I have a non sport package a4. I would like to stiffen up the car for a better handling. Does anyone have any experience with the Bilstein sports? They have an exemplary reputation quality wise, but how much stiffer will the ride be. This car is a daily driver, and I'm willing to sacrifice some comfort for the increased control, but do not want a boy racer car that requires a kidney belt.<p>Also am thinking about springs. Any experience with H&R's, or Eibach's.? Again, I'd like to be able to whoop some cars in the corners, but I still gotta drive the car everyday to work.<p>Thanks in advacance.

ok I know what you are going through i my self didn't want to wear a kidney belt.<p>well Bilstein are very good. as for stiffness i found that the sport is fairly stiff. if you ahve a quattro there is only the sprot model available but if you got the FWD get the HD units. they ahve the same valving as the sport so it is firm but the piston rod is longer allowing it more travel.<p>I had a set of Sprots on Eibach on my mercedes it was OK but a bit hard! went with the HD and it was alot better i still ahve teh same control but the car tends to lean more.<p>as for H&R with Bilestine?? well my bro has H&R on his 325is and the sport set up. he has the race springs and man that thing is rock solid. the bmw suspension geometry is very silky smooth but at high speeds like say 100mph it gets choppy.<p>I currently drive a Quattro A4 and my set up is going to be H&R race with konis. i am going to try koni cause they are adjustable. i will see how the stock set up on the Koni's are and if it is too soft i will start clicking.<p>Good luck!!!<p>BTW Sprot shocks (OE) with H&R sport springs are just right!!!

I have Bilstein sports, as well as many other mods., on my A4 right now. I use this car as a daily driver and I am very happy with it. For springs I went with the Avant-Gardes, a little bit lower than the sport package, but not slammed- speed bumps are no problem and I also live .5 miles down a dirt road. The car handles it nicely, feels fine even after it rains. As for the shocks, I have tried many varities on many modified cars and I feel that Bilstein are the best. I have also heard many people claim that H&R's tend to sag a little after usage. I experienced this with my '93 90Q a couple of years ago. On a different note, if you can afford it, go for a coil-over set-up.

Go ahead and start clicking. 8^) I have H&R Sport/Koni Sport, with the Konis set about medium. They're not that bad on medium, but they could dampen just a bit more. Actually, you'll hear many different opinions, but from what others have said, all the way firm is not too firm for the Konis. Hopefully some other Koni owners will respond that have them on different settings.<p>CraigB

Just did Bil sports and Neuspeed springs. It is perfect. I have a quattro that had the non-sport OEM set-up. I have NO sacrafice in ride quality and much better performance. The OEM set-up took longer to correct itself over a bump. This hits a bump (not any more roughly) and immediately it is over. I went from 16s to 17s at the same time and the stiffer" suspension even with the 17s is not too harsh for me.<p>good luck

Do you have a 1.8 or 2.8L? After the install have you noticed any noises coming from the rear spring/shock area when you enter or exit driveways? I installed the same setup as you recently and get a severe "spring" noise from the rear when the car goes over uneven surfaces. The noise occurs when one of the front wheels is higher than the other such as turning up an incline.<p>Sean<br>97 1.8Tqm

Yup,<br>I've got the 2.8qm neuspeed/bilsteins,17" and when I'm making a sharp slow speed turn up an incline so as to avoid scraping, I get the "SPROING!" I think it has to do with the stress the suspension get from the quattro putting torque to both front and back wheels. It just happened to me this weekend. It's probably from the spring twisting on the perches. No big deal unless someone tells me otherwise.<p>I get stress at the wheels due to quattro whenever I throttle very sharp turns.<p>Drew<br>

I had some LOUD spring settling noises the first few times I hit some big bumps and level changes. Since then I am happy to report zero noise (I have not even been listening to the radio for this very reason).

So others <B>ARE</B> experiencing this issue! The "SPROING!" is exactly the noise I get. I don't think it is related to the Quattro, though.<p>In addition to entering and exiting parking lots when I back out of my driveway at idle the noise occurs. The rear wheels drop of the curb quietly then I turn the wheel to angle out onto the street. As the left front wheel drops off the curb with the right front still on the curb the noise manifests itself at the right rear spring. The exact opposite happens if I happen to be backing out the other direction and drop the right front wheel of the curb first. The sound is then on the left rear.<p>It appears that any torsional movement of the chassis causes the problem. I have heard it driving through an uneven parking lot where the front and rear are not perfectly flat. I have also heard it if I make a turn that is faster than normal in which one side of the car loads up and the other side unloads.<p>It seems to me that you should not have such spring movement/noise at all. Even if it is not causing any "damage" it is still annoying.<p>Does anyone with Eibachs or H&R's have this type of noise? I'd really be interested to know if this is a possible design issue with the Neuspeed spring or something to expect from any brand.<p>Sean<br>97 1.8Tqm<p><ul><li><a href="http://www.ns.net/~seang">Sean's A4 Page</a></li></ul>

Sorry I didnt see that there was double post<br>Jeff<p>"I had a non-sport a4 and put bilstein sport shocks on. I also have neuspeed springs and 17" rims. So I am not sure if the bilsteins are to blame. For me my car is a little too stiff now. The freeway is the worst, you feel every little bump. But preformance is far superior now, very little body lean and it doesnt feel like a camry anymore. Highspeed driving is greatly improved. But I would be willing to give up some of the performance for a little more comfortable ride. I havent driven the stock sport package but I imagine it probably what I would like.<p>I also have'nt owned a sports car/sedan before(82 Audi 5000s, Toyota 4x4). So I dont know how stiff sport cars run to compare my car to it. So maybe I am just a baby!<p>So you need to decide what kind of trade off you want to make. Hope this helps alittle.<br>Jeff "<p><br>