Help with Hard Ride please
 

Just not enjoying the ride of my new 2013 A5 with Sline and 19s (255/35/19). Can feel every imperfection, bump and crack in the road and the noise level is excessive. Test drove sport suspension equipped A5s with 19s and they felt fine, but now in day to day use I'm not enjoying the drive. Handling is great but I spend way more time on highways than mountain twisties. Looks like a dream but rides like a bucket of bolts. Need to do something about this.

What suggestions might there be, from 18s to tires to suspension modifications? Going to try some Bridgestone RE970s with W sped rating on my 19s to see if that helps. Would consider 18s but I have the sline bumpers and sills so if 18s, they have to hold their own on the car.... spacers? Suspension tricks?

Very open to suggestions. Thanks.

Tires with a reputation for a more compliant ride (softer sidewalls) will help, and moving to 18's will make a significant difference. Both together, even more so (18's w/ softer sidewall tires).

When you go 18's, the tires will be a different aspect ratio, so overall diameter and circumference won't change. So no worries there.

If I were you I'd sell the 19's and use the money to buy 18's and softer tires.

Lastly, I have a friend with an as S4 with 18's and relatively low miles on the tires. He's looking for 19's. He may be an interested buyer for your 19's. Or if you like the 18's that come on the S4, maybe he'd give you those plus some cash toward the 19's. If interested, send me a message and I will put him in touch with you.

The RE970AS is an ultra high performance all season tire and, as a result, are going to provide a relatively firm ride. You might be better off with a Touring all season tire which should have a softer sidewall, hence, a more comfortable ride.

Two things, both related to tires:

1. Moving from 19 to 18 wheel will help

2. What is mileage on your tires?
The OEM summer-only Continentals on my A4 (years ago) became very noisy and rough as mileage accumulated. I switched to a Bridgestone all season Potentza that is quieter, wears very well, and provides a smoother ride. HOWEVER, the Potenza was much more expensive than the Continental-- you get what you pay for.

Good luck

Have you tried dropping the tire pressure? I spent some time recently with all 4 tires at 30, and it had an immediate effect smoothing the ride.

Air suspension with adjustable damper and ride height is hard to beat now days, I've been on air for years and never looked back.

Thanks all for your great advice. Unfortunately, in this size tire, 255/35/19, all options made are with a nod to performance rather than comfort. However, do know the Bridgestone RE970 is a W speed rating (versus Ys with stiffer sidewall) and is noted as a quieter more comfortable tire transmitting less from the road so that should help. Will try these before going to 18s.

If I do go to 18s, will certainly be open to suggestions as I have not been a fan of Audi's OEMs in that size. Must identify a suitable set that will look appropriate with my car's sline bumpers and blades under the doors. Any suggestions? Would imagine I need to space them out for a wider stance as the 19s provide to match the added flair in the bumpers.

Lastly, I checked the pressure and found the tires were at 35 lbs cold, so dropped those to 30 per Brian's suggestion and that has certainly helped.

Be careful about dropping the inflation pressure too low. That comes with its own risks and your local roads may not be friendly to your tires and wheels.

Refer to your Owner's Manual for comprehensive inflation info for your car. It's toward the rear of the book. Notice Normal load vs. MAX load. The B pillar sticker displays MAX load conditions only.

I personally bumped my tires back up to the 33-35 pound spec shortly after I noticed how unusually smoothly my car was riding at 30. I doubt that riding at 30 would expose the tires to significant risk around here (Los Angeles now has the great honor of earning the "America's worst roads" citation). But ... I wouldn't drop the pressure lower than 30 under any circumstances.

Great advice Uberwgn. I checked as you suggested and the 2 passenger psi is 32, and 4 passenger psi is 33. The ride at 30 lbs is very nice, so I'm wondering if 30 is ok so long as I check it weekly and avoid the hard hairpins and large hits (my roads are pretty good)...? I imagine I'll lose some tire longevity and mpg, but I'll no doubt save some hair and psyche bills too!