coilovers 2015 s3

[92683]

I don't plan on doing the coilovers anytime soon but I have been researching slowly.

I am not new to suspensions but for the audi s3 2015 I am new. I approach every car as an unknown so that I can research everything about it before spending money into it.


I currently have the magride version. its fun but it doesn't feel that great. it feels bouncy most of the time. I have not narrowed down what causes that yet but it doesn't give the driver the sense of control when driving aggressive.

the first question is if i should go stiffer, softer, or close to the same as stock.
the goal is to give it a lowered look and give the car a better feel when driving around town and on the hwy. i don't plan on tracking the car.
its a daily car and the roads here is not all that bad, but does have the occasional area that is just horrible. I have read a lot of people's reaction to their setup but everyone's option is so vastly different that I cant tell if their setup would be too stiff or too soft for my taste. because the stock setup is so bouncy to me i cant decide from the stock setup if its too soft or stiff either. i do know what needs to be done to make it softer or stiffer but will that be a good setup. would the stock setup have been really good if it wasn't so bouncy. is the spring rates the issue or the strut dynamic compression and rebound the issue. normally the struts are the issue for the exaggerated bounce but so many have said using springs makes the car feel better so i am confused with the cause.

if i go softer then another required item that needs to be upgraded would be the sway bar, mostly the rear. to increase the fun factor, i would stiffen the rear as much as possible with an aftermarket rear sway bar. it will give the car more of an over steer feel. i would look for the thickest/solid built versions available.

what i have found so far are these:
H&R 25mm
Emmanuel design 23.8mm
034 motorsport 22.2mm
neuspeed 21.7mm

the problem with most companies is that they build the sway bar around stock suspension. they need to give us more variety as when we change out the stock suspension it would necessarily work well with these specs.


as for coilovers i am going with BC racing. they offer the best customization available for the audi and the functionality. i don't know why other brands don't make it for the audi segment but audi is really limited. i have noticed bmw has more available brands out there.

let me say that i don't like springs on stock struts. its not that they don't do the job of lowering it. the issue is that by lowering it with just springs it causes premature damage to the strut and eventually within a year or two, the strut needs to be replaced plus it can bottom out much easier. i know this because i too have done springs. its the same idea as with buying suspension like kw. the issue with kw is that when you lower it, your lowering the springs and not the whole body and springs at the same time. anyone who knows the basics of coilovers, would agree that versions similar to spring adjustment suspensions are not good for lowering cars. it will bottom out and also damage the strut prematurely. the other issue is that you would want to get the spring rates to work properly wit the stock setup.



the second would be what are all the options to delete out the warning lights when I remove the magride. I was reading that someone was attempting to use the vagcom to code it out but I never heard anything further about it. its been about a year. I do know there are some cancellation kits but I prefer to code it out if possible. I think this is the main reason I have hesitated to do any suspension mods.

sample. neuspeed isweep dcc canceler kit.
http://www.neuspeed.com/isdccmk7r-isweep-dcc-canceler-kit.html

 

[SW_S3]

I put a koni/ground control coilover on my 2003 M3 with adjustable camber plates and dual adjustable shocks because I planned on tracking the car and it did amazing things for turn-in and feel. It was rock solid but upon reflection I think springs would have been a good way to go for a lot less money. A friend who had driven my car back then just did this to his track day e46 M3 as he was looking for some of the feel I had in mine. He did just the Dinan springs and is quite happy with the result. I was in a hurry to fix problems that were not really that big a deal on the track and made the car pretty harsh on the road. If you drive fast everywhere then you might really like that setup.

As for the S3, I have mag on my '17 and do not sense the bouncy feel you describe. I wonder if they made any changes to the software, I have seen some info on that but nothing specific (anyone know exactly what they did in 2017 to the suspension/haldex?) I switch between auto and dynamic but unless I am on a mountain road, auto does well and I can pull it into S when I want (I also have stage 1 APR ECU/TCU). I find the suspension has good feel, I will track it next Sunday (I hope) and will post info. I am ASSUMING I will want a better rear bar, brake pads, fluid, SS lines but want to take it out stock to see if the fluid boils with street tires. If not, I may keep it stock and save some $$. I can't lower it as I love this car in the snow, was a primary reason for the purchase. What wheel/tire setup do you have? Keep in mind the tire is part of the suspension and can impact feel.

Coilovers are a near complete suspension replacement and so should be able to change the feel to what you want, I would not purchase before driving an example to make sure it feels the way you want. Not sure I would worry about strut wear as you will basically toss them in the attic until you sell it, at least that's what I did. From what you've said I would suggest springs and a rear bar upgrade first. That should alter the feel and lower it as you desire without the computer headaches and risk of messing it up. You have a lot of technology you are removing with Mag-ride not sure I see a reason to pull it unless you will eventually be on track a lot with the car. My $.02 !!

 

[92683]

I put a koni/ground control coilover on my 2003 M3 with adjustable camber plates and dual adjustable shocks because I planned on tracking the car and it did amazing things for turn-in and feel.

funny you say this. as I mentioned above I have used many coilovers in the past. I have used the koni ground control version before. I currently have a set that I'm selling now. it was on my Honda civic before. it definitely was not cheap at all for the style of suspension that it is. I have custom spring rates. I think that's the only part that is truly custom. the shock appears to be generic and as long as the strut fits the attachment points on any car dampening is the same. they must assume that since there are some dampening adjustments then the units will be universal for ever make and model. my setup was for daily use and it was very street compliant. the rate was upon my selection and I have to say it was really comfortable. when I did make the calculations I took into account the weight of the car and the environment I was going to drive in, in addition I counted on my past experience with spring rates.

