I'm still curious how the cap replacement works out. As for lowering or H&R, I guess it depends if this is just for looks or improving handling on track days. If this is a track day improvement, I would suspect there will be a list of additional suspension improvements ($$$) that will also be needed to take full advantage of a suspension mod.

IMHO unless you can use the Mag Shocks (or any suspension mod) to their full potential I don't really see the point or expense on a daily driver that spends its life on flat roads and speeds under 70mph. I know mine will fail at some point and I'll just replace them with OEM when the time comes. There's a company in Poland called Nagengast that can rebuild them, but even with them being "local" to me, the shipping costs alone don't make it worth the hassle. And of course replacing Mag Ride with non-OEM ends up in a Mag Ride delete drama fest.

 

I don't have mag ride but recently fitted Bilstein dampers with Eibach springs. They might sell specific springs for mag ride cars. Seems good so far, definitely firmer but not crashy. Will find out for sure on the next trackday

 

I used MMS adjustable springs and kept my mag-ride intact. They're not cheap (CAD 1800), but I could keep a working mag-ride system and adjust my ride height if needed.

 

IMHO unless you can use the Mag Shocks (or any suspension mod) to their full potential I don't really see the point or expense on a daily driver that spends its life on flat roads and speeds under 70mph. I know mine will fail at some point and I'll just replace them with OEM when the time comes.

Ah, the Magride dilemma...

Scenario, Two cars identical in every way with one exception, one has Magride and one doesn't.
Both cars need new shocks so each owner replaces their defective shocks with high quality coil-overs (with this addition both cars are truly identical).
Now lets say both cars go up for sale, asking price is the same.

Now here is the test. "Would you view one car differently than the other?"

Logically I would say there is no reason to favor one over the other, same equipment, same price... however, emotionally I would view the non-Magride favorably since the car was upgraded with the addition coil-overs, while I would think the Magride car was downgraded with the addition of coil-overs because the owner was too cheap to make the proper repair.

Stupid I know, but this is why I won't ditch my Magride even if there is a better option.
Anyone else think like this?

 

I would view the replacement of Magride with good quality coil-overs as an upgrade on a used car. I view Magride as an expensive liability.

 

Yeah sorry should have been a bit clearer. Not really looking into this for looks (think the car is low enough already) and not looking into for the track or anything.

Just thinking this is a cheaper way of replacing with quality springs, reducing the risk of one of the originals (with 9yrs and 200k kms) breaking, as we've seen happen to ppl on here.

Not going to go for the insanely priced MSS since might as well get V3s for that money; and of course already bought all the Magride stuff.

Honestly not interested in coilovers on this car though. I have V1s on the A3, they're fine and all just not looking to go that route here.

Eibach seems to only make springs for the 3.2L in Can/US...which I wonder if would work ok on TT-S to get less drop?

H&R are 30mm drop, subtract the 10 then you have 20mm drop from stock... Eibach for the VR6 is like 25mm drop (F) on that car but would probably drop less on the lighter EA113 engine.

Hmmm, wonder if that's an idea--just use the VR6 springs? Also I wonder if my sock ones haven't sagged a little over those 9 yrs (maybe that's why I think it's low enough lol).

 

Hmmm, wonder if that's an idea--just use the VR6 springs? Also I wonder if my sock ones haven't sagged a little over those 9 yrs...

Hmm anyone have any thoughts on using 3.2L/VR6 springs on a TT-S? Anyone know the F/R weight differences?

 

Well I found out that some companies are spec'ing the same spring for all quattro cars regardless of engine. For example H&Rs is listed for the 2.0, the 3.2, the S, and the RS.

I found Eibach has more offerings in ROW than they do in US/Can and they do specify different springs for the 3.2L and S & 2.0T, the rear being the same load rating but the front on the 3.2 for 1040kg and the front for the 2.0 being 1005kg--35kg (77lb) difference. The 3.2 spring seems slightly more beefy at a 13.2mm diameter compared to 12.8mm diameter for the 2.0. The rear springs in the kits are exactly the same. I think worst case is the front lowers a little less than it would on a 3.2 but still as much or more than the factory 10mm lower S springs?

