Lbsigman
02-01-2021, 10:25 AM
Just some background information. I've considered myself a novice plus garage mechanic when it comes to doing things to my car. I have a fairly good grasp of how things work, why they work and why things fail when they do. Although my mod list isn't very spectacular so to speak, I will say with confidence that I did everything on my own. This past weekend I was going to attempt to install a set of Ohlins coilovers on my car, replace all the associated torque to yield hardware that was loosened, and to install a complete new front end control arms, but I gave up early in the project. I took the rear lower shock bolt off, stood and stared at my car for about 10 minutes, and I threw the towel in. I’ve had my car since December of 2015, and maybe it’s just that I’m not as thrilled or enthusiastic about my S4 anymore, I couldn't even explain to my wife why I gave up so quickly.
Below are my questions after the statement: I know that all rubber bushings have a rotational limit that requires them to be tightened when the vehicle is at ride height, otherwise the ride may be compromised and the life of the bushing will fail early. The rear suspension’s range of motion is more or less up and down. The front suspension is also up and down along with circular rotation due to steering. From my understanding, the front upper arms are a weak link.
Question 1: My hypothesis is that the bushings in the front may have the propensity to wear out sooner than the bushings in the rear? At the same time of installing the coilovers, my intention was that I was going to replace all the arms in the front along with the ballpoints.
After looking at many videos of people installing coilovers and reading various coil over install guides, not once did I see people address the rear suspension bushings being further “loaded” due to shorter springs.
Question 2: Am I overthinking the rear bushings being further stressed when I see people simply dropping the subframe to pull out the factory spring and replace it with a drop spring?
My whole intention was to install the Ohlins to reduce the floaty feeling of my car, not to slam it. Looking at the instructions, I think the minimum drop according to Ohlin is 15mm, or about .59” which isn’t all that much.
I’m just asking if you can either help clear the air about my concerns and to shed any light about it. Thanks for reading my novel.
Below are my questions after the statement: I know that all rubber bushings have a rotational limit that requires them to be tightened when the vehicle is at ride height, otherwise the ride may be compromised and the life of the bushing will fail early. The rear suspension’s range of motion is more or less up and down. The front suspension is also up and down along with circular rotation due to steering. From my understanding, the front upper arms are a weak link.
Question 1: My hypothesis is that the bushings in the front may have the propensity to wear out sooner than the bushings in the rear? At the same time of installing the coilovers, my intention was that I was going to replace all the arms in the front along with the ballpoints.
After looking at many videos of people installing coilovers and reading various coil over install guides, not once did I see people address the rear suspension bushings being further “loaded” due to shorter springs.
Question 2: Am I overthinking the rear bushings being further stressed when I see people simply dropping the subframe to pull out the factory spring and replace it with a drop spring?
My whole intention was to install the Ohlins to reduce the floaty feeling of my car, not to slam it. Looking at the instructions, I think the minimum drop according to Ohlin is 15mm, or about .59” which isn’t all that much.
I’m just asking if you can either help clear the air about my concerns and to shed any light about it. Thanks for reading my novel.