ST vs Solo Werks

[DangerBruno]

I'm a new b8.5 allroad owner living out his dream, Cuz who doesn't want a station wagon RIGHT!? Anyways, I'm looking for coils and I want some real world input from users of both. Should I spend the extra 200 for the ST, or should I get the SW and save the 200 for other goodies. I'm not looking for a super performance coil as this is still stock and I'm not going to be tuning anytime soon. (Or so I say) I want them primarily for the look to take away that unsightly wheel gap, but also I don't want to sacrifice the ride quality just to go low. I'm not going to slam it or anything I just want to do 20x10 and soak up that wheel gap. What are your thoughts on these coils? Who's using which and what are your experiences with them? I know there are some reviews on these coils but I can't seem to get a lot of actual real world input from them. Thanks in advance and get used to me posting because I'm a textbook over thinker who needs input to help myself make a GD decision.


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[adamazing]

As a Solowerks owner, and for your use cases mentioned above, save the $200 and buy Solowerks.

[zcspec]

These were on my 2015 AR. Read my review here: http://petervutheblogger.blogspot.com/

[DangerBruno]

As a Solowerks owner, and for your use cases mentioned above, save the $200 and buy Solowerks.

Compared to OE how would you say they ride?


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[DangerBruno]

These were on my 2015 AR. Read my review here: http://petervutheblogger.blogspot.com/

That's a solid write up my friend! Thanks, looks like the SW are pulling ahead already. That's 200 towards tint lol


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[Smellie]

Currently have SW too, they have been great for me!

[AllroadCorbin]

These were on my 2015 AR. Read my review here: http://petervutheblogger.blogspot.com/

SO happy I found this. Was wondering the same thing. I want coilovers to go with the M590 wheels I am ordering. I have michelin snows on my stock rims and want to leave them on so its a simple bolt on each season. But I really want a coilover that can adjust to stock height (or pretty close) for winter. I was told that if I spun them all the way to the max that the ride would go to shit. Can you please give me some feedback on how high you were able to get them?/ if you think they would get high enough?

Also, current plan is the M590 19x9.5 Et35 wheel. Was honestly going to stick with 19s because if I went 20 then I'd need pretty expensive fat tires and would also be worried about Boston roads bending the crap out of them. Any suggestions one way or the other?

[Rickashae13]

I too have the SW's and have loved them so far, given its only been 2 weeks lol. My decision was made pretty much after reading ZCSPEC's review.


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[Rickashae13]

Compared to OE how would you say they ride?


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They are just slightly stiffer than OE so it's perfect for a daily driver so much so that the wife even approved of the ride quality lol


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[zcspec]

Corbin, no coilover is going to get you close to the allroad's stock height without adding KW's "height helpers". Looks something like this:



If my memory serves me correct I could literally fit my fist in the wheel gap on our ARs. Can you say, 4x4? Without the height helpers, you'll get about 2" worth of clearance and that's with the rear maxed up. The other problem you're going to run into, is having the shock out of it's "ideal compression range." The solowerks are designed to work within a specific compression range. They include a guide that tells you where that range is. Anything lower or above that ranges could have a ride that is less than desirable.

Hope this helps.

[Shimmy]

ST coilovers here and love them. no issues.

[AllroadCorbin]

Corbin, no coilover is going to get you close to the allroad's stock height without adding KW's "height helpers". Looks something like this:



If my memory serves me correct I could literally fit my fist in the wheel gap on our ARs. Can you say, 4x4? Without the height helpers, you'll get about 2" worth of clearance and that's with the rear maxed up. The other problem you're going to run into, is having the shock out of it's "ideal compression range." The solowerks are designed to work within a specific compression range. They include a guide that tells you where that range is. Anything lower or above that ranges could have a ride that is less than desirable.

Hope this helps.

