Mini-modding a B6 Audi A4 - lowering it

antiskeptic

I have a 2003 Audi A4 1.8T that looks like something my grandfather would drive (Midnight Blue, 16" wheels and normal ride height). Given I could be a grandfather myself in theory, I'm not keen to over-pimp it > rather I'm just looking to trim some of the "oul fella/smell of wee" look off it.

And given it's age/mileage, I'm looking to do it on minimal budget

A stick-on boot spoiler has been fitted. tossy (of this forum) has advised that 17" OEM wheels are the economical/ruggedness/weight way to go - and he what he says makes sense. The next obvious thing to do is to lower it a bit.

So what's involved? The cheap-as-chips way appears to be to simply change the springs - heck you can probably pick em up for next to nothing second hand. What's a good amount to do this by (bearing in mind I'm only trying to shear some of the sheeps clothing - not dress it up like a wolf) assuming 17" wheels. And is it simply a matter of unbolting the shock, slipping on the spring and refitting (I don't fancy trying to remove pre-loaded springs unless it's straightforward)?

The alternative is coilovers - except I'm not sure what they are, other than appearing to be complete shockabsorbers. Or what advantage they give for the extra cost.

Any comments welcome..

antiskeptic

antiskeptic wrote: »

...............

So what's involved? ...................

.... notifying your insurance company.

antiskeptic

RoverJames wrote: »

.... notifying your insurance company.

Good point. At which mod-point does this begin? With a boot spoiler, an ipod aux-in kit, a lowering spring...?

db330

Coilovers would be the way to go and can be got for £200ish.

CiniO

antiskeptic wrote: »

Good point. At which mod-point does this begin? With a boot spoiler, an ipod aux-in kit, a lowering spring...?

I was told on this forum many times, that you have to notify them in case of any modification, so pretty much that would include all above.

I have lowering springs on my car + strut brace. I notified insurance company and premium was increased by 10%.

However I changed manufacturers radio to aftermarket mp3 SDcard radio, and I didn't mention it to them as I can't see the point.

robbie_998

CiniO wrote: »

However I changed manufacturers radio to aftermarket mp3 SDcard radio, and I didn't mention it to them as I can't see the point.

potential theft i assume ?

Im planning on the same for my car but didnt plan on telling insurance either.

Tea 1000

I wouldn't lower it at all. You'll make a complete balls of what is an already mediocre handling car, and given the VAG lot's tendency to very easily bottom out on bumps without even trying, you'll rip the underside of it over every crap road and speedbump it meets.
I'd go with sideskirts and front/rear splitter instead.
If you really, really must, then I'd get the springs out of the S-Line models which were around 12mm lower or something I think, and get the shocks also.

George Dalton

Less is more when it comes to modifying these. I would stay away from the side skirt and splitter approach. Tossy made a good suggestion regarding the OE 17" wheels. What would finish the car off nicely is if you lower it by around 30-40mm. Cheap coilovers will ruin the car so forget about that. You can get springs that will lower the car and are desiged to work with standard dampers (Eibach and H&R both do them) but even those will lead to a slightly bouncy ride, particularly if your original shocks are past their best, which lets face it they probably are. If you use a good quality matched spring and damper set then you will get the look you want and also improve the way the car drives. Something like a H&R cup kit or a set of Bilstein shock absorbers with H&R lowering springs would be ideal.

Tea 1000

George Dalton wrote: »

Less is more when it comes to modifying these. I would stay away from the side skirt and splitter approach. Tossy made a good suggestion regarding the OE 17" wheels. What would finish the car off nicely is if you lower it by around 30-40mm. Cheap coilovers will ruin the car so forget about that. You can get springs that will lower the car and are desiged to work with standard dampers (Eibach and H&R both do them) but even those will lead to a slightly bouncy ride, particularly if your original shocks are past their best, which lets face it they probably are. If you use a good quality matched spring and damper set then you will get the look you want and also improve the way the car drives. Something like a H&R cup kit or a set of Bilstein shock absorbers with H&R lowering springs would be ideal.

Less is more and 40mm lowering springs certainly aren't things that go together!

George Dalton

By less is more I meant visually as in don't stick a load of fibreglass all over the car like the 1.9TDI "RS4" brigade.

If the car is lowered by 40mm using good quality parts then there won't be any issues. I have fitted all sorts of lowered suspension to all sorts of VAG group cars and I find the best for day to day driving is a H&R cup kit. Drive a car with one of those fitted and you wonder why the car wasn't like that from the factory.

Tea 1000

George Dalton wrote: »

By less is more I meant visually as in don't stick a load of fibreglass all over the car like the 1.9TDI "RS4" brigade.

If the car is lowered by 40mm using good quality parts then there won't be any issues. I have fitted all sorts of lowered suspension to all sorts of VAG group cars and I find the best for day to day driving is a H&R cup kit. Drive a car with one of those fitted and you wonder why the car wasn't like that from the factory.

But from the sounds of the OP he isn't going to spend that kind of money on it, so I'd be in the "do it right or don't bother" camp.
I agree, fibreglass crap like the "Felt" spec is tack, but you can get very subtle kits for them.

antiskeptic

George Dalton wrote: »

By less is more I meant visually as in don't stick a load of fibreglass all over the car like the 1.9TDI "RS4" brigade.

