Options Advice

[Adam]

never understood criticisms of the armrest, I set mine at the lowest level without fouling handbrake, and have no problem changing gear, handbrake operation not much worse either and I only do that at start and end of most journeys

[NIKKIrsSIXX]

Sport suspension from what I have read ruins the standard cars excellent combination of ride and handling

I have had a Saloon and an Avant both had ss+ and both rode and handled very well and wouldnt change anything about the the ride/handling with that setup so I will have to disagree on that one. I agree with all the other points though.

[neckarsulm]

I have had a Saloon and an Avant both had ss+ and both rode and handled very well and wouldnt change anything about the the ride/handling with that setup so I will have to disagree on that one. I agree with all the other points though.

Do you live in Germany or somewhere other than UK where the roads aren't crumbling away?

Well the journalist in Autocar (David Vivian) who reviewed a used one with SS+ disagrees, link below.
"And amazingly the RS4 has a much harder ride than the Evo, to the point where, at the end of the day, the photographer and I begin to wonder if we could live with it day to day"

Contrast this with Clarkson saying the RS4 is the first Audi that rides properly.

As stated about other things, different strokes for different folks.

Having driven a KW V3 coilover car yesterday, if it's even close to this for ride quality, I wouldn't have the bond with the car that I do have with my standard suspension car
http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... ht=autocar

[NIKKIrsSIXX]

They didnt live with it day to day!. I have for 18 months and the ride is really good.

Try my car whenever you like if your in the Derbyshire area It would be a good way to compare.

Suspension is very subjective.

[DuncS3]

Trust me, SS+ is not too harsh at all - Audi aren't muppets, its factory OEM suspension at the end of the day and is not as harsh as KW3s or any aftermarket gear.

[DuncS3]

Anyway, the E46 CS beat the RS4 in EVO when RS4 first came out, I dont agree with that either

[neckarsulm]

Maybe David Vivian had a hangover then ?

Try my car whenever you like if your in the Derbyshire area It would be a good way to compare.

I may well take you up on that
I do not like a hard ride, apart from comfort issues, you can drive imperfect roads faster on more softly sprung cars as long as they are well dampened.
I couldn't live with a B6/B7 S4 for that reason so it would be interesting to know how SS+ compares to one of these.
SS+ is still DRC and there's no point in having a hard ride & DRC is there?

However the stock car is so well resolved for UK roads I can't imagine how SS+ can be better off the track

[neckarsulm]

Anyway, the E46 CS beat the RS4 in EVO when RS4 first came out, I dont agree with that either

Have you tried getting the tail out for photos in an RS4? Of course the M3 is better at that

[neckarsulm]

Trust me, SS+ is not too harsh at all - Audi aren't muppets, its factory OEM suspension at the end of the day and is not as harsh as KW3s or any aftermarket gear.

Audi have a reputation for rock hard suspension from the factory

[pisquano]

is there a BOSE option (on top of the standard 10 speakers)?

[DuncS3]

Fair do's, I am happy with SS+ - I have had aftermarket suspension on other cars, SS+ isnt like that - obviously will be stiffer than stock I guess but each to their own

[NIKKIrsSIXX]

I have never driven a standard suspension car but id love to compare, I suspect there id very little difference. Come andswap for half an hour and we can both learn something.

A word of advice - Dont quote from car magazines, It makes you sound like Alan Partridge

[neckarsulm]

is there a BOSE option (on top of the standard 10 speakers)?

standard on all

Fair do's, I am happy with SS+ - I have had aftermarket suspension on other cars, SS+ isnt like that - obviously will be stiffer than stock I guess but each to their own

I'll have to try one on a road I know well and come to an opinion for my own satisfaction - there is no better or worse choice though I'd love to know if the UK launch cars were SS+ or not as this would give a clue as to what Audi UK felt was best for UK roads inc Evo's car OE55 PCV.
Someone call Audi UK and check its spec

[alex020869]

Thanks for all the input and recommendations. So it looks like the 3 things i would prefer, i.e Buckets,FBSW and Nav are all pretty much essential. After that it is all down to the preference of the buyer.

Don't think the suspension differences would matter to me too much. My Clio V6 right now is very firm and i won't be using the car that often due to work. Think if the car i get has SS+ then it will just be a matter of 'that is how it is because i don't know any different'.

By the sounds of it a lot of stuff is easily interchanged. Like the FBSW and Nav. Is it really as easy as swapping these types of things over if the car i was to buy didn't already have them???

Thanks again. All your help is invaluable.

Alex

[neckarsulm]

By the sounds of it a lot of stuff is easily interchanged. Like the FBSW and Nav. Is it really as easy as swapping these types of things over if the car i was to buy didn't already have them???

FBSW is easy but expensive to buy, much more so than Nav units
Nav is easy if you have a double size stereo fitted, quite hard if single DIN
Happy hunting!