HOW-TO: Lowering AAS via VCDS
07-30-2014, 02:30 PM
#1
HOW-TO: Lowering AAS via VCDS
*** I did not write this. All credit goes to "TunTap" on another forum that I frequent. I have not yet tried this myself. Waiting for more "guinea pigs" to try it out first. 
***
I finally accomplished lowering the S6 with VCDS. Some said it can't be done, but it most definitely worked for me. It should be entirely reversible in case you decide to revert the settings. All research was done through Google and playing around with software settings, none of this information was provided by Audi or Audi dealers. This method is an alternative to Lowering Links (which are great if you don't have the electronic tools/would rather go the mechanical route), or H&R lowering module (which is also great, and allows for on-the fly adjustments vs. having to mess with car systems).
I only tried this on my car. If someone would volunteer to do this and report back, that would be great.
I figured that since all the tools and information required to do this have already been made public on the internet, it is just matter of time until someone posts a step-by-step guide, so here it is.
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for anything that these changes may cause, or if your car breaks, or if dealership finds out and denies your warranty if something goes wrong... Try this at your own risk.
0) Set your car to "Auto" mode (not dynamic, comfort, etc.). Make sure car is on level ground. Close doors. If any doors are opened during the procedure, it will be interrupted. Make sure your car is NOT in a towing or tire changing mode.
1) Load up VCDS, go to Module 34 - Level Control
2) Go to "10 - Adaptation", take note of 4 values titled as "Body height front left wheel house edge" - mine were set to around 384 from factory.
3) Take the values you noted above, and ADD your desired drop in millimeters (mm) to each value, write it down... So if your left front wheel was 384.5, your new value will be 401.5. Repeat for the other wheels. It is not critical to be 100% precise here, rounding the values is fine. Note that maximum Audi-approved drop is 17mm from what I've gathered. You can go lower, but if you go lower, you're also affecting other systems, such as cameras, adaptive cruise, etc., so be careful.
Technically, if you want this procedure to be done properly, instead of taking existing values, you will measure all 4 wheels after completion of the step 7, and then add your drop value if desired. Suspension height values are measured from the center of the wheel to the edge of the fender.
4) Go to Security Access, enter code provided on the following website, under VCDS section, item #3 (I'm not posting this directly to avoid spreading sensitive data, although it's been posted on other forums in past) stemei.de .VCDS Codierungen .Codierungsservice .Webdesign - Stefan Meier - Elektronische Tieferlegung des AAS - VCDS Codierungen, Webdesign
5) You should get a message stating that security code has been accepted - if you don't, something failed, stop doing what you're doing
6) Go to 04 - Basic Settings
*** IMPORTANT: Whatever you do, DO NOT select "Reset All Adaptations" - this is not undoable, and will require a visit to a dealer. ***
7) Select "Activate Level Control", hit "Go", wait for it to complete (should only take a second, until it says "not running").
8) Select "Delete Level Control Calibration", hit "Go", wait for it to complete, your car will throw a fault code and you will see an error message stating Air Suspension Malfunction - this is normal.
7) Select "Start Up to Reference Level", hit "Go". This step will take about a minute, and your car will go up/down during the process (you'll hear hissing noises). Wait for it to complete, until it says "not running".
9) Select "Go Back", go to "10 - Adaptation" on the previous screen.
10) Next you will need to enter new adaptation values for all 4 wheels. Select "Body height front left wheel house edge", then enter new adaptation value, and hit Test or Save, whichever is available, and repeat for the other 3 wheels. I did it in the order the menu was arranged (FL, RL, FR, RR) - not sure if the order matters, but just in case. Each time you enter a value, you should get a message stating that it has been accepted.
11) After you're done entering adaptation for all 4 wheels, select "Go Back", and return to "04 - Basic Settings" again.
12) In basic settings, select "Calibrate Level Control" and hit go, it will take a few seconds. Wait for it to say "not running". If you get an error during this step, you either missed a step, or something went horribly wrong.
