Spring differences OSS vs non-OSS

trex

Member
I'm wondering if anyone knows the differences between the coil springs recommended for the non-OSS equipped cars and the OSS ones?
I'm curious because last year i've changed my front springs to SPIDAN 49515 as wrongly recommended by the local parts shop, but my car has OSS and should have gone with the 56830 model. Now the back left spring has gone ( YES, even back springs break on my lovely local roads :| ) and i'm going for the recommended OSS 56833 variant, plus i'm also thinking if it's worth it to change the front ones too?
Any opinions?
 
The Spidan 56833 (rear springs for use on all A2s with OpenSky) are not recommended. They are too tall and will result in the rear of your car being far too high. No matter how an A2 is spec'd, I would never consider using these springs. I would fit Spidan 49546 at the rear.

As far as I know, your front springs (49515) are suitable for the TDI/FSI both with and without OpenSky, so keep things as they are at the front.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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OH! I spoke to Spidan today who I thought was in Oxford? but was I believe in Germany! 'He' seemed to be in favour of Spidan 56833 springs at £41.49 each with FEDEX carriage direct from Germany at £7.50 for my 2001 A2 TDi 75 SE. It appears from the previous post that my car will sit with its arse in the air which I don't think is a good look! I am now totally confused!

Shall I stick with the present springs which I wasn't aware were broken, as I think there is only about 12mm missing at the 'bottom'! Should I instead buy the 49546 which I assume will sit on new AUDI rubber 'seats' but with what shockers? I had thought of FSD? Whatever I buy will be complimented at the front eventually. I have open Sky but cannot see what part that plays in the overall plan of things?

More advice please but I am very much appreciating just getting into my 180K Passat Estate and going whenever to wheresoever without wondering about springs and things that have a life or not whenever they feel like it!

There does seem to be a price to pay for having a beautifully bodied A2 riding on what appears to be a poorly made suspension system.
 
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I have a TDi with open sky roof and was looking at Spidans recently to replace a broken front spring. The OSS roof is not that heavy but the weight is high up, so all I can think is Audi use the heavier springs to add roll stiffness.

Broken coil springs is not unique to the A2. It affects virtually all European cars.
The magazines attribute it to the fact that springs are no longer ground flat at the ends for perfect seating. They now leave the spiral form of the spring end and the bottom spring pan is roughly formed to match. The interface is never perfect which stresses the end coils and leads to early failure. Speed humps and poor roads just sped up the process.

Cheers Spike
 
Hi Meriafel,

I don't quite understand your post from above. You said you'd spoken to Spidan, who you thought was in Oxford but was instead in Germany? Spidan are a branch of GKN, not a person. I'm confused. :confused:

EDIT: Ah, I think I understand... 123spareparts are based in Oxford. They no longer stock Spidan springs, meaning they've got to be ordered from Germany.
The guys at parts centres have no real-world knowledge of Spidan springs on A2s - they're just retailers looking stuff up in a parts database.


Anyway...

Suspension is the greatest complaint about the A2; it's really the only major bit that Audi forgot to design. I suspect some cost-cutting was done here to try to stop the A2's price spiralling way up above the competition.

The rear of your car: Torsion fractures in the OEM springs at the back are common. I've seen loads of A2s with ~12mm of spring broken off at the back. Generally speaking, by the time this happens, the PUR seats have totally degraded and also need replacing.

As I said above, Spidan 56833 are not recommended, whether you've got OpenSky or otherwise. Strictly speaking, they're the 'correct' part for your car according to the parts database, but they result in a back end that sits far too high. Take a look at the photo I've linked. That car has OpenSky and uses 56833 springs at the back. Oh dear... http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/7037/a2001.jpg
I would fit Spidan 49546 at the rear, no matter which dampers you use.

The front of your car: The choice here is wholly dependent upon which dampers you plan on using. FSDs are known to impart lift at the front, whereas Bilsteins and Monroes do not. So as not to throw too many Spidan spring number at you all at once, I'll not go into detail until you've decided which dampers to use.

As Spike says, OpenSky doesn't add much weight, but the location of that weight is cause for Spidan to make different sets of springs. However, frequency-selective dampers like FSDs do an excellent job of controlling roll anyway. As such, I chose my Spidan springs based predominantly on resultant ride height and comfort. My OpenSky-equipped A2 still handles like it's on rails, with very minimal roll, but is so much more comfortable over the rough stuff.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Good find Jonathan. I have an account with another German supplier and am happy to order on behalf of others, but prinz-autoteile.de may be able to ship directly to members rather than just to me.

Tom
 
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Thanks Tom for your usual detailed reply. Looks as though my suspension choices are still in the melting pot.

Re your last comment ...from the above link I found the 0808 189 1545 phone number and spoke to the guy mentioned in my post. He was able to supply direct from Germany with Fedex Carriage. I was under the impression that I could have ordered there and then but I said that i would call today after I had read more of A2 owners comments.

