I'm thinking of going with Vogtland Sport or Neuspeed Sport Springs, but what is the better combo of shocks, Koni or Bilstein?

Looking to lower, but not shatter my teeth, I work around railroad tracks =-). So softer. I've ruled out the Eibach Kit after reading too many bad reviews and narrowed it down to Neuspeed or Vogtland.

I'm running 225/45/17s on Borbet E's

Thanks!

I wanted the same thing you are talking about.

Some people say Bilsteins get firmer with age.

Plus, Konis are adjustable.

...any koni or bilstein kit I've driven.

I've called tech support, plus with the reports of "sagging" springs... probably a good thing.

Basically they only make 2001 for the Avant.

I think the Vogtland/Koni's will be the way to go... What setting son the Koni's would you recommend, I'm thinking 40% Front, 60% rears?

...which in literal settings means:

Front = 0 to 2.5 turns (MIN to MAX) range
Front Setting = 2.25 turns from MIN

Rear = 0 - 2.5 turns or 10 sweeps (MIN to MAX) range
Rear Setting = 1.25 Turns or 5 sweeps from MIN

Just need to find a shop to install them now...

...The front needs more then the damper can adjust to. That's why I recommend running it on max (well, 1/16 of a turn off of max). This will help the front as much as it can.

Now that your front is fixed, you'll end up adjusting the rear to get the right balance for you. If you run too much or too little, it will not take dips together (pogo effect).

YOu may fine that slightly more or less in the rear makes the car behave the way you like it. But, from my driving, I've found that the best place to start is half-way on the rears. Then add or subtract from there as needed.

If you want to get a noticeable decrease in understeer, go with a larger rear sway bar (19 or 22 mm).

I've run the old and new KONI Sport valving on a B5 S4 sedan with spring rates ranging from 350/290 to 700/800 (and about 6 combinations in the middle) and with ride heights as low as 24.5" and as high as 26". I'm not saying I know what's best for how you want your car setup, but I can say, this is where I'd recommend starting.

I ask because what you have tried is on a S4 whereas I will be running the same shocks and spring rate (A4 koni sport w/ 350lb F springs) on an b5 A4. So would you still recommend the damper rebound maxed out on an A4?

Now I know our driving preferences are probably different, but I have no experience in this at all and hoping to get the front setting right the first time so I dont have to take everything apart to readjust. The rears are okay as adjustable on the car so I can experiment.

I'd really appreciate your experiences with the different adjustments etc with the old koni sport valving with 350f/290r lb springs on your S4.
(What do you mean the 'pogo effect'?

Thanks a lot Ryan =D

...I never really changed the weight on teh car, so I can't say what more rear weight or less front or whatever would affect my rebound recommendations.

But...

I can say that as the spring rates went up, the amount of rebound needed to be less to get a drive-able car. But the setup was far from ideal. Anything over 450/500 I could never adjust to something drive-able. 700/800 was absolutely horrid to drive on those dampers.

At any rate, the lower the spring rate, the more rebound seemed to work better. So I'd still run the fronts maxed out, and start with the rears at half way. If you can, you should slot the rear housings so you can adjust the rebound with the dampers still installed on the car.