Can anyone give me their experience with lowering springs on their Audi A3. Neuspeed, H&R, Eibach, Bilstein, etc. I'm looking to lower my A3 an 1" to 1.5" but am worried about affecting the ride and tire wear. Give me pros and cons, likes and dislikes.
Thanks

 

I have H&R Sports on my car. Car handles great. They lower it 1.3". They are stiff. Pretty harsh ride. I also installed H&R rear adjustable sway bar and Bilstein Sports Shocks.
I have ordered Eibach springs and will install next week. They lower car 1.2" and I believe they are progressive. I have the Eibachs on my 04 A4 and it handles great and ride is much better for every day New England roads.
The H&R springs have 5000 miles on them and I have a H&R adjustable front bar (never installed) that I will be selling next week.

Along with the above I have:
APR remap
APR Turbo back exhaust
K&N Filter

FYI, I am not happy with the APR stuff. Car runs strong but I have occasional problems with "rough" running / breaking up that they have not corrected after 3 reprograms.

 

Thanks dscott for the reply. Let me know how the A3 feels with the Eibach springs. Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your APR Stage II. I also have the APR Stage II but haven't experinced those problems. Although, I have been taking error code readings with a VAG Com interface from Ross-Tech and have been getting some occasional "Fuel pressure Regulator" error codes. The car runs fine though and I have torque that goes thru the roof. I'm taking the car in to get the 15K service check up, so I'll see what happens with the error code.
Keep me posted

 

I don't have any experience in dropping an A3, but having lowered several vehicles over many years of driving, I'd recommend coilovers which are usually height and rebound adjustable. This will give you the best balance between ride comfort and control. That said, I don't plan to lower my A3 3.2, but I do plan to do new wheels and tires, both in stock sizes to retain good ride-quality. The days of having my kidneys pounded on the way to the supermarket are over.

IMO, rock-hard suspensions get very tiresome in short order, particularly if your car is a daily driver (if you track your car, it's a different story). Before you spend your $$ on a new suspension set up, make sure you have a chance to drive or ride in a car that's similarly equipped. I didn't on some occasions, and wound up paying for it. On the plus side, the best aftermarket suspension I ever had were H&R coilovers (which were only height adjustable) that I put on a '98 M3. It dropped the car an inch and improved the ride with significant gains in control. Perhaps there's a coilover package for the A3 that experienced forum members could recommend.

Good luck in any event.