Do the SPIDAN 49546 fit using new original AUDI A2 spring seats top and bottom to the rear and do they result in being lower than the originals or almost the same?

What SPIDAN front Springs would compliment the rears....and last question!! what shockers would be suited to both ends too? Many thanks.
 
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Thanks Tom for your usual detailed reply. Looks as though my suspension choices are still in the melting pot.

No problem at all. I was the first member to experiment with Spidan springs and did a lot of research beforehand, so I've got a good overview of the options.

Re your last comment ...from the above link I found the 0808 189 1545 phone number and spoke to the guy mentioned in my post. He was able to supply direct from Germany with Fedex Carriage. I was under the impression that I could have ordered there and then but I said that i would call today after I had read more of A2 owners comments.

Excellent news! Ok folks, it would seem that Spidan springs are still available from 123spareparts if you order over the phone. That saves me the job of ordering from Germany. :)

Do the SPIDAN 49546 fit using new original AUDI A2 spring seats top and bottom to the rear and do they result in being lower than the originals or almost the same?

Yes, Spidan springs use the original Audi seats, both top and bottom. With new seats at either end and a set of 49546 springs, the rear of your car should sit at standard height, just as it left the factory.

What SPIDAN front Springs would compliment the rears....and last question!! what shockers would be suited to both ends too? Many thanks.

No matter which dampers you choose for the rear, you'll want a set of Spidan 49546 springs. However, your choice of front springs depends on which dampers you choose...
Koni FSDs at the front: use Spidan 49527
Monroe or Bilstien dampers at the front: use Spidan 49515

Cheers,

Tom
 
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... However, your choice of front springs depends on which dampers you choose...
Koni FSDs at the front: use Spidan 49527
Monroe or Bilstien dampers at the front: use Spidan 49515 ...

Just to recap on the choice of dampers ... the advantage of the Koni's is that they are progressive, and the other two are more similar to the OEM?
 
No problem at all. I was the first member to experiment with Spidan springs and did a lot of research beforehand, so I've got a good overview of the options.
...
Excellent news! Ok folks, it would seem that Spidan springs are still available from 123spareparts if you order over the phone. That saves me the job of ordering from Germany. :)
...
Yes, Spidan springs use the original Audi seats, both top and bottom. With new seats at either end and a set of 49546 springs, the rear of your car should sit at standard height, just as it left the factory.
...
No matter which dampers you choose for the rear, you'll want a set of Spidan 49546 springs. However, your choice of front springs depends on which dampers you choose...
Koni FSDs at the front: use Spidan 49527
Monroe or Bilstien dampers at the front: use Spidan 49515

Cheers,

Tom

Hi Tom, Just noticed that in my postings I have incorrectly referred to the SPIDAN spring part number as 49564 instead of the correct 49546 I have edited my post to correct but cannot correct your quotes of my mistakes. Sorry for this.
Yesterday I spoke again to 'Csaba' a Hungarian guy in Germany for 123spareparts who quoted for the SPIDAN 49546....£42.75 each plus Carriage to the UK at £7.50. However carriage is free if the total spend is I think over £120 so it makes sense say to increase order value. I will order an INA Freewheeling alternating pulley to save carriage on the total giving an added discount on the INA Pulley Shall phone through an order later today and see how well it works.

I may well buy new Bilstein rears instead of FSD or Monroe. My Passat TDi Sport had Bilsteins from new. No corrosion or leaks in 150K so I replaced like with like when my son and I replaced the whole suspensions on both Passat Sports last year. He had previously renewed his dampers with Koni Adjustables on which the yellow paint lasted less than a year. Koni weren't interested and refused replacement. Turned out that they were made in South America. He replaced with KW coilies which suffered corroded chromed piston shafts in less than a year that were rusting.
Darkside the supplier had to return them for inspection before they would replace them which KW eventually did. My son had to fund/fit a further set before getting his refund. So I think on balance it will be Bilstein.
 
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Just to recap on the choice of dampers ... the advantage of the Koni's is that they are progressive, and the other two are more similar to the OEM?

Hi Mike,

Truth be told, I'm not that well informed about the Monroes and the Bilsteins. I believe the Bilsteins are a mono-tube design, rather than twin-tube.
The main advantage of mono-tube dampers is that the pistons are much larger than those of twin-tube dampers, creating more flow through the valves than the smaller twin-tube piston as it can displace more oil through the valve; this makes the mono-tube damper more sensitive to small suspension movement. But it's a more costly design.
The Monroes are, I believe, an uprated, higher-quality implementation of the OEM stuff, but I've not really looked into them.

Progressive suspension has a non-linear characteristic. Basically, it's easy to compress the suspension by a small amount, but the more you compress, the greater the force you need to exert in order to compress any further. This means the suspension travels easily within the first portion of its range, but with greater difficulty in its later range. Koni's FSDs are not progressive but frequency-selective. I'll do my best to explain without the aid of graphs...

