Re: Decision AWR Bilsteins, Standard Bilsteins or KONI FSD with stock springs?
How often do you drive in the main part of SF? The roads there are terrible! AWR isn't specific about much, but they do say their re-valved Bilsteins are tuned for track use.
That might be acceptable for you, but that's not what the OP was looking for. Me neither, so I went with FSD's on the stock springs and am very happy with it. The car is much quicker and faster on public back roads yet ride comfort is still very good, often better. Haven't tracked it yet but I expect it to be much quicker than the OEM setup, based on my informal testing so far (holy shit, did I just rail that bumpy corner at 80mph?).
Everyone has their own idea of what acceptable street ride comfort is. But this isn't my first camping trip, and I've learned that softer is not only more comfortable on the boulevard, it's often faster on public roads, and sometimes faster on a proper road course too. Tire choice usually has more to do with everything than dampers do, which is why I brought it up.
As my good friend who owns and races an open wheel Formula Mazda says, who also just bought an Audi S5, it's all about what you want to use the car for. A road car is a road car, enjoy it for that. Easy for him to say, with a $60K road car and electronically adjustable suspension, but his point is well taken - a road car is not a race car, unless you turn it into one. Then it becomes a terrible road car.
And as he also says, which every pro driver will confirm, if you really want to learn how to drive fast, and race wheel to wheel for real, get into karting! It's cheaper and better than anything you can do in a modified road car. Save your road car for getting to the kart track, and getting you to work on time.
That's not to say you can't have fun with your road car too, just keep it simple and don't go nuts with it. Especially on public roads. Always leave a margin, the world is not your race track.
Sorry to pontificate, I just know from experience as a former street racer, and a middle aged hooligan, that there's no good reason to put track tuned parts on a nice little road car you drive every day.