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Your Magnetic Ride Experience

25K views 40 replies 29 participants last post by  cup1chris 
#1 ·
For those of you guys who have the Mag Ride.

Do you love it?
Do you regret it?
Was it what you expected?
Have you dealt with any reliability issues?
 
#3 ·
Ask for their location as well - you're in NJ, so what you expect from Magnetic ride may not be the same as someone in the south where the roads are not complete crap.

its ok. id rather have a nice set of coilovers though. im always in dyamic mode anyways.
Where he's in (not that it's wrong to still reply) - "Location: AZ"
 
#5 ·
Honestly disappointed with it. It's clunky over bad surfaces even in comfort. If you drive the pants off your car all the time like it's some sort of race-car then you'll probably love it.

The standard shocks and springs on the non-mag ride cars make the car much more compliant. Eventually when the shocks are done, I'll put in koni's and be done with them.

Love the 19's which come as part of the package though :)
 
#6 ·
I like the Mag ride but I don't love it. Full disclosure I haven't driven another vehicle with a MRC system so I have nothing to compare it too. I hear GM really has the best system and at one point( I don't know if they still do) licensed it to Ferrari. Ford also has a system but haven't heard the best things about it. It seems like reviews compare all systems to GM and they lack in comparison so maybe that's why I haven't heard great things about the Ford system.

Back on point.....You can feel the difference in the different drive modes. I have my individual mode with the suspension set on Auto. I used to have it on Comfort but found Auto to sort things out better. Comfort rides better on small road imperfections but I feel like there is too much bounce on larger road dips. When you go over a speed bump in Comfort mode its like the car hits the bump and at times "pogo stick" bounces. When you do the same thing in Dynamic its like a one and done bounce. In Auto it does everything smoothly but not harsh.

It is pretty neat to cycle through the modes on the fly because you can feel the difference. In Dynamic mode the ride is stiff and you feel small road imperfections but it handles larger dips very well. When in Dynamic you can feel the road and when you switch to Comfort everything sort of levels out. Its like going from a rough cement road to a smooth black top road. Auto just does everything pretty well.

You can feel the excess body roll when you start to push it in Comfort mode so the system does do a good job at reduces body motion when its in Dynamic.

I drove an A3 with 18's and it was butter smooth compared my S3 with 19's but that could be the larger wheels and I'm sure the increased spring rate as well as lower ride height. Cant say how the standard S3 rides without the Mag ride.

So
I LIKE it I don't LOVE it

Do not regret it as I have little to no intension of touching the suspension. I will never do coilovers and will most likely not do springs. For some who really wants to track the car I would say get the standard suspension and go coilovers.

Wasn't sure what to expect as this is my first MRC and have nothing to compare it too. With that being said I can feel the differences in the modes so I know its doing something

No reliability issues but I'm only at 23k miles. Its a wear item but I don't know how long it will last.
 
#25 ·
Its all the same system. GM (Dephi) developed it and its used under license by all sorts of manufacturers under many different names - maybe that's why they have poor quality control. Last I knew was sold to the chinese I think. I didn't like it with 19's (also in Dallas). I put on 18's with 255's and leave it in Dynamic. Doesn't ride anywhere near as smooth as my R8 which also has Magride, so the cheap a3 underpinnings probably have a lot to do with it.
 
#7 ·
I honestly hate my magnetic ride. I wish I had just the regular suspension. It is very uncomfortable and like someone said very "clunky". The suspension is noisy on hard cracks or bumps on the road. I would give a 4 out of 10 in my book. When is in Comfort mode is somewhat "reasonable" but it you go over a speed bump the car bounces very ugly.
 
#8 ·
Love the DCC in my 16 Golf R, Very dissapointed in the mag ride in my 17 S3. Such a difference between the 2. S3 is bouncy, R is fantastic. Living in Alaska on crap roads, they both sit in Comfort most of the time, except for some spirited cornering from time to time. I wish I could get the R suspension in the S3.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Dropped wifeys Q3 off for service today and Audi let me use the S3 as a loaner here for a couple days. I drive the MK7 R w/DCC and was curious just to see how this S3 feels compared to the VW. The mag ride is no bueno imo, very hard compared to Golf R and I'm almost always in Sport mode with my car. Really surprised, as I tried even Comfort mode in the S3 over the same roads which do suck here in DFW, and a lot of clunks, knocks and very rough. Not crazy bout the layout of the cabin in the S3 compared to the R, prefer the manual trans and now I can say the ride comfort at least with magnetic ride. Glad I chose the Golf and have kept it. I do like the styling of the S3 exterior but not enough to give up all the likes about the R.
 
