OEM S4 Suspension

[fshowcars]

I currently have an 01.5 S4 with OEM suspension... the car feels 'floaty' at highway speeds and I wanted to tighten things up. what are common suspension modifications that people make? Sway bar upgrade or just go for the shock/strut combo? Just looking for something to tighten up the OEM feel. Curious to hear what people have had the most success with.

Thanks!

[s42k5b]

First I would check to see if your struts are blowns and your control arms are good. I would go with a coil over setup wether it be H&R or StASIS. Then if it still feels "floaty" do a Hotchkis sway bar kit.

[fshowcars]

Did have two shot control arms, they were replaced two months ago by the original owner... I have the paperwork in the car. I am guessing they would have checked the struts... I'll throw it in the garage this weekend.

Sway bars before replacing the shocks/struts?

[s42k5b]

Your right it would be better to do sway bars before doing shocks struts. Its cheaper to do sways first

[s42k5b]

Your car might seem to be floaty because it is sitting at stock ride height. Thats the only reason why i suggested to do coilovers

[MacDaddy]

the only reason its floaty is because the struts are worn out. Swaybars lessen weight transfer in a corner, they don't do anything while your driving straight down the freeway.

[sCeRaXn]

LOL yea swaybars would do absolutely nothing to remedy the "floaty" feeling. You need stiffer springs and much stiffer rebound on the struts to help that. Id suggest a good spring/shock combo or some co's.

[MacDaddy]

LOL yea swaybars would do absolutely nothing to remedy the "floaty" feeling. You need stiffer springs and much stiffer rebound on the struts to help that. Id suggest a good spring/shock combo or some co's.

yeah, if he wants stiffer... if all he wants is to get rid of th floaty feeling, oem struts would be good enough, these cars are designed for autobahns afterall.

[blmlozz]

yeah, if he wants stiffer... if all he wants is to get rid of th floaty feeling, oem struts would be good enough, these cars are designed for autobahns afterall.

I've always wondered how much tighter it would acutaly be with some new OEM's(or at least ones without 105K on them).. since I like the ride height and cornering ability well enough anyway.

[theboogieman1]

I just replace my OEM (111k on them) with Vogtland GT Coilovers and can't believe the difference. I was planning on starting a new thread on this soon, but it just feels amazing now. My squat and dive are none existent and, well it just feels so much better. It is a bit harsher but for me it really made my car the way I wanted and needed it to be. I was blown away. My hopes of what it would feel like were really high but once they were on I was still in awe.

[fshowcars]

I suppose I could have been more descriptive, but I do realize what a swaybar is and how it would 'tighten' up the car. Naturally it's for cornering, which alot of the 'float' that I'm feeling comes from. Naturally going at highway speed over bumps in the road causing the cruise ship feeling is floaty, but also the dive into and out of corners of the weight transfer. I think that I am going to look into both swaybars and new struts to help the ride.

where did you source the Vogtland GT Coilovers? Did you get a good price?

Thanks!

[SLC_S4]

I suppose I could have been more descriptive, but I do realize what a swaybar is and how it would 'tighten' up the car. Naturally it's for cornering, which alot of the 'float' that I'm feeling comes from. Naturally going at highway speed over bumps in the road causing the cruise ship feeling is floaty, but also the dive into and out of corners of the weight transfer. I think that I am going to look into both swaybars and new struts to help the ride.

where did you source the Vogtland GT Coilovers? Did you get a good price?

Thanks!

The Vogtland Gran Turismos are available only here: http://www.startupracing.com/ unless someone is selling a set in the classifieds, but I doubt that

[theboogieman1]

The Vogtland Gran Turismos are available only here: http://www.startupracing.com/ unless someone is selling a set in the classifieds, but I doubt that

That's where I got mine! I talked with Mike, he was really helpful.

[MacDaddy]

I think that I am going to look into both swaybars and new struts to help the ride.

if this was a japanese car with toothpick sized swaybars i would agree, but the audi already has pretty robust swaybar in the the front in the first place. Not only that the weight balance is about 70/30, upgrading the swaybars (especially the rears) can easily make the car want to do something totally unexpected and worse, uncontrollable, in a corner, especially in the wet.