13) Select "Activate Level Control", hit "Go"
14) You're done, now go to "02 - Fault Codes" and Reset codes.
If this did or didn't work - please share your experience with the rest of us here.
***I finally accomplished lowering the S6 with VCDS. Some said it can't be done, but it most definitely worked for me. It should be entirely reversible in case you decide to revert the settings. All research was done through Google and playing around with software settings, none of this information was provided by Audi or Audi dealers. This method is an alternative to Lowering Links (which are great if you don't have the electronic tools/would rather go the mechanical route), or H&R lowering module (which is also great, and allows for on-the fly adjustments vs. having to mess with car systems).
I only tried this on my car. If someone would volunteer to do this and report back, that would be great.
I figured that since all the tools and information required to do this have already been made public on the internet, it is just matter of time until someone posts a step-by-step guide, so here it is.
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for anything that these changes may cause, or if your car breaks, or if dealership finds out and denies your warranty if something goes wrong... Try this at your own risk.
0) Set your car to "Auto" mode (not dynamic, comfort, etc.). Make sure car is on level ground. Close doors. If any doors are opened during the procedure, it will be interrupted. Make sure your car is NOT in a towing or tire changing mode.
1) Load up VCDS, go to Module 34 - Level Control
2) Go to "10 - Adaptation", take note of 4 values titled as "Body height front left wheel house edge" - mine were set to around 384 from factory.
3) Take the values you noted above, and ADD your desired drop in millimeters (mm) to each value, write it down... So if your left front wheel was 384.5, your new value will be 401.5. Repeat for the other wheels. It is not critical to be 100% precise here, rounding the values is fine. Note that maximum Audi-approved drop is 17mm from what I've gathered. You can go lower, but if you go lower, you're also affecting other systems, such as cameras, adaptive cruise, etc., so be careful.
Technically, if you want this procedure to be done properly, instead of taking existing values, you will measure all 4 wheels after completion of the step 7, and then add your drop value if desired. Suspension height values are measured from the center of the wheel to the edge of the fender.
4) Go to Security Access, enter code provided on the following website, under VCDS section, item #3 (I'm not posting this directly to avoid spreading sensitive data, although it's been posted on other forums in past) stemei.de .VCDS Codierungen .Codierungsservice .Webdesign - Stefan Meier - Elektronische Tieferlegung des AAS - VCDS Codierungen, Webdesign
5) You should get a message stating that security code has been accepted - if you don't, something failed, stop doing what you're doing
6) Go to 04 - Basic Settings
*** IMPORTANT: Whatever you do, DO NOT select "Reset All Adaptations" - this is not undoable, and will require a visit to a dealer. ***
7) Select "Activate Level Control", hit "Go", wait for it to complete (should only take a second, until it says "not running").
8) Select "Delete Level Control Calibration", hit "Go", wait for it to complete, your car will throw a fault code and you will see an error message stating Air Suspension Malfunction - this is normal.
7) Select "Start Up to Reference Level", hit "Go". This step will take about a minute, and your car will go up/down during the process (you'll hear hissing noises). Wait for it to complete, until it says "not running".
9) Select "Go Back", go to "10 - Adaptation" on the previous screen.
10) Next you will need to enter new adaptation values for all 4 wheels. Select "Body height front left wheel house edge", then enter new adaptation value, and hit Test or Save, whichever is available, and repeat for the other 3 wheels. I did it in the order the menu was arranged (FL, RL, FR, RR) - not sure if the order matters, but just in case. Each time you enter a value, you should get a message stating that it has been accepted.
11) After you're done entering adaptation for all 4 wheels, select "Go Back", and return to "04 - Basic Settings" again.
12) In basic settings, select "Calibrate Level Control" and hit go, it will take a few seconds. Wait for it to say "not running". If you get an error during this step, you either missed a step, or something went horribly wrong.
