Coils vs Exhaust...

[rnp614]

What would you do if you had a car that was chipped and money enough to get one more additional mod? I'm probably going to snag either some new suspension or an exhaust and get that + the sway sitting around in my house installed. Whats the call AZ? Help me empty my wallet! Keep in mind I live in New Orleans where the roads are TERRIBLE...also I've got 2 years remaining on my warranty.

Ah, Ryan brought up a good point.

My Car:
A4 2.0T with Titanium Package
Manual Tranny
OEM sport suspension
APR 93 Chip

Goal of car is to stay as stock/stock-like as possible so big mods like FMIC are unlikely. As far as exhaust and suspension, I'm considering APR/Stass/Milltek for exhaust and the suspension would probably be the Koni coils or maybe the Stasis Touring...dont think I'd pay the premium for streetsports.


Also, to those of you encouraginig coils would I have issues running a 15mm spacer in the back? I like the wider stance it gives and tend to hate a tucked look. Will it rub? Will other bad things happen? Sorry folks, but I'm foreign to coils.

[ryannorthcott]

do you have sport suspension or not sport?

if you have non-sport i say go for the coils

if you have sport, then go for the exhaust

[Hyphy]

Which coils would you get if you went down that road?

edit: and which exhaust would you get?

[RedS-line]

^i agree. since you have the sport, id go exhaust between the two. However, a water/meth kit or a good fmic will provide better gains.

[Sharkfin]

The coilover calvary is coming, just wait until you see the voters going 80%+ for coils.

[rnp614]

I guess the thing I just cant comprehend is how much difference coils will make (never had them before). I have no interest in dropping my car. I'll probably have it at one of the higher settings. I just want a better ride over bumps and tighter handling when I really rip my car around. What should I expect to get out of suspension?

[Sharkfin]

The grip and eliminating body roll; just the handling in general, increases so much.

[rnp614]

With coils would I be able to keep my 15mm spacers in the back? I have the stock Ti wheels

[CapstoneJHS]

Coils....definitely.

[adub]

COILS! Drop that snitch!

[audidrver]

I did exhaust first only because of a deal. I would do suspension though.

[AS4]

coils!!

[autoverruckt]

You can use the 15mm spacers if you stay above 25in ground-to-fender. Stock sport height is around 26 1/4.

Crappy roads - do you mean you bottom out alot because of crappy entrances/exits to the street or just potholes?

I don't mean to offend, but the exhaust tone on the A4 doesn't sound "high performance" compared to other 4 bangers until you go into the high HP BT stage. I'd rather keep that tone down if you know what I mean. I think you will find more pleasure driving with a new suspension set-up vs. an exhaust.

[Glassnpowder98]

I did coilovers about 6 months ago and recently added exhaust. If I had to do it again, I definitely wouldn't change the order of which I bought first. Coilovers make the car look a lot better since they lower it and the handling difference is amazing. I went with the AWE quad tip exhaust... I really like the look of it and the tone sounds really good. However, the added 10hp doesn't really do much to increase the fun factor of the car when compared to coilovers. Do coilovers first!!

[Sharkfin]

my prediction is becoming true, its at 85% now....

[B7A4Sport]

Personally, it doesn't matter to me whether or not you have stock sport or non-sport suspension, a new aftermarket setup is going to outperform both SIGNIFICANTLY. It will basically feel like a new/different car. It's true the stock sport may sit lower, but many say the ride quality is sub-par at best, and it definitely wouldn't shake a stick performance-wise at aftermarket parts.

If you're just looking for the performance aspect without too much of a drop, go with springs/shocks instead of the more pricey coilovers. You can get a fantastic spring/shock combo installed for the price of just the coils themselves before install, and it will give you every bit as much of a performance increase. While you will not be able to adjust the height, it doesn't sound like you will need nor want to. Not to mention, spring/shock combos tend to sit a tad higher than coils at their ideal height.

That way, you can save some money and already be about halfway to getting exhaust ALSO!

I'll send you a PM.

[rnp614]

You can use the 15mm spacers if you stay above 25in ground-to-fender. Stock sport height is around 26 1/4.

Crappy roads - do you mean you bottom out alot because of crappy entrances/exits to the street or just potholes?

I don't mean to offend, but the exhaust tone on the A4 doesn't sound "high performance" compared to other 4 bangers until you go into the high HP BT stage. I'd rather keep that tone down if you know what I mean. I think you will find more pleasure driving with a new suspension set-up vs. an exhaust.

I have to deal with some shitty entrances to gas stations as well as my daily parking at the hospital. I need to check it out this weekend when there isnt traffic and take some pics to see how much clearance I have and get your guys' opinion.

Also, B7A4Sport, mind posting pics of the side of the car as well as one head on? I need to get a feeling for how much clearance I'll have. I'm very concerned about the front. Also, ar eyou running spacers at all?

[Great White]

I'll be facing the same dilemma soon, but already made up my mind and will go with coilovers.

good luck

[AudiWxGuy]

I did exhaust first, but with I did the C/O's instead. The stock suspension is crap. I've now got the STaSIS Street Sport C/O's, RS4 Rear Sway and some High Performance Tires and the handling is awesome. The stiffer sidewall of the summer tire really helps too. The steering response in noticeable quicker and there is even less body roll.

[B7A4Sport]

I have no spacers (yet ), and also no real problems with scraping/rubbing. I live in a pretty hilly area, and there are some weird angles on driveways and such that I dont seem to have any trouble with.

Here ya go:

[David2739]

I have no spacers (yet ), and also no real problems with scraping/rubbing. I live in a pretty hilly area, and there are some weird angles on driveways and such that I dont seem to have any trouble with.

Here ya go:
.......

Nice drop! Not too much, so it's still 'drivable'. I'm gonna drop it to the same height as yours after I bought a RNS-E nav system.

[B7A4Sport]

Nice drop! Not too much, so it's still 'drivable'. I'm gonna drop it to the same height as yours after I bought a RNS-E nav system.

Thanks man, glad you like it.

PM me if you want details on my setup; I don't have coils, I have a fairly unadvertised STaSIS shock/spring combo that uses Koni parts (much cheaper/more affordable than coilovers and same performance). I absolutely love the setup so far, it handles like a beast now.

[[email protected]]

Coilovers.

Exhaust is an expensive mod for the small amount of performance gain unless you have a BT/BAT setup and need to free up the restriction.

[Glassnpowder98]

I'm about 1/2-3/4 inch lower than B7A4Sport and currently on my stockers for the winter. I just take it real easy over speed bumps and steep entrances. I don't get any rubbing with my stock wheels but do get a little rubbing sometimes when I go over large dips in the road when I have my 19x8 inch et35 summer wheels with 245/35/19's on.

[rnp614]

Hrmmmmm.....enticing...