best suspension ?

remo

A2OC Donor
hi to all, im going to change my suspension on my 1.4 td se 04, but a bit confused what set up to go for, koni fsds or kw coilovers varient 1 or 2 or koni adjustables, any advice will be appreciated, thankyou
 
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I have FSD's with weitec 30/30 springs and love it. Lots of A2 owners have the FSD's and with good reason.Keep the stock springs if you like and the FSD's will still give a great ride.
 
Schnelltrecker can probably give the most in-depth write up of the pros and cons of the different dampers available, but I can vouch for the FSD set up. I have Weitec 30 springs at the front, with Audi Sport springs at the back which gave me a nice lowering (of about 15mm) and a marked improvement in ride and handling. Money well spent as far as I am concerned!
 
FSDs - no question but, given the possibility of grounding of the front lower bumper, I'm not keen on Weitec or other lowering springs. I've now reverted to my original springs on the rear and a new pair of standard front springs. The handling benefits of the FSDs are still very apparent and the ride comfort with standard spings is, IMHO, far superior to either a standard non-FSD set-up or FSDs plus Weitec lowered springs.
 
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Another vote for FSDs - had them fitted now for about 3 years (if not longer?) and with Weitecs at the front (-30) and sport springs at the back (-10) the ride and handling are superb.

Yes, you can get sportier setups, but for the best all round performance, FSDs are the way to go.

Cheers,

Mike
 
It's fascinating reading these posts, and from regular Club contributors who seem to know their stuff. People's views vary so much! I now have FSDs and Weitec -30s on the front of my SE 75, and modified (pre-compressed) A2 'luxury' springs on the back giving -20 net front and rear. I ran standard SE rear springs before but the ride height was too high at the rear (but not by much). The ride is the best I've achieved yet, but still far from impressive. The FSD rebound is poorly controlled on the front (a problem identified by others). In layman's terms, the front end is 'bouncy' on certain surfaces. On balance I would still fit FSDs, but in my experience they are far from brilliant. I hear what Alan and others say about their use with standard springs (which is what they were designed to be used with), but the ride height on standard springs just looked all wrong to me, so I've tried to reduce it. This is particularly important (in my view) with 17" wheels which look daft if there's too much gap around them.

Interestingly, perhaps the biggest single improvement I have made is fitting OZ Superleggera GT alloys (17" 7s with 205/40s). Previously, with 16" SE wheels (185 Pirellis) and the FSDs fitted with the -30 Weitecs on the front, the car drove without any real feel. It was a muddle. Putting the OZs on (with Fulda tyres) made a huge difference. Suddenly the car 'came together' and felt much sharper. The relatively inexpensive tyres are noisy, but the reduced unsprung weight and 'feel' has transformed the car. And far more than I was expecting.

I also think its important to 'run in' the FSDs. 2000 miles of 'settling' really does make a difference. Why I don't know. But in my experience it does. The 'bouncyness' just reduced.

I've spent so much on fiddling about with springs now that I'm tempted to leave well alone but I'd still like to find a set up which will reduce the side-to-side wobble and front bounce while maintaining a nice ride-height. ABT might do it or H&R - both non-linear progressive springs. But every time I pull them all off I have to have the 4-wheel alignment redone. It's just silly. And I'd like to try pre-compressing the front Weitecs by -10mm (as Schnelletrecker advised), but that might make the bounce factor worse. You can go on and on...!

At the end of the day, I firmly believe you have to develop your own car accordingly to your own tastes. All springs are manufactured differently, and FSD batches vary a lot too. I just wish my girl's bog-standard new Polo didn't ride so much better than my A2 which now owes me £1600 in suspension R&D. And I still haven't got it right! Mad!

I hope this helps somehow!

Richard
 
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I've had FSD's fitted with wietec -30 at the front and std on the rear, was very impressed it feels like a lot bigger car now just more settled on the road.

Knees up not sure why you need to do a 4 wheel alinment everytime you change your springs, as unless you move the sub frame.

Fitting a rear arb has helped to settle the roll down

If you do a search on youtube you can see from the inside of the car what its like , look for a2 at castle combe 08.

Good lucl with whatever you go for

Phil
 
opinions please

hi to all, :confused: has anyone got kw coilovers fitted or spax rsx, as im thinking of going this down this route, just been put off koni fsds after reading kneesup thred, thanks
 
hi to all, :confused: has anyone got kw coilovers fitted or spax rsx, as im thinking of going this down this route, just been put off koni fsds after reading kneesup thred, thanks

If you read above someone has fitted the Spax rsx, plus don't be put of i think Knees up was an isolated case not heared anyone else have this problem

Here's the link to the video on youtube


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9XK_ZQ-SPI

It maybe worth seeing if anyone in your area has got these fitted and go out for a spin in one just so you know what you are looking at and feeling


Phil
 
I wasnt over awed with spending Not quite £600 on suspension and its results at first,Since doing a few thousand miles its far far better and would have to concede its worth the money,Im on -30,-10.
But So much so If I ever had to get another A2 I would have to factor in getting the FSD setup as a matter of course.

HTH


Roy:cool:
 
In layman's terms, the front end is 'bouncy' on certain surfaces. On balance I would still fit FSDs, but in my experience they are far from brilliant. I hear what Alan and others say about their use with standard springs (which is what they were designed to be used with), but the ride height on standard springs just looked all wrong to me, so I've tried to reduce it.
Richard,
I understand you had the FSD first fitted with the standard springs ?
Apart from the look, how did the suspension behave ? Was it still bouncy ?

