irenesbob

I find the sport suspension to be fairly comfortable and it absorbs harsh impacts well. It is my sense that since the stiffer springs deflect less than a softer standard suspension would, the car does tend to follow the ups and downs of the road surface. The OP uses the terms “bouncy, fidgety, nervous“, but to me it is just the stiffer springs not deflecting/flexing sufficiently to smooth these irregularities out and provide a smooth “boulevard” ride.
I too feel there is a more or less constant amount of vibration transmitted up to the seats. But, again, this to me is what I expected with springs that are stiffer.
The seats are a different matter: for me they are very uncomfortable. I have lower back sciatica issues and for whatever reason the very flat seat bottom sends lots of pain into my thighs. It gets worse when I pull out the extender, so what I thought was going to help me actually makes things worse. However, this is my bad for not really checking out the sport seats before deciding on this car.

SkiingInABlueDream

Great discussion - I appreciate all the replies! I'll reply to points rather than try to multi-quote many posts.

Tires. I've got the 18" all season Pirelli Cinturato's. I'm up to ~5600 mi on those tires, and the car itself. (Should've mentioned that in my OP, Im an idiot!) Regarding pressure. About a month ago I set the tires to 36 psi all around (per the recommendation on the door). A couple days ago I lowered it to see if it'd change anything. Before letting the air out I checked pressure and found them all close to 34. I dropped all 4 tires to 28. I've got probably 2-3 hours seat time now at 28 psi, and I can't say I notice a major difference. Id say road "stuff" probably feels a bit muted overall compared to before I dropped the pressure, but I dont know if I would have noticed anything if I wasnt aware that the pressures had been changed. I might try a short test at like 22 psi just for the data point.

Seats. The sport seats were a major draw to the Sp pkg for me. The firmness and extra side padding were always more comfortable to me than the standard seats. (Irenesbob Im sorry the seats don't work for you!)

Local temperatures. That certainly could be a factor; tires and shocks get stiffer when it's cold.

Trying out 17" wheels. Mlpsbrian that's a very good suggestion. If I had bought a 17" winter wheel set, which I have not yet, then, well I could speak to the point. I should ask my dealer if they have a loaner car with the 17" wheels that they'd be willing to mount to my car for a test ride.

Ride quality. DaveW you said "taut" - I would absolutely agree with that adjective. Irenesbob, I agree with everything in your first paragraph and maybe that's what Im coming to terms with only recently. The suspension transmits many ups and downs that I thought would be too small and get absorbed. Mentally, I perceive that as a fidgety ride, but not harsh; harsh is the wheel crashing into potholes or over manhole covers that are 2" above the road surface. Maybe I really do I want a car that's more plush, for long highway drives at least.

But I do still wonder about the about the damping rates in the standard vs sport suspension. I can't help wondering if they might be using the same shocks for the two configurations (cost saving). And if that's true then the sport suspension could in fact be under-damped, which would yield a bouncy ride.

A crazy idea I've been toying with: installing standard (non-sport) springs in my car. That would make an interesting mongrel of the car, LOL.
I can't help wondering what the discontinued *comfort* adaptive suspension felt like!
On the other hand, if taller, softer tires (e.g. a 17" winter set) would help the ride, then that would be a very convenient solution as most of my long road trips are in the winter.

Lots to think about...
Thanks again for the feedback!

SNGGA

I have 17" winters on right now and they do improve the ride quality a bit but it's not a night and day difference. The bumps are not as hard vs 19" in the summer for me.
But overall, I prefer my summer 19'' over 17'' winter. The sport suspensions really doesn't ruin the ride quality/experience

HyperS4

Nooooooooo!!!!! Thats way too low. The only data point you might come up with is a bent rim if you hit something too hard. You are doing well with the testing but for safety reasons you really should keep them at recommended pressure. Going up or down a couple lbs isnt a big deal, but going down over 10 lbs is bad. 34/5 front 32/3 rear should be optimal.

minmet

I would think the damping rates are different between the two. I had an A5 Sportsback with sport suspension as a loaner for couple days. Really like the handling and damping. I definitely feel it damping more and lean less.

I can swap my whole standard suspension with your sport's. LOL

A4Driver

Same here. I feel the extra pound of air helps in both handling and mileage.
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irenesbob

To SkiingInABlueDream :
Two things:
1) When I was negotiating on my car in July 2018 the salesman did research and told me (he showed me some paperwork to confirm) that the sport suspension that is part of the Sport Package includes stiffer, shorter springs and different shocks. It was not clear whether they were just re-calibrated or a different item like Koni's.
2) I have found that my car actually seems to ride worse when I tried lowering air pressure in the tires. It felt as if the tires were getting hung up on tar strips and such, whereas with the PSI in the manual the car seems to roll over such things. I too have the 18-inch all-season Pirelli's you have, but only have 4,500 miles at this point.

justbreddy

Does anyone know how the A4 sport suspension compares to the S4 suspension? What specific differences are there?

ErikM

I have 3500 miles on my car. Sport Suspension.. Be aware the 36/36 on the door jam is for FIVE People and all their luggage! I had my Pirelli P7 replaced second week I owned the car because they were flat spotted from the car sitting.. I have Michelin Pilot AS/3 Plus.. They have a slightly stiffer sidewall than the Pirelli. I run 32/30 and in comfort it's excellent.. My experience with the car and the Pirelli's is 36/36 sucks.. FWIW the Summer tires call for 30/28 Lots of good info in the Owners Manual

irenesbob

The Owners Manual indicates "normal" pressure is 35/32 PSI front/rear for the 245/18 97H Pirelli's on my car (and I believe all US 2018 A4 Premium + Quattro A4's). What led you to do 30/28? I am not saying you are wrong, just curious.