AWD lowering question.. non-bmw content

[blefevre]

go ahead and lower it. just make sure you run evenly worn tires. you'd be amazed at how quickly you can fuck up your diff on an awd car if you run uneven tires.

The front and rears are open diffs, the center is torsen. Pretty much a fail of awd. Lower it, run crappy tires, w/e it will be fine except all of the Audi problems.

[Bimmerman325i]

The front and rears are open diffs, the center is viscous. Pretty much a fail of awd. Lower it, run crappy tires, w/e it will be fine except all of the Audi problems.

If I end up building the scoob instead of doing an s54 e46 touring I'm for sure retrofitting in LSDs front and rear. Open diffs work just fine, but LSDs would be so much better.

[Ryan...]

go ahead and lower it. just make sure you run evenly worn tires. you'd be amazed at how quickly you can fuck up your diff on an awd car if you run uneven tires.

id be sure to check that, my friend ran into issues with his subie running 1 new/1 used tire in the front :/

^^^which is why I said 1.8 instead of 2.8. Don't get me wrong, the 2.8v6 is strong, durable motor. Almost as durable as the 12VR6, but you'll be wanting more power eventually. Best of luck in your endeavor. If you need a healthy car for daily commuting, I would go for something more maintenance friendly in a fwd platform. If you go AWD in an audi, do as you said... Look for a car with up to date bushings, steering components, etc. If anything, deal with maintenance on the motor. They really are easy to work on. Most of the jobs can be done in your garage in less than 2 days with a friend(donor head swap included). Also, I've found it pretty consistant to replace a turbo on those cars every 120-150,000 miles(this is also an easy swap). Pop off the plastic engine cover and intake pipe... check the turbine shaft for play on intake side if the owner will let you. If not, take it to a shop and choke up the 50-100 bucks to have everything checked(you probably know this). It's worth it. Also if you find any oil in the charge pipe, the turbo is probably on it's last leg. We usually dont even have to check the shaft for play if there "excess" oil in the pipe. If you find just a little oil, spin the shaft. If it doesn't spin freely, the turbo cooked oil. In which case, ask if he's ever has to replace any cooling components. See if you can rent a vag-com cable from someone and bring a computer. If it's an unmolested vehicle, chances are there are still codes stored on the ECU from past repairs. On the bright side, the b5 chassis' are very resistant to rust.

Thanks for the advice!

I've brought a few vehicles to shops for inspections, and this would probably be one of them, unless I can find someone that really knows their way around Audis and or turbos, because that's something that I would obviously need to be working properly for me to drop $4k on the car.

Since you seem to know your shit; do people often rebuild the turbos once they develop play/start dying, or are they typically replaced with new/newer units?
If they're typically replaced, that would seem to be a good time to go aftermarket for a little bump in power..

[Brandon12V]

Most enthusiast opt for an APR kit for go GT28/30r. Most standard people buy a new unit. Most smart people grab a used one off vortex, lol. Check out APR motorsports. Their kits are amazing, tested, and proven. ECS tuning or 20squared tuning will have most of your maintenance/ aftermarket needs as well. If you get in too deep(I.E. big turbo, standalone. etc.) give 034 motorsports a call. They have baptized themselves in fire on the b5 platform.

[Ryan...]

Most enthusiast opt for an APR kit for go GT28/30r. Most standard people buy a new unit. Most smart people grab a used one off vortex, lol. Check out APR motorsports. Their kits are amazing, tested, and proven. ECS tuning or 20squared tuning will have most of your maintenance/ aftermarket needs as well. If you get in too deep(I.E. big turbo, standalone. etc.) give 034 motorsports a call. They have baptized themselves in fire on the b5 platform.

ok awesome, I really appreciate the heads up! Saves me a bit of headache when I finally join up on the audi forums :D

[Brandon12V]

no prob mate. send me a pm if you need any other advice

[Wh33lhop]

Not sure why there would be problems lowering an AWD car as compared to a 2WD car. Plenty of quattro guys are slammed without much problem. Make sure you keep on top of maintenance though (4 control arms per side in the front that like to go out, ABS module, religious oil changes if you're going to get a turbo model, etc). They can be total pits for the moneys.

