# Audi Drive Select VS Magentic Ride Suspension?



## vangelis (Jan 25, 2015)

For some reason, Audi is not allowing Magentic Ride suspension option in Dubai neither 19" wheels. I would like to know what are the main differences between the standard suspension and the optional magnetic ride suspension in terms of handling and quality of ride, if anyone had the luxury of experiencing both in S3.


----------



## BGR (Jul 23, 2014)

I have my subjective opinions on the two, but I would be curious to know if there are lap times at the same circuit/same conditions with one car utilizing 19s and mag ride and one car on 18s and standard. That would provide the best story for me.


----------



## vangelis (Jan 25, 2015)

BGR said:


> I have my subjective opinions on the two, but I would be curious to know if there are lap times at the same circuit/same conditions with one car utilizing 19s and mag ride and one car on 18s and standard. That would provide the best story for me.


Agree... that would give us a fair comparison...


----------



## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

vangelis said:


> Agree... that would give us a fair comparison...


what difference does it make, unless you're racing the car. 
if you only want what matters to you in your real life, timed laps don't matter, then.

who gets mag ride, IMO:
in your real life, if you have crap roads, the mag ride may help a bit.
if you are not on a budget and want to tick as many options as possible, you get mag ride.
if you don't like how the car looks with 18"s, you get mag ride, it's a good value!


I've driven two TT's with and without.
comfort mode feels more relaxed - should help for when the wife is in the car, or clients.
but when you want to push the car around a bit, dynamic firms up the suspension = less body roll.

I have the standard kit. I will put my own 19"s on the car in the summer.
the suspension feels good, but I haven't had the car long enough to say how great it is.
plus I moved at the same time I got the car, so I'm not on many familiar roads, which to me is key to a good review. sorry this isn't more helpful.


----------



## KnockKnock (Jun 30, 2005)

I'm kinda curious how MagRide on 19's compares to the Std sport suspension on 18's. I don't see the option to get it on 18's in the USA.


----------



## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

KnockKnock said:


> I'm kinda curious how MagRide on 19's compares to the Std sport suspension on 18's. I don't see the option to get it on 18's in the USA.


mag ride only comes with 19"s.


----------



## Ndk83 (Oct 9, 2013)

Vangelis. Mag ride in stiffest setting = standard suspension. I'm in Dubai and facing the same issue, but was ok when I realized I'm not gonna miss it cause I doubt I'd ever use it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

Ndk83 said:


> Vangelis. Mag ride in stiffest setting = standard suspension.


are you sure about that?
i don't think that is accurate.
mag in stiff, is bone jarring.


----------



## ERTW (Jan 17, 2000)

RyanA3 said:


> mag ride only comes with 19"s.


In the US, yes. In Canada it seems you can get Mag Ride as a stand alone option. 19's are a separate option.


----------



## BGR (Jul 23, 2014)

I wanted to post again here as I went back to the dealer to drive both, on the exact same road, back to back to back to back. 

For gearhead reference, I have been racing motorcycles for 8 years and cars for 3 years, so I may be more sensitive to most as to what a suspension/chassis is doing. That said...

Whomever said check the tire pressure was right. The mag ride was at 45 and the standard was at 34. Lowering the mag ride to 34 resulted in a marked improvement in the "floaty" feel, but to me it was definitely still noticeable. The car still tended to shudder and almost pivot over bumps in dynamic mode (comfort mode was even worse). I imagine on a perfectly smooth track the car would feel great, but even most tracks aren't perfectly smooth any more. On normal roads, the ride still felt "artificial" as odd as that is to say. 

The standard suspension car had the 19s swapped onto it, which felt great. Everything was tight and controlled but not rough/crashy/abrasive. It wasn't as firm as my BMW with m-sport suspension, but definitely more comfortable. 

My final thoughts are that I could probably live with mag ride after driving it with correct pressures, but as an enthusiast my personal opinion is to save the money. If possible, judge for yourself by driving both back to back.


----------



## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

BGR said:


> I wanted to post again here as I went back to the dealer to drive both, on the exact same road, back to back to back to back.
> 
> For gearhead reference, I have been racing motorcycles for 8 years and cars for 3 years, so I may be more sensitive to most as to what a suspension/chassis is doing. That said...
> 
> ...



really good post. thanks for sharing.
I went with the standard suspension, and just got most of the other options that I liked.
I am putting H&R sport springs on next week. only $210, so it's worth a shot, but I hear good things about them.
cheers


----------



## BGR (Jul 23, 2014)

RyanA3 said:


> really good post. thanks for sharing.
> I went with the standard suspension, and just got most of the other options that I liked.
> I am putting H&R sport springs on next week. only $210, so it's worth a shot, but I hear good things about them.
> cheers


I probably won't tinker much with this suspension when my car arrives (I have a MKIV race car with triple-way adjustable coil overs for that...), but post your thoughts on the springs when you get them installed. I'm usually not a fan of just springs.


----------



## vangelis (Jan 25, 2015)

RyanA3 said:


> really good post. thanks for sharing.
> I went with the standard suspension, and just got most of the other options that I liked.
> I am putting H&R sport springs on next week. only $210, so it's worth a shot, but I hear good things about them.
> cheers


What about warranty?? Are you going to sacrifice warranty for a better handling tune??