When a car turns a corner, the body rolls to one side, slowly compressing the dampers on one side of the car. As the car comes out of the bend, the damper returns to its equilibrium position. In our heads, let's plot compression as a function of time, where the equilibrium position is at y=0 (the x-axis). The resultant graph is a low-frequency sine wave (albeit only a half wavelength).
When a car drives over cobbles, the suspension undergoes rapid compression and rarefaction. Again, taking the x-axis as the equilibrium position, let's plot the suspension's position as a function of time. The resultant graph is a high-frequency sine wave.

The principle of FSDs is in their name: frequency-selective damping. Basically, FSDs are 'stiff' to low frequencies and 'soft' to high frequencies. Body roll is resisted when cornering, but any bumps in the road are taken up nicely.

For all that it's been done by many members on the forum, I don't think the Weitec springs are a particularly good complement to FSDs. The Weitec springs are quite stiff, meaning that the FSD's high-frequency softness is stifled. With the softer Spidan springs, the Koni's frequency-selective nature is free to work as it should, keeping the car flat in the corners whilst being loose and bouncy over the rough stuff.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Hi Tom, Just noticed that in my postings I have incorrectly referred to the SPIDAN spring part number as 49564 instead of the correct 49546 I have edited my post to correct but cannot correct your quotes of my mistakes. Sorry for this.

Well spotted. I've edited all posts to show the numbers in the right order! :)

I may well buy new Bilstein rears instead of FSD or Monroe...

From what I've read, the build quality of the Bilsteins is the best of the three, certainly on the outside. I went for FSDs for the reasons I've explained above. The Bilsteins don't have the same frequency-dependent nature and are allegedly quite firm, if the reviews I've read are to be believed. Given that I was predominantly chasing an increase in comfort over the OEM setup, I decided against them, but I know that member Sojah has the very setup that you're considering: Bilsteins with Spidans (49546 and 49515) ... http://www.a2oc.net/forum/member.php?4258-sojah

Cheers,

Tom
 
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On 26 June 2013 I ordered a pair of SPIDAN 49546 rear springs from www.123spareparts.co.uk in Germany adding an INA freewheeeling clutch pulley to get free carriage when spending over £120. 123 spareparts trade also as MYTYRES.co.uk in Oxford as a Delti.com company. It is not possible to speak to either MYTYRES or Delti by phone as their phone number is a free line to their operation in Hanover in Germany. This is staffed until 9pm by mainly female operators who seem to have little contact between the 'Warehouse' or Delti in Oxford.

The online ordering is difficult as it defaults to PAYPAL even if you select Credit Card. This happens after you have left the page.... result is that you arrive at the payment point having to phone Germany who are unable to alter the payment chosen and suggest that they cancel that order and request that you re-order again online. Only then do you realise that the chosen payment defaults to PAYPAL. Persistence pays off and it is possible after trial and error to make your payment choice 'stick' Payment is taken immediately but as yet I have not received the SPRINGS.

I have received an email saying that due to 'warehouse inventory discrepancy' , 'that the tyres you ordered cannot be despatched'! It isn't easy to explain to staff in Germany that at no time have you ever ordered tyres!

No one in Germany seems capable of giving answers to the problems except to say they will email the 'warehouse' who never replied in over nine days of speaking to LAURA, IVANNA, OANA,THEODORA and MARIA. Finally tonight it was confirmed that the Spidan springs are 'out of stock' , unavailable, with no date for restocking. Delticom have refunded £85.36 to my VISA Card to clear in a few days.
Ironically my wife worked for GKN after leaving college. They are I understand the makers of Spidan Springs! We were both born a couple of miles from the their original factories in Darlaston, West Mids.

Car still off road and I will try tomorrow to order Spidan springs from Prince auto spares ....again in Germany. Avoid 123 spareparts.co.uk at all costs as their service is the worst I have ever experienced online!
 
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I've been hunting for a set of 56833 spring for my TDI OSS equipped car, but no joy, seems like it's not just a country specific problem for Spidan. A local shop promised they can get a pair for 55E a piece, 60% more expensive than normal, fingers crossed they can have them delivered.
 
I ordered 4 Spidan springs from my supplier in Germany only 10 days ago and they arrived within 3 or 4 days. They're for a fellow forum member, so I now need to forward them in the post.

I've been hunting for a set of 56833 spring for my TDI OSS equipped car, but no joy...

I wouldn't use 56833 if I were you. Get the rear springs for a car without OpenSky, irrespective of your car's spec'.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Early this morning I enquired about ordering a pair of SPIDAN 49546 rear Springs from prinz-autoteile.de whose details are within these 'spring' posts. I'II give credits later.
Before 9am I had an email from them asking for a firm order with full shipping details, address and contact details as the items were available for immediate dispatch with a quoted price including carriage of Euro 89.96 (£80.42 Paypal conversion rate). The Euro payment by Paypal was sent and the springs should now be on their way.

Will keep you posted!

Thanks to member vkx2451 for the link to www.prinz-autoteile.de Many thanks Jonathan, you saved the day!
 
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