Lowering suspension, advise please
 

So, I have an A4 quattro 2.8 and I wanted to lower the car just a little and was considering H&R sport springs wich are supposed to lower the car about 1.25 front and 1.00 rear. I recently had all front control arms replaced and the guy who installed them said the suspension had to have the cars weight before tightening the bolt on the control arms. So I was thinking and I'm sorry this might be a dumb question but. If I lower the car with the H&Rs should they re-adjust the bolts on the control arms? I figured the load will not be the same after the car is lower. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

There is a bolt that holds the bottom of the shock to one of the lower control arms. But yes you should have the weight of the car on the suspension before you tighten any of the components. Also, you should not have to re-torque the bolts for the control arms.

EDIT:
If you are going to get springs you might also want to consider new shocks as well to ensure that your stock shocks to blow or wear out really quickly. you should do a search to see if any of your other questions may have already been answered.

Thanks
 

Thanks and as I have been reading this forum before I already have bilstein sports

I would recommend the H&R Race springs. I had Neuspeed Race on my B5 (which I believe are about the same as H&R) and even they could have been a little bit lower. I also had them paired with Bilstein Sports.

Check the site classifieds i think someone had a set of H&R springs with billstien shocks for sale on there, I would suggest re adjusting the control arm bolts and then using some lock tite on them, after i changed my control arms the person helping me didn't tighten the ball joint nut, and it fell off, thank god it didn't come out and destroy my car.

ive got h&r race for a 1.8t not sure if they are the same for sale. with bilstens as well.

Actually I'm pretty sure that you should re-torque the control arm bolts.. When you lower your suspension it puts extra stress on the CA bushings, twisting them, which will cause them to fail prematurely. Think about it for a second, it makes sense. There are only like 6 bolts on each side to loosen and re-torque. It's better taking the hour to jack up the car and re-tighten everything than having to buy new ca's in a year. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

That's what I thought
 

Yeah that crossed my mind but I just didn't know so I decided to ask the experts here. Because what you said I imagine with lower spring the control arms will be in a different posision. Thanks I'll have it done that way. Just one more thing the control arms were replaced two months ago. Do you think I should replace the bolts? As I think they are self locking and it's recomended to replace them whenever they are removed. What do you think?

How is the ride?
 

I considered the h&r race spring but I'm just afraid that the tire will rub inside the wheel well. Race springs are supposed to lower the car about 1.9 inches front and 1.5 in the rear and that's about all the clearence I have in the front just a little over 2 inches. How was the ride on yours? I don't want a rough ride and I don't wanna scrape a lot either. Was your suspension hard? And did your tires ever hit the wheel well?
I have stock rims and tires btw
Thanks

Never rubbed, and I was on 17x7" wheels with 225/45 tires. I'd say that the suspension was firm yet forgiving. Had to think a bit before taking certain driveways and such, but never scraped (as long as I was being smart). Again, I had Neuspeed and not H&R, but they're pretty similar from what I've heard and read.

Overall, I appreciated the stiffness of the suspension, especially when the going got twisty, but it didn't break my back when I would hit a pothole. At the same time, I was 17 when I got rid of the car and bumps didn't yet bother me too much.