Suspension setup

[bcrdukes]

^
Sorry, my post wasn't directed towards you as an attack. I was trying to highlight the disadvantages to Tein's since general opinion is geared towards the Bilstein/spring setup.

[5 Zigen]

^ for dd shocks and springs is a much better setup than coilovers, bilstein is also a better brand than Tein IMO too...

the only bad thing is when the shocks and springs is given you and uneven ride height, that would be sucks!

[Lomac]

Originally Posted by 5 Zigen

the only bad thing is when the shocks and springs is given you and uneven ride height, that would be sucks!

The differences tend to be minimal, especially for the better brands. However, if it's a concern, you can get them dyno tested and then exchange 'em with the manufacturer if the numbers come out uneven.

[91civicZC]

Just cause Im like that, Thought I would post up my two cents.

1)If a coilover is built correctly for the vehicle, it should give you no more stiff or worse a ride than a shock and spring setup. I’m not sure where this idea comes from, other than people using old school Japanese coilover style tuning where its all about crazy high spring rates vs shock and spring combos that have been traditionally sold from Euro companies with less aggressive spring rates with better dampers. Long story short, they are both spring and damper setups, both should perform as needed depending on the intended use. The other part that people ofeten miss is the fact that replacing your upper mount with a "camber plate" (which is a whole other topic to rant on) decreases your comfort value. Usually stock upper spring seats have some rubber and some "give" that sftens the ride a little. taking this away with any kind of solid mount will put more feedback into the cabin and "stiffen" the ride.

2)As above, traditionally Japanese tuners tend to use a higher spring rate, and control those forces with high rebound force in the dampers, while the compression stroke is mainly controlled by the high spring rate itself. European setups generaly have better control over both he rebound and compression forces in the damper, and usually use a less high spring rate. In my mind this is preferable for both handling and comfort values. Remember, this is a general statement, there are exceptions out there of course, and Japans damper tuning has come a long way in the last few years

3)If it was up to me, I would go coilover over spring and shock combo every time, simply for the added adjustment (choices) it gives me. However, many of the coilovers out there than can be purchased for the same price as a quality spring and shock combo are total shit. I would look to larger brand names, and find out what they can show you to back up “performance” claims. If a company can sell you a neato wow groovey coilover for 500 bucks, but has never competed in a 24 hour race, or a ALMS race, or has never been used by an OEM on a factory car etc etc, you probably aren’t getting much more than your 500 bucks worth. Performance/build quality comes at a cost.

Just my thoughts on the thread above.

To answer the OP original question, I would recommend the Bilstien Eibach setup if given that those where my only choices, as Bilstien normally makes a good product.

[5 Zigen]

Originally Posted by Lomac

The differences tend to be minimal, especially for the better brands. However, if it's a concern, you can get them dyno tested and then exchange 'em with the manufacturer if the numbers come out uneven.

I dun think anyone would dyno tested them before putting them on, and usually after install they can only suck with the situation. friend recently purchased a set of eibach pro damper kit for his Acura and exactly that's what happened, front is 1.5 fingers higher than rear while eibach claims the front should lower .5" more than rear...it was odd and he was very unhappy with that situation....

and i do agree with 91civicZC, spring rate and dampening should match to have good result...

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by 5 Zigen

http://www.tein.com/service/index.html

Interesting. Thanks for letting us know.

[5 Zigen]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

Interesting. Thanks for letting us know.

not the cheapest thing to do and absolutely pointless for low end models...haha

[wasabisashimi]

ok,Here are the things i learn in this thread so far, tell me if i am wrong:
1) coilover setup (ex tein, or KW) gives matching damper rebound rate and spring rate. While the bilstein + spring is not perfectly matched. (can a driver tell the difference in ride quality though?)
2) Coilover allows perfect height matching (front and rear wheel gap) when lowering vehicle.
3) no name coilover is bad vs brand name shock plus brand name spring setup.

[5 Zigen]

in my opinion i have no problem with both Tein and KW, depends on what you want and in my old car I have tried 4 diff suspension setup before I'm happy to leave it as is; even my sister's car i'm on the 3rd set

damper control is better than stiff spring rate, bilstein + eibach for your Audi is a good dd setup...a driver can definitely tells ride quality as well as a passenger...

and I can almost tell you not many shops is going to spend that time perfecting up your ride height, unless you pay big bucks for corner weight etc...in general my adjusting time needed is almost close to installing time lol...but it's just me...

[wasabisashimi]

with my other car, i negotiated with installers for a 2 week window for height readjustmen after they initially installed coilover for me (given that i always purchased coilover from them). This allowed me to find my right position, just need to make sure shop will agree to that. Not gonna pay big bucks.