On the suspension subject

[Daniel Harman <dharman@sprynet.com>]

I am sure some of you remember my "suspension hell!" post, but with all
the talk of springs and such, I thought I would comment on my new setup.

I now have the Neuspeed Race Springs with the Bilstien height adjustable
shocks. This setup is frankly as kick ass as anything I have ever
experienced. My original goal was an M3 stiffness and handling. Turns
out this is much stiffer than that, but the A4 chassis is so damn solid,
the ride is better described as firm than harsh. I do have to be careful
over potholes and speed bumps, but otherwise it is pretty compliant.

The setup is so good that I still haven't been able to break up the
tires (Bridgestone S-02 PP 225/45/17)! The car refuses to let go of the
corner, and I regret more than ever that I didn't get the sport seats.
My torso is tattooed with handles,  window switches, and armrests. I
can't even get the thing to powerslide anymore. There is ABSOLUTELY
POSITIVELY NO body roll, horizontal or vertical. A surprising thing is
that understeer doesn't seem to be as much of a problem anymore.

There are only two problems. When you take an off camber turn into a
driveway, all the weight is lifted off the inside rear wheel. This
causes the spring to depress very quickly resulting in a ping noise. The
other problem is that it is a progressive spring system (the coils get
closer as you move down the spring). This results in some squeaking at
low speeds.

The car also sits at a perfect height. There is the same amount of space
between the tire and the fender all the way around. So if you have an A4
and a decent back, buy this setup.

99 A4 1.8TQMS K04 Santorin

PS. Website update coming tomorrow.