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Bought our 2019 RS 3 Late Jan. 2019 now approaching 6,000
miles with 70% being fast country back roads runs at speed.
Primary issue has been 19-inch wheels with their low profile
tires which are not at all happy about the poor quality of
such roads. Same problem we had with our 2015 Golf R DSG
when we bought it 5 years ago, now with 34k miles on it.
New 18-inch wheels and tires will be here next week from
Neuspeed with 245/40/18 tires on them, again same as we
put on our 2015 Golf R and have proven superior to factory
19" wheels/tires, during our country back road runs and
simple daily driving. Why everybody persists with 19-inch
set-ups is beyond me, as a performance auto owner for 62
years and past 1/4-mile and road race driver since 1958!
-Rod
zero issues, still don't care for the pop up screen at all, but it is what it is and the staggered wheels suck for sure, tire choice is horrible so we went to 255's on all corners, handles exactly the same if not better, zero reason it did not come this way, and we can now rotate as well
2018 RS3 with everything but Dynamic Plus (no carbon brakes, no fixed suspension), 20k miles so far.
Never had an real issue so far. Two recalls and a flexing moonroof later, doing great. Car gets driven hard all the time.
I looked into switching to a square setup with 255s all the way around, but Audi feels it's a bad as the car will not handle as intended (obviously). I will consider it down the road (since the TTRS has the same weight distribution and engine position and runs 255s at all 4 corners), but for now am keeping the staggered setup as the RS3 with this setup is the only Audi RS car that can drift!
Bought our 2019 RS 3 Late Jan. 2019 now approaching 6,000
miles with 70% being fast country back roads runs at speed.
Primary issue has been 19-inch wheels with their low profile
tires which are not at all happy about the poor quality of
such roads. Same problem we had with our 2015 Golf R DSG
when we bought it 5 years ago, now with 34k miles on it.
New 18-inch wheels and tires will be here next week from
Neuspeed with 245/40/18 tires on them, again same as we
put on our 2015 Golf R and have proven superior to factory
19" wheels/tires, during our country back road runs and
simple daily driving. Why everybody persists with 19-inch
set-ups is beyond me, as a performance auto owner for 62
years and past 1/4-mile and road race driver since 1958!
-Rod
I've been around the block and back a few times myself, though I didn't get my driver's license until 1975. Anyway I am contemplating getting either an RS3 or TT RS, and I've owned three previous Audi's (two S4's, one S5, and one of the S4's was APR Stage II). Currently own an '18 Cadillac ATS-V Championship Edition coupe, and if you look at my signature file, I have a problem with cars, ha-ha. I like my ATS-V as it certainly has performance chops, but is also something you don't see everyday (1 of 50 ATS-V coupes made) and I like that. Plus it has been a really good daily driver. I should also say that I live in central Florida, where the roads are long and flat, so the only time you hit any curves is speeding up to enter an on ramp. Regarding the Audi's I like the look of the RS3 over the TT RS. Just in my personal opinion, the silhouette of the TT RS has a cartoonish appearance. Anyway, I need to put more thought into this. I'm sure the RS3 would be a more than capable car, the performance equal, or perhaps surpasses that of the ATS-V, and the tech would win hands down. I just need to make sure it would be something that when I look at it, it would stir some passions in me. Not like a '17 MB AMG C63 I previously leased, that when I saw it in a parking lot, it just seemed to blend into the sea of other black MB, BMW, and Audis. I had a deposit down on a C8 but cancelled it, due to how much just the Stingray was going to cost, checked off as a Z51 convertible with 3LT and a few other options ($85K to $90K!). I still could yet buy one, but not until the C8 has been out long enough for some to be on the used car market (and not like now where some people are asking over $100K for them!).
So what are your impressions owning the RS3, from one seasoned enthusiastic driver to another? Also, what packages/options are must and nice to have? And by the way, I noticed you're in Northern Virginia - what part? I grew up in Maryland, just across the DC line, and have also lived in Northern Virginia many years.
2018 RS3 with everything but Dynamic Plus (no carbon brakes, no fixed suspension), 20k miles so far.
Never had an real issue so far. Two recalls and a flexing moonroof later, doing great. Car gets driven hard all the time.
I looked into switching to a square setup with 255s all the way around, but Audi feels it's a bad as the car will not handle as intended (obviously). I will consider it down the road (since the TTRS has the same weight distribution and engine position and runs 255s at all 4 corners), but for now am keeping the staggered setup as the RS3 with this setup is the only Audi RS car that can drift!
Having spent some 40 years running the Malibu Canyon and Cold Water Canyon roads in several dozen
different sports cars, the only problem I've had with our 2019 RS 3 was its 19-inch tire/wheel configuration!
We bought the RS 3 in late January 2020 with its stock 19-in wheels and Pirelli SUMMER ONLY tires,
making the car undriveable in 27°F weather, and the dealer said 'TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT'!
We bought the car and took it home but quickly put 18-inch Neuspeed wheels and Michelin AS3+ 245/40/18
on it to fix the stupid Audi tire situation. The car now has nearly 7k miles on it primarily driven on country
back roads at speed north of Berryville which I am sure you know where that is.
Excellent handiling in spite of the poor surface condition on these roads that I have decades of experience
on. The RS 3 does a great job handling these difficult and poor surface roads and is the best I've driven, so
I am very pleased with it thus far, being a BMW owner shown shown here at... https://tinyurl.com/y7k242xt for 33 years previously and running these same country back roads.
The picture below is of the Neuspeed RSE10 18 x 8.5 inch wheel in Graphite color, as a close-up of its color
is more accurate then the photo above. The RS 3 is certainly a great machine in my opinion and experience
thus far, but the factory 19-inch wheels and SUMMER ONLY tires configuration at January temperatures
were USELESS to say nothing about the Audi dealer sending us out the door in a vehicle configuration in
such temperatures!
-Rod
06-03-2020, 05:07 AM