Ah ok good to know. Would the car ride poorly with the height helpers? I just wanted the extra clearance for offroad things. I guess I'll cross that bridge next winter. Now to decide if I should change to 20s or keep to 19s

[John44]

SoloWerks here. Had them on since last Summer and been driving on them in the winter, which has been gnarly here in UT. I love them, the ride quality is really close to stock but of course stiffer where they need to be. The car handles night and day better. I too am running 20x10 on my Avant and I'm fairly low, with about 1 finger gap between wheel and fender.

This is very shortly after install, so they have settled a little more than this pic. But just for reference.

[b6Hate4]

St's here, theyre awesome coils. I wanted stiffer suspension than solowerks was going to offer. I want some performance out of a suspension package vs. just low.

[DangerBruno]

SoloWerks here. Had them on since last Summer and been driving on them in the winter, which has been gnarly here in UT. I love them, the ride quality is really close to stock but of course stiffer where they need to be. The car handles night and day better. I too am running 20x10 on my Avant and I'm fairly low, with about 1 finger gap between wheel and fender.

This is very shortly after install, so they have settled a little more than this pic. But just for reference.

Dude that looks f*%#ing KILLER. Love the color and the wheels.

Looking like the SW are going to be taking the belt here for me. Especially with your winter reference. Here in PA it's been fairly mild this year but it gets hairy some winters. And this is my 365 daily so it needs to be functional. I'm thinking about eventually going bags hopefully by next summer so these coils will probably only be on the car for a year.


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[armnloaded]

Thats clean. So SW? Is better than STs? Im kind of leaning towards the STs

P.s snows like crazy where im from


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[redeye_jedi]

I had KW v2's on two Subarus before I went German...I loved them but $$$. I had a VW mkv.:R32 With Solo Werks on the it and they were pretty good, a bit stiff and unforgiving. I now have STx's on my a4 and think the price point is super reasonable. I don't need the corrosion protection so these are perfect.

Good luck

[Darktrooper79]

I had Solowerks on my MK4 GTI. I took them off within 2 years. One of the front struts started to leak. I switched back to OEM and haven't lowered it again. I have the STs on my 09 A4 3.2L. I like them a lot. Lowered 2.25" from the stock height. Noticeably stiffer (bouncier) than stock ride but not annoying. I was going for looks and they did the job.

[Mikeslvdr]

I have STs on my a4, and I love them. I've been on them for about a week. Like mentioned before noticeably stiffer than stock. It was originally lowered about 1 finger gap all around, but now its settled to a little bit lower. Here's a side shot for reference.

[armnloaded]

🏽


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[dnoyeb]

I have STs on my a4, and I love them. I've been on them for about a week. Like mentioned before noticeably stiffer than stock. It was originally lowered about 1 finger gap all around, but now its settled to a little bit lower. Here's a side shot for reference.

So in that photo, how much higher can it go if you wanted a little more clearance? Are you at the highest setting now or are there a few turns still it could raise? Those are 20's I assume?

[ToddBrunswick]

I have STs on my a4, and I love them. I've been on them for about a week. Like mentioned before noticeably stiffer than stock. It was originally lowered about 1 finger gap all around, but now its settled to a little bit lower. Here's a side shot for reference.

Looks great.

[lencho1500]

Have had ST X for a year now and no problems. I have them all the way up because I drive it in the winter as well. When shopping around I was advised to get the ST X over the Solo or SW because the might resist winter driving a little better. Don't know if you drive it in the winter but that was a huge buying point for me.

[secondchance]

I have to say, after 7 months on the ST coils im really not happy with them. They are too sloppy specifically in the back. Because of this I cant be as low as id like to be. I almost feel like the shocks may be lemons out of the factory ?!

Anyone else had this issue?

[Cherub]

This is what I've heard from a few friends about the STs and I've hesitated on purchading them. Opyions are ranging between BC, KW or SWs. Good luck on a replacement set

[Mikeslvdr]

So in that photo, how much higher can it go if you wanted a little more clearance? Are you at the highest setting now or are there a few turns still it could raise? Those are 20's I assume?

