Performance Suspension
Performance Suspension
Stock or standard suspension is all well and good for the family runabout or your mums weekly trip down to the shops. But when you’ve already invested in tuning your car, squeezing every last horse you possibly can from beneath the bonnet, you’re naturally going to shift your attention to other equally important aspects of your project - such as upgrading to performance suspension.
Swapping out stock suspension for performance parts
One of the most popular ports of call after power modifications is the handling, which we all know is governed predominantly by the suspension and running gear. Unless your car started out as a performance or sports-model vehicle, stock suspension from the manufacturer is normally set up to provide maximum ride comfort for a conservative driving style.
Whether you’re building a track car or have more of an aggressive driving style and are looking to improve handling - swapping out your original suspension parts for a more robust, heavy duty suspension kit will make a massive difference to your cars handling.
In addition to a lower centre of gravity, better cornering and application of power to the road surface, suspension mods also bring an added improvement to the aesthetic of the car. For those seeking more of a ‘racing’ appearance, lowering your car reduces space around the wheels within the wheel arch, giving a tighter, more appealing aesthetic.
How performance suspension works
Performance suspension parts tend to be focussed around three main areas:
- Tighter and shorter, coil springs or a spring kit
- Shorter, firmer shock absorbers
- A firmer, shorter coilover kit
It’s a relatively simple premise: reduce the amount of space between the end of the suspension arm and the suspension mounting, the lower your car will sit to the ground. Whilst this is a very simplified summation of lowering a vehicle, it is in essence what it takes.
The important part to remember is that once lowered, the amount of travel each of your wheels have is significantly reduced. The suspension will need to be firmer in order to absorb the same forces applied to much longer springs. Without improving the shock absorption along with the ride height the suspension will bottom out over bumps, or if incorrectly set up, your chassis could foul the tarmac.
Depending on your existing suspension you can choose to replace your bouncier, longer stock springs with a spring kit from the likes of Tein and Whiteline and shorter, firmer dampers from Eibach and Hardrace. Coilovers are cleverly named, they’re literally a firmer, shorter shock absorber with a coil that fits ‘over’ the top, forming a single bolt on unit.
Most modern manufacturers from Toyota to Audi, Vauxhall to Honda use coilovers and for cars already running on coilovers it is a really effective, simple upgrade to swap out your stock coilover for performance ones. We keep parts from BC Racing and Yellow Speed racing. For cars that are running on dampers and springs, coilover upgrades can be a little more complicated as the mounting points for coilovers are unlikely to match.
We only stock Audi Sport performance parts that we would put on our own vehicles, whether you’re lowering your A3 with these BC Racing coilovers or getting your A5 breathing and sounding better with this Scorpion exhaust system - you won’t be disappointed with the difference these parts make.
Peace of mind when you speak with us direct
If you have any questions relating to upgrading your suspension to coilovers or in upgrading your suspension generally, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Whether you’re upgrading your suspension for the aesthetic, the ride, or both - we’d be happy to help. Contact us through the website, via email or on 01484 535665.