After finally sourcing a set of genuine 19" wheels, and having them refurbished, I've got a fair idea about the ride comfort on a non Mag ride A3 Saloon 2.0TDI Quattro, thought it may help others as there have been plenty of questions about it.
There are three tyre pressures given for the 18's on my door sticker. Using the middle pressure, the ride was wallowy and soft, and felt a little barge like. Some may like that, but boy did it feel like a Cadillac and I still surprisingly felt the tiny bumps in the road. Was very odd.
Using the higher pressure, the ride was much better, did not wallow as much nor dive into the corners as much, but it did become a little firmer overall. I preferred the higher tyre pressure, the car felt more alive, and traction was much better - it didn't 'sink' when accelerating as much.
Moving to 19's, was very similar to the higher tyre pressure on the 18's. Overall there is not a massive difference, but you do tend to feel a lot more of the bumps in the road which was expected and it can jarr the bottom of your back ever so slightly on pot holes. It is not a huge difference, - but I feel this may have to do with what you find acceptable, how long you spend in the car and also physically how you are built! I'm getting on a bit now so it's something I will be monitoring over the forth coming weeks. For now, it feels fine. I may play around with tyre pressures a little.
There is a slight reduction in acceleration and braking is slightly longer, negligible but noticeable.
My biggest concern is I'm not entirely sure I like the S3 wheels on my car - if there was a 19" version of my originals, I would probably prefer it - the increased offset of the 19 brings the wheel out so much nicer into the arch, where the 18" looked sunken and a little 70's. I think I prefer the 19" V-spokes...
I can't add wheel spacers as of insurance.
Originals
There are three tyre pressures given for the 18's on my door sticker. Using the middle pressure, the ride was wallowy and soft, and felt a little barge like. Some may like that, but boy did it feel like a Cadillac and I still surprisingly felt the tiny bumps in the road. Was very odd.
Using the higher pressure, the ride was much better, did not wallow as much nor dive into the corners as much, but it did become a little firmer overall. I preferred the higher tyre pressure, the car felt more alive, and traction was much better - it didn't 'sink' when accelerating as much.
Moving to 19's, was very similar to the higher tyre pressure on the 18's. Overall there is not a massive difference, but you do tend to feel a lot more of the bumps in the road which was expected and it can jarr the bottom of your back ever so slightly on pot holes. It is not a huge difference, - but I feel this may have to do with what you find acceptable, how long you spend in the car and also physically how you are built! I'm getting on a bit now so it's something I will be monitoring over the forth coming weeks. For now, it feels fine. I may play around with tyre pressures a little.
There is a slight reduction in acceleration and braking is slightly longer, negligible but noticeable.
My biggest concern is I'm not entirely sure I like the S3 wheels on my car - if there was a 19" version of my originals, I would probably prefer it - the increased offset of the 19 brings the wheel out so much nicer into the arch, where the 18" looked sunken and a little 70's. I think I prefer the 19" V-spokes...
I can't add wheel spacers as of insurance.
Originals
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