Re: But which urq suspension is BETTER? was Re: ur-quattro differences

[JustaxPHX@aol.com]

> They took it off for a reason.  The later (post-1987) ur-quattros outhandle
the earlier ones by a comfortable margin.

Never having driven a post-1987 Ur-Q or an early one with the rear a/r bar, I
can't comment upon whether one handles any better than the other ... however,
if this is indeed the case, then I'm really puzzled as to how Audi
accomplished it since I don't see that they made any significant changes in
the suspension design over the years.  Individual parts, Yes, but the basic
overall suspension design, No...

In fact, last night, while I looking through the service manual with regard to
another matter, I opened the pages that cover the rear suspension and found a
note that said, in effect, although there are new part numbers for the strut
housings and the rear control arm/balljoint assemblies, they are compatible
with the old parts and don't have to match side-to-side.  If true, this
confirms my previous suggestion that the many part changes that Dave Eaton has
noted aren't responsible for the claimed improvement in handling between the
6x15 and 8x15 cars since they can't be too much different if Audi says they're
fully interchangable with each other.

The more I dig into this, the more I'm beginning to think the only possible
change Audi could have made that wouldn't be visible but could significantly
affect handling is to the damping characteristics of the strut inserts.

JG