Installed Neuspeed Bilstein Sports, kept the stock sport springs. Full review plus pics.......
04-06-2002, 05:44 PM
#1
Installed Neuspeed Bilstein Sports, kept the stock sport springs. Full review plus pics.......
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/caps4.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/iso1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/reariso1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/side.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/frontwheel.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/rearwheel.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/iso2.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/reariso2.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/sharp_iso.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/caps7.jpg">
I kept my stock sport springs, and installed Neuspeed Bilstein Sports. I set all four of the Neu-Bils on the lowest perches, which ended up dropping the front 20mm, and the rear 10mm (amount of drop is in reference to sport height. In relation to non-sport, it's 40mm lower front, 30mm lower rear).
The result is EXACTLY the look I wanted. Definitely quite a noticable drop over sport height, but not slammed, with a tiny amount of forward rake. Really makes the 17's look sweet, in my opinion, and still enough ground/snow clearance. It's a tight two-finger gap all aroud. For those looking for a dropped-but-not-too-much setup, this would be a good way to go.
For those who have been wondering, this is a fantastic setup. The Neu Bil Sports seem nicely matched to the stock sport springs....they really feel like they're made for each other. Performance wise, it's night and day. The car has way less body roll, nice and flat through the twisties. (Bear in mind that I already had Lltek sway bars, which definitely help reduce body roll). There is also a lot less pitch and dive when accelerating hard or braking.
Steering response and overall handling is SOOO much better. And the car just feels nice and damp. FAR more rebound resistance than the stock sport shocks. You know that floating feeling when you go up and over a rise? Gone. The car is so much more planted to the road. It's amazing.
Ride quality? Definitely a bit firmer, but really not that bad. Not nearly as bad as I was fearing. On really rough roads it is pretty stiff, a bit more jarring. But in some ways it's actually MORE comfortable than before. Because these shocks are so much damper (is that a word?) than the stock sport shocks, and there is so much less body roll, you don't get tossed around so much when going over rises and around corners. Overall, it's not quite as comfy as it was....but more than worth it if you like the twisties.
If you already have the sport package, and you're looking for a moderate drop, and you want to firm up the ride but still have a totally livable everyday driver, this is the way to go. Don't bother getting new springs, unless you want even more drop. As it turns out (most people don't know this) the stock sport springs are VERY nice springs. They're actually a little bit stiffer than H&R sports. So save yourself a couple hundred bucks by keeping your stock sport springs (or buying them used for almost nothing)and just get the Neuspeed Bilsteins.
I got the Neuspeed Bilsteins for about $490 directly from Neuspeed. If you order them directly from the website, shipping is free.
(BTW, I realize that this review sounds overly glowing....like an advertisement or something....baahaa....cheesy. But seriously, I ended up with a really great setup because I researched the hell out of it before hand, and ended up with exactly what I wanted)
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/iso1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/reariso1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/side.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/frontwheel.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/rearwheel.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/iso2.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/reariso2.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/sharp_iso.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/13802/caps7.jpg">
I kept my stock sport springs, and installed Neuspeed Bilstein Sports. I set all four of the Neu-Bils on the lowest perches, which ended up dropping the front 20mm, and the rear 10mm (amount of drop is in reference to sport height. In relation to non-sport, it's 40mm lower front, 30mm lower rear).
The result is EXACTLY the look I wanted. Definitely quite a noticable drop over sport height, but not slammed, with a tiny amount of forward rake. Really makes the 17's look sweet, in my opinion, and still enough ground/snow clearance. It's a tight two-finger gap all aroud. For those looking for a dropped-but-not-too-much setup, this would be a good way to go.
For those who have been wondering, this is a fantastic setup. The Neu Bil Sports seem nicely matched to the stock sport springs....they really feel like they're made for each other. Performance wise, it's night and day. The car has way less body roll, nice and flat through the twisties. (Bear in mind that I already had Lltek sway bars, which definitely help reduce body roll). There is also a lot less pitch and dive when accelerating hard or braking.
Steering response and overall handling is SOOO much better. And the car just feels nice and damp. FAR more rebound resistance than the stock sport shocks. You know that floating feeling when you go up and over a rise? Gone. The car is so much more planted to the road. It's amazing.
Ride quality? Definitely a bit firmer, but really not that bad. Not nearly as bad as I was fearing. On really rough roads it is pretty stiff, a bit more jarring. But in some ways it's actually MORE comfortable than before. Because these shocks are so much damper (is that a word?) than the stock sport shocks, and there is so much less body roll, you don't get tossed around so much when going over rises and around corners. Overall, it's not quite as comfy as it was....but more than worth it if you like the twisties.
If you already have the sport package, and you're looking for a moderate drop, and you want to firm up the ride but still have a totally livable everyday driver, this is the way to go. Don't bother getting new springs, unless you want even more drop. As it turns out (most people don't know this) the stock sport springs are VERY nice springs. They're actually a little bit stiffer than H&R sports. So save yourself a couple hundred bucks by keeping your stock sport springs (or buying them used for almost nothing)and just get the Neuspeed Bilsteins.
I got the Neuspeed Bilsteins for about $490 directly from Neuspeed. If you order them directly from the website, shipping is free.
(BTW, I realize that this review sounds overly glowing....like an advertisement or something....baahaa....cheesy. But seriously, I ended up with a really great setup because I researched the hell out of it before hand, and ended up with exactly what I wanted)
