Will Koni FSD dampers fix harsh ride on A6 with factory sports suspension?

[john528]

Hi everyone

After a very happy 11 year relationship with my BMW E39 528i (fitted with 17” wheels and Eibach pro springs with standard BMW dampers), I am looking at buying a new A6. This would be a 2009 model 3.0 TDI quattro.

My problem is as follows. Here in Australia the A6 has had some bad press coverage in regard to it’s ride quality, basically saying it can be quite harsh and jittery over rough roads, without the feeling of comfort you would expect from a luxury car. Note that this is for the car fitted with standard suspension. In Australia the A6 is only available with one factory optional suspension package, the “sports suspension” that lowers the car by 20mm and includes stiffer dampers and springs. When I Google more about this as well as the S-line suspension that lowers the car by 30mm and I assume is even stiffer, all around the world I read bad reviews on A6’s with factory sports or S-line suspension, basically saying the harshness of the ride is terrible away from smooth roads, and that people should avoid these and only buy a car with standard suspension..

I have only driven the standard A6 and while it rides smoother than my modified BMW, it does feel a bit on the harsh side to me, so I can understand how the optional factory sports suspension if it is a lot worse could be too uncomfortable for daily use. When compared to the latest model E class and the Jaguar XF there is no doubt that they ride a lot better than the A6. The BMW M Sport with run flat tyres I think feels worse. There are a limited number of A6’s available for sale with the options I want at the price I want to pay. The front running car is fitted with the sports suspension, and based on my research I would probably prefer it didn’t have this and had standard suspension instead. By the way, all versions of these cars are fitted with 245/40 x 18 tyres as standard equipment in Australia. I like a car that corners and handles well and I love the way that my BMW drives, but my wife is going to share the car with me, and I also have two young children, so I really want it to be softer than the BMW, while ideally not being too far behind it in the handling department. Unfortunately I can’t test drive the car before buying it as it is located in another state. Also, none of the local dealers have a car fitted with sports suspension that I can test drive.

I have been doing a bit of browsing on the internet reading about the Koni FSD dampers. If I buy this car and decide that the ride is too rough to live with, will fitting the FSD dampers while keeping the factory Audi sports springs improve things to a standard that would suit my needs? I guess one option is to ask the Audi dealer to retrofit the car with standard springs and dampers, but I believe that this would be very expensive. I also think that there is a good chance that the sports springs/FSD dampers combination may in fact give a better final compromise between ride and handling. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated, including possible alternative solutions.

Thank you in advance

John

[MFGF]

Hi John,

I can't advise on the Koni dampers as I've never tried them, sorry. I do think you should make sure you have a test drive of a car with Sports suspension before you buy, though, as you may find it's OK. Before I ordered my car, I test drove a BMW 5 series with M-Sport suspension and run-flat tyres, followed by an A6 with the 20mm drop Sports suspension and standard tyres. The ride in the A6 felt much smoother. Having said all this, the suitability of a car's ride is entirely subjective, and my idea of smooth and comfortable may be a lot different from yours.

In the end, I specified my A6 with 30mm drop S-Line suspension and 19" wheels, and I find it absolutely fine in terms of ride comfort. I admit it's a harder ride than you'd get in a Jag, but it handles really well and I find it a good trade-off. It's certainly miles more comfortable than Mrs F's TT S-Line on 19" wheels, which has really quite a hard ride.

Good luck!

MF.

[john528]

Hi MF

Thanks for your very useful advice. Things have now moved on a bit. The deal on the Sports Suspension car fell through. Today I placed an order for a new A6 3.0 TDI 2009 upgrade car. One of the Audi salesman rang me with what I thought was a pretty good deal, so after a bit more negotiation I signed up. It has standard suspension that I am happy about as it will give me more flexibility in the future. I think that with my requirements standard springs with more travel are the way to go. Even if I wanted Sports Suspension very few are brought in to the country so you have to take what you can get at the right price. It has 19” wheels with 255/35 tyres that I am uncertain about although I do like the way they look.

I am going to take delivery of the car and drive it for a while to determine what changes if any I need to make. If the ride is too harsh I may look at replacing the 19” wheels with 18” wheels. If I decide before I get too many miles up on the car I think that the 19” OEM wheels should be fairly easy to sell. I've only ever had experience with 17" tyres so can only assume that every time you go up a wheel size the rougher it gets, but how much I don't know. Do you think that good light 18” wheels would improve the ride much? If it’s not much difference maybe I should keep the 19” wheels, as I guess they would handle better and give a better steering response.

If I am unhappy with the ride, one option is to keep the 19” wheels and fit a set of Koni FSD dampers. However, the reality is that I have been happy enough with the ride of my BMW for the last 11 years and it is not exactly a smooth riding machine with the Eibach pro springs, so maybe I should accept a less than limo quality ride and try and make it go around corners better instead.Perhaps Bilstein B6's or Koni Sports might be better suited. Maybe I should even fit aftermarket sports springs.

I take delivery of the car in mid January so may ask for some more advice after that once I have tested the car out a bit. It's a lot different driving a car that you own compared to doing a few short test drives to really get the feel of a car.

[MFGF]

If the ride is too harsh I may look at replacing the 19” wheels with 18” wheels.

Hi John,

I have driven A6s with both 18" (245/40/18) and 19" (255/35/19) wheels recently (my car is in at the dealers fairly regularly) and there's absolutely no discernable difference in the ride. There is a difference between standard and sports suspension, though, and a difference again between sports and S-Line suspension, so I reckon you've got the best chance of being happy with the car you've gone for.

Looking forward to seeing some pics of the new car once it arrives in January! Other than the 19" wheels, does it have any other extras fitted?

Cheers!

MF.

[john528]

Hi John,

I have driven A6s with both 18" (245/40/18) and 19" (255/35/19) wheels recently (my car is in at the dealers fairly regularly) and there's absolutely no discernable difference in the ride. There is a difference between standard and sports suspension, though, and a difference again between sports and S-Line suspension, so I reckon you've got the best chance of being happy with the car you've gone for.

Looking forward to seeing some pics of the new car once it arrives in January! Other than the 19" wheels, does it have any other extras fitted?

Cheers!

MF.

Hi MF,

The car is ice silver in colour and has a Comfort pack and memory seats. The Comfort Pack includes sports steering wheel with paddles, reversing camera, sunroof and advanced key system. It's good to get first hand knowledge of the 19" vs 18" wheels. Can you pick any difference in steering response and handling? I'm trying to work out if the main reason to go to 19" wheels is cosmetic or whether some aspect of the car improves. I can see negatives going the 19" way due to the increased cost of replacement tyres. Have a great xmas and new year.

Bye

John