[crazyvwobie]

1.8t over the v6 any day.everything on the 1.8t is cheap and easy to work on,lots of upgrades and reliable up to 400whp with out opening the engine.v6 sucks to work on hardly any power upgrades and exspensive not to mention mpg.

the most important thing to look for on the 1.8t is sludge look at the fill cap and inside you will be able to tell right away, if their is a lot of gunk stay away.If you are not sure about the timing belt do it,its cheap and easy.the ko3 are cheap turbos they are a dime a dozen so dont worry about that.Rear wheel bearings seem to go a lot on these from my experience.

[audiquattrot]

had H&R S4 coilovers on my old 1.8T Quattro, and never had any issues. I even put roughly 120K miles on the coils before i sold the car w/ 180K miles.....and the car currently still has the stock tie rods & control arms...and its at 220K w/ the new owner.

I owned the car since new, and never had to change any suspension parts...i guess i was lucky, and it was a NYC/Manhattan driven car.

[325ix]

You can't find any instances of having problems from lowering because it is a myth that a bunch of dumb asses started.

People raise trucks with IFS all of the time, CV's and axles are meant to operate at many different angles.

[Ryan...]

Ok, this has all been very encouraging so far! After I get back from up north this week, I'm gonna go test drive some and I'll update this later.

More info is also welcome, I wanna be 100% sure of this before I dive in..

[Wh33lhop]

You can't find any instances of having problems from lowering because it is a myth that a bunch of dumb asses started.

There are plenty of problems with lowering cars, but none of them are pertinent only to AWD cars.

[Bimmerman325i]

There are plenty of problems with lowering cars, but none of them are pertinent only to AWD cars.

this.

Having AWD does not mean that you can't lower it. If you SLAM it, yes, parts will wear out faster, but it won't instantly break your car.

[Ryan...]

BUMP


Ok guys, my e30 is being sold pretty soon for about $4k. The little lady is saying that I have "permission" to take out a loan and spend a bit more, which opens up some more options:

Audi a4 - approx $4k but Id want to lower/mod it a bit for more power/looks.
Audi S4 - found some for under $7k. Would remain close to stock except for software
Subaru WRX (2002) - found some for around $6500. Same as the S4, would remain close to stock.

I know a lot of guys here like Subies, hell we have a subaru thread somewhere around here... But what do you guys think of each of those options?

[Bimmerman325i]

BUMP


Ok guys, my e30 is being sold pretty soon for about $4k. The little lady is saying that I have "permission" to take out a loan and spend a bit more, which opens up some more options:

Audi a4 - approx $4k but Id want to lower/mod it a bit for more power/looks.
Audi S4 - found some for under $7k. Would remain close to stock except for software
Subaru WRX (2002) - found some for around $6500. Same as the S4, would remain close to stock.

I know a lot of guys here like Subies, hell we have a subaru thread somewhere around here... But what do you guys think of each of those options?

From my experiences, avoid the Audis like the plague. They are notorious for being complicated to work on (damage anything? Pull the motor first) and for being maintenance hogs. The B5 S4 is the worst of the lot. Awesome car when running, but it is incredibly time consuming/expensive to work on. They also understeer horribly.

I'm a big fan of the Subies, and I just happen to have a set of pretty much brand new AST 4100 coilovers with camber plates for sale for an 02+ impreza right now to get you as low as you want AND handle. The Subaru, when slightly modded, will handle WAY better than the Audi, will be light years ahead on reliability and maintenance needs, and be much easier to work on. I say this because I have many friends who have done serious projects with Subarus AND Audis, and there is no contest which is the easier to work on, more reliable, and more fun car: Subarus.