It was rock solid but upon reflection I think springs would have been a good way to go for a lot less money.

agree with you that it was just too expensive for what it is. the system they provide isn't meant to drop the car with the perch. basically we are not supposed to have it go lower than that. in the instructions the perch is supposed to tighten up the slack when you get the setup, as each spring will have length differences, so this basically makes this combo work like basic springs but with the appearance of the ability to lower it. similar to many for the audi's such as kw.


A friend who had driven my car back then just did this to his track day e46 M3 as he was looking for some of the feel I had in mine. He did just the Dinan springs and is quite happy with the result. I was in a hurry to fix problems that were not really that big a deal on the track and made the car pretty harsh on the road. If you drive fast everywhere then you might really like that setup.



As for the S3, I have mag on my '17 and do not sense the bouncy feel you describe. I wonder if they made any changes to the software, I have seen some info on that but nothing specific (anyone know exactly what they did in 2017 to the suspension/haldex?)

this issue has been talked many times on different forums. I have not researched too much on the 2017 models as mine is a 2015. so I don't know if its any different.


I switch between auto and dynamic but unless I am on a mountain road, auto does well and I can pull it into S when I want (I also have stage 1 APR ECU/TCU). I find the suspension has good feel, I will track it next Sunday (I hope) and will post info. I am ASSUMING I will want a better rear bar, brake pads, fluid, SS lines but want to take it out stock to see if the fluid boils with street tires. If not, I may keep it stock and save some $$.

yes you will want a thicker rear bar. many make the mistake on an awd car to install stiffer fonts but that just induces over steer and that's not what you want as the car is already over steer happy. I have a hookup so I can get parts at wholesale so pricing to me is not really a huge deal but I prefer not to repeat a process and waste money on mistakes. as for brakes I recommend the neuspeed bbk. they are really priced well and does the job. they are well below many bbk out there. when its time ill be getting those for my car. ss lines is a must. they do a lot.


I can't lower it as I love this car in the snow, was a primary reason for the purchase. What wheel/tire setup do you have? Keep in mind the tire is part of the suspension and can impact feel.

yes I agree tires is a major component with the suspension. the issue there is unless I try out every version tire available I wont know which ones are good for me. I only take advice online with a grain of salt as everyone's personal opinion is different. I had an issue once with buying the cheapest tires on my civic before when I was in high school. money was short and I needed new tires. well I got into an accident because someone cut right in front of me and I couldn't stop. Technically I had plenty of space if to stop on good tires but since they were super cheap I slide all the way there and hit the car. it was the other drivers fault for cutting me off in the end. but my lesson is that I never cheap out anymore. ever....

Coilovers are a near complete suspension replacement and so should be able to change the feel to what you want, I would not purchase before driving an example to make sure it feels the way you want.

not sure how to perform this as the versions I look into are not on anyones car I know of locally. plus BC racing offers free custom spring rates and custom shock dampening. which I already have some numbers in mind and no one will have those for sure locally.


Not sure I would worry about strut wear as you will basically toss them in the attic until you sell it, at least that's what I did.

i have to disagree. no I don't think this way. why destroy something just because? I already know I need a full coilover setup so why do it half way? as you suggested before to use springs, but they wont allow me to lower it the way I prefer and I cant corner balance springs. I don't believe in doing things cheaply. I believe in doing it right. people don't realize that it just costs more in the end and your sacrificing the enjoyment.

From what you've said I would suggest springs and a rear bar upgrade first.

no springs.... if you knew me personally you would never offer that advice.
the proper way of doing it is coilovers first and see how it runs, from there you add a specific rear sway bar to compensate for any extra or lack of. if your on stock suspension adding a thicker rear sway bar will definitely help on corners.


That should alter the feel and lower it as you desire without the computer headaches and risk of messing it up. You have a lot of technology you are removing with Mag-ride not sure I see a reason to pull it unless you will eventually be on track a lot with the car.

agree that its a very expensive system. it is now a mistake to have added this option. lesson learned.
I will have to disagree with the last part. just because we change out the suspension does not mean a track day is a must. when you track I would tend to agree to say you would need/perfer to change the suspension. when on regular streets its fine with or without a change in the suspension because changing it doesn't mean its going to be super stiff like a spring rate of 16k. in my preference I plan on going actually a bit softer in the front and a tad harder in the rear. so personal preference is what I'm saying.
I originally wanted to keep it stock even with the height but since it bounces a bit more than I prefer I am leaning towards changing it out later on.
one of my past cars I did a full coilover was my Subaru sti. I had endless zeal coilovers with custom spring rates and compression and rebound. they costed me around $9,000.00 at wholesale price. I also had supporting mods to that such as sway bars, bushings, control arms, etc..... I would say just on suspension alone it was about $20k worth of parts. from this experience I would say I learned a ton. with out this experience I would do what everyone else does and buy off the shelf parts and do it half way like your suggesting. I also get consults from experts that do suspensions from eibach and a suspension guru from west end alignment.

My $.02 !!