I'm dissatisfied with the ride quality of my car. It's a 2007 A6 Avant with standard suspension and 18" alloys. Anyone any thoughts as to how to improve it? I have considered fitting 17" alloys but would prefer to explore other options such as aftermarket shocks / springs.

Can you buy air springs?

Cheers

 

What exactly is bothering you with the ride quality? Too soft or too stiff? You don't hear too many people complaining about the ride quality in Audis. I get compliments from my passengers all the time. I have 17s withthe Audi sport suspension.

 

I can relate somewhat huggis. I've got an '07 A6 sedan w/ 18" wheels. It rides kind of harsh, especially for what should be a comfy luxo-sedan with a ride to match. The wheels are pretty wide as well (245mm I think) and tend to track imperfections in the road. However, the suspension seems to do a pretty good job ofsorting all this out, and the car actually handles pretty well when pushed. I'll probably look around for suspension changes once the warrantee runs out, and may even consider going to 17" wheels for more cushioning. Not sure 18" -ers are necessary or even appropriate for what this car is supposed to be.

 

I highly doubt that a 17" rim is going to improve the ride of it that much.....I think a wiser decision would be to get some cushier suspension. Like Circus said Ive never heard of someone complaining about the ride of an audi....yours im sure has a little stiffer (sporty) suspension allowing it to handle better in cornersbut if you dont mind jeopardising the sportiness for some comfort, change out some suspension. That would have alot more of an effect on the ride than changing 1" in rim size. Also I dont know how many miles you have on the car but suspension has a tedency to loosen up a little through time so the longer you have it the softer it may seem to ride

 

I have an 05 4.2 with 18s. Iboosted the tire width from 245 to 255, while remaining at a 40 ratio, which slightly increased the tirewal. I also switched the OEM all season tires to dedictaed tires. Making these two switches improved the ride with the 18 tires. It also made the car handle better because I abandoned the all-season tires that came with the car.

 

Reference this post I made in njdccaco's thread on pretty much the same thing:

I personally wouldn't drop down to 17's (but if you do, maybe we can trade, lol). I would look into the following things first:

1. Tire pressure: If you are running the wrong tire pressure (either to high or to low) it can have a drastic affect on ride quality. It may sound stupid, but I would check the tire pressure and make sure it is good.

2. Model of tire:This probably has the biggest impact on ride quality. A stiffer "performance" tire will give you a harsher ride than a softer sedan style tire. I would look into replacing the tires with a less performance oriented tire and following gigi's suggestions on increasing the side wall size.

3. If all else fails, you can try the 17's, but I think that changing the tire will have more of an impact for you than changing the rim diameter. Not to mention that 18's probably look better and will be worth more when you sell it.

 

There is almost exactly the same post two threads down
It is hard to imagine an A6 stock being too rough but maybe with sport suspension... don't they have adjustable settings? like comfort, intermediate, sport...

I think the size of the recent A6 would swallow 17's... you gotta keep proportions, it'll look funny. Better tires, maybe non summer but high perf all season.... (Not sure what you have on...).. maybe new shocks...
a different tire size with a taller tire wall...
Definitely check tire pressure, it can make a big difference if you have too much air in them