[BiturboS4] Neuspeed Bilsteins installed, quick review

[S Stiles]

Just finished installing the rear Bilsteins this afternoon (I've been
running the fronts for a week). Here's a quick review of the setup.

The Neuspeed Bilsteins are unique in two ways:
1) both front & rears have 5 slots, allowing for height adjustability of
roughly +/- 1/2 inch from stock.
2) IIRC they're valved slightly differently. I'm not sure how they differ
from standard Bilstein HDs.

I'm running stock springs.
The front ride height (floor to fender lip): 26 3/8" (roughly a 5/8" drop)
Rear: 25 15/16" (roughly a 3/8" drop)

This mod accomplished my goals, which were: 1) minimizing the big wheel-well
gap in front, and 2) improving damping. The stock dampers on my Avant
floated badly over low-frequency bumps, and also allowed for quite a bit of
dive/squat under decel/accel.

Glad to say that the ride height is perfect for my needs. I still have ample
ground clearance for skiing this winter, and the car no longer looks like a
4x4/allroad.

The ride control is hugely improved over stock. If anything, I think the
damping is still slightly light in front, but it's a huge improvement over
stock. It is still very compliant over bad pavement, but dive/squat &
initial-roll are all reduced.

Finally, the install was really pretty simple. The biggest headache was
removing a little pressed-on circular safety clip up in the wheel well.
Beyond that, it was super straightforward -- easier than the several
generations of VWs & Miata/MX5s I've been tinkering with.

Scott


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