[BiturboS4] suspension upgrade

[S Stiles]

My final & most vocal rant on the subject. For now :) Mainly prompted by
Wally's assertion that going coilovers is the "right" solution for everyone.

- Just because you're buying "coilovers" doesn't mean they're any good, or
that they meed your needs. there are good coilovers & bad coilovers. I think
H&R Makes a good spring product, but I don't know about the quality of the
dampers. Some have said they are Bilsteins, but I haven't seen any proof. I
don't get the impression that H&R has track tuned their coilover setups, so
IMO they're as much a poseur choice as anything else. Also note that for
some the top-most setting on the H&Rs will probably be lower than the want
to go (no, they don't allow near-stock height).
- Stasis, from what I know, actually races Audi A4/S4s, and has some
experience around what it takes to actually make Audis handle. They build
spring/shock kits all the way up to expensive & super expensive coilover
setups. My guess is that a stasis "street" spring+shock setup is going to
result in a superior handling car when compared to H&R "streets" or any
other number of lower end coilover systems.
- The stock suspension is pretty darn good. Yes, it's soft, but the entire
package is incredibly competent, especially given the comfort level it
offers. There's no need to throw everything out if you're after subtle
improvements.

Like I said before, IMO, the stock suspension's biggest failing is damping.
That can be fixed by better dampers :) I think there are a lot of people out
there throwing money away on coilovers when a simpler/cheaper solution would
meet their needs.

I guess what this all boils down to is:
- coilovers aren't the best solution for everyone, and definitely not the
most efficient solution for most.
- be super clear about what you're trying to accomplish, what your
priorities are. person A might just want to slam their car to look cool,
while not truly caring about how it handles, while person B might want to
preserve ride height & compliance while improving handling. Person C might
want the best handling s4 possible for lots of track-day duties. These
people are most efficiently & effectively served by different solutions.

Scott



>From: "California Fields" <cfields72 at hotmail.com>
>To: biturbos4 at audifans.com
>Subject: Re: [BiturboS4] suspension upgrade
>Date: Fri, 06 Sep 2002 12:18:49 -0700
>
>[ Converted text/html to text/plain ]
>
>With coilovers, is it easy to set each corner the same or do you have to
>spend
>a lot of time getting things exact?  Also, is it OK to have the lowering
>set
>at 1" (the minimum) or is that not going to allow the shock to really be in
>it's best range of movement?
>
>Thanks, Carter.
>
> >From: "Walter J Green Jr"
> >To: fastwheels3 at attbi.com, biturbos4 at audifans.com
> >Subject: Re: [BiturboS4] suspension upgrade
> >Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 15:50:08 -0400
> >
> >>BTW, shocks cost about $500/set plus $239 (you say) for the
> >>springs. Labor
> >>is something like $500 (here at least) so you're not saving a lot
> >>compared
> >>to coilovers. That way you can dial in your preferences and you
> >>won't be
> >>stuck w/ a solution that isn't exactly right like I am for now.
> >>
> >
> >to rephrase John's message in other terms:
> >
> >Don't skimp. Do it right. Get the coilovers.
> >
> >;)
> >
> >__________
> >WJG
> >'01 S4
> >Un-quenchable Imola Fire
> >
> >_________________________________________________________________
> >Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device:
> >http://mobile.msn.com
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >BiturboS4 mailing list
> >BiturboS4 at audifans.com
> >http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/biturbos4
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------=
----
>Join the world=92s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. Click Here[1]
>
>=3D=3D=3DReferences:=3D=3D=3D
>   1. http://g.msn.com/1HM1ENUS/c157??PI=3D44364
>
>_______________________________________________
>BiturboS4 mailing list
>BiturboS4 at audifans.com
>http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/biturbos4




_________________________________________________________________
Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com