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Car is 2008 Audi A4 2.0T S Line. It appears to sit lower than other cars (standard edition, not S Line) that I've seen around town.

I want to change out shocks and struts as I suspect they are original and a bit squishy. However I want to purchase components that will not affect the ride height. Any lower and I'll drag the front bumper when at the slope transition of my driveway (it's a steep rise from the street). And I don't want to go any higher.

I've measured 654mm front, 648mm rear to the wheel arch. Tire clearance is 22mm front and rear with 245 45R17 tires.

I've looked online, read the Bentley shop manual and subscribe to AllDATA DIY where factory ride height is not specified. I came across a forum post stating (he believed) S Line is 20mm lower than the SE. Came across the same S Line dimension on another site, but haven't come across the actual floor to arch dimension.

Bilstein coilovers lower 30-60 mm front, 20-50mm rear but I haven't found if this is from the standard A4 or the S Line.

Auto parts stores/sites (even the European performance parts sites) don't differentiate between standard or S Line, but the S Line has performance suspension, so there must be a difference.

Thoughts?

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  • Check the Audi manual... Also check if the car spec was changed in the 10 n years before you owned it. It has been known for the wrong parts to have been fitted in error and no-one notices; so check carefully.
    – Solar Mike
    Sep 23, 2018 at 18:17
  • Ride height is not specified in the owners manual, Bentley shop manual or on ALLDATA. I've seen mention of looking in ETKA, but found nothing specific for S Line.
    – Dacid Salin
    Sep 23, 2018 at 18:33
  • Well, I am surprised that the official Audi workshop manual fails to specify something so critical. I have the workshop manual for my Jaguar and the ride heights for the models are specified as well as the different spring rates etc.
    – Solar Mike
    Sep 23, 2018 at 18:35

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That model (known as the B7) came with an optional sports suspension, which sits lower. My previous A4 had that (as the previous owner said), and would scratch its belly on my driveway unless I was very careful. After losing it in an accident, I got a near-identical replacement (same year, 2.0 TFSI quattro with tiptronic), albeit apparently with the standard suspension. It does sit higher than the old one (visible when I had both next to each other), and nothing apart from the wheels has ever touched the ground of my driveway. Neither is an S-Line, for that matter.

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