For those who want the cheapest spring conversion for their allroad

[lawdogg]

I just finished installing OEM 2003 A6 2.7T shock & spring assemblies on my 2001 2.7T 6spd allroad. They fit perfectly, the car rides a little low, but is even front to back, and the ride is FANTASTIC. I hit the largest potholes I could find, turn turns too quickly, and no bottoming out or any other ill effects whatsoever. Best part: the conversion cost me $150 TOTAL (for the used suspension off ebay).

The only 'custom fab' you have to do is drilling new holes in the front control arm hat assembly thing. Super simple. Everything else bolts right up.

Just something to think about for those wanting to remove their airbags and not wanting to spend some absurd amount of money on the 2bennet or arnott conversion kits. Word is, those just use OEM A6 springs anyway, just with different perch heights on 3rd party shocks. Not exactly rocket science. And if you did want to build your own 'coilover', even using something like Bilstein shocks, it would cost you $1k MAX.

Anyway - pics during & after (edit: added some pics of after):



Front:





Back:



As it dropped off the jack stands:



Wheel gaps:

Front:



Rear (dark pic sorry stupid cell phone camera):



Happy wrenching.

//Ryan

[Gumby]

Lookin good Ryan! Now time for some spacers.

I'll be doing this shortly with some H&R coilovers.

[seanj130]

Looks great man!

[audifirst]

Is the rear sits lower then front or is just angle of the photo?
So the springs/Shock you got are from Sedan ? If so Avant is heavier at the rear might encounter quicker failure of the shocks, or weird bouncing , I would go with nice aftermarket set Eibach or H&R set

[vwjunkie]

so the A6 suspension fit with NO MODIFICATIONS?

[lawdogg]

Lookin good Ryan! Now time for some spacers.

I'll be doing this shortly with some H&R coilovers.

Thanks Matt - a cheap alternative to any sort of mechanical spacer would probably just to pick up some sleeves from jegs and cut off the fixed lower spring perch. Super 'budget' coilover. I'm definitely considering it and might do so if I ever decide to switch to Bilsteins. That's basically what I did on my Miata, this pic shows them sort of assembled, except in the end I removed the OE Bilstein lower mounts and machined my own:



What made you decide on H&R? I don't have much experience with them. But, this means you've decided to ditch the bags too! Woo! :p

Looks great man!

Best regards,
Sean.

Thanks Sean!

Is the rear sits lower then front or is just angle of the photo?
So the springs/Shock you got are from Sedan ? If so Avant is heavier at the rear might encounter quicker failure of the shocks, or weird bouncing , I would go with nice aftermarket set Eibach or H&R set

The rear sits maybe a hair lower than the front - I need to take a good side pic on even ground - it doesn't bother me yet, and people I've shown the car to after the conversion tell me it doesn't look uneven to them, soo ... in the name of 'the absolute cheapest way to convert your allroad to springs' I don't know if I should let it bug me. :p

so the A6 suspension fit with NO MODIFICATIONS?

Yep, basically. Only 'modification' is drilling a couple holes in the front airspring upper mount / control arm hat piece.

I wish I had taken more pictures while doing it, but it was honestly so simple that I never really thought "hey this would be a good thing to take a pic of" ... :)

//Ryan

[green a6]

lookin good

[lawdogg]

Alright here's a good side view after shoveling it out of the snow up here in Vermont ...

[vwjunkie]

the allroad fender flairs can make it difficult to access the wheel gap depending on the angle you are looking at it. If you were to draw a level horizontal line off the top of your tire tread, where would it hit the fender flair? From the picture it looks like the wheel is tucking up in the arch an inch or so particularly in the rear.

the front airspring upper mount modification wouldnt make reinstallation of the oem system a problem would it?

none the less, awesome find!

[lawdogg]

the allroad fender flairs can make it difficult to access the wheel gap depending on the angle you are looking at it. If you were to draw a level horizontal line off the top of your tire tread, where would it hit the fender flair? From the picture it looks like the wheel is tucking up in the arch an inch or so particularly in the rear.

the front airspring upper mount modification wouldnt make reinstallation of the oem system a problem would it?

none the less, awesome find!

