has anyone got their A3 lowered and know the price of doing it?

 

Yes - and around $2000.00 USD. See my sig for what I have. Price will vary a lot depending on the type of suspension and whether you are going to replace the struts as well as the springs (highly recommended).

 

Koni coilovers and install for around $1400. You can do just the springs for much less, but that will cause stress on the struts/shocks, and make you replace them much sooner which would cause you to pay for a double install. Best off to do it all at once, or not at all, IMO.



Cheers!

 

You could just go with just the springs if you have the S-line suspension (which has more aggressive struts)

I know the Neuspeed springs go for about $200. Other brands I know of are H&R, Koni, and Eibach.

It would be best to get the full setup with springs and struts, but $2000 is a lot of money. The stock set-up looks ridiculously high, so I'd invest in springs just for the aesthetic value (luckily I have S-line, which is a little lower).

 

Ah i was hoping it wouldnt be over 1000$ when i was planning to get rims i was going for the 18 inch and i thought it would look nicer lowered also but with a pricetag of 2000$ to get it done right, ill leave it as a later project thanks for all your help though!

 

You guys see this months car and driver for the article about the long term test of 06 GTI? Talks about problems with lowering and 18in wheels (225-40R-18). Do we have similar clearance issues? They talk about the phaeton rims having a different offset but dont specify. Also as curious tidbit, they left the struts and replaced springs only. Still looks like a doorstop IMO.

 

i was thinkin about a cup kit or somethin. maybe kw2's. seen a few c/o priced around $800 or so. my teins on my mb, installed, were 1k, not bad. loved the ride! looking for similar ride/stiffness. Dont really care about dampening adjustables cause im not really thinking im ever gonna track it or have the need/want to adjust it [since its usually just me driving in it]. just lookin at tire rubbin issues. was thinkin about runnin 8's, but might run 7-7.5 just to be safe. thinkin 225-235/40's

 

C&D ought to be embarassed by that sidebar. Those wheels weigh over 30Lbs each and have 35mm offset. The tires they are running are a heavy track day/autocross tire with VERY stiff sidewalls (that's why they are heavy and ride like lumpy dogs__t - that's also why they handle so well on the track). I couldnt come up with a worse street combination if I tried. I figure they are between 55 and 60 lbs per wheel and that screws up your handling, ride, acceleration, and braking from unsprung weight, and polar moment of inertia. It's all "a body in motion wants to stay in motion" stuff.

If you want to run 18s, they need to have between 45 and 50 mm offset for an 18X8 wheel and the wheel+tire combo should stay under 50 lbs for street and under 45 for performance applications. 225/40-18s are about as large as you can go if you are lowering due to strut clearance issues on the backside and fender clearance front. If you have a 50mm offset 18X8 you can run 235/40-18s with minor rubbing (the Famous A3 Fender Liner Screw).

I put a set of 18"UHP All-SeasonYokos on my A3 on a set of cheap 18X8-45mm ASA JH3s ($99 a wheel) and they are flush with the fenderline front and rear. Camber change as the wheel travels up means they'll clear if I don't drop the car too far. Otherwise, a few more MM of offset would be good. This combo weighs about 50Lbs per wheel. The stock17X71/2 Ronalsand Conti SC2s (half worn) weighed 42lbs. They probably weighed a few pounds more than that with full tread depth. I have no rubbing with the facotry sport suspension and could lower it another inch f&r without problems.

When I get my next set of summer wheels to do some autocross with, they will be 17s and I may try to shoehorn 245/40s in to fit but will probably have to stick to 235/40s. For this use, 17s are less money and the tires are less money than 18s and anything that makes track time less money is good.

 

Koni SA Coilovers: $894.00 Best deal out there. Dial your ride height, dial your handling, corner balance, clearance issues. Can't do any of that with a Cup kit.

http://www.supremepowerparts.com/app....0T.aspx?cat=9

BTW, They use Vogtland springs, and Vogtland uses Koni shocks...hmmm...

 

I weighed one of my 17" 16-spoke OEM wheels with a fairly fresh 225/45-17 Toyo T1-Rtire and got 50 lbs for the assembly. I'll check the weight of the tires alone when I replace them with winter Dunlops in a few weeks. I've heard an estimate of 28 lbs. for those OEM wheels, which sounds about right in comparison with other 17" lotsa-spoke wheels (OZ Michelangelo or OZ Tribe Evo)that I see at Tirerack.com.

Struggling trying to decide on the new 17" summer wheels (with the T1-R's) to put on next spring, but leaning toward the TR Motorsports MT-1 this week, while I wish that the ASA JH8's at half the price looked a bit more distinctive.