CCFunk

Concerning drive modes on this car, I'm assuming comfort will give the softer ride quality. Is there anything I can set to improve this? I understand that with 19 inch wheels and sports suspension that will give a firmer handling, but sometimes it's a little harsh for me coming from previous car a Nissan Maxima. Is the a suspension break in time which may help?

Thanks
CC

Glisse

^^

Yes, as to anything you can do: make sure you are using the correct tyre pressures, and not the maximum tyre pressures. If you are in the US, the maximum pressures are what is shown on the door sticker, and are to be avoided unless you are taking your entire family and all their belongings on a long road trip. Use the lower pressures in the manual.

I would suggest what these pressures should be, but your location would determine whether that be in bar, kilopascal, or pounds per square inch depending where you live, so I can't

There is no suspension break in. Comfort will give a softer ride, but only if you have the adaptive suspension option. The fixed suspension remains fixed, no matter what MMI Drive Mode you use. Tyre pressures are your best option.

caranddriver

If you A5 does not have the adaptive suspension, I believe the only thing you can adjust without tinkering with the suspension is tire choice and tire pressure. Otherwise Comfort is just going to adjust steering effort (fixed steering) and throttle response.

Little did I know when I got my car, the dealership inflated the tires to 45PSI when the door sticker said 35PSI. It made quite the improvement going down 10PSI in terms of impact harshness. I still have to be more careful with 19" wheels than I did with the 18" wheels in my previous car.

CCFunk

Thanks for the idea's, I will check the tire pressure tomorrow. As for as the adaptive suspension, I don't have it and didn't realize it was a option. I just assume the different driving modes included it. I guess its to late in the game at this time.

CC

caranddriver

Adaptive suspension is only an option on Prestige on the non-S models. Yes, too late to add. I can see where you'd find it stiff coming from a Maxima, especially one without their sport suspension. You can always go to a softer all-season tire the next time and if you really hate it, I'm sure you could work out a deal to trade or buy 18" Audi wheels off of CL or eBay.

CCFunk

Thank's for the info, I don't have adaptive suspension. With the sports package option which I added to my car (19 inch wheels, lower height) adaptive suspension was not something I could have added. I went to audi.com and tried to rebuild my car and discovered this. Anyways I will check the tire press and hope they are over inflated, Ha!Ha! . I live in the U.S.

Thanks again,
CC

CCFunk

Checked tire pressure, all set about 30 psi. Which is s little under required 32 min psi.

caranddriver

Yeah its okay to be a little under, but not too much. I think best bet is to change the tires at some point and use Tire Rack surveys to look for summer or all-season tires with a high ride comfort rating. If it makes you feel better, I'm getting used to the 19" wheels with sport suspension as well. I had a 428i with the sport suspension and 18" wheels and it definitely was more compliant than this car and I didn't have to be as paranoid about potholes and poor pavement.

Glisse

That's bad luck!

Try raising the fronts to 32 or 33 psi. May sound counterintuitive, but the car was developed to run higher pressures in the front vs the rear unless at maximum load capacity. When you run the same pressures front and rear, the car never feels as compliant and balanced to me, regardless of pressures. Worth a try for a couple of minutes work.

The best solution if you really dislike the ride quality may be to have the dealer order and fit the standard springs. Less costly than buying a new set of wheels and tyres, and more likely to give you a better result in terms of suspension comfort. I would get the dealer to check with Audi USA (or look up their parts manuals) to make sure the only difference between the standard and sports fixed suspensions is the spring rate, meaning the dampers are the same between the two versions. If you have to change the dampers too, that's probably an extra $1000 or so in parts (not much extra in labour). If you have a good relationship with the dealer, might be worth asking them for their help and guidance which could encourage them to give you a break on costs to changeover the suspension.

CCFunk

Thanks for the info, yes I'm starting to get used to the 19 ' wheels with sport suspension also. One thing for sure is the car definitely looks more sporty. Maybe when it's time to replace the tires, I will take your advice and get a tire with a more better comfort rating. I wonder what is the rating on are tires as far as wear is concerned.

Thanks for the advice again and let me know any other tips!