I have a quite a few turns to raise it in both front and rear. Not sure exactly how much though. At most I believe half an inch more. I'm quite content with the height its at though at the moment since I experience no rubbing except on major potholes and steep down hills, even then rubbing is very minimal. But yes you are correct they are 20s wrapped in 255/30/20.

[armnloaded]

Have had ST X for a year now and no problems. I have them all the way up because I drive it in the winter as well. When shopping around I was advised to get the ST X over the Solo or SW because the might resist winter driving a little better. Don't know if you drive it in the winter but that was a huge buying point for me.

Yes i do i live in Canada and yeah the winter part is my big concern. I do like the STs over SW


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[AllroadCorbin]

For anybody that wants a bullet proof solution for lowering the AR that is guaranteed to fit/work/not rust, buy a 2012 A4 Avant S-line suspension. It's going to cost more but an old coworker of mine who's also on the zine' as Zee007 was probably the first B8.5 allroad owner on here to modify his car, and he did exactly this. I got to see the car in person a few years ago and it looked perfect and he was running 19x10 SNAs. I think he now has a beautiful S6 sedan but still....check out his thread to see what his AR looked like lowered on OEM parts

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...=1#post7799850

[t28sentra]

I'm running ST on my Allroad. They ride really well for a daily and handle well with the Stasis rear bar. I did add the KW helper as the rear was too low even after being fully adjusted out.

Before Helper spacer


After

[SleeperCar]

i am also a solowerks owner, and I have been very happy, i just got them on about 3 months ago and they have been holding up in this brutal winter here. If you get solos just make sure you use T9Boeshield to protect against corrosion from the salted roads, other than that they are worry free.

FWIW, i got my Solos for almost half of what STs cost and I think I got a great deal for a great product.

[AllroadCorbin]

I'm running ST on my Allroad. They ride really well for a daily and handle well with the Stasis rear bar. I did add the KW helper as the rear was too low even after being fully adjusted out.

Before Helper spacer


After

what's interesting is that it seems that STs dont work well for avants without the KW helper. There's a few people will Allroads on Solowerks and their rear ride height was plenty high. Interesting

[Liquid Smoke]

+1 for Solo Werks. have had them for close to 2 years now and about 30k miles. still feels great, have had no issues. i use them on crappy NYC/NJ roads. they are an excellent value for the price, and prob the best choice in their price range if your main priority is comfort and daily driving. FYI i have them set at their highest level and there is just almost a 1 finger gap from top of the tire to fender.

[Milez]

Just had solo werks installed yesterday. Ride amazing, pretty much all the way down. No rubbing at all


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[earhythmic]

What about clunking? I just installed my STs yesterday and with my initial height I had some scary clunking when the weight of the car would shift to one side to the other. I raised everything up about an inch this morning and that remedied the issue.

I know I'm going to want to go lower once everything settles, but the clunking thing is in the back of my mind.

[ko-nsx]

Been running my solowerks coils since oct of 2014. Zero noises or issues. I drove a few months and adjusted ride height for settling. All I wanted was a drop and the solowerks fit the bill budget wise. I would buy again. I didn't not install them, I took them to be installed.

[integroid]

The guys with allroads and getting the ST setup....did you guys buy the avant specific coil overs? Strange to see them sitting so low.

[t28sentra]

Mine are avant specific, but I think they just designed them to go really low. Similar to the B5 S4 H&R ultra-low setup. The Allroad flares might exaggerate the look as well.

[irobb]

Been on ST's for a month now. No complaints. Paid $600 new including shipping. Lots of turns to go either way.

[mdot1203]

These were on my 2015 AR. Read my review here: http://petervutheblogger.blogspot.com/

Appreciate the thorough review

[Darktrooper79]

What about clunking? I just installed my STs yesterday and with my initial height I had some scary clunking when the weight of the car would shift to one side to the other. I raised everything up about an inch this morning and that remedied the issue.

I know I'm going to want to go lower once everything settles, but the clunking thing is in the back of my mind.

I had clunking in the front driver side. It was driving me crazy. I removed that front driver suspension assembly and reinstalled it and haven't heard the noise again.