Finally got my wheels, and now trying to decide on how low I should drop it..

[suprflyy1]

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[Ill 3.0]

nice choice (tires too). I'd go to 25" ground to fender (or maybe 24 3/4 but not lower).

[swoyekr.]

General rule of thumb, literally, is for me to be able to get my thumb between the tire and fender. No tucking, rubbing, or slamming allowed!!! It should be aggressive enough to look good, but shouldn't look like your trying to "imitate" a race car.

[<-JOEM->]

General rule of thumb, literally, is for me to be able to get my thumb between the tire and fender. No tucking, rubbing, or slamming allowed!!! It should be aggressive enough to look good, but shouldn't look like your trying to "imitate" a race car.

exactly, i like a "two finger gap". Too low and it will scrape, too high and what is the point.

[EuroB6]

General rule of thumb, literally, is for me to be able to get my thumb between the tire and fender. No tucking, rubbing, or slamming allowed!!! It should be aggressive enough to look good, but shouldn't look like your trying to "imitate" a race car.

what he said. do this thumb space in the front and the rear needs to be another 1/4" lower

[J.the W.]

Looks good. Nice choice on the wheels.I think 25 all around should be right on. What exhaust are you running?

[mbgt72]

Looks nice, I agree with the consensus for the avg amount of drop, plus I would say doing a tint would look really nice, I have the same car pretty much and did a 15% (sounds really dark, but isn't all that bad) and I love it, but to each his own. That exhaust does look nice, who makes it?

[Stevelev]

Very nice ! Having been there and done that, I'll bet you can't avoid rubbing when going over dips at speed if you're below 25 1/4. That's assuming you've got 235's (Vred's are known to run wide) as 245's will rub often. If you've got weight in the car, forget about not rubbing once and a while at that height ... I'm at 25.5 all 'round and just rubbed in the back last night when I hit a dip on the highway (car was loaded up with 3 large duffles full of my son's clothing etc. from school).

x2 for tint - 35% looks good and isn't too dark.

[Louis J.]

Here's my car at 25.5F and 25.R. I only scraped once when I had five adults in the car going over a bump.

[suprflyy1]

nice.. thanks guys. yea im running 245's all around.. and its a neuspeed exhaust

[asurugger]

how do you like your new tires?

[B528QM]

you have your tires on backwards.

[channad]

^^^^^ I thought they are asymmetric.

I say go with some good C/Os - STaSIS Ohlins SLs.

[suprflyy1]

how do they look backwards? how are they supposed to be?
and i love the tires.. really smooth and hardly any noise.
was thinking about H&R co's

[channad]

well, whichever C/Os you go with, you should do a corner balance after a month or so.

[mbgt72]

Here's my car at 25.5F and 25.R. I only scraped once when I had five adults in the car going over a bump.

You mention the 25.5 and 25 from ground. I like the look of that, but I was wondering if you know how much of a drop this typically is from stock (i.e. what is the stock height and the difference to reach this end result)

I'm thinking about doing H&R c.o. but lately have been leaning more toward doing a koni shock / H&R spring set up for a 1.2" drop just b/c my car will rarely if ever see the track, and it would be about a 500 diff that I'd really like to put toward other mods.

Thanks a lot,
Also I like the wheels in the first pic, but both sets look great!

[AudiloverS4]

(i.e. what is the stock height and the difference to reach this end result)

I'm thinking about doing H&R c.o. but lately have been leaning more toward doing a koni shock / H&R spring set up for a 1.2" drop just b/c my car will rarely if ever see the track, and it would be about a 500 diff that I'd really like to put toward other mods.

Thanks a lot,
Also I like the wheels in the first pic, but both sets look great!

My stock height is 26.25 ground to fender. Grab a tape measure to find you exact measurement, as im sure it can vary a bit from car to car.

[Louis J.]

You mention the 25.5 and 25 from ground. I like the look of that, but I was wondering if you know how much of a drop this typically is from stock (i.e. what is the stock height and the difference to reach this end result)

I'm thinking about doing H&R c.o. but lately have been leaning more toward doing a koni shock / H&R spring set up for a 1.2" drop just b/c my car will rarely if ever see the track, and it would be about a 500 diff that I'd really like to put toward other mods.

Thanks a lot,
Also I like the wheels in the first pic, but both sets look great!

Thanks for the comments. Actually the numbers are 25.5F and 25.25R. I don't recall the stock numbers but they might be a bit different from your car anyway since I have an A4 and the spring rates in the front are different due to the lighter 2.0T engine. IIRC, the drop was about 1.5".

Regardless of whether you track the car or not, I strongly suggest that you don't cheap out and buy coils. Springs will shorten the life of your shocks so you'll have to replace them eventually anyway. Springs are for looks only and could provide with undesirable handling characteristics like bump-steer whereas coils are a performance suspension upgrade that also provide you with a drop. If you're on a budget, pick up a used set from the classifieds.

