XYZ Racing Tarmac Rally Coilovers — Audi A3 SPORTBACK 8V φ55 (Rear Multi-Link Suspension) Modified Rear Integrated 2012-2020

The A3 Sportback 8V’s multi-link rear axle – fitted only to quattro-equipped and higher-output variants in this range – gives the hatchback independent geometry at each corner, rather than the torsion-beam setup most FWD A3s make do with. On loose or broken tarmac stages, that independence is what lets the rear end track a line instead of skipping over camber changes and mid-corner ruts.

The XYZ Racing Tarmac Rally coilover for this A3 8V is built around that rear geometry, with a Φ55 monotube body sized for the multi-link mounting points and a damping curve calibrated for sustained stage work rather than one clean lap. This is the "Modified Rr Integrated" fitment – a rear-end conversion specific to cars running the multi-link setup – so the kit bolts to hardware the factory geometry already expects.

What this coilover does for your 2012-2020 Audi A3 Sportback

Stage surfaces rarely stay consistent for more than a few hundred metres, and this is where the Tarmac Rally damper earns its name. The valving is set to absorb sharp edge hits – potholes, patched sections, the ridge where two tarmac layers meet – without transmitting the full jolt through the chassis and unsettling the body. That control keeps the tyre’s contact patch loaded through compressions rather than letting it skip, which on a Φ55 multi-link A3 translates directly into more usable traction under power out of hairpins. The rear end stays planted through direction changes instead of stepping wide, so you can commit to a line on a stage you’ve only seen in the pace notes. Ride height and corner balance are both adjustable, letting you set the A3 8V’s weight distribution to suit tarmac grip levels rather than living with the standard factory setup.

About the Tarmac Rally coilover

XYZ Racing built the Tarmac Rally line specifically for sealed-stage rally work, where the surface is faster and grippier than gravel but still throws up broken edges, patched repairs and off-camber sections that a road-biased damper isn’t set up to absorb. The monotube construction is tuned to soak up hard, sudden impacts – the kind of big compression event a stage car hits several times a lap – without the shock body itself taking the full brunt of the hit, which is where lesser dampers start to fade over a stage’s length. That impact absorption is matched to tyre control: keeping the contact patch loaded through a hit rather than letting it unweight is what holds the car’s traction together on a surface where grip windows open and close quickly. The result is handling that stays predictable stage after stage, because the damping settings come from XYZ’s own tarmac rally programme rather than being adapted from a track-day base spec. For the A3 8V’s multi-link rear, that means a kit calibrated around this chassis’s actual geometry rather than a generic multi-link map.

Fitment for the Audi A3 Sportback (2012-2020)

This kit fits the Audi A3 Sportback 8V built between 2012 and 2020, specifically the Φ55 multi-link rear axle variants under chassis code AU12-8. It’s the "Modified Rr Integrated" configuration, designed for cars where the rear end has already been converted to accept this coilover mounting – confirm your A3 matches this rear-end spec before ordering, as standard torsion-beam cars in this range use a different kit.

What buyers also search for

• Audi A3 Sportback 8V coilover upgrade for sealed-stage tarmac rally
• Audi A3 8V Tarmac Rally damping built for stage surfaces, not just track days
• Audi A3 Sportback multi-link rear coilover with adjustable ride height and corner balance
• Audi A3 8V AU12-8 rally suspension for the Φ55 rear-end conversion

Spec the Tarmac Rally kit to your A3 8V’s rear-end setup and stage programme – configure yours below.