13) Select "Activate Level Control", hit "Go"
14) You're done, now go to "02 - Fault Codes" and Reset codes.
If this did or didn't work - please share your experience with the rest of us here.
Last edited by lnferno; 07-30-2014 at 05:12 PM. Reason: fixed broken link
The following users liked this post:
Will Yates (03-31-2021)
07-30-2014, 04:50 PM
#2
AudiWorld Super User
The link above is truncated in the middle. Here is the correct link:
stemei.de .VCDS Codierungen .Codierungsservice .Webdesign - Stefan Meier - Elektronische Tieferlegung des AAS - VCDS Codierungen, Webdesign
stemei.de .VCDS Codierungen .Codierungsservice .Webdesign - Stefan Meier - Elektronische Tieferlegung des AAS - VCDS Codierungen, Webdesign
07-30-2014, 05:13 PM
#3
The link above is truncated in the middle. Here is the correct link:
stemei.de .VCDS Codierungen .Codierungsservice .Webdesign - Stefan Meier - Elektronische Tieferlegung des AAS - VCDS Codierungen, Webdesign
stemei.de .VCDS Codierungen .Codierungsservice .Webdesign - Stefan Meier - Elektronische Tieferlegung des AAS - VCDS Codierungen, Webdesign
07-30-2014, 05:56 PM
#4
AudiWorld Super User
Decided to be guinea pig again and I can report that the procedure works! I successfully lowered all 4 corners by 10mm by adding 10 to the original stored values. I measured and the height went down by approximately 1/2 inch. Do heed the warning in red above about not touching the command to Reset All Adaptations, as I did that when I first got my S6 and had to take the car to the dealer to fix it.
This is very minor:
Step 8: The actual command name is "Delete calibration for level control".
Step 10: The button to save the change is "Do It".
Previously when I tried to do this it wasn't possible to enter a new value for the hub-to-fender height. It looks like the trick that makes this work are the intermediate steps to delete values and run calibration. I had actually found the linked page before, but it wasn't obvious to me how the Audi VAS commands translated to VAG/VCDS.
The car doesn't have to be running, but the ignition must be on and the doors need to be closed.
Thanks Inferno for finding this and posting it. Now everyone can do it!
This is very minor:
Step 8: The actual command name is "Delete calibration for level control".
Step 10: The button to save the change is "Do It".
Previously when I tried to do this it wasn't possible to enter a new value for the hub-to-fender height. It looks like the trick that makes this work are the intermediate steps to delete values and run calibration. I had actually found the linked page before, but it wasn't obvious to me how the Audi VAS commands translated to VAG/VCDS.
The car doesn't have to be running, but the ignition must be on and the doors need to be closed.
Thanks Inferno for finding this and posting it. Now everyone can do it!
Last edited by RobC; 07-30-2014 at 06:01 PM.
07-30-2014, 06:54 PM
#5
I decided to be guinea pig #2. I did the same -- dropped it only 10mm (I think 17 would be too low for my taste).
Everything worked for me as well. There were some very, very minor differences that I saw in the instructions compared to what I went through, but it was so negligible that it really didn't change the overall essence of the instructions. Like for step 10, after each corner, I had to select "stop" before moving to the next step. I think that was really the only thing that I didn't see in the instructions, but again, it was so minor that you should be able to figure it out pretty easily.
Everything worked for me as well. There were some very, very minor differences that I saw in the instructions compared to what I went through, but it was so negligible that it really didn't change the overall essence of the instructions. Like for step 10, after each corner, I had to select "stop" before moving to the next step. I think that was really the only thing that I didn't see in the instructions, but again, it was so minor that you should be able to figure it out pretty easily.
07-31-2014, 05:50 AM
#6
AudiWorld Super User
Ok, for those of you who have done this, when you are setting the parameter for the height of each corner, can you see it adjusting as you do it? Or is it something you only see after all the heights have been changed and gone through all the steps?
