Facelift Changing from 18” to 19”

[Matty_]

Hi all,

Who’s gone from standard 18” wheels on there s3 to 19” and doesn’t have mag ride.?Could you tell me what major difference there is in ride comfort etc etc. Don’t want to get 19’s for it to be unbearable ride because of not having mag ride.

Cheers

 

[OCDaveS4]

Well I've got a '66 S3 Saloon with 19" and the ride comfort is fine whether in "Comfort", "Dynamic" or whatever - in fact I would say it was a lot less bumpy and thumpy than my (standard) WRX300. If anything its a bit soft for my liking !! I'm not sure whether it has more body roll too, or whether I'm just going round corners quicker lol !

Not sure how the Mag-ride works though (which being a saloon I believe it does have.....)

 

[Matty_]

Yeah I do believe the saloons come with mag ride as standard. Interesting though, I imagine without mag ride it wouldn’t be drastically different. Haha id probably say it’s the latter

 

[dp_motley]

I'm going to change my 18" to 19" soon. In order to test a possible change in a ride comfort, I inflated my tyres from 2.4/2.2 bar to 2.7/2.4 (front/rear). This made the car feel firmer and, I hope, closer to what I would get with the 19" wheels. I can't say it made the car much less comfortable. I feel the road imperfections more, but the ride isn't crashy at all.

About my current setup:
2019 A3 35TFSI S-tronic
Non mag ride
Eibach Pro Kit
Middle aged and sensitive driver and passenger

 

[Matty_]

Didn’t think about altering tyre pressures to try and replicate it. Good idea! That’s good to know though, I expect an increased feel like you said, but at least it doesn’t seem rough

 

[oli356]

I'm in the same process at the minute.. S3 sportback now with Eibach pro kit, on 18s but thinking of 19s. Had a passenger in the back of my car today briefly and he could feel the difference since I got the prokit fitted, not much and not uncomfortable but it was noticeable. I agree with that, its noticeable but its still fine, just don't want to get 19s (with a new set of alloys) and after spending a grand I'm regretting it! .. i worry alot lol

Someone must have done this change though without magride !

@Lehn will tell me to man up

 

[Ian R]

19's fitted to 35 TFSI S Tronic with non mag ride standard S Line sports suspension. 235/35 ZR19 Michelin Sport 4S No issues. Tyre pressures set at upper end of range 39 psi front 37 psi rear despite normally lightly loaded. The wheels are AEZ to exact OEM offset ET49 8 inch width.

 

[Matty_]

19's fitted to 35 TFSI S Tronic with non mag ride standard S Line sports suspension. 235/35 ZR19 Michelin Sport 4S No issues. Tyre pressures set at upper end of range 39 psi front 37 psi rear despite normally lightly loaded. The wheels are AEZ to exact OEM offset ET49 8 inch width.

That’s good to know, PS4s was what I was looking at wrapping any potential new 19’s in aswell.

Have you noticed any drastic increase in tyre noise?

 

[Matty_]

I'm in the same process at the minute.. S3 sportback now with Eibach pro kit, on 18s but thinking of 19s. Had a passenger in the back of my car today briefly and he could feel the difference since I got the prokit fitted, not much and not uncomfortable but it was noticeable. I agree with that, its noticeable but its still fine, just don't want to get 19s (with a new set of alloys) and after spending a grand I'm regretting it! .. i worry alot lol

Someone must have done this change though without magride !

@Lehn will tell me to man up

Did think about going down the road of aftermarket springs but thought like you that the two combined would be rather negative.

Would you say fitting the eibachs has improved the handling?

 

[oli356]

Did think about going down the road of aftermarket springs but thought like you that the two combined would be rather negative.

Would you say fitting the eibachs has improved the handling?

I've not driven much, only on my commute but I can't say its made much of a difference to anything. Body roll feels the same also, but I suppose as it was only as 10mm drop, I didn't expect much...

 

[Ian R]

That’s good to know, PS4s was what I was looking at wrapping any potential new 19’s in aswell.

Have you noticed any drastic increase in tyre noise?

None compared to the Dunlop Maxx RT that the car came on.

 

[dp_motley]

None compared to the Dunlop Maxx RT that the car came on.

Wait! Did you notice that the Dunlop Maxx RT noisy too? They should have tyre noise of 67dB which is much lower than the PS4s have. My car came with the RTs too and I noticed that it was much noisier than my 8PA TDI on Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 and even the Contis as winter tyres. I guess this EU marking is a BS.

 

[Mark_86]

Jesus... I wouldn't want a non mag-ride A3/S3 on 19" rims. It's bad enough with mag-ride... firm is an understatement.

 

[Ron240]

Jesus... I wouldn't want a non mag-ride A3/S3 on 19" rims. It's bad enough with mag-ride... firm is an understatement.

Seriously.....you think it's an overly firm ride?
Is the S3 your first sporty car?