Yep, both front and back are a little tucked, the rear a little more so. As far as I can tell, though, the car itself sits flat judging from how parallel the rocker panel is to the ground. I think the allroad is little raked with the factory suspension. I'll take some close-ups of the wheels and how tucked they are. This conversion definitely isn't for those who want a non-tucked ride height, but for those who like the car a little lower, and have a malfunctioning system, haha sign me up.

This isn't easily reversible, all you have to do is unplug the air lines from the bags, but the new holes drilled in the upper mounts would interfere with the airbag's o-ring, I think, so those would have to be plugged somehow.

I found this as sort of a guideline: http://www.audiworld.com/tech/wheel41.shtml

[SpooldYou]

looks slammed from the pics. im sure its the angle though. good work.

[lawdogg]

Just added some pics. Came back from a drive ... LOVE IT. No bottoming out, no bump stops, no pogoing, not harsh at all, brilliant in the corners. Was able to get the back out despite ECS being stuck on. If you don't mind the car being mildly slammed and don't have $2k for coilovers ... DO THIS! :p

1000000x better than the old bags, it was riding on the bump stops because of a water-logged vac. block. :(

[Gunnerzwolf]

That looks really good! For that price, that's actually worth it! Where in VT are you, I'd love to take a closer look.

[lawdogg]

That looks really good! For that price, that's actually worth it! Where in VT are you, I'd love to take a closer look.

Hey I'm just South of Burlington, in Charlotte. I'm definitely game to meet up. Shoot me a PM!

[lawdogg]

Update: put some people in the back seat today. Definitely went a little unevenly low in the back with the extra 325 lbs in the rear seat!

I think the best solution to this is going to be putting a spacer between the upper shock mount and the mounting plate. Should be pretty easy to burn out of 1/2" aluminum. But, don't have time to do it until summertime ... I'll update this then.

[vtraudt]

What did you actually buy for the conversion? I though brackets from A6 Avant are needed also?

[Scotty@Advanced]

That looks quite a bit lower than how the A6 sits.. Nothing a few spacers could fix.

[bengone1]

Insert spacer at the top of rear shock.

[belittle]

What did you actually buy for the conversion? I though brackets from A6 Avant are needed also?

Here is my current setup:
A6 Uprights (better offset for wide wheels)
A6 Lower Control arms
A6 Suspension, Non sport, Front and rear along with A6 upper control arm hat
Removed Subframe (Allroad specific) Aluminum spacer
A6 Subframe Bracket to engine mount (needed when removing subframe spacers)

Ride is excellent, no spacers needed and you can use the MUCH cheaper C5/B5 Lower control arms.

I had just the A6 suspension installed for the last 6 months with no suspension spacers and it got to be too much for me. Large bumps caused the upper control arm to hit the body of the car.

PM me if anyone is interested in a whole setup to convert.

[ricam78]

Bad a*s Bryan! Love the look of those RS6 wheels on the car too. She surely has come a long way sir.

[rickymeira]

hi
can you tell me how you turn the suspension light off.
thanks

[ricam78]

Bryan,

How is the conversion kit holding up for you? I may be looking at getting one from you if and when my Bilsteins decide to give out.

[vtraudt]

Update: put some people in the back seat today. Definitely went a little unevenly low in the back with the extra 325 lbs in the rear seat!

I think the best solution to this is going to be putting a spacer between the upper shock mount and the mounting plate. Should be pretty easy to burn out of 1/2" aluminum. But, don't have time to do it until summertime ... I'll update this then.

Well, I wouldn't go 'stock A6', but A6, using firmer springs and shocks (at least there is quite a selection out there for the A6, was 'stock offers with no improvement' from Arnott and 2Bennett.

What is 'junk yard shopping list' for A6 springs/shocks/struts into Allroad (aside from the springs/shocks/struts) exactly?

[julex]

Well, I wouldn't go 'stock A6', but A6, using firmer springs and shocks (at least there is quite a selection out there for the A6, was 'stock offers with no improvement' from Arnott and 2Bennett.

What is 'junk yard shopping list' for A6 springs/shocks/struts into Allroad (aside from the springs/shocks/struts) exactly?

front uprights/spindles, front shock assembly (comes with control arm "hat"), rear shock assembly, done.

[Gearbox]

I've found that the allroad specific wheel bearing housing (upright) is ~ 25mm taller from the wheel bearing centerline to the upper control arm mounting points. This seems to be the correction that Audi designed into the suspension when they spaced the body up off the subframe. 4Z7 static kit assembled by Buahaus Engineering will adjust the inner suspension back to factory to match the uprights reduced height.