The proverbial sheep in wolves clothing...

I wasn't planning on going anywhere near as far. Just rounding off the 'oul fella' edges where I can. The boot lid spoiler would be about the size of it from a body work perspective.

If the car is lowered by 40mm using good quality parts then there won't be any issues. I have fitted all sorts of lowered suspension to all sorts of VAG group cars and I find the best for day to day driving is a H&R cup kit. Drive a car with one of those fitted and you wonder why the car wasn't like that from the factory.

It should be noted that I've just changed to the Audi from the first car I've ever owned (a dog tired and saggy-in-every-dept '96 Ford Escort) and prior to that, a lifetime of motorcycling. An A4 in any condition will corner like it's on rails compared to those options.

It's gotta be cheap uber alles..

antiskeptic

Tea 1000 wrote: »

I wouldn't lower it at all. You'll make a complete balls of what is an already mediocre handling car, and given the VAG lot's tendency to very easily bottom out on bumps without even trying, you'll rip the underside of it over every crap road and speedbump it meets.
I'd go with sideskirts and front/rear splitter instead.
If you really, really must, then I'd get the springs out of the S-Line models which were around 12mm lower or something I think, and get the shocks also.

I'm not that demanding of a driver in the handling dept (see my comments above) so perhaps this is the way to go. I'm not trying to achieve anything like this look (tyres buried up in the wheel arches)

http://www.tein.com/tech_info/g70.html



This is more what I'm after. Perhaps you can comment on whether you think this car is lowered at all or is it just the wheels (what size?) which fill up what are on my car, a seemingly huge space between wheel arch and tyre

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audi_A4_B6_Cabriolet_%282002%E2%80%932006%29_front_MJ.JPG

Tea 1000

antiskeptic wrote: »

I'm not that demanding of a driver in the handling dept (see my comments above) so perhaps this is the way to go. I'm not trying to achieve anything like this look (tyres buried up in the wheel arches)

http://www.tein.com/tech_info/g70.html



This is more what I'm after. Perhaps you can comment on whether you think this car is lowered at all or is it just the wheels (what size?) which fill up what are on my car, a seemingly huge space between wheel arch and tyre

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audi_A4_B6_Cabriolet_%282002%E2%80%932006%29_front_MJ.JPG

The latter link doesn't look lowered, just big wheels. I'd fit the wheels first and see what it's like before buying any springs.

The Pontiac

George Dalton wrote: »

By less is more I meant visually as in don't stick a load of fibreglass all over the car like the 1.9TDI "RS4" brigade.

If the car is lowered by 40mm using good quality parts then there won't be any issues. I have fitted all sorts of lowered suspension to all sorts of VAG group cars and I find the best for day to day driving is a H&R cup kit. Drive a car with one of those fitted and you wonder why the car wasn't like that from the factory.

Even more true for a Saab 9-3 with sports suspension!

I've ordered the Bilstein B8's and Eibach Pro-Kit for my Saab 9-3. The original sports suspension (on the Vector and Aero models) is so atrocious, this is the only cure. Maybe it was better on later cars though?

Spent hours researching this - and the quick and cheapest fix is to fit the Eibach Pro-Kit and leave the Sachs OE dampers on; it apparently transforms the car's ride. Kit cost £200, and maybe €100 to fit. The Eibach lowers by 30mm, so it's only 10mm lower on the Vector as it was already lowered by 20mm over standard models.

The other option is to fit the Eibach Pro to the matching Bilstein B8's. More expensive, but should see better results. Full kit cost £600.

How did Saab get it so wrong? Why not just fit these to the car first day? Nearly all Saab owners with that sports suspension had to do their own mods to fix it. So crashy, drives like a 1988 Sierra with 150k on the clock. After mods - firm and composed but not crashy (I hope!).

Waiting on parts, will update then.

Wheres My ForkandKnife

RoverJames wrote: »

.... notifying your insurance company.

OP askes about whats involved in lowering a car and the first reply he gets is about his insurance:eek:

His responsibility to notify his insurance company has nothing to do with physically lowering his car.Is this the insurance police forum?If he had said "I have lowered my car, what next" then perhaps this comment would have been helpful or are we now obliged to inform an insurance company that you are thinking about mods for a car and therefore you must be a greater risk to even have such ideas.

OP, you car do it cheap or you can do it right.I would put the larger wheels on first and see how it looks. It vill be visually better straight away and then you can assess if its worth the extra expense to you to go further.

TestTransmission

Wheres My ForkandKnife wrote: »

OP askes about whats involved in lowering a car and the first reply he gets is about his insurance:eek:

His responsibility to notify his insurance company has nothing to do with physically lowering his car.Is this the insurance police forum?If he had said "I have lowered my car, what next" then perhaps this comment would have been helpful or are we now obliged to inform an insurance company that you are thinking about mods for a car and therefore you must be a greater risk to even have such ideas.

OP, you car do it cheap or you can do it right.I would put the larger wheels on first and see how it looks. It vill be visually better straight away and then you can assess if its worth the extra expense to you to go further.

Why dig up a 1 year old thread and then reply to a user who is banned?

Thread closed