Completed: DIY DRC removal/swap with Koni Yellow Sports....

[SFJ_RS6]

Thanks for the info about the lift - you've got a very nice setup with it! I'm going to do a little shopping and see where it leads.....

[mik15]

it looks just as before, i could even say that it's better on the rear as it looks a bit lower than with the DRC, one again great job, keep us posted with your feedback over time/miles....

[lswing]

Nice work! I'm doing this same swap next week. Was thinking of using the lowest perch for the rears, by your pics it looked to be riding a bit higher than the front. What's your impression of your cars stance? Just hoping I don't sag in the back. Really looking forward to the new ride as my drc is harsh as hell frozen over...going to start with soft all around and go from there.

[4.2Crew]

Nice work! I'm doing this same swap next week. Was thinking of using the lowest perch for the rears, by your pics it looked to be riding a bit higher than the front. What's your impression of your cars stance? Just hoping I don't sag in the back. Really looking forward to the new ride as my drc is harsh as hell frozen over...going to start with soft all around and go from there.

Thanks! If I knew then, what I know now, I would've started at full soft on the rebound settings AND placed the rears on the lowest perch hieght... The rear does sit just a smit higher ("1/4") than the front, but it also had an empty gas tank at the time of measurement and pics... It does, however, sit slightly more level than it did with the DRC.

Since the car will be an all-season (-30 to 100F) daily driver with a 60 mile round trip commute, slightly softer would've neen ok... But, maybe with warmer temps and a few thousand miles, it'll set'll in... I could reset the front rebound with no alignment consecences in about an hour... The rears are a different story and would require an alignment upon completion.

[NSU RS6]

All of the Koni's I have driven softened slightly over time. At about 10K miles it stayed the same. I usually set the rebound in the middle, and never had to adjust them again.

[bphouston]

just did the SAME swap, using the Koni Yellow shocks. I can't believe i waited this long to do this....better than stock, good ride quality, crisp handling but not annoying or too bumpy. Used stock springs. After having THREE (3) OEM shock set-ups FAIL, this is by far the best handling my RS6 has been. Slightly modified the initial adjustment, set the fronts at 1.5 turn from softest, and set rears at 0.75 turns from softest.

[Urbo]

Just had my DRC replaced with the Koni struts and they rock. The tech put the fronts on the 6th position (half way) and the rears on 7th to control acceleration squat. Added the Hotchkis SB's and the ride and handling are firm and compliant. Tech said the strut settings relate the position / depth of the strut at rest which is why he recommended the 6th position. Read on another forum post that the settings were to make up for wear over time. So who knows.


Appreciate that the car doesn't scrape on parking curbs or speed bumps. It almost soaks up speedbumps now. Purchased the car with a failed DRC so can't compare it to the original set up.

[lswing]

Just had my DRC replaced with the Koni struts and they rock. The tech put the fronts on the 6th position (half way) and the rears on 7th to control acceleration squat. Added the Hotchkis SB's and the ride and handling are firm and compliant. Tech said the strut settings relate the position / depth of the strut at rest which is why he recommended the 6th position. Read on another forum post that the settings were to make up for wear over time. So who knows.


Appreciate that the car doesn't scrape on parking curbs or speed bumps. It almost soaks up speedbumps now. Purchased the car with a failed DRC so can't compare it to the original set up.

Glad to hear it, I really like the setup and price can't be beat! I'm set on full soft all around, but ride is still firm, although I think the back has sagged about 1/4" or so. Enjoy!

[04rs6cdn]

Help...I just did this swap but my tech installed the fronts out of the box with out adjusting them....I got there in time to adjust the back shocks to lowest perch and 1/2 a turn from soft...so do you guys know what the front might be set at from the factory??

[04rs6cdn]

I too did the swap, but a word of caution the lower retaining washer is very close to the axle shaft when clipped on the lowest setting on the rear shocks. One of my clips popped out and caused the washer to rub on the shaft until it snapped. After I fixed it I checked the other side and noticed that it too could fail. So I tack welded a few spots below it to make sure this wont happen again. Maybe I got bad clips? I dont know. The design seems weird to me for those tiny clips that slide into the grooves and then have to hold all that weight.

[lswing]

The design seems weird to me for those tiny clips that slide into the grooves and then have to hold all that weight.