[khalimadeath]

edit..

[Cacti]

Hey Lawdogd what are you GTF with just the A6 suspension?

[PipeHitter808]

Bump! I can not wait to be rolling static on my allroad.

How long did it take you guys to remove the air lines and sensors etc from the car? I am trying to get everything done in one day and be up and driving ready to head to get alignment done next day.

[vtraudt]

[QUOTE=khalimadeath;8806529]I have S6 Shocks and springs in my garage of anyone wants em./QUOTE]

Swaybars too? Not sure if the S6 fit the Allroad. I did like my A6 factory sport (red shocks IIRC) suspension a lot. Is the S6 comparable?

[vtraudt]

Here is my current setup:
A6 Uprights (better offset for wide wheels)
A6 Lower Control arms
A6 Suspension, Non sport, Front and rear along with A6 upper control arm hat
Removed Subframe (Allroad specific) Aluminum spacer
A6 Subframe Bracket to engine mount (needed when removing subframe spacers)

Ride is excellent, no spacers needed and you can use the MUCH cheaper C5/B5 Lower control arms.

I had just the A6 suspension installed for the last 6 months with no suspension spacers and it got to be too much for me. Large bumps caused the upper control arm to hit the body of the car.

"no suspension spacers too much": I assume rear plate/spacer under top mounting bracket to raise the rear?
What is your ground-to-fender front and rear (with or without suspension spacers?
"Better offset": what IS offset of the A6 uprights vs. Allroad uprights? (there is really on better worse offset, just smaller or larger offset; for smaller (further out) is better; may not even need spacers (on stock wheels, running 20mm to push wheels out for "better" stance).

[8520]

Bump! I can not wait to be rolling static on my allroad.

How long did it take you guys to remove the air lines and sensors etc from the car? I am trying to get everything done in one day and be up and driving ready to head to get alignment done next day.

No need to remove air lines or sensors.

It took me 3-5 or so hours or so

[PipeHitter808]

No need to remove air lines or sensors.

It took me 3-5 or so hours or so

Ok so you gonna do mine too??? lol Wouldnt it be wise to remove sensors though and sell it as a lot?

[8520]

I believe you need to keep one or both of the left side sensors on your car or else you'll get a headlight level warning.

In my experience it is better to part out air suspension stuff piece by piece rather than a package. I did sell both my rear air springs together though as ENDEE needed a set.

I might be able to swing helping you out a bit, but my life is pretty hectic between work, school, and a wife.

[PipeHitter808]

Hey guys just double checking I dont need to use torx bit set right? I got the full swap set up from audis4parts and I just have watched the arnott video for swapping and it says you need a torx bit. I dont have many larger sizes which I assume I would need for this set up.

I just want to have every tool before I head down stairs and do this swap tonight.

[vtraudt]

Hey guys just double checking I dont need to use torx bit set right? I got the full swap set up from audis4parts and I just have watched the arnott video for swapping and it says you need a torx bit. I dont have many larger sizes which I assume I would need for this set up.
.

Can you be more specific? Inner drive shafts are triple square. Wheel bearing nut is large Allen. Rear brake caliper/mount are allen (?) while front are hex. IIRC, top strut cap are torx. Inner fender liner are torx. In general: lots of torx and Allen, and some triple square on our cars. Best to have full sets of torx, allen and triple square on hand.

[Cacti]

Just bought a set of uprights from a 2001 a6 with a 2.8 in it and the brake caliper mounts do not line up, is there a certain year upright you need to do if you want to run A6 control arms instead of the expensive allroad ones?

[PipeHitter808]

Just bought a set of uprights from a 2001 a6 with a 2.8 in it and the brake caliper mounts do not line up, is there a certain year upright you need to do if you want to run A6 control arms instead of the expensive allroad ones?

Mine are from a 2000 a6. I also have a6 lower control arms, a6 stock suspension, and had no real issues.


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[JTapper]

They need to be from a 2.7T A6 that had HP2's on it.

[PipeHitter808]

They need to be from a 2.7T A6 that had HP2's on it.

Where did you get that info from... lol

[durfA4]

Yes the 2.8 used smaller calipers like the A4, the rest of the years had the larger spacing, for HP2s.