PSS9 Settings...Let's hear them

[agkellyboy]

I've done some searches, but haven't found a decent thread with a compiled list of what people are running. So let's get some info on:

Front Setting / Rear Setting
Ride Height
Any adjustments/recommendations for track setup

Thanks

[supamannn99]

I have mine set at 4 all around (1 being the stiffest).

ride height: 24.5" all around with me sitting in the car. Not a track setup.. way too low.








ride quality is mediocre at this setting because there is a tradeoff between ride comfort and cornering performance.

[edkwok]

I have it at 25.5 inch, stiffness at 8.
It feels like OEM, very acceptable for daily driving.

[edkwok]

I have mine set at 4 all around (1 being the stiffest).

ride height: 24.5" all around with me sitting in the car. Not a track setup.. way too low.

ride quality is mediocre at this setting because there is a tradeoff between ride comfort and cornering performance.

How can your tires survive in LA at that height?

I had it at 25" before and tires kept hitting the fenders.

[fromGMCtoAUDI]

If you're asking about track setup then I can't help you. My dd setup is 25.5" front 26" rear and I love the raked look. Might seem to high for most but I never liked the slammed look.
IMO a conservative drops gives the car a classy look with a bit of aggressiveness which is exactly what I'm going for.

[supamannn99]

How can your tires survive in LA at that height?

I had it at 25" before and tires kept hitting the fenders.

I'm able to do this because I am still on stock wheels. the stock wheel offset is quite high so i have some room between the tire and fender.

[vtracer20]

not sure height wise...pretty close to 24.5 i guess, damping set at 8 for winter. Summer i go to 4/5 which is stiff enough for me....no track setup

[Dangler]

24" all around

dampening set to 1 all year round.

[KMHPaladin]

Drove around for a while on 1 (full hard) after installing the PSS9s... it gets pretty uncomfortable with 235-35-19 tires on imperfect surfaces. Rotated back to 9 (full soft) and for the road it's fine for me.

For the track, I set them back at 1 all around and thought they performed well. Even with a relatively stiff setup, I still got plenty of suspension compression, as you can see below.

No idea on the ride height, although I've been meaning to drop the front a little more and haven't gotten around to it.

[supamannn99]

nice lookin car

[Grassmonkey]

I started off on 3 then went to 2 then to 1 for like a week.
1 is def. too hard for open road use.
The longer I've had em the softer I set em.
Now after nearly 2 years they're set to 4.

[ay888]

im interested in installing pss9 for track. but dont no where to get them installed in LA area cheap. any recommendation?
And was wondering how complicated to adjust the stiffness of the pss9s

[vtracer20]

i got mine here: took a couple days to my door: http://www.mjmautohaus.com/catalog/p...oducts_id=1391

adjusting them seem to be the easiest i've seen. the damping knob is at the bottom of all 4 struts. You dont need to lift the car of take tires off. Only downside if you want to adjust height on the rears you have to drop the sub-frame cause the spindle just rotates when you try to adjust.

The damping knob was the main reason i got them. in our cars you don't have access to the top of suspension without taking off the whole suspension, that would just be a pain especially if you want to track. There are deff more expensive kits out there but for the price i think bilstein has it down.

[edkwok]

im interested in installing pss9 for track. but dont no where to get them installed in LA area cheap. any recommendation?
And was wondering how complicated to adjust the stiffness of the pss9s

Go to Jose @ EuroTech in Culver City
310-915-7600

[Louis J.]

I don't have PSS9s on my A4 but I've had them on other cars that've been tracked. I have AutoX'd the A4 (including solo 1) and I've also been playing around with the setup on my coils. Having said this:

The PSS9 settings are not very progressive. There is a big difference between 1/2 and 8/9 but the difference between 2 and 8 is very marginal. To illustrate this:

1........2.3.4.5.6.7.8........9
stiffest softest

Given the weight and body roll of the A4 (even with the RS4 sway), I would set them at 1 on all fours and see how that feels. I would then try 2 all around and start using that as the basis for further adjustment. Whether you need less compression in the rear to make the car more neutral depends on how well you can dial-out understeer through height and alignment settings now that you have a thicker sway.

I originally set my car at 25.5F and 25.25R with RS4 alignment settings. I recently changed to 24 and 7/8 all around. Firstly, I suggest you set the height even on all fours or possibly even higher at the rear. This will help neutralize understeer. Secondly, at my current ride height, turn-in is greatly improved due to the -1.7 camber out of the front but I am getting some bump-steer and I scrape going into my driveway so I'm going to raise it.