The part #s for US are not the same though, but I'm guessing the US part is equivalent to the Euro part for the 3.2L. So I decided to go for this option, one because the lowering is less than H&R option; two because I guess Eibach no longer sells this in Can/US so they had it on closeout/clearance. And by it I mean they only had one set left. $145 USD, shipped (to US) for the set!

Crossing my fingers it works out well. And with that ordered, I just need to source the other "strut parts" I don't have--should just be the bump stops, boots, spring stop/isolator if there is any. Checking through the parts listing now...

 

One other question and just to confirm. In the service manual it says the upper bump stop is NOT used on vehicles with magride? So I don't need those and only need the bellows (boots, #3)?
(I already have the mount, bearing and nuts/bolts.)

 

One other question and just to confirm. In the service manual it says the upper bump stop is NOT used on vehicles with magride? So I don't need those and only need the bellows (boots, #3)?
(I already have the mount, bearing and nuts/bolts.)

View attachment 484148

Magride front struts have internal bump stops. If replacing with non magride struts, you will need to install bump stops with the exception of some bilstein shocks which also have internal bump stops. If you fail to install bump stops on standard struts, you will damage the struts if the suspension bottoms out for any reason. Koni explicitly states this in their warranty and if a shock is damaged due to bottoming out with no stops, your warranty is void. They typically take shocks apart and inspect them internally before giving you a replacement, and they will know if the internal valve was damaged due to bottoming out. YMMV.

 

@ TT'sRevenge - Still keen to see if you can manage the rear cap connector work-around to reuse it rather than having to buy new ones as we discuses in this conversation last year.

 

@ TT'sRevenge - Still keen to see if you can manage the rear cap connector work-around to reuse it rather than having to buy new ones as we discuses in this conversation last year.
View attachment 484318

Yeah I did get the new caps. My original plan was to replace the rears last year and then do the fronts this year, but time flies and I never got the chance to do any work on the car last year--seems the spring is best before things get into busy season at work, etc.

So I have everything now, save for a few odds and ends as mentioned above. Both new rear "wrong" shocks and new fronts; the rear caps; new rear mounts; new rear shock caps; new strut mounts and bearings; most of the bolts/nuts required. Also the Eibach springs (for the 3.2L lol) are incoming. And yes those rear shock caps were expensive and took like 2-3 months to even get them, stupid things! When I look at the new cap it doesn't seem like it should break when it comes off but it's possible they want you to replace it because the wiring connection is not reliable thereafter, not sure.

I do have new mounts but I'll pull the old ones apart so I can get the bellows and the bump stops though as per the above, I may need to get new bump stops, not 100% sure at the moment.

 

So after determining the caps look like they can be reused after removal, if you don't damage them, have a few more things I encountered to ponder...

Interestingly the original shock removed and the new shock (which is the "incorrect" F shock) have different length rods. The F shock has a longer rod. I haven't yet checked to see how they differ when fully compressed but it seems the travel may be the same but the rod longer on the F shock. This would tend to imply to me that the shock cannot go "as low" as the original since the rod is longer...which might be a problem :| but I'm not sure yet. Perhaps the "A" bump stop is a longer piece?

Interestingly the Eibach springs came with new bump stops themselves, but they are about half the length of the ones that are on the car already! I don't think I can use those and have it work as intended, but I will see what happens when compressing the shock with the different bump stops placed into the mount. Also the decompressed Eibach rear spring is almost identical in height to the stock spring, maybe even slightly taller. However this doesn't tell the story of when loaded. The Eibach rear springs have more "coil" or more turns in the same space than does the factory spring. I guess I probably should take some pictures to illustrate...

Hopefully the original bump stops will be fine otherwise I may have to source the no-suffix bump stops which are stupid expensive in Canada which means I have to order from somewhere in US and wait for them to arrive to put everything back together, if I need them.

The other thing I forgot was to get was some kind of tool to hold the shock rod while tightening the nut 🤦‍♂️ so I may have to just try with something like a rubber strap wrench and/or use impact "pulses" to get them to tighten without spinning the rod--I was able to get the nut off with impact like this but I wasn't too concerned about spinning the rod in the old shock which did happen a bit.

 

So this is all under weigh now... Won't have time to work on it more today but have been working on it here and there the past few days, most of yesterday... Wasted a lot of time trying to figure out the "leaking" wiper fluid mystery that shall remain unsolved now 😐 Should be done all the suspension stuff by Tuesday though...

