6 month review: Koni STR.T kit for C5 A6 Quattro

[forcefed7]

Posting another fairly short review, this time for the Koni STR.T suspension kit for the C5 A6 Quattro platform.
This is my 04 S-line 2.7T tiptronic. Since it is my daily driver, I was looking for something that had a comfortable, OEM-like ride. I had previously installed the Koni STR.T kit on my girlfriend's FWD C5 A6 and was extremely pleased with it's handling and comfort level, so picking this kit for my 2.7T was a no brainer.
I purchased the kit, Koni part number 1120-7972.

I have now had the kit installed for just over 6 months and feel that is ample time to review it. Here are my thoughts on the ride quality.

• The H&R springs for this kit seemed to drop it lower than our FWD C5 A6. I found this a little odd. I did not have a chance to compare the part numbers on the front springs, but expected them to be the same given the relative curb weights.
• Ride height is a little bit on the low side for my tastes. I have FTG BEL tip downpipes and I have to traverse all speed bumps at an angle to avoid hitting the downpipes on the speed bump. My girlfriend's FWD A6 does not have this problem.
• The struts themselves feel under dampened for my tastes. They compress fairly quickly, but are slow to rebound. Again I found this odd since I did not observe this behavior on our FWD A6. Where mine feels under dampened and floaty, hers absorbs bumps very well and feels tight when weight is shifted front /back and laterally.
• Due to feeling under dampened, much of the vibrations, bumps and road feedback can be felt as if the force of the road or bump is traveling straight from the springs to the cabin. A jarring effect if you will.

Overall: I expected this kit to handle and behave exactly the same as the STR.T kit for our FWD A6, but it does not. It is under dampened for my taste, even compared to the OEM S-line strut valving / dampening. I feel this kit would suit someone who does not do much highway driving. Mainly city driving where speeds are fairly low and you occasionally drive spirited. I drive 50 miles a day on the highway, so I would need more dampening or a stiffer suspension to handle the high speed, rolling bumps.

Below are before and after pictures. Sorry for the cell phone quality pics.

Before:


After:


Feel free to ask questions or PM me. Hope you all find this review useful.

[CAL4.2]

Thanks for the feedback. These are well priced and I considered them but had my shop order Bilstein when I get my suspension refreshed next month since I've had a good experience with them on other cars.

[micahmr2]

Sorry to bring this thread back up. You don't happen to have a picture of the rear spring perch do you? I'm questioning the one they sent me.
Thanks