continuing the last thread:<br>I see more use to adjustable dampers than ride height, especially if adjustment means trip to the dealer to align. I suspect most people are "set and forget". Comments?<p>On the suspension travel:<br>A shorter spring means stiffer, so wouldn't that mean less chance of bottoming out?<p>Wouldn't a longer travel (unless coupled with increased spring rate) be more likely to bottom out?<p>1996 a4 2.8 qm (thinking of koni coil over setup)

Many adjustable coilover packages come with shortened pistons in the shocks to preserve some of the travel.<p>Shortened pistons mean that the shocks will/may not bottom out. These combined with a matched spring should be ok and not result in the car bottoming out. The only complaint to a stiffer setup like this, is made by those who want a Cadillac ride. It isn't gonna happen.<p>An advantage of the 2.25" or 2.5" ID springs is that they are cheap and you can get different rates and lengths easily. This would allow you to tune the car yourself by stiffening/softening the springs back to front. <p>A shorter spring is not necessarily stiffer, but you could buy a stiffer "short" spring.<p>Kev

I agree with the posting below, with a minor exception. The shorter spring referred to is a shorter spring of any rate (aftermarket), vs. a shortened spring (which does get stiffer from the original length).<p>The Koni double adjustable is perfect if you are racing (from TrueChoice it is externally adj.). The single adj. Koni has to be removed, which is a pain.<p>Quite frankly, coilovers are pointless unless you have corner scales. The coilover is intended to lower the car AND allow the corner weights to be adjusted. Without the scales it is just a guess, and it is pretty hard to guess right. The handling can get pretty screwy with just a bit off. Coilovers also put you in SP in SCCA, which you do not want to do.<p>The grooved shockbody style is fine and you can always upgrade to a threaded sleeve later for almost nothing from carrera.

You're quite right, it's a "set and forget" kinda thing...especially with $200 alignments from the dealer =P<p>I'm kinda lost on the travel issue myself - at the current height that my car is set (about 1.5 fingers between fender and wheel), it drives just perfect to me. When I had the car set lower (about a pinky sideways), it slapped the bump stops much more frequently then it does now. No doubt, my car doesn't like rear seat passengers - the bump stops go off frequently when they sit back there. <p>However, Roland from H&R told me that their system is meant to incorporate the bump stops into suspension travel, as he stated that even the stock suspension utilizes the bump stops kinda as a "progressively stiffer" part of the suspension travel. Thus, perfectly okay to hit the bump stops on the coilovers. ???? Don't flame me, i'm just restating what I heard. However, I'll chime in by saying that when I do hit the bump stops, it's definently not harsh - it just makes a semi-loudish noise, and the car goes on its way, no wheels flying around anywhere or anything. :)<p>Amazingly, I measured from the bottom of the spoiler to the ground, there's about 4 fingers worth of ground clearance right before the front wheel! Honestly, with this kinda Cadillac ride (i'm of the opinion that the H&R's ride a bit softie-softie), i don't know how this car AVOIDS hitting the ground all the time. . . especially with these lovely roads that we have in LA. .. .. . <p>HTH, <p>Edmund Louie<br>98 A4Q 30V - Pic below<p><IMG SRC="http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/8138/a4181.jpg">

You're quite right, it's a "set and forget" kinda thing...especially with $200 alignments from the dealer =P<p>I'm kinda lost on the travel issue myself - at the current height that my car is set (about 1.5 fingers between fender and wheel), it drives just perfect to me. When I had the car set lower (about a pinky sideways), it slapped the bump stops much more frequently then it does now. No doubt, my car doesn't like rear seat passengers - the bump stops go off frequently when they sit back there. <p>However, Roland from H&R told me that their system is meant to incorporate the bump stops into suspension travel, as he stated that even the stock suspension utilizes the bump stops kinda as a "progressively stiffer" part of the suspension travel. Thus, perfectly okay to hit the bump stops on the coilovers. ???? Don't flame me, i'm just restating what I heard. However, I'll chime in by saying that when I do hit the bump stops, it's definently not harsh - it just makes a semi-loudish noise, and the car goes on its way, no wheels flying around anywhere or anything. :)<p>Amazingly, I measured from the bottom of the spoiler to the ground, there's about 4 fingers worth of ground clearance right before the front wheel! Honestly, with this kinda Cadillac ride (i'm of the opinion that the H&R's ride a bit softie-softie), i don't know how this car AVOIDS hitting the ground all the time. . . especially with these lovely roads that we have in LA. .. .. . <p>HTH, <p>Edmund Louie<br>98 A4Q 30V - Pic below<p><IMG SRC="http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/8138/a4181.jpg">

i have seen some coil over setups that utilize 2 different springs with different rates. The idea is to create progressive rates (i guess) so that the more u compress the stiffer they get.<p>1996 a4 2.8 qm<p>PS nice ride

obviously i know less than i thought!!