Agreed. I always hoped there was some level of weight distribution occurring that I did not understand. Those clips are so small, made me scratch my head. But my experienced mechanic thought it was normal...

Another note, I never got the chance to stiffen mine up a turn, but since adding the Hotchkis sway bars, maybe no need. So much of the body roll was removed, and suspension really glides through uneven corners. The combination is excellent.

[Bigglezworth]

I too did the swap, but a word of caution the lower retaining washer is very close to the axle shaft when clipped on the lowest setting on the rear shocks. One of my clips popped out and caused the washer to rub on the shaft until it snapped. After I fixed it I checked the other side and noticed that it too could fail. So I tack welded a few spots below it to make sure this wont happen again. Maybe I got bad clips? I dont know. The design seems weird to me for those tiny clips that slide into the grooves and then have to hold all that weight.

You didn't get bad clips. I believe you installed the rear mounting pearch 'upside down'. There is a groove/lip on one side of the perch that retains/traps the clip on the damper housing and can't allow it to lift out of the groove.

[4.2Crew]

Just a quick update on the Koni Yellow Sports with stock spring install:

Last weekend I decided to "tune" the new Koni's... Not that anything was wrong with the ride or compliance, but just wanted to ever so slightly soften the ride...

The initial settings after install were:

Fronts: 1 turn from full soft rebound and stock Koni perch height.
Rears: 1/2 turn from full soft rebound and middle Koni perch height. (There are 3 lower perch heights)

The new settings are:

Fronts: 1/2 turn from full soft rebound and stock Koni perch height.
Rears: 1/4 turn from full soft rebound and low Koni perch height. (There are 3 lower perch heights)

Ride compliance is now perfect for my driving lifestyle!... The rear ride height dropped about 1/4" yeilding a "level chasis." The car now sits perfectly level!... No rake. Most of the rake was removed after swapping the DRC out, but it was still slightly high in the rear... Softening the rebound a bit and moving to the lower perch on the rears was worth the 4 hours!

[4everRS]

Aww man Crew. Posting this without a pic? Your in violation of a number of Ben916's posting policies!

[lswing]

Good to hear, thanks for the updates, pics or it didn't happen

Your description of the rear perches is a bit confusing, how about stock height for the lowest, then each one up a 1/4" more raised.

Glad to hear it's nice and level, I cannot wait to have mine out of it's jacked up DRC mode. I'm planning full soft all around as I think that should hold the car firm. What's your reasoning for a bit stiffer in the front, engine weight, nose diving I guess? How compliant are the small bumps now? I know it's tough to describe, but all the 1" ruts and holes around town kill my back, so I've been thinking full soft just to be safe...

[4.2Crew]

Pics as promised... Err, maybe due to heavy peer pressure!





To answer some previous questions:

Your description of the rear perches is a bit confusing, how about stock height for the lowest, then each one up a 1/4" more raised.... Sorry, it is not only confusing, but hard to articulately describe... I could be wrong, but I think a stock RS6 with the DRC properly set-up, has a slight chasis rake... I prefer the car to sit level with a full belly of fuel---and the lowest rear perch height on the Koni's yeilds that on my car.

What's your reasoning for a bit stiffer in the front, engine weight, nose diving I guess?
The Koni's range of adjustability is different on the front than the rears.... 2 1/4 turns of adjustability on the fronts and only 1 1/8 turns on the rears. Also, to make it even more confusing, I do not think there is a linear dependence (ie. a half turn from full soft rebound might still be quite firm, but a half turn from full firm will likely feel no different than full firm)

How compliant are the small bumps now? I know it's tough to describe, but all the 1" ruts and holes around town kill my back, so I've been thinking full soft just to be safe...
Noticably better after last weeks "tuning." I don't think you will go wrong at full soft front and rear.

Please ignore attached lower image... Irrelevant to this posting.

[lswing]

This article has some nice details, and great pics of the stock stance, albeit I believe the 5 spoke Euro's were 19's..."Lord of the rings"...I like it!

http://www.netcarshow.com/audi/2002-rs6_sedan/

[4.2Crew]

This article has some nice details, and great pics of the stock stance, albeit I believe the 5 spoke Euro's were 19's..."Lord of the rings"...I like it!

http://www.netcarshow.com/audi/2002-rs6_sedan/

Wow! That does exemplify a nice stance!....