S8 Springs & things

[gapthree3]

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]

[gapthree3]

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.

[SilverS8]

Use heat.. gets them easily

[gapthree3]

Double bugger. Despite 4 days of penetrating fluid and applying the blow torch I now have the remains of 2 sheard bolts wedge in the uprights. It's official they are stuck fast and not coming out. I now have to firk out £720 to Audi purely for there design flaw and buy 2 new uprights. I don't mind spending money to see an improvement or upgade but this takes the biscuit.

[PsYcHe]

Have you checked with A8parts to see if they have any in?

[Dave@A8parts]

We have most parts available however we don't currently have the uprights in stock.

As with the age of your car being a 2001 S8, you will have the larger 360mm Brembo brakes so unfortunately the hubs carriers are different.

If there is anything else you need for your car please give us a call on 01642 783537 and one of our team will be happy to help you.

[gapthree3]

Well after major wallet surgery I go the old girl back. All clunks bangs & wonderings have gone....along with about £2k! Thank you Audi for your £700 design fault! So Steering, goes where its pointed and is no longer restless or wondering. I had got used to almost constant correction at the steering wheel and now it's gone it's so much more relaxing to drive. The feel is linear and positive and any hint of tramlining has gone. The front bilstein B6's are excellent. On the motorway they have the same level of comfort as you would expect OE. On A & B roads they are supple but controling. Only on badly pockmarked bitumin is there any any hint of harshness but control is total. There is a B road near me that at 100 (Can't recall MPH of KPH) would see it jump 6" offline on the straight at one point. Now it sails over it with millimetric precesion and a controlled ride. Body roll has gone and the occasional ABS light on hard braking on bad bumps has gone. I tried by hand the old 192K oe shocks and was impressed they still damped both up and down but no where near the virtually unmoveable B6's. I have to say I occasionally note that the recent OE rear shocks I had fitted not so long back can be felt moving about at high speed on bad undulations. Not much but enough to make me wish had gone with B6's at the rear for the same cost. I've already done nearly 800 miles on the new set up and well impressed. Next stop new springs, then maybe subframe mounts in the distant future. I had a new sub-frame fitted to a 110k D2 4.2 sport 6 years ago on insurance as the previous owner had decked it and it would not align up. The NVH reduction was amazing. She needs to earn her keep until then, here's hoping.

[adjuster]

Any updates on the new shocks?

Part numbers for the B6 front shocks would be great too, as in the USA, they only list the B6 shocks for the rear, and two HD ones for the front.

Thanks in advance.

PS: I'm looking to see if some polyurethane ARB bushings are possible for the S8. This would be a nice upgrade for most as it firms up the ARB response, but does not make the ride harsher.

They do squeek however, so a good marine grade grease up when you install them is the only way to go. (Many come here with a little pouch of grease they reccomend, Suspension Techniques does this for example.)

[Architex_mA8tey]

Originally Posted by adjuster

PS: I'm looking to see if some polyurethane ARB bushings are possible for the S8. This would be a nice upgrade for most as it firms up the ARB response, but does not make the ride harsher.

They do squeek however, so a good marine grade grease up when you install them is the only way to go. (Many come here with a little pouch of grease they reccomend, Suspension Techniques does this for example.)

Mike and myself talked to Polybush at GTI international last year http://www.polybush.co.uk/ to see if they could put together a kit for A/S8's - not sure where that's at but I'll ask if he had any more contact with them. We are there again in a couple of weeks so might be an opportunity to see what they can do. I have a complete set of spare arms for my 8 from when I changed all the bushes not long ago so might be good to give them that set cleaned up to see what they can put together and use it as a "stock set" to save people taking theirs off and waiting etc.