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Alignment Upgrade?

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1.8K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Awdriver  
#1 ·
Is there a way to improve the alignment so its less likely to go out?

what do rally cars do to prevent this issue or adress the concern as they are going over the bumpiest roads at extreme speeds?
 
#2 ·
What do you mean by "less likely to go out?" If the allignment is done properly it should be perfectly good for a long time (years) unless you manage to hit a huge pothole that damages the suspension. For rally cars I suspect that they use very beefy suspension bits to reduce risk of damage and locking plates instead of turn bolts to keep things aligned properly.
 
#3 ·
Yeah that's what I mean, make it stronger against bumps and such on the road. I live in Edmonton AB, Canada. Where our city seems to have the hardest time maintaining roads with everything Mother Nature throws at it, specifically the snow so the roads are completely riddled with pot holes which are nearly impossible to avoid.

Any ideas where I could find information on that and if stassis has anything to beef it up?

I would love to get some APR parts, they are very active on this forum but unfortunately the only dealership in my city uses strictly stassis as its the only brand that won't void the warranty. And having a brand new 2013 s5. The warranty is not something I want to mess with
 
#5 · (Edited)
^This. Regarding your question about STaSIS - that's going in the exact opposite direction from what you want. STaSIS (and many other after-market suspension companies) are in the business of selling systems that are intended to "improve" handling by stiffening the suspension (for less body roll) with stiffer springs and/or antisway bars, using shocks appropriately matched to the stiffer springs and ARB, and modestly lowering the center of gravity. One side effect of all this is that the stiffer suspension transmits more shock energy into the chassis, so if you're concerned about the suspension holding up under punishing road conditions this is not the way to go. Consider your rally car example - the distance of suspension travel (how much the springs and shock can defelect before bottoming out) on a rally car is much greater than the distance available on an S5, so the suspension can absorb the shocks with comparatively less force jolting the cabin. My suggestion is to follow the advice from patrick above - go with 18" rims for winter, or even 17" if you can find a set that fits (some 17" wheels won't clear the S5 brake calipers, but some can, and spacers may be required). The tires can then have higher sidewall to provide more cushioning from pothole impacts.
 
#6 ·
Thank you for the response, i did get the 18" winter rims from audi and have the Nokian Hakkapelita R's.

for the suspension that was one question i had, is softer or stiffer the way to go? Back when i had my subaru i asked the same question and the service manager said to go in the direction of stiffer suspension to make it stand up against the bumps and such more.

oh how i would love to put more "rally" parts into the s5 to make it more quattro esque.

anyone have ideas of what the best rally suspension is and/or where i can go to check investigate it? i tried searching for it before by going to the Rally Team websites as i hoped they would have more advertising of their sponsors but that came up short.

and if softer is the way to go i will adjust the drive select accordingly