[channad]

your car costs $55K sticker, your wheels cost a grip, since they are BBS and brand new. Don't go cheap on your suspension. Here's a quote from Eddieman:

When I had my H&R COs, the were brick solid if not bordering on harsh, but the springs were matched dead-nuts (as they should for a quality non adjustable CO).

Lastly, if you really want to improve your PSS9 setup, I would probably go Stasis Ohlins or maybe to the Stasis Motorsport COs. These are more suited for the high end suspension guros that want uncompromised setups.

After his experience with the H&R COs and the PSS9s, he recommends the STaSIS Ohlins SLs, or the Motorsports for an uncompromised setup. The Motorsports are gonna cost an arm and a leg, but the SLs are going to be more within reach.

Like I said before, don't just slap inexpensive stuff into your car. Don't turn it into a Civic. Your ride and handling characteristics are going to suffer. What if you get something you don't like. Then you won't like driving the car. How F'd up is that? Save your money and get the Ohlins SLs. Do it right the first time, and don't worry about it again. EddieMan has gone through 2 sets of COs. Do you wanna do that too?

The order to do things in would be suspension. Then wait to save up money again, cuz the Ohlins cost a good amount. Then get the 19s. If you are baller, you can do both at the same time. But damn, that's expensive! Doing the wheels first just makes you wanna lower the car immediately. Wait, save up and get the Ohlins SLs. Ducati uses Ohlins as stock shocks, and they are also used in F1 race cars. Just FYI

[Louis J.]

I don't know how much Ohlins cost but I bought a used set of Vogtlands from another AZer for $500. I'm extremely pleased with the Vogts...they are far more comfortable than my OE sport suspension on the street after lowering my car yet they make the car extremely responsive when pushed toward the limit. New, they're ~$1,200 but again, if you're on a budget, look in the classifieds. Excellent setup for street...and this coming from someone who does AutoX and track.

[suprflyy1]

I was looking into the stasis ohlins c/o's and on their website, they are listed for about $2,400.

[The Broker]

I have had many CO setups and I am very happy with my H&R's, not harsh or bouncy at all.

[channad]

I was looking into the stasis ohlins c/o's and on their website, they are listed for about $2,400.

That's the SLs. Get those. You'll have a good ride quality, better than OEM, and killer suspension in the turns. This is what everybody that owns them has stated. Do it right the first time, and never deal with it again.

Your car costs $55K (brand new). Bought expensive wheels. Don't cheap out now! You owe it to your ride

[Stevelev]

... I'm extremely pleased with the Vogts...they are far more comfortable than my OE sport suspension on the street after lowering my car yet they make the car extremely responsive when pushed toward the limit. New, they're ~$1,200 but again, if you're on a budget, look in the classifieds. Excellent setup for street...and this coming from someone who does AutoX and track.

X2 ! I also have the Vogts (Startup Racing GT's) and would strongly recommend these for a daily driver.

[suprflyy1]

Man, let's see, $2400 is pretty steep, but I'm sure the ride quality is as awesome as you say. Was looking to get a big brake system also, so I need to save up for that also... ouch.

Oh yea.. went to Mckenna today; they had a phantom black R8. Sticker- 136k.. with the markup... 179k... out the door with warranty and all the other things.. 192k... too much but it was soooo sick

[cucubee5]

what he said. do this thumb space in the front and the rear needs to be another 1/4" lower

Why should the rear be lower?

[mioStile]

Why should the rear be lower?

Weight distribution. With a front-heavy car like the s4, you do NOT want to rake it to the front. By making the rear lower, it does some work of keeping the weight as evenly distributed as it can be in this car (though it is still front-heavy).

[cucubee5]

Weight distribution. With a front-heavy car like the s4, you do NOT want to rake it to the front. By making the rear lower, it does some work of keeping the weight as evenly distributed as it can be in this car (though it is still front-heavy).

Gotcha and thanks for the information. I'm also assuming this applies for the 2.0 engine as well?

[sammyrusso]

looks great bro...congrats...i dont think i even have thumb clearance but i dont scrap when driving around..have once or twice on a driveway...

[mioStile]

Gotcha and thanks for the information. I'm also assuming this applies for the 2.0 engine as well?

naught prob, man. I'm not entirely sure what the exact weight ratio specs are on the 2.0T, but it is most certainly better than the s4 as it has half as many cylinders to support up front, which is a definite weight savings. While you should always keep the car level with these models, the b7 a4 can be raked more to the front without as much loss in performance/danger of too much weight on front tires.

[channad]

i say lower the car around 1-1.5 inches