Help with suspension

[pjeast73]

Hi there,
My S2 is very bumpy even on flat surfaces. On a bumpy road it feels like it's about to take off - this is at normal speeds. Even on a motorway in a straight line it feels very twitchy. I feel every slight bump in the road. Is this normal due to the firmish suspension or does it sound like I have something wearing?
If I need to replace a shocker or something is this a good time to upgrade? Does anybody know the options/rough prices?
Thanks
Paul

[S2 Ant]

Sounds like something is wrong if you still have standard suspension cos my S2 gives me a lovely smooth ride.

The lowered springs and new shocks which people tend to go for are the H&R Shocks and Koni springs i believe, might be other way around LOL, cost i believe is in the region of £600, altho could be wrong

I dont really know enough to try diagnose your problem tho.

HTH

[quattro4Life]

what setup are you running? larger wheels and lower profile tires will greatly contribute to ride quality as well.

have you ever replaced your upper strut mounts?

[pjeast73]

everything is standard as far as I know. 16 inch wheels - I run them at 36psi which sounds high but is recommended. Only had car about 8 months - i haven't replaced any suspension parts in that time. Whilst the ride is constantly bumpy it's difficult to pinpoint any particular area where it feels worn - it just feels bumpy all over. I'm probably not describing how it drives very well - it does feel like it's bouncing along and ready to take off. It's done 135K but has full Audi history.

[Sidspud]

My car had a similar feel for the first few months after I bought it. Very bouncy over bumps and would hit the bump stops on yumps.

I replaced my front shocks and its been perfect ever since.

I run on 18" wheels and the ride is perfect although a little louder than 16s.

[dan_b]

shocks, and probably the strut mounts/other rubbery bits in the suspension?

New shocks and Powerflex bushes all round would probably cure the ride issues, and improve handling too - especially your tramlining/twitchiness.

What year is your S2?

[pjeast73]

its a 1996 Coupe
would this be a straight replacement or is there a better (possibly RS2) replacement?

[dan_b]

oh, you're starting on the slippery slope towards mod-ville! How big is your credit limit?!

[Beetie]

Why not fit some big reds and some huge wheels with them suspension parts while your next to the wheel arches?!

[martinjs]

had a similar problem on mine, turned out that the slotted nut on top of rear struts had worked themselves loose, had undone about 10-15mm
check for play in your drop links too.

[91_S2]

If you have independantly adjustable dampers, you might want to increase compression damping i.e. make it softer in compression.

If you don't have double adjustable, changing compression will change droop too and you will have to take what you get on droop damping.