Based on the various adjustments I've made so far, I expect my car to be almost completely neutral and eliminate bump-steer plus my scraping problems at 25 and 1/8" with RS4 alignment and as much neg camber (which should fall in the -1.5 range) as possible. Keep in mind that I'm setting up my car for the best street/track compromise as it's my driver but I do plan to track/autox it in the Spring.

If you're very serious about tracking, the only other thing I suggest is upgrading sways to the RS4 H-Sports. I may do that this spring.

Hope this helps.

[agkellyboy]

Much appreciated Louis. The car is at the garage as I write this, it should be about 25.5" for this winter. I'll let you know alignment when it comes out.

[Louis J.]

Cool. You should see ~-1.3F and I would match the rear. -1.3 is pretty mild but it'll be a big improvement over stock settings. If you go lower and dial something like what I described above, it makes an even bigger difference. 25.5 sounds like a good setup for winter.

[agkellyboy]

Just got the car back. 25.5" in the front and 26" in the back. Set to 8 all around with no track time in sight. Not sure on alignment, but nothing too aggressive (-.5?).

Time to sit back, let it snow, focus on getting some more HP's out of the 2.0 and wait for Spring

[andyisgood]

I don't have PSS9s on my A4 but I've had them on other cars that've been tracked. I have AutoX'd the A4 (including solo 1) and I've also been playing around with the setup on my coils. Having said this:

The PSS9 settings are not very progressive. There is a big difference between 1/2 and 8/9 but the difference between 2 and 8 is very marginal. To illustrate this:

1........2.3.4.5.6.7.8........9
stiffest softest

Given the weight and body roll of the A4 (even with the RS4 sway), I would set them at 1 on all fours and see how that feels. I would then try 2 all around and start using that as the basis for further adjustment. Whether you need less compression in the rear to make the car more neutral depends on how well you can dial-out understeer through height and alignment settings now that you have a thicker sway.

I originally set my car at 25.5F and 25.25R with RS4 alignment settings. I recently changed to 24 and 7/8 all around. Firstly, I suggest you set the height even on all fours or possibly even higher at the rear. This will help neutralize understeer. Secondly, at my current ride height, turn-in is greatly improved due to the -1.7 camber out of the front but I am getting some bump-steer and I scrape going into my driveway so I'm going to raise it.

Based on the various adjustments I've made so far, I expect my car to be almost completely neutral and eliminate bump-steer plus my scraping problems at 25 and 1/8" with RS4 alignment and as much neg camber (which should fall in the -1.5 range) as possible. Keep in mind that I'm setting up my car for the best street/track compromise as it's my driver but I do plan to track/autox it in the Spring.

If you're very serious about tracking, the only other thing I suggest is upgrading sways to the RS4 H-Sports. I may do that this spring.

Hope this helps.

can u explain what the camber does??

[B. Rock]

having purchased the car with the suspension work already done, how can i adjust the ride height to get a little extra clearance for winter? and where can i find the special tool required? Hoping to do this before it gets ridiculously cold. thanks - much appreciated

[Louis J.]

can u explain what the camber does??

Camber is the tilt of the wheel. Positive camber means the top of the wheel is tilted outward and negative camber means the opposite.

A car has the most traction/control when the tire surface is as flat as possible on the road. When a car is turning at speed, the wheels/tires tend to lean, taking some of the tire surface or contact patch off the road.

If you setup the car with negative camber, the wheels/tires will lean toward zero camber (completely flat) during turns, making full use of the tire surface and providing better traction/control.

[fromGMCtoAUDI]

Just got the car back. 25.5" in the front and 26" in the back. Set to 8 all around with no track time in sight. Not sure on alignment, but nothing too aggressive (-.5?).

Time to sit back, let it snow, focus on getting some more HP's out of the 2.0 and wait for Spring

Hey you stole my setup I'm sure you'll love the raked look.

[vtracer20]

having purchased the car with the suspension work already done, how can i adjust the ride height to get a little extra clearance for winter? and where can i find the special tool required? Hoping to do this before it gets ridiculously cold. thanks - much appreciated

when you purchase your coilovers they should come with two adjustment tools. The fronts you can do yourself but make sure your measuring distances so your consistent between left and right sides. The rears you need to drop the subframe. I didn't have the tools so i didn't do that...yet.