I have owned my A3 for just over one month and am finding that the ride seems much more firm and harsh compared to the test car I drove before purchase. I did not specify Sports Suspension on my car and therefore would like to know if there is a way to check if this has been fitted on my car.

The ride is not completely bad, but I would not say it is the same with the test A3 I drove.

Does anybody have any ideas on improving this situation?

Thanks for your help!!!

There are diferent models of A3
as you know.

Ambition (including sport suspension)
Ambiente (normal suspension)
Attraccion (normal suspension)

If you have your car with Ambiente selection,
then go to your Audi dealer and tell him
that you want the same suspension that you
drove with the test car.

Temperature changes the characteristics of the suspension rather dramatically.

If you testdrove A3 in +25C it is naturally much more different than a testdrive in -25C.

My A3 1.8T Ambition start to feel firmer when temperature drop's below about 0C. In -10C it is tolerable, -15C it is uncomfortable and below -20C it is absolutely SOLID!
Other cars are ofcourse affected by tehmperature too but normal suspension is tolerable even at -25C or so.

Marko Litmanen
A3 1.8T Ambition Wett 1.0 K&N

I test drove the car in similar temp as current temprature.

My A3 is an Attraction model with 15 inch wheels with 205-60 tires.

Is there any way to make the ride smoother?

I friend told me that reducing the tire pressure a little may improve the ride a little.

Thankful for any ideas...

Paula I checked out my A3T Sport.The factory sports suspension on UK models is lower by 10mm at the front 15mm rear.A4s are 20mm lower.My information is from Audi Driver May/June issue '99. There was a story about theS3 and the comment "coil springs are different to those of any of the other A3 series models but they reduce the ride height by the same amount as the regular sports suspension,10mm front 15mm rear.

S3s always look lower than regular A3s with sports suspension perhaps it is their bulging wheelarches making them look wider and lower. I'll have to measure one at my dealers.

I measured mine at the weekend ,level, half a tank of fuel, and it measures from the ground to the bottom edge of the wheelarch 662mm front 667mm rear.
Hope this is of help.
These guys are talking about temperatures much lower than you find in the UK

Chris- Did you take measurements from L/H Front or R/H? Any dffierence?_NT

The Attraction doesn't have sports suspension, but the tyres you have are stiffer. They are flatter, have less cheek, so cushion less over bumps.
Besides, I have my A3 for 4 months now and either I got used to it or it gets less stiff, because it's ok now, but when I just received it, I was really surprised by the stiffness.
(BTW, also the engine has loosened up as did the gearbox).

measurements were taken from right hand side.