Does anyone have experience of owning or driving an Audi that features magnetic ride?
Opinions? Does it noticeably soften the ride?
Also, I'm getting conflicting information on whether it's manually selectable or not. A dealer I had a test drive with recently was adamant it only came on automatically when 'Comfort' driving mode was selected and couldn't be turned on/off manually, but I've read online there are two, switchable suspension modes with mag ride - what's correct?
I had a A6 Allroad and the lad had an S3 both fitted with magnaride and don't remember them being selectable other than coming on with a programme. As for softening the ride, it made my sons S3 harder than it was normally and tbh I didn't notice anything different with my Allroad.
Harder? Not the answer I was expecting!
Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers
Am 100% sure there is a suspension button that selects it; or there certainly used to be in TT and R8s.
When activated, it takes it from the standard softer setting to a more firm ride, it’s not the other way around. Default is comfort I’m afraid, unless they have completely reversed what it originally did!
From Audi:
Instead of conventional damper oil, vehicle shocks are filled with magnetorheological fluid, which allows viscosity to be controlled by an electromagnetic field.
Adapt to the situation in a fraction of a second. To deliver the appropriate damping forces, the shocks are filled with a special fluid instead of conventional damper oil, and when a magnetic field is applied, the magnetic particles are aligned against the direction of movement of the damper. As a result, the damping force is increased according to the strength of the magnetic field.
Video explains it poorly: https://www.audi-technology-portal.d...gnetic-ride_en
Edited to add that I’m astounded a dealer knew so little about the car and technology. I forget they don’t really care about the products in the majority of cases & it’s just a job. But knowing the basics would help surely!
Ok, activating firms up the suspension - got it. I wonder why then I've read about it being of use on uneven road surfaces? I'd assumed it would react to potholes, etc, to smooth out the bumps, but clearly not the case.
It was a Lotus dealership that had a sideline in used performance vehicles, so not an Audi main dealer tbf. When I asked the question he spent a few minutes scouring the centre console, before declaring it not to exist because he couldn't see a button for it :)
Is it not adjustable through the MMI?
Sure my A5 had 3 settings in there - comfort, sport and dynamic?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Could be.. In previous cars I’ve owned those sort of modes adjust the gearing, throttle response, etc, rather than suspension, but it may well be different with Audi?
I think it depends on what car your query relates to.
A family member had an R8 with the mag ride, and it was simply an expensive gimmick which has now been removed for uprated dampers.
It may be a different story with a less high performance car, but often these things that were cutting edge in the 00s, are now an expensive consumable.
The above of course may not be relevant, but hope useful.
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The fact that it wasn’t an Audi dealer cheers me up! Yeah it’s a fairly obvious button if it’s there looking at the pics online, might be via the screen these days.
I think with regard to the responding to pot holes etc is that it’s always monitoring and adjusting. Don’t get how it can soften itself though as when the power isn’t there it’s at its softest.
Perhaps it’s when it is switched on, that it can respond to the pot hole and soften it to reduce the harshness. Although won’t go softer than being off.
My Mini JCW had 10% softer in comfort and 10% harder in sport. No idea what the M4 was, but it is rather marginal changes when you look at the mini percentages & imagine all similar. Likely a marketing gimmick tbh.
That said when I turn the cayman to sport plus I instantly turn off the former suspension as convinced it makes it too hard…who knows!
I’ve driven a TT with that suspension and switching it on noticeably made the ride firmer. It was definitely softer with it switched off!
This is how it was designed to work.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I had a 08 TTS with it and thought t was a bit of a gimmick myself, only used it a couple of times when I first got the car, and never bothered after that.
I think Porsche PASM is a similar system, you press the suspension button and it's in a track mode, stiff and very stable. Normally you never use the button, but in the standard mode the ride is better than the car without this option.
I sense a bit of a theme.
Also seems that they have a bit of a rep for early failure, e.g.
https://www.r8talk.com/threads/mag-r...estion.161410/
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
Thanks, I’ve stumbled on a few similar threads now and seems it’s not a cheap fix either.
I've had a couple of BMWs with switchable shocks and think it is good tech. I don't think the switching mechanism is the same as the Mag-rides though, just 2 electrically switchable valves. On BMWs at least, in the softer comfort setting you get a more compliant ride than with a std passive shock, with the harder setting being firmer than the passives so they straddle the passive setting so to speak. In other words you do get a softer less crashy ride with switchable shocks until you need them firmer. The difference is very obvious, its a bit too hard in the sport setting for day to day touring. I believe there is some automatic switching if the car sensors deem it necessary even in comfort mode. Mag-rides react quicker I believe and the likes of Ferrari use them too but if there are reliability issues and the costs are prohibitive then maybe its best to avoid it.
Last edited by Padders; 31st December 2023 at 12:09.
Thanks for this. I had a Golf R estate for a few years prior to my most recent car. It was a great all-rounder, but the ride was pretty firm. There was a similar chassis control system available as an option but mine didn’t have it, and potholes were wince-inducing..
Switching it on definitely made the ride firmer
Plus if you need to replace them it’s a very costly business. Stick with a standard suspension unless the car is under warranty.
My old Audi TT had mag ride dampers from the factory, but like others have said the settings seemed to be ‘stiff’ and ‘stiffer’.
When it went through an MOT, a damper was identified as leaking, so took the plunge and replaced the factory dampers with Koni FSDs, and then forgot about it. The dealer who fitted them coded out the mag ride with VAG-COM so no warning lights.
Best all round road dampers I’ve ever had I think, bearing in mind I’ve not owned anything truly exotic!
Presume it was a TTS or TTRS? What was the cost roughly to swap them out?
No it was a Mk2 TT, but had it as an option, albeit not one I selected as it wasn’t new to me.
It was a while ago but seem to remember it was around the £1k mark to supply and fit, they also did the coding. I also had it aligned on a Hunter rig afterwards which was around another £100.
The work was done by JabbaSport who also did the remap, think they’re still going and were quite well thought of at the time.
Is it not more or less the same as BMWs Adaptable Dampers, which automatically adjust the suspension to the drive setting selected ie Comfort, Sport or ECO. It’s very noticeable when I switch it on in Sport drive you actually feel the car stiffen up.
Read back about 6 posts, I said pretty much the same.
Thanks for the info, appreciated.
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