After I took apart the rear, I vacuumed the rear fender liners and washed them (these fabric liners catch a lot of leaf/grass particles so you really gotta vacuum to get that off), washed under the rear arches as I'll be Fluid Filming there and all under the [steel] rear, before I reassemble. They were real dirty under there but sorry no "before" picture taken...you can see on the ground the remnants of the dirt once the water evaporated/dried!

Since I wasn't ready to do that yet and the rest of the rear job seems rather straightforward, I moved on to the front... Since no bumpstops are required I was able to simply use the Eibachs I got for cheap (from Eibach USA, on clearance, for the 3.2L which is all they ever sold over here) and simply got new bellows and mounts/bearings and assembled the strut accordingly--new v. old:

As can be seen the new assembled length/height is about the same as stock but the Eibach has "more coil" to it--still will have to see how it looks when on the ground with these 3.2L lowering springs...

BTW, why the heck does VAG make the strut top "counterhold" for a 7mm Allen key?? Who on Earth has a 7mm Allen key?!?!? Seriously I have a few sets and also have, in my dad's old tools, probably like 50+ more Allen keys metric, imperial, all various ones in old tool boxes. I could find every size but 7mm and no imperial is equivalent to 7mm either! Every single set/size I could find goes from 6mm to 8mm. Now I do have a 7mm hex bit which I could sort of use with the strut nut tool, but I couldn't get a ratchet on the top of that (even with a universal) while still being under the top of the strut nut socket. So then I decided to use a small wrench to hold the bit part of the hex bit and go that way. That worked...until I realised the socket would bottom out on the bit itself before being able to tighten it down enough! 🤦‍♂️ So screw that just impacted them on, like any mechanic would do--used a low mode on my angle impact, seems like that would be close enough to the torque spec anyway. Sigh.

Moving on to the front of the car. Ugh had another bit of a nightmare with these, as usually happens to me First off it was super hard getting the existing strut out of the knuckle (and yes I do have the "spreader" tool). Had to bash the top of the knuckle at the collar with a deadblow to get it to move down and get the strut out. But, it came out. Since I was going from memory of how to take it apart (and not the manual) I honestly just had at it with impact taking everything apart I knew had to come out. Getting the stupid endlink out was mostly not a problem but from the bottom (swaybar side) it's totally blocked by the plastic of part the splash shield. So I had to remove that but then I figured to remove the entire liner, etc. due to the wiper fluid investigation (which remains unsolved anyway lol).

Putting in new ball joints, I was able to get the old one out easily with a puller, same as the outer tie-rod joint. Watch out though because unlike the outer tie-rod, there's not enough thread to leave the nut on while using the puller--this means when it pops it will go flying lol. Just uh look away and hit the trigger on the impact and wait till you hear the pop and clanging metal

Putting the new strut in, I was able to get it to drop in...or so I thought--it would not and I mean NOT go in all the way--about 1/4" left from the bottom. Very little room to pound on anything going the other way so after trying everything I could, I said screw this and just undid the caliper (bracket and all), pulled off the rotor, and pulled the whole damn knuckle out with the strut and then "tapped" it in by hammering on the knuckle to get the rest of the strut to go in. Again keep in mind this is with trying all sorts of stuff with the spreader, and mangling up the inside of the soft alum strut sleeve a good bit (which is typical, but it should actually work, which it didn't).

On to the next side, I actually went "by the book" and took apart the exact things in the exact order as recommended. The strut on this side? Even more difficult to get out!!! I'm not sure what the heck was going on here but it's almost as if the strut spreader I have is just not wide enough for the alum knuckles on the TT. No amount of hammering would even budge it. Eventually I said eff this and got a pickle fork and hammered (more like smashed in frustration lol) that between the clamp. Then finally I was able to get it out but it still didn't come out easy had to ding it down with the deadblow. Thinking the new one was not gonna go back in easy I just did the same on this side an pulled the whole damn knuckle out. Easier to get the ball joint out this way anyway I guess... I go to put the new strut in and somehow it just drops right in with the spreader and nothing else--go figure!

