S8 Springs & things

gapthree3 · #1 25th January 2012, 11:48 AM

Well as my 2001 S8 weekend car of 3 years has now turned in to my daily drive, nay 30K business mile car (Hurragh for fuel cards) & I need to get the suspension up to scratch.

It's covered 188K and the front suspension is original appart from 4 lemforder top arms at 145K (previous owner). The track rods are clunking and there is movement in the n/s bottom arms. ABS lights up early on bumps. Time to invest.

I plan for a Meyle HD suspension kit for £430 from german car parts in Leeds. New outer and inner track rod ends (lemforder) and front anti roll bar bushes from Audi. I will also invest in new top mounts for the dampers.

I plan to use Audi OEM front dampers, not sure which of the multiples it will get dependant on chassis number. I bought rears and they turned out to be sachs and red in colour, the fronts are red so expect Sach too. I'd be happy to hear of a better recomendation, bearing in mind I want to retain the ride quality and my filings in my teeth. Prime use is on the M-way. Bilstein B6 get a recommend in Norway but I'm sure the roads are very different there or how they would respond in the UK.

The one I'm scrathing my head over is the springs. Has anybody swapped old standard springs for new and found an improvement? My springs are not sagging cracked rusty or broken. My independant garage says they are high quality and should not go 'off'. I'm inclined to retain them if that is the case, but as the front's coming apart if there is an advantage to change them I'd consider it. They have boinged for 188k!

Last question: Has anyone changed the rear anti roll bar bushes and 4 links found an improvement? They look fine but I did this on a 95 saab aero front and back and it transformed both the handlind and ride. Just wondered if it would do the same on the S8?

Hope to hear from those sitting more comfortably now.

johnds8 · #2 30th January 2012, 12:05 PM

Hi,

Being new to 8's I cannot profess to be an expert on the 8 suspension setup but seeing as I have previously made a set of 40mm Inverted Bilstein coilovers with Swift springs for my old car I do know a thing or two!

Bilstein and Sachs are both high quality dampers. You won't go wrong there! You'll find these, admittedly in 5k a corner!, variants on lots of serious rally cars. I'd be wary of fitting FK coilovers and the suchlike. To me they look very cheaply made for the prices they charge. For folk who want to lower their 8 there are plenty of sprng manufacturers in the UK who will do you a custom set for surprisingly little money. To be honest though I doubt many fitting FK's and the like are doing it for performance reasons!! Cannot say they are bad though as not tried them just an engineers eye tells me I could make some similar using bilstein inserts for about the same price.....I know what I'd go with.

All springs "go off" eventually no matter what some may say. On the swift springs, mentioned above, they claim to last a lot longer than most.....and should be at around £80 per corner!! If you have the extra you will really make the most out of your new shocks. If the rate of the old springs has dropped, and it should have by 188k, you can actually start making the new dampers work harder than they should therby effecting longevity. They are valved to match the springs fresh from the factory. If it's time for the shocks I always do the springs at the same time.

Just my 2 penneth.

John

gapthree3 · #3 1st February 2012, 01:09 PM

Thanks JohnD for your wise words of experience. Audi OEM come in at £125 each inc vat so swift look a cheaper option. Let me know if you know of a UK source for them. Thanks.

SilverS8 · #4 4th February 2012, 06:57 AM

Regarding Bilstein B6 and the roads in Norway i would say they would be perfectt in the UK since your roads are actually roads and not something that was a road in 1960 and has then been fixed half-harted ever since..

I have still only mounted the rears on mine and after 3.5 weeks i still love them. Ride quality is perfect and not harsh in anyway but not soft like A8 without sport suspension. Perfect for a family car

johnds8 · #5 6th February 2012, 03:54 PM

Hi,

These are two companies in the UK that will custom make you springs but you need to give them the full info regarding the OEM spec so that may be an issue.

http://www.springcoil.co.uk/suspension.html

http://www.coilsprings.co.uk/

Unfortunately the Swift springs I have previously used were 2.5" coilover springs so not a direct fit.

Regs

John

gapthree3 · #6 17th February 2012, 08:36 PM

Well following a a visit from gruvenparts I now have maximum power on the S8. But this extra performance now shows up more the knocks clunks bangs wobbles and slop after just 190K miles in the suspension and steering department. Fortunately the Meyle HD link arms arrived the next day along with inner track rods and rear ARB links. Then Mr Bilstein's B6's arrived for the front. That just left arb bushes front and rear and shocker mounts for the front, sorted by Audi parts. Well that's now £850 in parts sat in my boot.

The budget for springs ran out as there is just enough left in the kitty for fitting. Speaking of which, the ARB links and bushes are to be done first. I'm interested to see the effect of just these components. They transformed my late Saab 9-5 aero.

The major work of the control arms and shocks are being done elswhere where they are more experienced and hopefully able to coax out the pinch bolts. They are spot on for alignment too. Watch this space for posts on progress, expenditure, bankruptcy & Joy.

ainarssems · #7 18th February 2012, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Well that's now £850 in parts sat in my boot.

Where have you parked

gapthree3 · #8 1st March 2012, 08:00 PM

Well just had front & rear anti roll bar bushes and links fitted for £60.....what a difference they have made. Steering, crisper and needing less correction at speed and over bumps. Much more alert in turn in. The ride is more composed and body control is improved both on cornering and straight ahead. Despite the wear and tear in the rest of the suspension arms and dampers this small change has really made a big difference & has been well worth it. I would recommend the small outlay of £160 being invested in sharpening up your ride. Next week the Bilsteins and control arms go on. Total control here we come. Things can only get better.

Conan_the_Librarian · #9 1st March 2012, 09:15 PM

gapthree3 · #10 5th March 2012, 02:58 PM

Well, bugger & quelle suprieez. Despite 2 days of penatration oil spraying the pinchbolt nuts have come off but the bolts are stuck fast. It's with Roger Holmes in York. More soaking on the go while it sit's there with the bolts more exposed. The next plan involves removal of the hub then heat. Not too much to melt the alloy but enough to hopefully cause a parting. Then start tapping. Which is probably not a violent enough word to cover the kind of tap it needs. Speaking of violence, the 'steering commitee' (wife) enquired could I not just buy some new hubs.....I could for £720 from Audi if she gave up her holiday plane ticket, but probably best not to mention that just yet.