B3 Coupe quattro 32V V8

[Kieron20V]

Right, ive come to the conclusion that I dont like the lowering springs i have on the front. They are the same overall length as the standard audi ones but they sit lower as they are very soft. I would guess there isnt much more than an inch and a half of travel left on the shocks when they have weight on them. They are jamex springs I believe.


Heres the old nasty subframe buhses:




New solid ones fitted


I met bambridge from on here a few weekends ago for a chat. Turns out he made the bushes I got for my car, which I bought off the famed mr Corey Corey on t'ebay. He never paid for the order.... blah blah you know the rest.

Anyways, he was a nice chap, and it looks like hes gonna be making some good stuff in the future, all the stuff he showed me was decent quality.


This is how my car looks as it is, with the coilovers on the rear and the lowering springs up front.






I like how it looks, arches are filled, but the springs are too soft for my liking and the bottom out over speed bumps. I removed the bump stops when i changed the springs as they were fubared which doesnt help, but still..... Needs to change.

[Acidburn]

Nice project this, has come along way already, whats your plans for this in the end? same engine or different.

[Error404]

Good work, the cars come a long way in a short time
Sounds like you have S2 inserts if they are larger diameter - CQ ones are 52mm, S2 are 55mm IIRC

[Kieron20V]

Yeah the coilover housings I got are from an S2, didnt realise the coupe ones were smaller, that was a kick in the teeth.

Desperatly need some bump stops in the front, and need to fix the bumper on properly as it got dislodged during some snow fun earlier this year. Drivers side tyre is rubbing as the bumper is a bit hangy in that area.

Just going to see how it goes really, nothing really in the pipeline enginewise. That AAN out of Gavs cabrio is bleeding tempting. Grrr.

[Error404]

try Febi for bump stops, the ones OE ones are silly money

[Kieron20V]

Right, quick update time.

Getting a bit fed up with this.

Driven about 800 miles since everything was put back together.

Overall im pretty disappointed....

Im not happy with how the car drives at all. Seems like all my hard work was in vain.


First issue is the front end, even with the new bump stops in it still bottoms out really harshly, and is imposible to drive "spiritedly" on A/B roads that are anything but 100% smooth and flat.
For some reason the steering wheel wobbles/vibrates when cornering and hitting small bumps/undulations in the road too, which is a right pain at speed.

Im sure fitting the adjustable coilover housings I have will help a little, but that means buying new inserts and threaded caps as mine dont fit, the S2 ones are larger in diameter.
Which means more money.


Secondly, and probably the most annoying is there still seems to be far to much play in the drivetrain, it still clunks like crazy and jerks about at low speeds. I cant think where the play is now and its really getting on my fleshy mounds.

Ive replaced: Engine mounts (now 034 solid items), transmission mounts, rear diff mount. Is there anything else to replace? Or is the play just whats left in all the CV joints etc? Propshaft bearing?


I just feel a bit short changed in all, might total all the money ive spent on the car in nearly 2 years owning it, it still doesnt feel any better than when I first got it.

And to top it off there now lacquer peeling on one of the front wings and the bonnet, and one of the front wheel arches is starting to show a tiny bit of rust bubbling through.


Right heres the total so far:

£2050 purchase price (ebay nov 07)
£100 tubular manifold/downpipe/heatshield/decat/gaskets/studs/nuts
£200 Stainless backbox (ebay.de)
£100 2 new front tyres
£40 grooved front discs (ebay)
£70? EBC redstuff pads (msw)
£120 alloys (ebay)
£280 Falken FK452 tyres
£225 Coilover housings/springs (s2forum)
£45 S2 FARB (ebay)
£40 Various droplinks, bump stops, boots etc
£20 3!! Tie rod ends (gsf)
£150 Front lower balljoints, top mounts and hardware inc. alignement and fitting
£30 various brake lines/hoses
£75 034 Top mounts
£75 034 diff / tranny mounts
£50 rear diff mount bush
£125 Powerflex wishbone bushes F&R
£220 034 Injector upgrade kit
£50 Solid subframe mounts
£50 assorted new hardware, nuts bolts etc for fitting above.
£50 sundries, painting stuff.


So far this lot is over 4 grand!! (wish i hadn't started this now!!)

Also various bits I have bought for spares:
7A inlet manifold £20 (bay)
7A valve cover £20 (bay)
set of 5 spare hitachi injectors £20 (bay)
usless box of RR bits: including Head missing cam caps, 2 sets of cams, ruined block complete with stripped head stud holes, cracked exhaust manifold, and a crankshaft. £300
Spare late build EC £30.


This is pretty much £4500 worth of "stuff", you can see why im pretty pissed off at the moment.

Im seriously considering selling up, either as is, or putting everything back to how it was, or even selling it for parts (I know, I know).

I have a car which is currently full off the stuff that has been changed, half the suspension in the boot etc.
A pile of spare alloys and tyres getting in the way, and various other bits and bobs scattered around.


Sorry for the rant, just had a really bad couple of weeks.
I sold my crappy runaround mondeo I had while the car was apart earlier this week. Honestly, It felt more sure footed than the audi sometimes, theres a cracking bit of road round here, Ive blasted down there faster in the mondeo than I have in the quattro, it just bounces around too much.

