200TQA suspension question

[E. Roy Wendell IV]

On Feb 23, 2006, at 3:25 PM, quattro-request at audifans.com wrote:

> Subject: 200TQA suspension question
> To: audifans <quattro at audifans.com>
> Message-ID: <20060223201856.29526.qmail at web60316.mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
>
> alright, i can assure you that i have searched
> with google using:
>
> "www.audifans.com + suspension"
> "www.audifans.com + slammed 200"
> "www.audifans.com + lowered 200"
> "www.audifans.com + lower my 200"
> "www.audifans.com + eibach + 200"
>
> and all sorts of other keywords, but to no avail.
>
> i'm trying to find out what the max drop is on a
> car such as this.  i figure that the quattro
> drivetrain will not allow me to completely jam
> the thing as i had hoped, but surely i'll be able
> to get something more than the supposed 40mm that
> my H&R springs will give me?
>
> since the likelihood of me fitting 18s under the
> arches has fizzled away completely, and the
> realization that new baby will not allow the
> outright purchase of 17s or 16s, i'm now thinking
> about scoring at set of 15" wheels and pushing
> the car earthward.
>
> so, how low can i go?  anyone have realworld
> experience with this?  thanks again, folks.
>
> jason
> tmb

Real world experience, sure, lowered cars suck on the street. Period. 
I've been driving an excessively lowered vehicle on the street for the 
past two years. Not my doing, the PO installed the springs because they 
made the car look "cool". Great on the track and autocross course, but 
horrible in comparison to the stock suspended identical model when 
assaulting the mountain roads. Nothing takes the fun out of a corner 
like encountering an unexpected hump that puts the car on the bump 
stops and upsets the chassis to the point of requiring very very quick 
steering input to get it off the shoulder and facing somewhere besides 
the ditch. Said car is currently not being driven and won't see much 
street time until I bump the ride height back up and/or find some way 
to increase the suspension travel. Having to approach the entrance to 
the grocery store at an angle and at a snails pace and still dragging 
isn't any fun. The creaks and groans from the chassis as it flexes like 
mad over uneven pavement aren't too cool either.

Here are some things to consider on the type44 (5000/100/200). Take a 
look at the amount of front overhang. By default it has a very poor 
approach angle, meaning that even in stock form there is pucker factor 
with pulling into driveways and such. Any abrupt change in angle of the 
road brings bits of the front of the car in contact with the road 
surface. Lower it a bunch and you might as well cut off the bottom half 
of the bumper cover and start carrying around a spare alternator for 
when it gets busted off it's mounting. H&R employs double and maybe 
even triple digit numbers of engineers to design their springs. Do you 
really think that you are smarter than they are? Have you considered 
the consequences to various suspension parameters of said lowered car. 
Adverse affects to things such as bump steer, camber angle (non 
adjustable in this case), roll couple, camber gain, bump travel, shock 
rates, etc. How about the fact that when you install really short 
springs they float around in the seats when the suspension is unloaded. 
You can only run really short springs if you shorten the struts/shocks 
as well. How do you plan on getting a jack under the car?

Seriously, I detect a very ricey feel here. Those really low cars you 
see in the magazines...no one really drives them. They exist purely as 
a public relations exercise for whatever company paid to have their 
products installed or as a testament to the owner's ego. Real street 
machines that are worth driving aren't that low. Take a look at the 
Subaru Impreza STI, Mitsubishi EVO, or for an apples to apples 
comparison the S8. They aren't that low and every inch of the 
suspension is optimized for the stock ride height. Would you argue that 
these cars aren't cool or aren't real performance cars because they 
aren't low enough?

And finally, if I recall correctly, this car is fairly new to you. It 
may even have come to you in good condition. It won't stay that way. 
It's too old and has more than a couple of design shortcomings. Save 
the money you want to spend on wheels and springs and such for a 
replacement hydraulic pump, accumulator, window regulator, fuel pump, 
intake hose, exhaust manifold, engine mount, transmission mount, 
driveshaft support bearing, etc.

Food for thought. You will probably ignore me and the others who 
respond to your questions in a similar manner but in return we reserve 
the right to snicker when bad things happen and or you come to your 
senses. And because I'm coming off a little harsh please believe me 
when I say I mean well because I do. I'm just trying to save you a lot 
of suffering. Having said that, some things you only learn by personal 
experience and that's ok.

If you want to go any shorter than H&R then as far as I know you'll 
have to have custom springs made. Of the readily available springs for 
the type 44 the H&R are the lowest. and even then you should consider 
the shorted struts/shocks that Bilstein makes.

Roy Wendell
Morgantown WV, USA
turbo quattro type 44 times 3
MR2 times 2