Chad, do some searches and browsing on this. Its very subjective. One mans Aggressive track setup is another mans Street setup. Basically though.

8" Springs should give you adequate lowering with most rates you would run on a street car. If you want to Slam it you may need 7" but thats not good for maximum handling.

For rates.
I'm going 300f/325r. That should be firm, far better than stock, but still civilized.
As you approach the 400lb rates, handling gets more track car like, but your street-ability will suffer. Many run these all the time on the street but I find it a little stiff for a daily driver.
500lb and up is Track only.

Also, the stiffer the springs, the more dampening you need. Most Koni's / Bilsteins are designed for softer (Street lowering springs). They should match up ok to a 300lb spring. If you put 450lb springs in there, they are under-dampened.

Well put. It seems some times things can be raked back and forth forever and I like seeing good posts like this.

ok, i understand it alot better now! so heres the thing, i dont want to slam it, but i want it to look good and handle better! will i be able to get 1.5'' of lowering with the 8'' spring? or will i need the 7? thanks for the rates!!

For the rear 8" no problem.
Front you have less adjustment because of the Tie Rod arm. I believe you have to cut down the threaded perch in front. In the front 8" should be fine but 7" might also work. I'm going 8" all the way around but I only want to be about 3/4" - 1" lower.

You know, on your 88 I might do 7". CQ is a lot heavier with 20v, Coupe body, Glass Sunroof, etc.

alright! i think i might do 7'' then... would 6'' in the front be to much you think?? or do you think i would be ok?

Hey, I just replied to your post in the other thread.
Yes I personally think for Handling and overall street performance your better off with a 7" Spring in the rates your looking at. If you were going with 600+ lb springs like SpeedingG60 then 6" might be the way to go.

I think with 375lb fronts in 6" you can either slam it or keep it lowered but why not just use the 7" which have more theoretical travel capability, and should still allow lowering. I'm going 8". On my other car I have 10" all the way around but I cant lower it. Stock or higher only on a 2700lb car. Logic tells me that with 8" in the same rate, I should be able to lower the same 2700lb car by 2". A 3,000lb car by a little more. 7" should allow you Plenty of lowering.

Awesome! thank you!! i think i will definitely go with the 7'' all the way around... well see, i just want it to handle better!!

and an update; http://www.CompBrake.co.uk has great solid top mounts....

Anyone know if the threads on the A1 stuff are compatible/similar to the ground control perches and collars?

Sam

Same stuff, Sam. I replaced some collars and re-used GC perches a while back...on the front I used one A1 sleeve cut in half for 2 struts...

Is there anything wrong with the Hyperco springs on A1s site? I was thinking 7" 350# for the front and 8" 400# for the rear on my CQ.

hyperco makes nice springs

I can't speak for HyperCo springs but I can add some input on the SuspensionSpecialties ones. Long story short - I started out my project with SSS blue springs at 350F / 400R. While assembling the fronts I noticed the VERY close fit from the inner surface of the springs to the cap that holds the strut into the housing. I had a set of 2Bennett's in the proper rate so I did the final assembly with 2Bennett on the front and the SSS in the rear. The rears were extremely tight near the cap as well but I decided to just run them as I was pressed for time. The inner surface of the spring rubbed quite angrily against the strut cap making this the most janky sounding set of coil overs I had ever experienced.



With the the tail end of the car taken apart to fix the tie rods I decided that there wouldn't be a better time to fix the rear springs. When I lifted the car I could see the finish worn from the inner surface of the springs and the outside of the strut cap abraded to a nice shine. I ordered up another set of springs from 2Bennett and swapped them out. The 2Bennett's are wound to 2 1/2 inch at the bases but slightly chubbier in the mid section to clear the strut caps on Audi.

Some have mentioned other springs that have similar dimensions but I don't recall who they are. I ended up with a 2B 8" 350 front and 9" 380 rear combination which is very close to what I felt would be ideal. It's not on the ground yet but Im anxious to see how this combo works (and sounds).

More details in my project thread search 'Blue Pill' Since this was a sticky I felt it worth sharing. I also use and LOVE the CompBrake top mounts that Aaron displayed above. For anyone that has attempted the painstaking removal of the rear struts on an UrQuattro I can tell you that you can completely drop the rear struts without pulling the rear seats and the package shelf. You can access the spanner nut on the ComBrake units from the trunk of the car just by pulling down the carpets.

Does anyone here run helper springs, I think I'm going to with shorter springs.

timmmmmmay does and so will myself shortly

I do.

I do, but Im curious why you'd want to run shorter springs?

SSS Springs:


2Bennett Springs:


Both use components from A1 Racing and Pitstop USA, Including helper springs and perch.

Yeah, I knew Haydn did. I wasn't sure how much they compress and wasn't sure if you'd need 1" shorter or more..? Thats all..

the reason for the helper spring is to keep a load on the spring in an unloaded full rebound (wheel in the air? car on a lift??) situation. so the spring will not clank around in there and have a chance to not seat properly upon compression.

at least, that is what i know of them. and i do not run them for the simple fact that mine do not unload during use. and that $$$$ was better spent elsewhere.

i do have gap from hat to spring when jacked up, BTW. but my rates are 650 frt and 1000 rr. and i only go straight.

also, if you look closely at my pictures, both the Eibach and the QA-1 springs have plenty of internal clearance to the strut cartridge nut.... and the QA-1 has more by far as well, over the Eibach.

the reason i used the Eibach in the rear was due to the fact that the QA-1 did not go past 650 lb.

Good to know, I always thought the QA-1 springs were really thick.

Brendan

So, would this work for a helper spring? And is there anything that goes between the two springs?

http://shop.a1racing.com/HYPCS100.aspx

there is a small collar/hat/seat thing that goes between the spring and helper spring

where would one find that piece?