Sagging suspension

[hunker7]

I'm looking at refurbishing parts of suspension on the old girl. I believe mine is a sport version so sits lower normally but rear end drags on the floor when car is full.

Planning on doing shockers, possibly B6 Bilsteins if I can convince myself to spend that much money

How good are springs on these? Would replacing them help? Or possibly get rear springs from non-sport version?

[MikkiJayne]

Bilstein are a weird combination of superb dampers and really stupid spring design. For some reason they design their springs a; to lower the non-sport models only and b; for ride height to be at maximum laden weight. The front dampers are actually slightly longer than the stock sport versions, and so a full Bilstein kit actually lifts the S8 or A8 V8 Sport by about 5mm.

From a ride and handling perspective the Bilstein kit is sublime, as long as you don't expect it to lower the car. It would probably lift a 2.8 sport slightly more than a V8 too as the drivetrain is a fair bit lighter. I just checked and Eibach do a different spring kit for the V6, so buying separate springs and dampers may be the solution there, albeit an expensive route. Afaik there is only a full kit for the V8.

My S8 has Bilstein B6 and Intraxx springs which did lower it quite a bit, in fact I needed to make some spacers for the rear to get it where I wanted it. Its too low for everyday driving though. Next time I might try B6 and some generic lowering springs and see what happens.

Also worth noting that there are Sachs OE replacement springs now appearing on ebay - I'm sure they weren't around until relatively recently as I've not seen them before. Not sure what they would do with a B6 damper on the front, but you'd end up with pretty close to OE ride height on the rear with that combo since spring and damper are separate.

[hunker7]

I'm not looking at lowering the car tbh, I do 30k a year up and down the M25 and A1, so I much rather have the comfort, but at the same time I want to be able to have 5 people in the car without exhaust hitting the floor.

Looked at arms and few bushes could do with replacing, shockers look to be original still but not sure if replacing shockers alone will help the ride height.

I have B6 Bilsteins with original springs on my UrS4 and they're just awesome but it is little harsh.

[MikkiJayne]

I'd be inclined to look at some Sachs OE replacement springs in that case. Replacing the dampers will make no difference at all to ride height.

[Markiii]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Bilstein are a weird combination of superb dampers and really stupid spring design. For some reason they design their springs a; to lower the non-sport models only and b; for ride height to be at maximum laden weight. The front dampers are actually slightly longer than the stock sport versions, and so a full Bilstein kit actually lifts the S8 or A8 V8 Sport by about 5mm.

From a ride and handling perspective the Bilstein kit is sublime, as long as you don't expect it to lower the car. It would probably lift a 2.8 sport slightly more than a V8 too as the drivetrain is a fair bit lighter. I just checked and Eibach do a different spring kit for the V6, so buying separate springs and dampers may be the solution there, albeit an expensive route. Afaik there is only a full kit for the V8.

My S8 has Bilstein B6 and Intraxx springs which did lower it quite a bit, in fact I needed to make some spacers for the rear to get it where I wanted it. Its too low for everyday driving though. Next time I might try B6 and some generic lowering springs and see what happens.

Also worth noting that there are Sachs OE replacement springs now appearing on ebay - I'm sure they weren't around until relatively recently as I've not seen them before. Not sure what they would do with a B6 damper on the front, but you'd end up with pretty close to OE ride height on the rear with that combo since spring and damper are separate.

MJ do you know if the ebay sachs are genuine?

[MikkiJayne]

Prices and Sachs part numbers are plausible but I haven't bought any. Not cross referenced the OE numbers to see which ones are available either.

Edit - I'm getting deja vu now. I'm sure we've discussed this before actually, and the Sachs ones are for non-sport models.

I think aftermarket lowering springs may be the only option for sport models, since they lower 30-35mm or so from non-sport which would result in much the same ride height as a sport.

[spannerrash]

I contacted Sachs a couple of months ago when I was researching rear springs for my 2002 s8, and they replied "we don't have any suitable for sports suspension vehicles"