#18 ·
I thought my mag ride in my 15 s3 didn't work (dealer said it did), i could never tell the diff bt comfort and dynamic.
However, in my 2018 you can clearly feel the difference between both modes. I love the mag ride and firmness in dynamic, that being said i never use comfort LOL
 
#20 ·
San Diego Driver

So I came from a 2015 A3 non magride, to this S3, and from the A3 (Sport Package) to this even in comfort is a huge difference. I'm not sure if there have been changes made to the suspension since the beginning iterations, but i can say its pretty stiff, not like uncomfortable stiff, but stiff. I pretty much live in Dynamic, unless my wife is in the car, she always complains that she feels the bumps too much (she drives a Q3), so i just switch to comfort, and huge difference from steering loosening, and suspension is way less bouncy. I do feel like this car would greatly benefit from some front and rear strut bars, but haven't got there yet, only had the car for about 4 months.
 
#21 ·
I'll say it, the Mag-ride is terrible. I am highly disappointed in the ride quality. With the system, Audi has nearly infinite control over the ride quality but they did a terrible job. I do believe a lot of it has to do with the 19's. I've not had the opportunity to ride in a Mag-ride with 18's but I assume it is far better. I've done things to try and improve ride comfort such as locking collars for the front and rear subframe. These made significant improvements. Definitely recommend doing the front subframe if not both. I played around with the air pressure in the tires also, going from 44psi all around like what it is stated in the door seal to 39psi front and 36psi rear(actually in the manual). And that helped a far bit also, but the suspension still crashes over bumps leaving your passenger looking at you like, "I thought Audi's were supposed to be luxury cars."
 
#22 ·
Agree 100%. Unfortunately the 18” wheels barely help. We put 18’s on for winter and it’s marginally better.

When I first test drove an S3 without mag-ride, the standard car drives much better. I wouldn’t buy another S3 with mag-ride unless they tune the system.

It’s obvious they didn’t spend any $ on tuning and programming the mag-ride.

If DSC sport don’t make a controller for this car, I’m going to replace the mag ride with Koni yellows as soon as they fail and be done with it.


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#24 · (Edited)
To put things in context, I live in the Philippines where roads are bad. All S3s here have magnetic ride so I really had no choice.

Looking back when I got the car 2.5 years ago, I was happy with magride. I would even say that they are needed to make living with a 35-series tire possible. At the time, I found Comfort was a bit like a small boat on wavy water but certainly livable. Dynamic was not too stiff but the difference with Comfort was very noticeable. When I got 034 springs (and Superpro LCA bushings), Dynamic can be a bit too stiff for commutes so I would use Comfort more but to my surprise, Auto works really well for me.

I expect the magride shocks to have a shorter lifespan here due to road conditions and the usage of aftermarket springs. When the time comes, I will most probably go with a set of coilovers or sport shocks. In the meantime, I would say my magride setup is good enough. Not perfect by any means but more than livable and replacing them now would be wasteful.

Thanks to the other guys for the feedback on 18s. I have been considering making the switch to 18s to take advantage of cheaper and more tire options along with reducing ride harshness a bit.
 
#29 ·
Just a little heads up, if you ever have to replace the shocks... they are made of Unobtainium.. had to replace my right front shock (way too many potholes in Montreal or Ottawa..) on my 15 S3 after 132000km. Audi Canada quoted me 859CAD. Just ONE shock! For the fact that I do not feel too much difference between comfort and dynamic ride... its not worth the money.
 
#32 ·
They updated the mag ride in 17+
I have 18MY, I like the mag ride a lot. I'm on stock springs.

It's not the softest over the bumps even in comfort mode, but it's great for cornering on dynamic setting.

Upgrade your RSB too, paired with the mag ride, the car carves corners like butter.

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#34 ·
It’s not mag ride but my golf r recently started doing just that. They replaced the upper strut mounts under extended warranty which did not solve the problem. I have not taken it back yet for round 2.
 
#37 ·
I like it. It is very noticeable change when shifting between S and C mode. Most of my commute is with C mode and lane keep assist and active cruise control turned on. Very comfy commute. But when it’s time to have some fun I kick it in S and the suspension is firm to my liking.
 
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