Re: Suspension Upgrade on Audi 80

[bazooka!ti@altos.Altos.COM (Ti Kan)]

>> I have an Audi 4000 and have Eibach progressive rate springs, Koni shocks,
>> Suspension Techniques rear anti-roll bar, Audi turbo quattro coupe
>> front anti-roll bar, and custom fabricated front upper strut stress
>> bar.  The wheels are Ronal R8 15x6 wearing Fulda Y2000 205/50VR15s.
>
>Sounds like a recipe for fun!  It's been difficult to locate antiroll
>bars for the car-the only thing available was an Eibach front (25mm?)
>bar.  ST listed them but wasn't producing them.  Where did you get the
>stress bar, and was it worth the expense?

The newer Audi 80/90 probably have slightly different suspension
geometries than the Audi 4000, so the 4000 anti-roll bars might
not fit (it's worth looking into though).  The upper strut stress bar
was custom fabricated by "Motofab" in Campbell, CA.  They are
specialized in race car fabrications.  The guy that did the work
for me owns a 4000 quattro, so he used his own car as a template
and made the bar, so I only had to stop in for a few hours for
the final installation.  It cost a tad over $300 for the bar
and installation, and about $30 to have it powder coated black.

>> Yeah, and this is the reason why I bought a set of factory sport seats
>> (from a 4000S quattro) to replace the original seats in my car.  The
>> additional bolsters are most needed with the vastly increased handling.
>
>Great idea, hadn't thought of that.  However, I do like the matching upholstery
>on the stock seats.  It won't be as easy to match as the solid pattern
>you probably have. The stock seat is also one of the most comfortable I've
>ever had-including Recaros. I think I've just talked myself into saving some
>money...

I don't know if Audi changed the seat mounting geometry in the Audi
80/90, but you might want to look into seats from the sportier Audi
80/90 quattros.  The 90 series have electrically adjustable seats so it
might be a bit more difficult to retrofit into an 80.

As for my car, I also replaced the rear seat with one from an Audi
turbo quattro coupe, and re-upholstered the whole interior, including
door panels, with gray leather.  The guy that did the work for me (at
"Classic Softtrim" of Hayward, CA) did all of it on his own time on the
weekends.  It is a superb job, with nice "pleating" and wrinkles here
and there in appropriate places to make the seats look very soft and
inviting.  This took him about 2 months to complete, and cost me about
$2500 ($800 in leather materials, the rest is labor).

Some think that I am crazy for spending so much money on a car that
has a blue book value of around $1500.  As far as I'm concerned, I
think it is money well spent.  The car handles like a dream and looks
gorgeous.  I have plans for a Techtonics 2045cc big bore engine
for more power... stay tuned.

Happy motoring,

-Ti
--
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