On my FSI too, i think it's too bouncy, but I know why, it's because I fitted the FSD & Weitec springs that I had first fitted on my 1.4, so the spring are designed for a lighter engine (1.2 TDI & 1.4 petrol). For the 1.6 and the TDI, the spring rate is higher.
I'm still unsure of what to do : refit the front std springs, or buy a set of proper front Weitec -30 for the 1.6

On the 1.4, the FSD + weitec + 17" were not really confortable, but rather sporty, but at least not bouncy. I should have tried that setup with 15" or 16" wheels fitted though, to "isolate" the wheel diameter factor...
 
I can understand those expecting firm, controlled suspension commenting that the FSDs are "bouncy". They don't (after 1500km run-in) keep things under control anywhere near as much as I was expecting. It's not a problem as far as I'm concerned - I have terrible roads to contend with - but it's not sporty.

For that to be fulfilled, I'd want even more rebound control and significantly stiffer springs. I got this in the summer on the old shocks with the car stuffed to the brim. It reacted really nicely, but empty it was awful. Right now it's pretty good empty, though I have cold temperatures.

I would not replace the stock springs with something similar, I'd like to raise it slightly but with less squidge.

Bret
 
Remo, Please don't be put off the FSDs because of me. I still think they are worth fitting and I suspect if you keep the standard springs on they will work pretty well. That said, both Vince and Graham at Stealth have had the same problems with FSDs as I describe (I've done a separate post about that). I also think different spring and shock batches have different characteristics.

Phil: your rear ARB comments are interesting as I was considering that route. There are two issues I have with the FSDs and springs I'm currently using: the front 'bouncyness' over certain surfaces and a rocking from side to side issue which I know is heavily influenced by the rear spring choice. Conceivably fitting a rear ARB would solve the latter issue. And comments gratefully received on that!

My last route is to try fitting non-linear springs of the ABT or H&R type. I might take the plunge as I'm determined to get it right, but I hate throwing money around. The A2 is such a stunning car let down by it's primative suspension. There has to be a way...!

As for the 4-wheel alignment issue, I hear what you say Phil but after I had my FSDs fitted the tracking was suddenly way out. I didn't fit them myself and wasn't looking over the mechanics' shoulder, so I'm just not familiar with the issue.

Thanks to all.

Richard
 
Sorry guys I hadn't read the last page of posts before writing my last. Thank you Bret, Roy and fbi for your reassuring and useful comments. Encouraged, I thought I'd add a bit more. I hope I'm not high-jacking a thread but it seems relevant:

Firstly, I think the important thing is to commit to either a focused Sporty ride or a soft one, but don't try and fudge the issue by mixing, say, stiffer springs with 16" wheels and FSDs. Somehow the car doesn't hang together properly if you try and create a compromise. In other words, either fit FSDs with standard everything else or go the whole hog and commit to a tighter A2 with a firmer more focused ride: 17" 205s, lighter alloys, FSDs, lower and stiffer suspension front and rear.

I feel qualified to say this because I started off with a standard SE Tdi 75. I put on FSDs and Weitec -30s (front) but kept the 16" SE wheels, 185 Pirellis and standard rear springs. It felt all over the place. I then bought the Luxury option springs from Audi and fitted them in place of the SE items. It felt worse. I then had the Luxury springs compressed by 40mm each side which sorted out the ride height and much improved the ride control. But it still isn't right. The bouncyness was diminished by this time as I'd done over 2000 miles. Fitting my OZs made a vast improvement, and keeping at 205s kept the steering sharp.

I agree with those who say stiffer springs might be the option. And that's why I'm tempted to commit and go the H&R or ABT route. (H&R -25mm all round, or ABT -35 to -40 all round). I'd also get the fronts pre-compressed by 10mm.

And then maybe I'd fit a rear ARB.

But it's all such a performance! I'll post a full summary when I'm done!

Thanks to all.
 
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I also feel the need to add about the difference between tyres.... I presently run 215/40R17 summers on Toora alloys. Weight around 22kg.
Winters are 185/55R15 Hakka 4s on 5.5x15 steel wheels. To say these make a huge difference to the handling feel of the car is an understatement.

It may well be that on 17s, this set up is really good, because the extra masses involved resolve bounce. I'm inclined, however, to believe that dropping to super light 15s and 195/50 would provide significantly better wheel control without negatively affecting ride in comparison with the 17s.

The 185s get the power down much better with FSDs than before. They're spiked, so on wet surfaces it's pretty simple to run a controlled ASR-allowed wheelspin. Or at least it used to be, because that's also pretty much gone unless you absolutely modulate the pedals correctly.

Looks are another thing entirely....

Bret
 
Bret, I always read your posts with interest - always so useful - thank you for them.

In so far as wheels and tyres are concerned, I really liked my 185s on my 16s before I fitted the FSDs and am generally a fan of narrow tyres. They provide bags of feel and better winter traction. So when I went to 17s I wanted to stay at 205/40 maximum. Sometimes adding width can really lose the steering feel, so I was nervous about going to 215 and certainly 225. When I bought the 205/40s I thought they would be too firm and that 205/45 would be the way to go. But actually they feel just right.

Most significantly, and as I previously stated, changing from my 185 16s to 205 17s made a huge difference for the better to the ride and handling of my FSD'd A2. Admittedly I also put on OZ Superleggeras, which weigh no more, and probably less, than the 185s on Audi 16s, but the net result is brilliant.

For me the problem of rebound control and ride quality now has to be solved with stiffer, more sophisticated (than Weitec) springs and possibly a rear ARB. But that's just my opinion.

By the way, do you have a view on - or experience of - linear springs, like Weitces, versus the non-linear (using different coils types on a common spring), like ABT and H&Rs?
 
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