----------



## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

vangelis said:


> What about warranty?? Are you going to sacrifice warranty for a better handling tune??


Warranty may not cover the struts, that's about it. I've always done suspension. Never had a problem with warranty.


----------



## T1no (Sep 22, 2012)

can some on give some insight or picture which one is lower assuming both have the same wheels size.
the magride vs the standard s3 suspension in the US.
i realized the standard suspension comes in 18 inch wheels but if any one who put on some 19 in stock s3 suspension set up(non magride)

pics would be nice


----------



## vangelis (Jan 25, 2015)

RyanA3 said:


> Warranty may not cover the struts, that's about it. I've always done suspension. Never had a problem with warranty.


Yes warranty doesn't cover struts but the dealer here immediately void the warranty if anything in the car is replaced/ tuned. Ie coilovers, springs, sway bars...etc. The 19" wheels & MAG option is not available in Middle east for some weird reason thats its too hot and hence not recommend. So when i ask the dealer what if i fit a set of after market 19" wheels? His response was 'warranty will void'!! Not sure if there any guidance or reference i can use here to support!


----------



## Ndk83 (Oct 9, 2013)

RyanA3 said:


> are you sure about that?
> i don't think that is accurate.
> mag in stiff, is bone jarring.


No definately not, but im hoping so. BRG kinda confirmed it indirectly though. Although if you read reviews they make it sound like the Mag ride "transform" the car into this one that handles well.



vangelis said:


> Yes warranty doesn't cover struts but the dealer here immediately void the warranty if anything in the car is replaced/ tuned. Ie coilovers, springs, sway bars...etc. The 19" wheels & MAG option is not available in Middle east for some weird reason thats its too hot and hence not recommend. So when i ask the dealer what if i fit a set of after market 19" wheels? His response was 'warranty will void'!! Not sure if there any guidance or reference i can use here to support!


Yea ive heard the same. But ive also heard that they may be forgiving towards things like springs etc. Did u ask the sales agent? or the service center or who? Im very interested in this as well.


----------



## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

vangelis said:


> Yes warranty doesn't cover struts but the dealer here immediately void the warranty if anything in the car is replaced/ tuned. Ie coilovers, springs, sway bars...etc. The 19" wheels & MAG option is not available in Middle east for some weird reason thats its too hot and hence not recommend. So when i ask the dealer what if i fit a set of after market 19" wheels? His response was 'warranty will void'!! Not sure if there any guidance or reference i can use here to support!


you need to find a new dealer
that is absurd.
they can be tough on you if you tune, if you have engine problems.
but if your a/c isn't working, and you have an aftermarket exhaust, they need to fix your car.
if you put springs on, and you have bad struts, that's a problem.
if you install an intake, and your sunroof is broken, they need to fix your car.
that's how the law works.


----------



## Ndk83 (Oct 9, 2013)

RyanA3 said:


> you need to find a new dealer
> that is absurd.
> they can be tough on you if you tune, if you have engine problems.
> but if your a/c isn't working, and you have an aftermarket exhaust, they need to fix your car.
> ...


Oh man you have no idea. In Dubai (and the rest of the UAE) all the manufacturer's dealerships are monopolies. 
There is one dealer (owned by a well-to-do local family, Its still a tribal culture here) per manufacturer. There is another in Abu Dhabi owned by another family, but no better. Things operate very differently here.

With that said, Warranty work has to be approved by Audi HQ anyway, If the dealer registers a TD1,2,3... code then you void ur warranty relating to that part, same like everywhere else. If you install springs, you void your entire drive train warranty, if ur sunroof is broken, theyll fix it even if you have voided ur drive train warranty. ( i hope at least, havnt had personal experience with them yet, but i havnt come across any horror stories )
Audi Dubai is apparently alot less tolerant to mods than any country ive come across. Or so it seems. Ill find out soon enough.

And just to add, its just Audi. I had a Lexus before and i went to town on it; Rims Coils Intake Exhaust etc and warranty was never ever an issue. They just smiled and gave me a thumbs up. The Audi dealer is apparently a little anal.


----------



## araemo (Dec 9, 2012)

Ndk83 said:


> If you install springs, you void your entire drive train warranty


In the US, that's BS. The warranty isn't void at all - they just aren't held to it if the fault was caused by an after-market modification. Springs won't cause your transmission to go bad or a head gasket to blow. The dealership might give you a hard time about those things because you modified the springs, but you can fight them.

That being said, if you have more than one dealership in your area, your better bet is to ask around and find out which ones are reasonable about mods and warranty work. If you get a tune, and a head gasket goes.. yeah, the tune might not have caused it, but it plausibly could have, so be prepared to pay up. If you get a tune and the suspension goes bad, again.. they should fix it under warranty.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act


> The federal minimum standards for full warranties are waived if the warrantor can show that the problem associated with a warranted consumer product was caused by damage while in the possession of the consumer, or by unreasonable use, including a failure to provide reasonable and necessary maintenance.


Unfortunately, it's often your word against the dealership, but again, find a dealership that isn't staffed by douchenozzles if you can, and don't lie to them about your mods if asked.


----------

