My cute little strawberry-colored hybrid is all grown up. This week I lastly completed putting in the decreasing springs on my 2016 Audi A3 E-Tron each day driver and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been driving lowered automobiles as my on a regular basis machines for about 15 years, and sitting just a bit bit decrease than manufacturing unit makes my coronary heart sing. A slightly easy coil spring swap and a few cool wheels is all most vehicles have to look their finest. The aesthetic and dealing with advantages of decreasing a automobile greater than outweigh the minor lower in consolation skilled with decrease and stiffer springs.
Is decreasing your each day driver best for you? Let’s get in to it.
Putting in decreasing springs is a fairly easy DIY job if you happen to’re a minimum of reasonably helpful with a wrench. The rear springs went in tremendous simply as soon as I discovered the right methodology of disconnecting the decrease management arm, however the fronts fought me a bit extra. On this explicit automobile it concerned extracting the entrance strut from the upright meeting, and to be able to get the upright low sufficient to take away the strut from its clamp meant unbolting the ball joint, disconnecting the CV axle and swaybar, and frivolously rocking the hub whereas pushing downward. For some motive the driving force’s facet took about two hours, however the passenger’s facet took 20 minutes. Typically that’s the way it goes.
Lots of people are afraid of this fashion of McPherson strut spring compressor. If you happen to deal with them proper and don’t stick your fingers contained in the tensioned spring, you’re in all probability high-quality. I’ve by no means personally seen one fail, however there may be undoubtedly a number of potential power certain up within the above picture and if poorly dealt with may shoot your eye out, child. I discover that utilizing an influence gun is the simplest option to deal with this stuff. Line them up appropriately on the spring and ship it, however be sure to’re making use of even ugga duggas to either side. As soon as the spring is compressed you possibly can take away the highest nut and slowly loosen the spring again to its full top. Pop the brand new spring on, re-install the strut high, and Robert’s your mom’s brother.
You probably have been following this suspension saga, which I someway managed to stretch out into three separate blogs, you’ll know that I severely fucked up once I completed the driving force’s facet entrance nook. A $170 rebuilt caliper from NAPA put every little thing proper once more, and the set up and bleeding course of was a complete breeze. As a substitute of operating an influence bleeder or having my spouse push pedals all afternoon, I merely cracked the bleeder valve on the brand new caliper, topped up the first cylinder with recent Motul Resting Bitch Face from my stash and let gravity do the job for quarter-hour or so. Then I connected the one-person bleeder bottle to the valve and gave it a single pump on the pedal to substantiate all of the air had been launched. I used to be actually fearful about it, but it surely couldn’t have gone extra easily.
With that restore out of the best way I used to be capable of get the automobile again on 4 wheels for the primary time in three days, and with rear trip top matching the entrance for the primary time in a pair weeks. Oh child, that appears incredible!
There are tons of choices on the market on the planet, however I selected to go along with ECS Tuning’s twin charge decreasing springs for MQB chassis. Whereas they’re explicitly for Mk7 and MK8 Volkswagen GTI fitment, the A3 is kind of a GTI with fancy leather-based inside. The E-Tron is actually the identical automobile as a Euro-market plug-in hybrid Volkswagen GTE, and every little thing appears to swap over with out a lot concern. These springs are a superb mix of consolation and sporty, and higher than that, they’re cheap and I’m a cheapskate.
After just a few days of driving this automobile on the brand new springs, I’ve undoubtedly made some concessions to consolation in favor of aesthetics. These springs make the automobile trip about 1.4 inches decrease than inventory, which signifies that taller velocity bumps trigger the automobile to scrape frivolously. Bumps and freeway enlargement joints are a bit harsher than earlier than, however I’ve undoubtedly pushed stiffer and worse vehicles on manufacturing unit suspension. In case you are coming from principally any sports activities automobile on inventory suspension, this may really feel comparable.
Driving a lowered automobile is a mindset factor. All the things is a trade-off, and inventory suspension dynamics are constructed for the bottom widespread denominator. Audi’s suspension engineers needed to construct a automobile that was as snug as potential for as many individuals as potential, all around the world. A trip top like this from the manufacturing unit would have been met with distaste from seniors who discover it tough to get out of the driving force’s seat, or normies who desire a pillowy trip. In case your priorities, like mine, are aesthetics and dealing with, that is a simple commerce off. Magnificence is ache, as they are saying.
As a result of we’re in the depths of the winter doldrums, I gained’t have an actual alternative to check out the dealing with till I get the summer season wheel and tire bundle again on the automobile. Perhaps I’ll have the sway bar state of affairs discovered by then, too. I’ll you’ll want to supply and replace as soon as I do.
