guhbuhjuh

So I'm looking into lowering my car about an inch. I've decided on the stasis motorsports coilovers, being a n00b with this I wanted to ask a few things, please bear with me:

1. Will the coilovers increase the handling response? How much of a difference from stock response will there be and will it be difficult to adjust to the new driving "feel" ?

2. How much of a comfort drop will there be compared to the stock suspension?

3. Will dropping my car an inch have any bad effects on the underside or side of my car during the winter? It's only an inch so I assume no...

Thanks for the help in advance!

guhbuhjuh

Btw this will be for a 2003 A4 1.8T quattro, thanks.

S4sposeur

I have Stasis Track sports. Lowering the car will not improve handling by much, if at all. The stock S4 is 3/4 inch lower than the stock A4 and that is plenty. Lower center of gravity is pretty much useless on the street and the camber changes reduce much of the presumed advantage anyway. I run my S4 at stock ride height which is 3/4 inch lower than the stock A4 and it works fine.

The ride is very hard with any of the aftermarket coil overs, but all Audis ride hard anyway. Stasis really reduces the understeer, although a stiffer rear roll bar would be a cheaper way to get similar results with less ride penalty.

Don't bother with coil overs unless you have already got the 17x8 light alloy wheels with ultra high performance tires. Tires are the cheapest way to radically improve handling. I run OZ 8x17 Ultra leggeras with Michelin PS2 and they are brilliant. It is totally useless to put coil overs on a car with all season tires.

If I were modifying an Audi I would fit stiffer shocks from Sachs, Koni or Bilstein, add a stiffer rear anti roll bar and upgrade the wheels and tires. Coilovers are great but the ride penalty is significant for relatively marginal gains in handling for most street use. Definitely don't lower the car unless you are mislead by the look of a lowered car, it isn't a worthwhile improvement. if you get coilovers only lower the car by 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.

archimense

Considering the questions you are asking, I would recommend the Stasis Street Sports.

Is there a reason you feel you need the Motor Sports?

S4sposeur

I note you have an uprated rear roll bar. I recommend our poster try that modification first by itself and see how that improves the handling.

Thereafter, I agree that the street sports or track sports would be more likely to please than the motor sports.

An A4 without a chip really has insufficient power to benefit much from really aggressive suspension.

skapan

You'd be wise to come out to a few meets and get some rides in cars that have been modified before you decide. Stasis is kind of the ultimate suspension setup, and as others have said it's a waste of funds if the wheels tires and other parts are not up to it. But each to his own......

guhbuhjuh

Thanks for the replies guys, unfortunately I could not edit my original post due to the lack of an option. I should have said stasis street sports, that is the suspension I am considering, my car should be fine right? It is stock except that it has a stage 1 APR setup. How much will the ride quality suffer compared to stock and will the handling get better?

S4sposeur

The handling will be much better, whether you also lower the car or leave it at stock ride height. The ride will be much stiffer as Stasis is stiffer than the sport suspension offered by Audi. However, the Stasis suspesnion is very well sorted out so the ride will remain compliant even though stiffer. Audi's have a very poor ride anyway so making the rear end stiffer (which is mainly what Stasis does) won't make it intolerable.

I have Tracksports with 500/600 rate srpings. my wife thinks the ride is appalling and I agree, compared to our Jag XF, Alfa Romeo or SAAB 9000 Aero. However, the box stock Audi ride is not very good anyway as the springs are too firm for the weight of the car. A stiffer rear roll bar is the best addition you can make in my opinion, followed by upgrading the shocks to Koni or Bilstein or stiffer than stock Sachs. Audi's stock suspension already has stiff enough springs but the shocks are too soft from the factory which leads to a poorly riding car. The rear roll bar is also too soft but that's because the springs are too stiff.

Stasis makes the rear springs even stiffer but matches that to some degree with stiffer front springs and much stiffer adjustable shocks.

The pitching motion that all Audis seem to suffer from is still there though and annoying.