Im not saying it doesnt grip, it just doesnt feel comfortable enough on real roads, doesnt inspire confidence that the grip really is there. If you catch my drift...


So anyway, yeh. I need a beer.


Let me hear your thoughts.

Kieron.

[Error404]

what suspension are you running on there? IMHO coilovers are not suitable for road use on these cars - most of your woes could well be tired dampers.

Snub mount is probably the weak link causing the driveline slop - could be exaggerated if all the other bushes are new.

Sounds like the steering damper might benefit from being replaced if its snatching at bumps and ruts etc.

HTH mate

Don't give up, its the last few pieces of the rebuild puzzle by the sounds of it

Alex

[stiglet]

I get the clunking in the drivetrain, it's the CV joints. They don't need to be knackered for the play to be noticeable, just because there's 10 of them! It feels like you have more but infact because you've taken the rubber there's no damping and it exaggerates what little play you have left. You could replace all the CV joints (or just the worst ones). I just learned to live with it, but i'm sure just replacing the prop CVs will solve it.

Little bit confused about the bottoming out though, deffo something wrong there. Vibration in the steering wheel isn't a good sign. Sounds like something is loose and i'll bet money it's the wishbones. That will also add to the drivetrain play too.

I've got all the same mods on my coupe including stock dampers and even with the low profile semi-slicks on it never bottoms out and is huge fun on the B-roads.

[stiglet]

what suspension are you running on there? IMHO coilovers are not suitable for road use on these cars - most of your woes could well be tired dampers.

Snub mount is probably the weak link causing the driveline slop - could be exaggerated if all the other bushes are new.

Sounds like the steering damper might benefit from being replaced if its snatching at bumps and ruts etc.

HTH mate

Don't give up, its the last few pieces of the rebuild puzzle by the sounds of it

Alex

You posted while I was typing

Although you raise a good point about knackered dampers, if one is totally shagged then that could be whats bottoming out.

[Error404]

not sure about the CV joints being the cause of the driveline slop, IME they knock like funk if they're worn out, and they'd need to be pretty shagged to shunt the whole drivetrain about i recon

I've always found when you replace a load of knackered old wear and tear parts it always makes any old bushes etc left 3x as bad as they take the strain

[Kieron20V]

Fair point about the dampers, one of the fronts is deff fooked as it hisses when moved up and down when off the car.

With the fancy "lowering springs" I have on the front, the car rests on the bump stops naturally, with no cornering loads.

Still not sure about the slop. When driving off in stop start theres a clunk when taking up drive, and if you let off the throttle in 1st or 2nd, then the whole car jerks, and then the same again when taking up drive. To get round this i find im constantly taking in the clutch and then slipping it to take up drive again, and also rev matching when chainging gear at speed. - Clutch is gonna need changing soon, 'tis right at the end of travel at the mo. Not slipping atm, but its only a matter of time.
I was planning on some engine mods when I would inevitably have pulled it out to change the clutch, but I cant justifiy the costs, I could have bought a pretty decent S2 by now.. :sigh:

Could this be caused by the CV joints being worn? I know theres 10 of them, I dont fancy chainging them due to the massive costs. I would have thought only the front outer joints would click when worn, thats what ive come to expect on other previous cars and friends cars.

The car has 135K miles, would you expect them to be worn with this mileage? I dunno?!

Grrrrr, on a side note... "CANNONBALL!!!!!!!!!" Anchorman on BBC3 now.

[Error404]

defo look at the snub mount mate... and get some new dampers... if you're on the bump stops no wonder its bottoming out and handling like ****, plus if they're stock CQ dampers they're soft as butter anyway and under damped for uprated springs, even if new

I've got stock ABY springs and dampers on mine and its a big improvement over the CQ set-up

as much as it might pain you to spend some more, i think a set of konis / s2 boge shocks and modding the snub mount / 034 bracket will sort you out

HTH
Alex

[mcandmar]

I know exactly what you mean with drive shunt, as above check the snub mount. If its the stock unit make sure the bracket is adjusted nice and snug against the rubber mount.

The stock diff/tranny mounts absorb a lot of this force, i would have expected firmer bushings to make on/off throttle more snatcy. Trade a little comfort for a more direct feel.

What shocks are you using? If there original forget about it, its never going to handle. Stock spring/shock setup rolls about like a boat, too soft, and under damped. I would put shocks no1 on the list for a CQ, even with stock springs they will make a world of difference.

[stiglet]

True but then I'm still using stock dampers on my Coupe and it handles fine.

What you describe about drivetrain slack is exactly the same as what I have, and I can assure you with the solid engine mounts the snub mount is doing jack ****. I honestly think that changing it will make no difference.

I tell you what; I have a poly snub mount which I never got around to fitting. If I have time tomorrow I'll fit it, got for a drive, see what difference it makes and report back.

[Error404]

its the snub bracket / cup that you need to upgrade to make a difference, not so much the mount rubber.... the engine mounts are pretty much midships on the block, so it rocks back and forth with the mounts as a pivot - thats what the snub is supposed to stop