Mod undo: H&Rs coming off

[Heresy64]

A couple of months ago, I had the H&R sport springs installed on my Q5. I loved the look (they lower the vehicle by about 1.5 inches), but I felt like the ride was a little harsh. I hoped after a few weeks the springs would settle and the ride would moderate a bit. Well, it hasn't, so the H&Rs are coming off and the stock springs are going back on. I always thought the spring rates on the Q5 were set just about perfectly between handling and ride. The ride was always controlled and they passed my test (a set of RR tracks near my home at 40 mph) without any drama. With the H&Rs I expected to lose a little ride quality, but they failed the RR track test miserably (teenage son riding in back seat hit his head on the roof). The final straw was last week when I was driving a client around in the car and ordinary road bumps had her bouncing in her seat. So, for those of you looking to install the H&R springs, be sure you're willing to sacrifice the outstanding ride quality of the Q5. There is a distinct difference. For me, the trade-off was not worth it. It's turned into a $1500 mistake. However, if anyone wants some lightly used springs cheap, mine will be available in about a week.

[ThunderDent]

Thanks for the synopsis of your experience. I considered the thought of lowering my Q5, but decided against it. I love the ride quality and handling as is and didn't want to mess with it. I'm already $8k deep into my mods anyway, and couldn't justify all that money for a slightly lower look.

It's not like Audi factory engineering settings were awful or anything.

And, don't worry, I figure we've all made some monetary mistakes in the past when it comes to getting our Q's the way we want them. I know I have.

[HarmsWay]

Originally Posted by Heresy64

I always thought the spring rates on the Q5 were set just about perfectly between handling and ride.

Agreed. Audi did a great job dialing that in.

[D_Frost]

I think this is the first time I saw a return to stock scenario... many others have said going with H&Rs made the ride more compliant/comfortable... thanks for the info... guess coilovers would be the way to go...

Thanks!

[Heresy64]

Originally Posted by D_Frost

I think this is the first time I saw a return to stock scenario

I can't imagine a scenario where the H&Rs would give a more compliant ride. Better handling and control, yes. Better ride, no way.

[D_Frost]

Thanks... I was thinking the same thing when I was reading threads like:

http://forums.audiworld.com/showthre...q5+h%26amp%3Br

http://forums.audiworld.com/showthre...amp%3Br&page=2

Glad I wasn't going insane...

[Yoshimura]

Originally Posted by Heresy64

I can't imagine a scenario where the H&Rs would give a more compliant ride. Better handling and control, yes. Better ride, no way.

Compared to stock, How was the handling when tarmac is less than perfert?

[Heresy64]

Originally Posted by Yoshimura

Compared to stock, How was the handling when tarmac is less than perfert?

I didn't get a chance to test the handling on poor surfaces. I didn't have them on long enough to really test that part out. On ordinary roads and streets, it handled great. It was just the harsh ride I couldn't live with. And on bad roads, the harsh ride was amplified.

[Niteshade]

"...had her bouncing in her seat."

I fail to see a problem here. Is there video?

[DriftDreamzSS]

What did you expect? Its never a good idea to go with stiffer lowering springs without a set of dampers valved for the higher spring rates. Trying to use oem shocks with aftermarket springs will almost always result in less than optimal ride quality and performance. The shop that installed them should have told you this much.