Anyone running H&R Springs w/Bilstein shocks on SQ5?

[rgvsq5]

I've been running H&R springs for a while now, and I think it's done a number on my OEM shocks and struts as the ride has become quite harsh. Especially in the backseat... It's torture.

I ordered the Bilstein street performance shocks and struts from ECS and am hoping this will bring the ride back to somewhat of a comfortable status for daily driving.

Anyone have experience with this setup?

[riceboy22]

Bilstein B8 (or other aftermarket shocks) + H&R - Who's running this setup?

[Drichardson72]

Yep, as riceboy22 mentioned, there's a whole thread on this. I'm running this setup and I love it. Major improvement over oem.


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[VroomVroom]

Lots of good reading in that thread. FWIW, on my '13 Q5 I ran H&R springs, and there was obvious deterioration in ride quality as the miles stacked. I was thrilled to hear about this combo for a number of reasons. I've never regretted installing Bilstein shocks (too many vehicles to count, it seems), and this setup is significantly cheaper than a coilover set....and from what feedback I got from a couple of reputable shops, dealing with H&R and Bilstein is like dealing with Ghandi, while working with (cough) other vendors (cough) is like dealing with Trump. :) So, running this combo on my new SQ5 was really an easy decision.

After the fact? Oh man, I couldn't be happier. Ride quality is genuiunely improved over stock, as is handling (duh). The look, to my eyes, is perfect, and the ride height is a perfect mix of low and being able to deal with driveways, curbs, etc. Honestly, the only regret you'll have is in not doing it sooner.

[rgvsq5]

Lots of good reading in that thread. FWIW, on my '13 Q5 I ran H&R springs, and there was obvious deterioration in ride quality as the miles stacked. I was thrilled to hear about this combo for a number of reasons. I've never regretted installing Bilstein shocks (too many vehicles to count, it seems), and this setup is significantly cheaper than a coilover set....and from what feedback I got from a couple of reputable shops, dealing with H&R and Bilstein is like dealing with Ghandi, while working with (cough) other vendors (cough) is like dealing with Trump. :) So, running this combo on my new SQ5 was really an easy decision.

After the fact? Oh man, I couldn't be happier. Ride quality is genuiunely improved over stock, as is handling (duh). The look, to my eyes, is perfect, and the ride height is a perfect mix of low and being able to deal with driveways, curbs, etc. Honestly, the only regret you'll have is in not doing it sooner.

Not sure how I missed thread mentioned above, but appreciate it being brought to my attention.

Thank you for your feedback. I'm really looking forward to getting these installed (just ordered them)!

[AWSQ5]

Hell yea I am..
look for my original post. RiceBoy22 should have a link to it.

[riceboy22]

Yup, @AWSQ5 is the OG for this setup. I still love it. The link to his original review from AW is sub-linked in the thread above.

Somewhat related to that, I've since added the EC sway bars, and the ride is a bit rougher now when driving around the city. There's a lot of bumps and pot holes around here that impact only one side of the car, and I can definitely feel the strong linkage from left-to-right. If you do a lot of city driving and want to retain the stock (or better than stock) ride quality, I would probably suggest skipping the sway bars. Then again, you just need to hit one fun on-ramp with the sway bars and that might make it worth it LOL.

[userbbc]

Yup, @AWSQ5 is the OG for this setup. I still love it. The link to his original review from AW is sub-linked in the thread above.

Somewhat related to that, I've since added the EC sway bars, and the ride is a bit rougher now when driving around the city. There's a lot of bumps and pot holes around here that impact only one side of the car, and I can definitely feel the strong linkage from left-to-right. If you do a lot of city driving and want to retain the stock (or better than stock) ride quality, I would probably suggest skipping the sway bars. Then again, you just need to hit one fun on-ramp with the sway bars and that might make it worth it LOL.

Not exactly scientific as i'm relying on seat of pants memories of pre-sway bar driving from almost two years ago, but i'm wondering if the rougher ride from the sway bars is also contributed by the aluminum end links?
I don't remember noticing any difference in ride from stock after installing the sways with stock end links. I did notice a rougher ride after installing the 20" wheels with dws's (still a fan of how they look, thanks!), but I have since lowered psi down to 32 in the tires (which is what i had on my old 19" conti's) and the ride seems back to normal. On winter tires, everything is even cushier, regardless of psi.

[VroomVroom]

It is the stiffer bushings & end links that will add harshness to the ride. What used to be absorbed by softer stuff is now passed along by harder stuff....to the softer stuff sitting in the seats. :) But that trade-off can be impressive. If I rode only on smooth roads, it'd be a no-brainer. Of course now I keep telling myself that the ride will be softer when I go with 20's (vs 21's), so why not go for the gusto? Ain't easy being me.

[riceboy22]

I probably didn't do a great job of describing things above. In terms of ride quality, I don't think the sway bars and end links added road harshness for me. If I hit a big seam in the road, I still get a nice satisfying thump that tells me the B8s are doing their job. And they also still dampen things out way better than the stock shocks used to.

The best way I can describe the roughness I'm talking about is that when I hit a bump on one side of the car it's just more accentuated now. For example, if I hit a raised bump on the passenger side, the balance of the car gets thrown a bit more roughly to driver side than before. I'm assuming that's a result of the stronger linkage between the two sides now, so when the passenger side is compressed by the bump the driver side gets compressed more as well which throws the balance that way more rapidly than before (since it's essentially lifting the drivers side off the ground). It's not enough to really bother me but it's certainly noticeable on NYC roads. It's still way better though than the completely unbalanced oscillation with the stock shocks though!

[VroomVroom]

You totally nailed it, which tells me I probably did a crummy job responding to it. :)

Seriously though, spot-on. Independent suspension aside, those one-sided bumps, hitting a speed bump at an angle...it'll all feel much more harsh. Back in my full-size SUV days, I did some work for the Hotchkis folks and they took care of me on new anti-sway bars and bushings. Man, I thought I'd taken a kidney punch from Mike Tyson. Torsion bars up front and a live axle out back....that was brutal.