Long overdue 2B Coil-over report

["Eric Renneisen" <renneie@hlthsrc.com>]

Well, I've had the car back for over 4 weeks now, so I guess 
it's about time I gave a report on the results. A few of you 
will recognize that I've taken some of this post from private 
messages to you. Sorry, I'm too lazy to write it all over again. 

First, a little background:
Car - 1990 CQ, totally stock suspension w/125K miles
Upgrade - 2 Bennett Coil-over kit
          Delrin bushings
          Bilstein "shorty" inserts
The car went into the shop on June 22 for install with the 
understanding that it would be ready for the trip to PP by June 
29. Due to the shop's incompetent management and other bits of 
bad luck, the job wasn't fully complete until July 17. This 
caused me to completely miss AF98, but that's OK -- I was too 
drunk to notice.  ;^)  I also got a significant amount of money 
taken off the bill.

I won't say that the result makes up for the painful experience, 
but it sure helps me forget about my bitterness. Put simply, this 
car is transformed! It is now less of a cushy touring coupe, and 
more like the sports car that it's looks suggest.

I was lucky enough to be able to put her through her paces on a 
business trip last week. Thanks to a little help from Ed Kellock, 
I found some great, twisty back roads through the smokey mtns. 
You couldn't wipe the smile off my face with a brick! On the 
occasions where I found myself held up by traffic, I just sat 
back and watched the car in front of me use every inch of _both_ 
lanes to try to keep speed, while I stayed perfectly between the
lines and still gained on them! The new slotted rotors, carbon 
pads, and ss lines came in handy, too. As an aside, Ed and I 
enjoyed some fine beer, food, and Audi geek talk during my stay 
in Greenville. I don't think either of us have anything on 
Minnesota Fats, though.  :^)  I got a good look at his CGT 
"beater", too. If that car is a beater, then mine has one foot 
in the grave. It's a fine example of the white on white on white 
on white on . . . I like it.

It used to take forever to take a set in the turns as the big CQ 
body leaned. Now, the slight amount of roll is instantaneous. It 
settles into the turning attitude very quickly and begs you to 
push it. Brake dive is history, as is the squat on acceleration. 
What I had previously considered throttle lag was just the car 
wasting energy as it pushed the body around on the soft springs. 
The car feels much more connected to the road now (not just 
steering, but throttle and brakes too). No more vague steering 
and throttle response. I'm not sure how much the Delrin bushings 
affect all this, but I do know that the combination feels great!

Before, the body roll was a definite limiting factor in the 
twisties. I knew that it wouldn't actually roll over, but there 
was always that sickening "here we go" feeling. (apologies to 
Hunter S. Thompson) Now, the tires are the distinct limiting 
factor. There's usually plenty of grip, but I can feel the 
sidewall rolling over. I'm currently running a set of D60A2s 
(205-60-15) because I got them for $25 each, but when they're 
gone, I'll be stepping up to something more sporty, possibly 
going to 16".

The ride quality is only slightly more harsh, and very tolerable. 
I'm using 325# springs in the front, and 250# in the rear. This is 
a pretty good setup for the street. The CQ in stock form 
is pretty mushy, and with 125K on the clock, it rolled like a pig 
in mud.

I REALLY need to get her on the track now. Before, it was hard 
to concentrate on the course with all the chassis movement going 
on, but now she just sticks! I'm hoping to find a few track events 
here in the SE. It sounds like QCUSA will be opening a chapter down 
here soon.

The c-o kit is only about $200 more than a set of good springs. I 
think the adjustability is worth it, plus I didn't want to be at 
the mercy of the spring mfg with respect to the ride height and 
spring rates. The construction of the kit is quite good, and 
installation is pretty easy (unless you have it done by idiots!).
If there are any weaknesses in this setup, then I'm sure Ramana 
and his flying circus will find them long before I do.  ;^)

Eric Renneisen
'90 CQ 20V  -  my 'coiled-iron'  ;^)
Chattanooga, TN