Time to update & upgrade the suspension

B6 A4
#1

So after getting my car in good running order (besides that damn allusive vacuum leak) its time to upgrade the suspension components of my heap.
What I’m looking at getting done is control arms, tie rods and some coilovers. Maybe sway bars of funds permit.
I want to keep business close to home so JHM is my first choice, on their site I see vogtland coilovers & 034 control arms & tie rods.

I like the unadjustable coild for under 1k, that’s where I would like to keep my budget, along with around 4ish for my control arms.

What do you guys feel on those two set ups? Have been looking at ECS an a few others as well, just don’t want to be disappointed and have a solid set up

Let me know my boys!

#2

Looks like ECS has the Meyle kit for $30. less.

Here is ECS’s whole list of control arm kits.
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B6_A4-Quattro-V6_30v/Suspension/Control_Arms/

JHM only seems to have 2 kits.
http://jhmotorsports.com/shop/catalog/suspension-c-21_62_64_242_243.html?osCsid=a48b0289d9b19bf678cbc9fcde23a5f3

As for Coilovers do NOT go budget!
Every one I know that spent $1200. or less on just the coilovers have complained.
They make clunking noises the ride is too stiff or crapy.
Just to name a few problems.
Either they were put on wrong or they were crap to begin with I don’t know.

I went with H&R ride springs and Bilstein sport shocks.
I love the setup. NO harsh ride over bumps and I love the way the car handles.
Only complaint is I would like the car to be one inch lower.

#3

Yeah I’ve been compacting between the two, the JHM one is 034 I believe to idk what the ECS one is off hand.

But I’m not going to spend 2 grand on some Ps9s or anything like that, if I would do that, I would go air. I just want some reviews of the two set ups and what you prefer. I know there are quality set ups around 1200<

Sounds like they didn’t install right and maybe it’s more than just the coils that didn’t hold up. IE that’s why I’m doing control arms & tie rods.

#4

Go with the 034 control arm kit with HD Meyle tie rods. I have not installed mine yet but i will as soon as i have my car back in the next week and get them installed I will be posting a review. But i have faith in JHM that its a good setup.

And for coils personally i was going to go with the ones JHM has with adjustable settings. You get what you pay for. Scrap the sway bar for later and go with the higher end Vogtlands. I have read that everyone who has those love them and again I trust JHM products so i am betting they are worth the extra 3-400 or whatever it is they cost. Anyways that’s my 2 cents.

#5

The only difference between the two from my understanding is the dampening adjustability. I don’t track the car, yet. But one of the reasons I’m trying to keep the cost down is I also have to get some new tires here too. So it’s all kinda come at me at once

#6

Reviews of the Vogland coils are all over the place. Although JHM sells them, I would skip them.

This is what I have:
-034 full control arm kit w/tie rods and all hardware
-RS4 rear sway
-ST coilovers with Hyperco 7" #650 springs out back
-034 upper front shock mounts
-new oem rear lower spring pads (old ones were disintegrated)
-new sway busings front and rear (oem)

#7

I thought I read that damping affects quality of the ride? Is this not the case?

#8

It does, more for people who track the car and tune the set up to work corners on the track. Reading JHMs description the less expensive set up sounds right up my alley. While have the adjustability would be nice, other than lowering it more for shows I wouldn’t be tuning my susp all that often

#9

Unless your an ngng roadracesuperstar, you’ll never adjust them anyway.

#10

Yes, it does effect the ride.
Fine tune your suspension dampening is usually the trial and error method,
since comfort level is relative to the vehicle’s driver.

Dampening is the shocks way of responding to pot holes. The shock responds to how fast the shock catches the car after the shock is extended or compressed.
If its set too stiff your comfort level in the cars ride will SUCK.
Thats what track setup is for so the car doesn’t role onto the body in turns.
But when driving on normal roads you don’t want them set too stiff.
Most coilovers are set to a middle setting and for some that too harsh of a setting.

Air rides are too soft IMO. The car handles sloppy if there cheap.
And don’t waste money on anything less than $2000.
Can’t go wrong with these.
http://uspmotorsports.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_345_27_767_764&products_id=1015
http://uspmotorsports.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_345_27_767_764&products_id=1014

#11

Agreed.

Joe thats my point, dont want to pay extra $$ for the fact of having it. I wont need it and even if I do track the car one day I’m sure I’ll be alright. Sure it’d be nice, but meh I don’t need it.

Halo, I wouldnt cheap out on air, my biggest concern would be the mushyness. Wouldn’t cheap out on that, I would either go accuair or airride, I think thats their name.

#12

The two links above your last post are two AIR rides. Friends here have them and they are the best they have tested. But there just short of $3k for the whole setup.

#13

Do you need height adjustability? If not, just find a good set of lowering springs and shocks. You can likely get a great set for the budget you set of $1k.

Also, I would say get the FCP Groton control arm kit (Option 3) as you get stiffer bushings, and you can also get solid metal tie-rods with it as well to tighten up the steering. Go through the group buy on Audizine, and you can get the full control arm and tie-rod kit for just over $300 shipped with a lifetime warranty.

I realize that you said you wanted to support JHM, but you get a lot more options if you shop around at other sites. Could end up saving yourself some $$ and get the sway bars you wanted as well.

#14

I have H&R sport springs right now, I like the ride but I want to go lower. Then drop them a little more for shows. I’ll have to look into the group buy, I would like to keep it JHM and they won’t lose my business over 20 bucks or so but I’m down for saving money.

I’ll see what the boys at JHM can do for me :wink:

Keaton, you have an email!

#15

I think if you put ATTN:Keaton in the message he’ll get it.

Z’s the same as me with the money thing.
A little more from the company you support goes a long way today.

Also remember stiffer sway bars make the ride that much closer to being harsh.

#16

Yessir. Exactly how I feel.

I think the basic height adjustable vogtlands will work for me, or a set up like that.

Not worried about the sway bars harshening things up, because race car.

#17

Here is a recent thread from AZ that discusses a bunch of lower priced coils. From my understanding the Vogtland Jr Kit I got is basically a non-adjustable version of their coil overs. I like them really well, and given the price tag of just over $500, it made it even better. They were very stiff at the start, but have smoothed out a little bit over the past month. Still a huge difference compared to stock, but some of that could be due to dropping the car about 1.5".

Also, for the sway bar, this thread (also from AZ and recent) gives a pretty good idea of 3 different options, as well as some experiences from other people. Based on the info in the thread, if I ever upgrade my sway bars, I’ll likely be going with the H-Sport S4 front and rear package. JHM also sells the package, see here

Here is the FCP Control Arm group buy page as well. It is still going on unless it ended recently. When I got them installed, the mechanics at the shop all asked how much I paid and were very impressed with the quality of the control arm kit and tie-rods. They were expecting a much larger price tag than what FCP is selling them for.