Anyway almost done, crossing my fingers on the look of the 3.2L lowering springs and hoping the "F" rear shocks work out okay...along with reusing the caps. Will update again when done! On a side note I think the old ball joints were actually fine but nearly 200k kms on it I just replaced em (with OE ones) anyway--$100 I probably didn't need to spend right there. At least they should be good for another 10 years now lol. OTOH the endlinks were done for (ball/socket still okay but super loose), which is exactly the opposite of what I expected. So $70 later, I got two Meyle HD ones to replace those two with.

 

Well at least you got there in the end. I had a load of trouble with the nearside strut pinch bolt, the big spine one. Actually had similar problems a few times now on this car, whereby the steel bolt becomes welded into the aluminium parts. Absolutely packed with white corrosion, extreme amounts of air hammering finally got it out

The mistake I potentially made was using the impact gun on the spline while counter holding the nut. It just rounded the spline. It was so seized I could impact off the nut without counter holding the rounded bolt...

My advice from now on is to impact the nut without counter holding to force it to rotate, then once free counterhold it

Like you did, on the other side I was geared up for the worst and it all came apart easily, typical

 

Yeah see I learned that lesson from the A3 haha. But those bolts were corroded into the collar like you say. On my TT there was no corrosion on the bolts so they came out just fine. On the A3 years ago when I did it, I had triple squares but not the 14mm I think it was, that it needs. I went by some suggestion that a 1/4" socket drive or extension is actually the same "square" size and it can be turned with that...uh well not so much, I ended up stripping the one side because it wouldn't budge due to the corrosion (other side actually came out like that fine though). Ended up getting another set of triple squares with the 14mm in it but was too late. I managed to get the nut off but the bolt simply would not turn. Tried hammering it out but didn't have enough room really--no air so couldn't use an air hammer... So I pulled the whole knuckle out, drilled the bolt head and put an extractor in it and tried to turn it. Nope the extractor was gonna snap, I knew it, so I stopped. Then I just put the knuckle on the driveway and proceeded to smash the bejesus out of that bolt and it finally gave way after the 4th or 5th blow. Crazy how badly it was corroded in there. And I mean the collar is not even threaded, which is the crazy part!

Needless to say I put anti-seize on the middle of the bolts when I put the new ones in. I did the same on the TT but TBH I had no issues at all taking the old ones out--then again I used impact to remove everything I could as I have the tools now. Then again I had little issue taking the struts out of the knuckle collars on the A3 (which I think are steel?), they weren't easy but they did come out and go in with little fanfare with the same spreader tool. The TT alum ones were not having it!

 

Glad I'm not the only one, they really do get stuck. I had the same on a couple of the bolts on the rear suspension arms I recently replaced too. Ended up cutting through the bush with a reciprocating saw on that one!

 

Didn't have time to work on this again for a little while however had time on the weekend so this job is complete

I also delayed because I was looking for the two rear top nuts that I had bought but I couldn't find for the life of me. I did buy them since they are in my ECS order summary with all the other bolts and nuts I ordered from them and I'm pretty sure I got them because I remember looking at them/holding in my hands but they're gone. Have no idea where they went They are not TTY but the manual does say to replace them. I never found them, looked everywhere. So, I reused the old ones 🤷‍♂️The nuts have some blue threadlocker in them from the factory, perhaps that's why they say to replace but I just used some...blue threadlocker, to ensure there was new threadlocker applied. Also somehow I ordered only two (instead of four) shock mount bolts in that same order. Not sure what I was thinking there but had to go to a stealer to get another two. The Lemforder replacement mounts did come with new bolts but they're not the same as OE, don't seem to have any anti-rust coating like the factory ones, so I didn't use those.

Here's a pic of the new cap going on the new rear shock/mount (I did apply some Dow 111 as a dielectric/sealant to keep out moisture:

New rear shocks, all assembled (old bellows and bumpstops reused):

I measured the rods and the F shocks are 10mm longer rod than the ones that are "supposed" to be on the car. I believe the specified bump stop is also longer but I'm not sure. I reused the bump stops because the replacements are way too expensive here (I probably should have gotten the correct ones from the US but forgot and this project already very delayed as it was). I did mark on the shock body where the bumpstop engages but I didn't yet check where it's sitting while on the ground--I don't think it's hitting the stop though. There's seemingly enough travel in the shock assembled like that but will have to recheck when I get a chance on the vehicle.