 

[Mark_86]

Seriously.....you think it's an overly firm ride?
Is the S3 your first sporty car?

Yeah, its damn firm - even in comfort mode. Literally, UK roads are awful and every drain cover, pot hole etc just makes the whole car shake. It's quite difficult to make rapid progress without feeling sorry for the rims and suspension in my S3.

And nope, far from my first sporty car - I've had a fair few in my time. Had a CTR with uprated dampers and springs - used to look like a nodding dog driving that around, S3 isn't a million miles off that.

 

[Ron240]

I wasn't having a go It's just that any car with sporting aspirations needs to have a certain degree of stiffness to the suspension, but it doesn't need to be uncomfortable.
Comparing my current S3 Saloon with previous FK8 Type R with 20" wheels and Focus ST Mk.3 with 19" wheels, I would say it is not noticeably better or worse than either.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Interesting replies, I have a 2017 S3 saloon and use the auto setting for the suspension in Individual mode...comfort is too soft and bouncy and dynamic is too harsh for city driving. I test dove a used 2015 saloon without mag ride on 18" and then a test drive on demo 2016 with mag ride on 19" both test drives were for a day each and I would not like especially a hatchback S3, no mag ride, on 19" wheels.

 

[Matty_]

Interesting replies, I have a 2017 S3 saloon and use the auto setting for the suspension in Individual mode...comfort is too soft and bouncy and dynamic is too harsh for city driving. I test dove a used 2015 saloon without mag ride on 18" and then a test drive on demo 2016 with mag ride on 19" both test drives were for a day each and I would not like especially a hatchback S3, no mag ride, on 19" wheels.

I think 18’s will be what I’ll stick to from the consensus on here. Considering it’s a daily car I don’t want something that’s overtop uncomfortable.

 

[Matt Titanium]

Jesus... I wouldn't want a non mag-ride A3/S3 on 19" rims. It's bad enough with mag-ride... firm is an understatement.

You should try an S1.
Feels like the hubs are bolted straight onto the bodyshell.

 

[craigpanthercrystal]

Fitted 19s with p zero 235 35 19. No mag ride. Hardly notice a difference to my 18s on continentals. More responsive and a little more tyre noice marginally but not firmer. Man up guys. We are talking about “5” on the tire profile not a big difference at all. Going to fit eibach pro kit soon too.

 

[Boydie]

19" OEM alloys from a 2016 S3 cabriolet lowered 20/25mm on H&R springs

 

[dp_motley]

Fitted 19s with p zero 235 35 19. No mag ride. Hardly notice a difference to my 18s on continentals. More responsive and a little more tyre noice marginally but not firmer. Man up guys. We are talking about “5” on the tire profile not a big difference at all. Going to fit eibach pro kit soon too.

Do you use the same tyre pressure for the 19s as for the 18s?

 

[Ron240]

19's should always be slightly higher than 18's due to the lower profile, although in this case (facelift model) only by 1psi.

 

[Boydie]

My pressures are 40psi all round for 19”

 

[JimmyMcGee]

19" OEM alloys from a 2016 S3 cabriolet lowered 20/25mm on H&R springs

View attachment 182738
View attachment 182739

Oh how I wish these were still an option in the configurator for 19". Had to settle for the 18" versions.

 

[craigpanthercrystal]

I go for 38/39 front rear with 19s

 

[Ron240]

I go for 38/39 front rear with 19s

Is there a reason why you run the rear tyres higher than the front?

 

[oli356]

I go for 38/39 front rear with 19s

How did you find the change in ride from the 18s then

 

[Ron240]

How did you find the change in ride from the 18s then

See post #20

 

[craigpanthercrystal]

Sorry. The other way round. (Higher slim up front)

 

[dp_motley]

19's should always be slightly higher than 18's due to the lower profile, although in this case (facelift model) only by 1psi.
View attachment 182757

My A3 35TFSI Sportback is lighter and the tyre pressures on the placard is lower. The 18" wheels should have a pressure of 2.4/2.2 bar (35/32 psi). I don't have any mentions of the 19" wheels there, but based on the tyre pressure recommended for your S3, I can pump the tyres by 1 bar/psi more only and get 2.5/2.3 bar (36/33 psi). Maybe I'll do the front wheels a little firmer, 2.6 (38 psi) and keep the rears 2.3 bar (33 psi).

 

[SPIKE_]

Recently changed to 19” on our S3 without mag ride, and genuinely it feels no worse than the stock 18” with the OE spec Pirelli tyres. The 19” have Michelin MPS4s which I think could be a softer rubber making up the difference....if you know what I mean!

 

[dp_motley]

Recently changed to 19” on our S3 without mag ride, and genuinely it feels no worse than the stock 18” with the OE spec Pirelli tyres. The 19” have Michelin MPS4s which I think could be a softer rubber making up the difference....if you know what I mean!

If not mag ride, what suspension do you have? Your car looks lowered and nice.

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