I finally accomplished lowering the S6 with VCDS. Some said it can’t be done, but it most definitely worked for me. It should be entirely reversible in case you decide to revert the settings. All research was done through Google and playing around with software settings, none of this information was provided by Audi or Audi dealers. This method is an alternative to Lowering Links (which are great if you don’t have the electronic tools/would rather go the mechanical route), or H&R lowering module (which is also great, and allows for on-the fly adjustments vs. having to mess with car systems).
I figured that since all the tools and information required to do this have already been made public on the internet, it is just matter of time until someone posts a step-by-step guide, so here it is.
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for anything that these changes may cause, or if your car breaks, or if dealership finds out and denies your warranty if something goes wrong… Try this at your own risk.
0) Set your car to “Auto” mode (not dynamic, comfort, etc.). Make sure car is on level ground. Close doors. If any doors are opened during the procedure, it will be interrupted. Make sure your car is NOT in a towing or tire changing mode.
1) Load up VCDS, go to Module 34 – Level Control
2) Go to “10 – Adaptation”, take note of 4 values titled as “Body height front left wheel house edge” – mine were set to around 384 from factory.
3) Take the values you noted above, and ADD your desired drop in millimeters (mm) to each value, write it down… So if your left front wheel was 384.5, your new value will be 401.5. Repeat for the other wheels. It is not critical to be 100% precise here, rounding the values is fine. Note that maximum Audi-approved drop is 17mm from what I’ve gathered. You can go lower, but if you go lower, you’re also affecting other systems, such as cameras, adaptive cruise, etc., so be careful.
Technically, if you want this procedure to be done properly, instead of taking existing values, you will measure all 4 wheels after completion of the step 7, and then add your drop value if desired. Suspension height values are measured from the center of the wheel to the edge of the fender.
4) Go to Security Access, enter code provided on the following website, under VCDS section, item #3 (I’m not posting this directly to avoid spreading sensitive data, although it’s been posted on other forums in past) http://www.stemei.de/pages/coding/au…ng-des-aas.php
5) You should get a message stating that security code has been accepted – if you don’t, something failed, stop doing what you’re doing
6) Go to 04 – Basic Settings
*** IMPORTANT: Whatever you do, DO NOT select “Reset All Adaptations” – this is not undoable, and will require a visit to the dealer. ***
7) Select “Activate Level Control”, hit “Go”, wait for it to complete (should only take a second, until it says “not running”).
8) Select “Delete Calibration For Level Control”, hit “Go”, wait for it to complete, your car will throw a fault code and you will see an error message stating Air Suspension Malfunction – this is normal.
7) Select “Start Up to Reference Level”, hit “Go”. This step will take about a minute, and your car will go up/down during the process (you’ll hear hissing noises). Wait for it to complete, until it says “not running”. DO NOT use the “start up to reference level production” option.
9) Select “Go Back”, go to “10 – Adaptation” on the previous screen.
10) Next you will need to enter new adaptation values for all 4 wheels. Select “Body height front left wheel house edge”, then enter new adaptation value, and hit “Do it”, then repeat for the other 3 wheels. I did it in the order the menu was arranged (FL, RL, FR, RR) – not sure if the order matters, but just in case. Each time you enter a value, you should get a message stating that it has been accepted.
11) After you’re done entering adaptation for all 4 wheels, select “Go Back”, and return to “04 – Basic Settings” again.
12) In basic settings, select “Calibrate Level Control” and hit go, it will take a few seconds. Wait for it to say “not running”. If you get an error during this step, you either missed a step, or something went horribly wrong.
13) Select “Activate Level Control”, hit “Go”
14) You’re done, now go to “02 – Fault Codes” and Reset codes.
If this did or didn’t work – please share your experience with the rest of us here.
UPDATE:
There is an additional setting that will prevent your car from auto-lowering at ~30 mph, as well as allow you to raise the suspension while driving at any speed. Standard settings gray out the “raise” button over a certain speed, and are particularly annoying if your car is lowered via the steps above and you would like to keep it raised for an extended period of time (such as city driving with a lot of dips, bumps, ramps, sloped driveways, etc.)
1) Launch the green menu by holding Car + Menu buttons. (If you don’t know how to enable or use the green menu, see the main VCDS thread)
2) Go to “car” then “carmenuoperation” menu
3) Scroll down to “suspension”
4) Change the value to “5”
5) Press the center menu knob to save
6) Reboot the MMI (Menu button +Center knob+Top Right soft button)
7) Turn the ignition on/off
Let me know if I missed any steps as I’m posting this off my memory right now.
