[r_simmonds]

I would think the delrin bushings would cause more bind and less control, right? They're much stiffer, so I don't think they'd be a good choice in the rear control arms. I'm not opposed to a softer bushing with a little more flex, like neoprene, but I don't want to loosen up the suspension too much. Every bushing or mount that could be swapped for urethane was replaced. So I'd like to consider changing out some of those as a starting point, and then work from there. I still want a responsive feel in the car with a little more compliance in the ride, but I'm not looking to make this ride like some high-end luxury sedan. I just want to get some of the jarring and twitchy feeling worked out.

I'd rather not swap the gears in the rearend. With the car being an A4, I feel like the 3.73 would be just a tad lower than what I would like. I've driven some with lower gears in them, and wasn't that impressed. But I definitely will look into the Trutrac.

I've considered the C5 front brake upgrade before, and I may bite the bullet next year when I need to buy new rotors. I'll probably also go to some braided lines when I do. I feel that the front brake upgrade would help lessen the rearend's tendency to step out under braking. It has come around on me a couple of times when braking too hard with just a slight input from the steering. It rarely wants to oversteer when staying neutral on the throttle or accelerating out of a turn. So my concern with the braking oversteer lies more with the brake biasing or possibly even some stiction in the rear suspension. That, combined with the overall stiffer feeling of the rear when there's no added weight over the rear axle, make me feel like perhaps the urethane control arm bushings were the wrong choice. And, I've heard some people were happier with neoprene bushings instead of urethane.

Unfortunately, with no access to the right type of resources to check or test changes like these, it's hard to know what's best. I pulled the trigger on the full-chassis urethane route without having any then of getting advice on the best route to go. I just knew that higher durometer bushings than what came on the car would help in the handling department.