... is the concept of weighing your car at each of it's corners (each wheel).<p>By adjusting the heights of each of the coilovers individually, you can adjust the weight bias of your car from left to right and front to back.<p>This type of adjustment will determine some of the handling characteristics of that car and can be used to fine tune it.<p>Hope this kinda helps...<p>Kev

Thanks! Now all I need is some horsepower :)<p>Ah yes, the dual spring setup...those are quite cool in that they offer (supposedly) the ultimate adjustability. However, since the H&R coilovers i have are the street setup (Roland told me that they make race setups for the A4 so stiff it'd break my back) my particular setup doesn't use the 2.25" or 2.5" springs that everyone's talking about - rather, it's 2.25" or 2.5" (not sure which one) at the bottom, and it increases up to the stock diameter at the top. The rear setup, however, is a consistent-sized spring, and probably could be changed. <p>However, when I spoke with Roland, he cautioned against changing the springs (in the H&R setup at least) because he stressed the fact that it's a matched system, and meant to work in combination. I personally have a feeling that the shocks are too soft; if the springs were higher rate, it'd make the car "bounce" a lot more, since (i think) the shocks wouldn't be stiff enough to control the rebound. <p>People also asked about the coil bind that is common with this setup - from what i've heard, the reason why the spring is so damn long (hence, binded coils) is so that in the event of a full decompression, the springs wouldn't become unseated. I could see how this could potentially be a problem (!!!!!!)<p>That being said, I think my next set will be the Koni's with the 2.5" springs. =)<p>Edmund Louie<br>98 A4Q 30V

v

I have driven a sport suspension car...and mine with the H&R coilovers...before and after I put on Neuspeed sway bars. I would say that just the H&R coilovers definitely is an improvement over the sports suspension only. Especially when you put on the sway bars.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8qM

Geez,<p>What a smart-alec! Actually you have to use Susan B. Anthonys and color-matched duct tape. The scales are only about 500 a set used...maybe we should get a group together to buy one and share it?

I don't really feel unbalanced...not being counterweight adjusted with my coilovers. If I had the time, money, and opportunity...there are alot of things I would do. I say, you buy one...we'll buy shares at $25-50 a pop, and then we can cruize up there to do the counterweighting.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

(bet this will get some flames)

comments???<br>where did u pick it up<br>i am assuming this is the KONi with adjustable dampers.<p><br>1996 a4 2.8 qm

I installed KW's two weeks ago and I am very pleased. I physically compared an H&R to a KW. The difference is visible. Larger shock body, thicker shaft, better looking welds, ect..<p><br>The ride is a touch stiffer than stock 98 sport suspension, but if you throw the car through a corner it stay's very flat. Damn near perfect in my eye's. I've spent many years driving lowered honda's, acura's and race preped Ford Feista's, and I've never seen such a good combination of performance and ride quality that the KW's exibit.

I am curious if you have made that comparison. I understand they look more substantial, but that is not all there is to a suspension. I am actually very curious about these...I had not heard about them ever before...until just recently.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

i am big on softening the ride during the winter.<p>on a cold day with stiff sidewalls, look out!<p>1996 a42.8<br>

i had a laser/talon/eclipse with koni /eibach setup. (fixed ride height, adjustable dampers)<p>i NEVER bottomed out, even with 3 passengers, at 180KPH+ on 400 highways (in the old days, this was a pretty uneven highway).<p>the ride height was 2 finders to fender.<p>1996 a4 2.8 qm<br>

The reason I only compared the H&R's and KW's based on pure aesthetics is because I have never driven an A4 with H&R's. Hence, I'm not about to talk about what I don't know. <p>A larger shock body and shaft creates a much more rigid shock compared to its skinnier counterpart. This also helps dissipate heat quickier under prolonged hard driving. One last benifit is that ailignment angles stay consistant during hard cornering.<p>The only place in the US to get KW's is at JT Motorsports in Simi Valley (JT is willing to match the price of H&R's). Customer service is not their strong point, so don't expect them to answer any questions. I think HPA in B.C. also imports KW's and their much friendlier.<p>KW is the #1 selling coilover in Germany. They must do something right.<br>

I hear that they make only one coilover correctly and take it to TUV for the approval and the rest are no good. A person in Germany bought some coilovers and got them tested and it wouldn't pass the TUV lowered 1" without bottoming out. the result the car wasn't safe. Oh and I'll give you 8 weeks till they start leaking. and that's my 2 pesos