OK guys, when it comes to lowering a Quattro A4, what is the general concensus? Is it OK to drop the car an inch or two, or somewhat less possibly, or does lowering tend to screw things up with the AWD system? I ask because it seems that in the DSM and WRX worlds, lowering the cars more than a fraction of an inch can screw up the AWD because the axle/diff angles and such get messed up. Is that the case on these cars as well? Also, is there any camber adjustment built into the factory suspension, so that excess negative camber can be corrected after lowering? I ask this because of my own experience in the 300Z world. My Z had 1.5" Intrax drop springs and the result was about -4.5 degrees camber in the rear and a rear tire life of around 6 weeks, unless a random burnout here or there happened, which would shorten their lifespan even further. The Z had zero camber adjustment in the OEM control arms, and as a result, adjustable upper and lower arms were required to correct the camber, to the tune of around $600. Is that an issue on an A4 Quattro? Can the camber be corrected with the OEM control arms, or do aftermarket pieces become necessary?

Thanks - I'm still working toward one of a few A4s that I'm looking at, but I'm trying to think and plan a few steps ahead. I don't want a ground-scraping ride, but I'd like to fit larger wheels and would like to lower the car an inch or two so that the wheel gaps are filled and the car has a little better look on the street instead of having the ride height of a Cherokee. As always, thanks in advance for any help in making me less of an Audi retard on this stuff

 

I drive a quattro.... Lowered my car 2 inches.... if anyone besides me is in the vehicle... The tires rub up against the undercarriage... but no problems with the AWD... actually improves handling. I can take turns now 3 times better than I could at stock height.

 

You can lower it, but it does put increased strain on the control arms and bearings because of the change in suspension geometry.

 

i droped the **** out of my car and it was fine. nothing happend to the quattro system

 

i dropped my s4 and i'm going to agree with what's said above. it improves handling. despite the scarping at times. you just have to do a lot of trial and error to find the perfect height for your car.

 

Sounds good guys. I have read a few things here regarding control arm problems I believe, and I'd have to think that, since they were mentioned in this thread, that lowering the car (maybe excessively lowering it) might make them more problematic.

Did you guys need to get aftermarket arms to readjust your camber, or was it adjustable from the factory (or did you just leave the wheels cambered to all hell and just go with it)?

 

Lowering the car is ok depending on your suspension and size of tire.

And does improve handling to an extent but again also depends on the suspension that you have.

Im guessing stock...

Should not affect AWD unless you go offroading and you do something to it on the side haha!

 

There is no camber adjustment on the front, and some adjustment on the rear.

You can get a camber kit for the front, but most people are able to lower the car and inch or so without needing one.

I replaced the worn tie-rod ends on mine, and went to get it aligned. Sears said they couldn't do it, the lowered car fekked up their computer real bad.

So I called around, and talked to a NTB store, and they assured me they could do it and that thier tech was one of the best guys around. So, I took it to them. The guy crawled around under the car for like 15 minutes. Then he called me over. He says "this things a train wreck". I had just bought the car. He says " because the cars lowered, the toe is way off and the camber is way off and cant be adjusted. In the rear, I can get it to maybe -1 degree, but the front has no adjustment for camber. I'm like, well what should I do? He says, well you can have the car put back up to stock height, that should bring everything in line (I have coilovers on it). He suggested a specialty shop that does VW stuff.

So, I go to the specialty shop. They said, we always like to run about -1 to -1.5 camber on the front and rear on these. I was concerned about tire wear because the last guy had me scared. They said that wear is usually not an issue with that amount of camber.

So, I had them do the alignment. They set the ride height so it was even all the way around. They left it lowered (i can almost fit 2 fingers between the tire and fender), and they did the alignment. The car still has about -1 degree in the front and rear, but I have not had any abnoraml tire wear at all. And, the car handles amazingly well.

So, the specialty shop knew what was up. There is some camber after lowering, but it is not a factor on this car, and does not affect tire wear or the Quattro.

I have a 300z as well, so I know what you mean about the camber issues. But, on this Audi you should be OK unless you really take it to extremes.

Most use the stock control arms, replacing them when they go bad (about 85-100k in most cases).

 

yea im using NS race springs, 2" all around billsteins comin in soon!!
i get no rub or anything, its just bouncy

 

Cool - much appreciated. Hell, I don't know what I'm gonna do with a car that will actually have acceptable camber angles after lowering. I'm so used to dealing with ridiculous tire wear, this'll be a nice treat