[s-cars] Re: Eibach Springs & Bilstein Sport Shocks

[Charlie Smith]

Earlier, Voits wrote:
>
> I checked availability of Eibach widely (bracing myself for a search) a
> couple months back and 4 of 8 jobbers (or thereabouts) could get them,
> referring to factory availability. I purchased from shox.com along with
> 'spring perch' spacers because of price and off-shelf availability.  The
> sales person didn't know anything about the perches until I asked him and he
> checked with someone else, at which point he said they're required.
>
> spring 1529.140
> perch 1529F.PERCH
>
> The part numbers screened on each spring matched those posted by a lister a
> month ago.  I have not yet installed -- need to buy shocks.  Until I read
> Charlie's post I was completely confident that I had the right stuff.  My
> default path is to install with the rear spring perch spacer being careful
> to measure my before & after ride height.

You can NOT go by the 1529.140 "Kit Number" on the box.  Read on a bit.

It sounds like you have the later "correct spec" springs.  The difference is
most apparent in the rear, but the front's are different too.  Both spec's
of Eibach springs will lower you car a lot.  Here's a side view of the S6
with the first spec springs on it:
    http://elektro.cmhnet.org/~audi/s6q95/img01.html

Here's some notes from Bob Rossato in November 2000 about the differences.
The p/n's Bob is noting are those marked on the springs.  The part number
for the entire kit (on the box) was marked the same on both types.  That
number was 1529.140 because in Europe that number was for a different spec
kit than the same number as used in North America.  An other archived email
said that the Euro kit was for a 2wd Avant Automatic, and that Eibach said
that they would be too soft for the heavier Quattro S-cars.  My personal
opinion is that the Euro kit is still much better than stock if that's all
you can find.

     ---------------------
Bob's notes:

For those of you that have already installed the Eibach Germany 1529.140 kit
(p/n 1527.001 F, 1517.002 R) that we originally received and may be
contemplating whether or not you should change them for the Eibach USA
1529.140 kit (p/n 1529.001 F, 1529.002 R), here are some of the major
differences.

The rear spring (p/n 1529.002) from the USA kit is 45mm (1.75") shorter than
the 1517.002 rear spring.  The wire diameter is the same.  Overall diameter
is the same.  The coil spacing is approx. the same (0.1" difference).  The
number of active coils is the same, but the number of inactive coils on the
USA 1529.140 is 3.5 vs. 5.25 for the German kit, resulting in the overall
shorter spring.  Also there is no rubber tubing on the inactive coils in the
USA kit like there is in the longer springs from the German kit.

The front spring (p/n 1529.001) in the USA kit is approx.13mm (0.5") shorter
and has a slightly thicker wire diameter (16.6mm vs. 16mm) but is otherwise
the same as the 1527.001 spring.

     ---------------------

Another thing worth mentioning, on Bilstein Sport shocks.  The regular
Bilstein Sport shocks now come with one snap ring groove for the snap
ring that holds the spring seat.  These same shocks used to be provided
with several snap ring grooves so you could set your own ride heigth.

If you find the right supplier, these shocks can still be ordered with
several snap ring grooves.  The body of the shocks is thick enough that
you can machine in new grooves yourself.  This is what I did on mine to
use the original European 1529.140 kit with the 1517.002 rear springs.


The other important thing to note for installation of either spec of these
Eibach springs, is that they will lower the car enough that you won't be
able to correctly adjust the front camber.  After some thousands of miles
of hard cornering, you will wear off the inside 2" of your front tires.
You don't need to ask me how I can be so certain about this  :-)

There is a cure for that.  It requires making a modification to your top
camber plate - the one that holds the bushing that the top of the shock
bolts into.  Igor Kessel has written a number of good articles on suspension
allignment, including making a .pdf file that shows the exact modifications
that need to be done to the top camber plate.  Igor's writeups and a link to
download the camber plate .pdf are here:

    http://www.elektro.com/~audi/alignment/

Hope this helps ...

    - Charlie


  Charlie Smith   charlie at elektro.cmhnet.org  614-471-1418
  http://www.elektro.com/~charlie      Columbus Ohio   USA
  http://www.elektro.com/~audi     photos & technical info

  95 S6 Quattro  -  24 PSI, RS2 6 speed, and other features
  97 Dodge Ram   -  35 PSI, 4x4 w/Cummins turbo diesel