My cute little strawberry-colored hybrid is all grown up. This week I lastly completed putting in the reducing springs on my 2016 Audi A3 E-Tron every 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 facility makes my coronary heart sing. A moderately easy coil spring swap and a few cool wheels is all most automobiles have to look their finest. The aesthetic and dealing with advantages of reducing a automotive greater than outweigh the minor lower in consolation skilled with decrease and stiffer springs.
Is reducing your every day driver best for you? Let’s get in to it.
Putting in reducing springs is a reasonably simple DIY process should you’re at the least reasonably helpful with a wrench. The rear springs went in tremendous simply as soon as I discovered the correct technique of disconnecting the decrease management arm, however the fronts fought me a bit of extra. On this explicit automotive it concerned extracting the entrance strut from the upright meeting, and so as 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 flippantly rocking the hub whereas pushing downward. For some purpose the motive force’s aspect took about two hours, however the passenger’s aspect took 20 minutes. Typically that’s the way it goes.
Lots of people are afraid of this fashion of McPherson strut spring compressor. In the event you deal with them proper and don’t stick your fingers contained in the tensioned spring, you’re in all probability tremendous. I’ve by no means personally seen one fail, however there may be positively numerous potential power sure up within the above picture and if poorly dealt with might shoot your eye out, child. I discover that utilizing an affect gun is the best method to deal with these items. Line them up appropriately on the spring and ship it, however be sure to’re making use of even ugga duggas to each side. As soon as the spring is compressed you may take away the highest nut and slowly loosen the spring again to its full peak. 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 in some way managed to stretch out into three separate blogs, you’ll know that I significantly fucked up after I completed the motive force’s aspect entrance nook. A $170 rebuilt caliper from NAPA put every part proper once more, and the set up and bleeding course of was a complete breeze. As an alternative of working 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 verify all of the air had been launched. I used to be actually apprehensive about it, nevertheless it couldn’t have gone extra easily.
With that restore out of the way in which I used to be in a position to get the automotive again on 4 wheels for the primary time in three days, and with rear trip peak matching the entrance for the primary time in a pair weeks. Oh child, that appears unbelievable!
There are tons of choices on the market on the planet, however I selected to go together with ECS Tuning’s twin price reducing 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 automotive as a Euro-market plug-in hybrid Volkswagen GTE, and every part appears to swap over with out a lot challenge. These springs are a superb mix of consolation and sporty, and higher than that, they’re cheap and I’m a cheapskate.
After a couple of days of driving this automotive on the brand new springs, I’ve positively made some concessions to consolation in favor of aesthetics. These springs make the automotive trip about 1.4 inches decrease than inventory, which signifies that taller pace bumps trigger the automotive to scrape flippantly. Bumps and freeway enlargement joints are a bit of harsher than earlier than, however I’ve positively pushed stiffer and worse automobiles on manufacturing facility suspension. If you’re coming from principally any sports activities automotive on inventory suspension, this can really feel related.
Driving a lowered automotive is a mindset factor. All the pieces is a trade-off, and inventory suspension dynamics are constructed for the bottom frequent denominator. Audi’s suspension engineers needed to construct a automotive that was as comfy as doable for as many individuals as doable, everywhere in the world. A trip peak like this from the manufacturing facility would have been met with distaste from seniors who discover it tough to get out of the motive force’s seat, or normies who need 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 time wheel and tire bundle again on the automotive. Possibly I’ll have the sway bar scenario discovered by then, too. I’ll be sure you supply and replace as soon as I do.