I would do the struts or coilovers, whichever you decide to go with, and upgrade the swaybar after that, but i probably wouldn't touch the rear.

another thing to look at is upgrading the swaybar links:
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/wheel42.shtml

mi might be just what you want at a fraction of the price.

[s42k5b]

I just replace my OEM (111k on them) with Vogtland GT Coilovers and can't believe the difference. I was planning on starting a new thread on this soon, but it just feels amazing now. My squat and dive are none existent and, well it just feels so much better. It is a bit harsher but for me it really made my car the way I wanted and needed it to be. I was blown away. My hopes of what it would feel like were really high but once they were on I was still in awe.

how do you like your Gt's. I'm in between those and stasis ss. Any thoughts?

[fshowcars]

MacDaddy... what size is the OEM front and rear sway?

Do people buy those Perrin replacements for subarus and run them? If so, have any specific info on the year wrx those would be ordered for?

[MacDaddy]

MacDaddy... what size is the OEM front and rear sway?

Do people buy those Perrin replacements for subarus and run them? If so, have any specific info on the year wrx those would be ordered for?

not sure of the exact size, I'll see if i can get under my car with a mic tomorrow and find out.

that DIY is the fist time i've heard about it, but its something i plan on doing probably in the spring. he mentioned what year subaru links to use in the DIY

[fshowcars]

He stated Late model WRX not STI in 2006... so i'm guessing that would be an 06? Seems like an interesting write up. I've gone from smaller swaybars to larger (increase of ~10mm) and it did make a significant difference... which is the only reason I ask. I'm looking into a nice coil over setup. Thanks for all the input!

[S4_NE]

I use Eibach coil overs with A fromt H&R sway bar with a Neuspeed rear sway bar and I am happy with my car, front bar is set soft and rear stiff,

[fshowcars]

this seems like a great deal:
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/2878622.phtml

Our ever popular Vogtland B5 Quattro coilovers are on sale while supplies last!
Normally $1203.95, these are now offered at $950.00.

[SLC_S4]

this seems like a great deal:
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/2878622.phtml

Our ever popular Vogtland B5 Quattro coilovers are on sale while supplies last!
Normally $1203.95, these are now offered at $950.00.

I'd still go with Vogtland GTs

[MacDaddy]

this seems like a great deal:
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/2878622.phtml

Our ever popular Vogtland B5 Quattro coilovers are on sale while supplies last!
Normally $1203.95, these are now offered at $950.00.

I was thinking the same thing, for the price i don't think you can complain.

[MacDaddy]

measured the front swaybar today, my mic said 29.59MM, so lets just say 30mm.

[theboogieman1]

how do you like your Gt's. I'm in between those and stasis ss. Any thoughts?

I love this setup! I hear a lot about the Stasis SS being a little bouncy and I felt that I had a lot of bounce already and wanted to get rid of it as much as possible. I did a lot of searching and decided the GTs were the way to go for me. With the Vogtland GTs, I can't even explain the difference in the ride. It's definitely a harsher ride but if I hit a set of humps in the road I just stick to the road rather than feel like I'm bouncing. The body roll is almost totally gone and the feel like the squat and dive just don't exist anymore. Now when I gas it I just take off rather than feeling like I'm being bucked off a horse. That goes the same for braking, don't feel like I'm going to flip over my handlebars. I highly recommend them if your still on stock suspension and you don't mind sacrificing a smoother ride. I feel much more confident and safer in the twisties!

[Dr.Duct]

I currently have an 01.5 S4 with OEM suspension... the car feels 'floaty' at highway speeds and I wanted to tighten things up. what are common suspension modifications that people make? Sway bar upgrade or just go for the shock/strut combo? Just looking for something to tighten up the OEM feel. Curious to hear what people have had the most success with.

Thanks!

wow cause their isnt a million differnt threads on this..

If you want a nice suspension and have $2k to spend.. Id go with vogtland coilovers, and hotchkins extreme sway bar set. You will notice a HUGE difference..

[VWAUDITRITURBO]

you said the rear feels like its floating and the previous ownwer had the rear control arms replaced...was the rear alignment /caster /camber done after the control arms were replaced?...if not go to a good alignment place and make sure you tell them what you are feeling....be sure to ask for a print out copy of the before and the after...and compare...stock suspension is pretty good....I had the same problem...mine was way off....now handles like a dream...front/rear alignment cost me only $80...let us know what the out come was ...good luck...