4kq needs new suspension; spring q

[Jason Gray]

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Rob- My solution to exactly this same delima is at;

http://www.audifans.com/pipermail/quattro/20020927/062581.html

One note, if you try to use front 4K springs on the rear as Luke suggest; f=
irst measure the spring rates of the stock 4Kq F& R springs and you will fi=
nd that the front springs (while having longer free length) also have a low=
er (softer) spring rate than the rear springs. If you lack the know-how for=
 measuring the rates, at least measure the wire coil diameter and you will =
see that the rear springs are made from thicker wire (making them significa=
ntly stiffer).  I took the spring rate measurements myself, but in our last=
 list debate, others verified that the rear 4Kq springs are in fact stiffer=
 than the front. While the rear suspension will ride higher and "function" =
with front quattro springs in the rear,  the softer spring in the rear loca=
tion with no other modifications will "tune" the suspension for increased b=
ody roll and increased understeer handeling of the car. Just because others=
 have done this doesnt necessarily mean it is a well thought out solution f=
or better performance handeling. Consult a handeling adjustment chart such =
as at; http://www.zcsd.org/tech-articles/tune-your-suspension.html  for gen=
eral spring tuning guidelines.

-Jason Gray
Anchorage AK
4kq needs new suspension; spring q
R Mangas porter_dog at hotmail.com
Thu, 02 Oct 2003 14:41:41 -0400

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   Greetings.  Been away for a while, new house, two cars, dogs   Greetings=
.  Been away for a while, new house, two cars, dogs, girl....

My '87 4kq is still running on stock bits.  Only 75k, so they're not as shot
as one might intially imagine, but shot nonetheless.  My biggest question at
this point is the springs.  The rears are really sagged, so I want to
replace them but most of the aftermarket units drop the car ~1.5".   The 4kq
is my winter car, so that's not very appealing.  I have the ground control
coilovers on my Miata, and like them just fine but I'd rather not spend 4
bills on springs.

   Are there crafty options that will allow me to uprate the springs some
and retain stock travel and ground clearance?  I could certainly buy the
aftermarket units and install spacers (kludge!), but I'm hoping someone will
tell me that "The 5000 turbo diesel wagon rear springs will fit.  They're
1=2E87x stock and add another half inch of ride height." or something
similar...

I can dream, can't I? :)

TIA,
Robert
Detroit (Rock City!)

From: <lrickert at covad.net>
>To: <porter_dog at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: 4kq needs new suspension; spring q
>Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 15:02:36 -0700 (PDT)
>
>this has lead to some contentions debate in the not so distant past (one
>person with the idea that they don't work right and many of us having
>actually done it knowing that it does in fact work.) put 80q fronts in the
>front and move the stock 4kq front springs to the rear. (this is what I
>have on my car) It raises the car a bit and works well although I might do
>it the other way (80q fronts in the back leaving the stock fronts alone)
>to keep the back up bit higher.  I suppose you could also just swap both
>front and rear 80q springs in, I am not exactly sure how this would sit
>but I imagine it would work fine and probably ride a little better.  While
>you are there adapt an extra front sway-bar to the rear suspension (easy
>$10 one hour project) http://home.covad.net/~rickert/Audi.html for
>pictures of what I did.
>
>Good luck
>
>Luke


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