While I had the rear end and liners all apart, I completely fluid filmed the back end--inside the arches, all under the subframe, etc. It's actually not too rusty under there (compared to what some others had shown on theirs) but the swaybar is totally rusted for whatever reason--the coating was all flaking off, I removed most of the rest of it with a wire brush. Will probably upgrade the swaybar next year anyway...

Forgot to take an "after" pic but I did go a little nuts with the fluid film--that should definitely stop any further rustiness and the car is only summer driven since I've owned it so that will obviously help as well.

New shocks, struts & springs all in :

When I put it on the ground I was pretty dismayed at how high the ride height was though I was thinking the designed-for-3.2L springs still shouldn't be that high. I was like, "this is Q3 ride height?!" LOL Thankfully after just moving the car around on the driveway it sunk a little, the rear looks ok I think but the front still a little high. Will wait for it to settle of course as it should come down a little bit more. If it ends up about the same height as TT-S stock height I'll be happy. Right now it's a bit higher than it was stock & 10yr old springs though:

I put 12.5mm spacers on the rear (I need these for the other car in the winter but in summer I have 8mm due to different wheel offset). Still doesn't look that far out though. In the front I put on 4mm spacers but didn't do much. I also have 7mm (which is shown above) but these are a bit useless since they don't have a centre lip/bore so the wheel comes just off the centre hub and so can't really centre it properly and will probably bring vibration. I could also try the 12.5s in the front and put 15mm in the back (I have 15s too). Not sure if that rear bracket thing is going to rub though, even with the 12.5s--will see today when I take it for the first drive! Was way too tired yesterday to take it out after I washed it.

Also just since he was on the driveway, I snapped this one of other guy. He didn't get a wash though (no time ) so not totally clean:

Blue & black v. black & blue heh

And yes those front Brembos are far overdue for painting & decal-ing. I've had them like that since I installed them, just never got around to painting them (they came painted silver). I have a paint kit for them too, just need to actually do it.

 

Finally got to take the car out for the first spin this year and after the suspension work Unfortunately hit a snag as it seems I bent up the brake shield while supporting the knuckle on the jack, so rotor was very lightly scraping/squealing against it. Couldn't get it bent back enough with the brake still on so I had to pull the caliper and rotor to fix.

Anyway that taken care of, I have to say the ride is...so much better now. The magride struts and shocks on the car were definitely done for. There were no leaks in any of the dampers except the left rear one which was leaking magnetic fluid--it's pretty interesting because it was a rusty fluid--the fluid being ferrous actually rusts! It was not a big leak though. However the two front struts and the other rear were fine in terms of no leaks, etc.

The difference is absolutely night and day from how the car rode before. It really could not dampen properly in regular mode either, as I mentioned in some other threads being a bit wild/unsettling over bumps on the highway at over 100km/h. That instability is gone now, the car feels planted and sure. Before in sport mode it was okay but a bit too jarring, now sport mode dampens well and feels better too.

I'd read before that when the magride struts go bad they often result in too firm a ride and that was definitely true in my case. These dampers do wear out but differently to regular struts and shocks it seems. The static rebound on the ground was okay, the magride test mode firmed up like a brick (like it should) but the car just didn't drive right. Now, it does

I have not done the suspension adaptation and ride height stuff (which is rather complicated and requires measuring, etc.) and even with the longer-rod "F" type rear shocks, everything seems good. No warning lights (I'll check for codes later) or anything and everything seems good.

The VR6 Eibachs have settled a bit--the rear as mentioned looks like where I want it to be. The front I think it's basically the same as it was stock now, I think it will settle a bit in the next week or so might be slightly lower. Even replacing the ball joints and popping out the outer tie-rods, the car still drives quite straight afterwards but I will take it for an alignment (I do loathe people touching my car though) given all the work done, once it's all settled in.

I'm going to update the first post with a cost breakdown of everything I bought to do this refresh, in the next day or two. While I'm not sure the ride is that much better than the KWs on the other car--it's still a TT, after all--I'm still happy I didn't go the coilovers route as I get to keep the suspension selectability, don't have to worry about the delete kit, and am very pleased with the result.

Overall a successful undertaking and one worth the time, effort and $$$. Now I'm onto the final thing I had planned for this car when it was purchased--the stereo upgrade