sources for 
> > those spacers, as I don't have that info 
> > 
> > But, the best handling IMO was from the H&R/Koni setup. However, 
> > this arrangement is harsh and caused a resonating, vibrating ride 
> > with 70 mph freeway driving. With an hour commute to and from work 
> > each day, after a half-year or so, I jettisoned the setup. 
> > 
> > Eventually, I settled on Eibach/Bilstein as the best compromise for 
> > me & how I drive the car. 
> > 
> > Martin 
> > 
> > Here's the first half of the writeup: 
> > 
> > Springs: 
> > 
> > Eibach (949.752.6700) 
> > 
> > M/N Appl. “Spring Rate” Lowering 
> > Amount (200-20V) 
> > 
> > 1506.140 ’91 100 Linear F 128#/inch 
> > 1.0” (1.25”) 
> > Progressive R 128-286#/inch 0.8” (1.0”) 
> > 
> > 1529.140 ’92 S4 Linear F 246#/inch 
> > 1.0” (0.75”) 
> > Progressive R 188-308#/inch 0.8” (0.5”) 
> > 
> > 
> > H&R (888.827.8881) 
> > 
> > M/N Appl. “Working Rate” Lowering Amount 
> > 
> > 29800 ’91 200-20V Linear F 175#/inch 1.5” 
> > Linear R 230#/inch 1.5” 
> > 
> > 29616 ’91 100 Linear F 175#/inch 0.75-1.0” 
> > Linear F 200#/inch 1.0” 
> > 
> > 29921 ’92 S4 Linear F 300#/inch n/a 
> > Linear F 350#/inch n/a 
> > He said: “don’t even try the 29921 on a ’91 200 20V!” 
> > 
> > 
> > Shocks for ’91 200-20V 
> > 
> > Koni (606.586.4100) 
> > 
> > M/N damping (newton-meters) @ 0.33 m/s: bump 
> > (compression)/rebound 
> > F 86-2149SPORT 800/1350 
> > R 80-2630SPORT 600/1050 
> > (adjustment is only for rebound; max shown with adjustment to lower 
> > value) 
> > 
> > Bilstein (800.537.1085) 
> > 
> > M/N damping (newton-meters) @ 0.52 m/s: bump (compression)/ 
> > rebound 
> > 
> > For STD Springs 
> > F P36-0370 1015/1130 
> > R B46-2065 800/1200 
> > 
> > For Shorter Springs 
> > F P36-0369 1070/1195 
> > R B46-2066 (12mm) 800/1200 
> > BE5-2593 (10mm) 
> > _______________________________________________ 
> > 200q20v mailing list http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/200q20v 
>