Sport suspension package on an A7 must have?

[Xexyz]

I'm looking to buy my first Audi and have pretty much settled on an A7. I'm looking for a 2013+ CPO with the sport suspension package, which seems pretty rare, much to my chagrin. How much difference does the sport suspension actually make? This car will be my daily driver and I don't have any plans to do any tuning to it, at least while it's still under warranty. I mostly want it because I dislike body roll while cornering but then again, since I don't plan on tracking it or anything of the sort I'm not sure how much I would actually notice the sport suspension.

I'd love to hear the opinions from any A7 owners.

[07S6]

Just picked up preowned A7 but it has sport package so I can't compare without. However, I'm very glad I got it as its not too harsh, not too soft but that's on 20" Conti touring tires. It was a bit harsher on the Pirelli Summer's so tire choice will definitely affect your ride. The good news is that if you find the perfect car without sport suspension, you can easily swap in the sport springs. Same goes for the sport steering wheel with paddles. I've done both retrofits before and it works just fine.

[Xexyz]

Just picked up preowned A7 but it has sport package so I can't compare without. However, I'm very glad I got it as its not too harsh, not too soft but that's on 20" Conti touring tires. It was a bit harsher on the Pirelli Summer's so tire choice will definitely affect your ride. The good news is that if you find the perfect car without sport suspension, you can easily swap in the sport springs. Same goes for the sport steering wheel with paddles. I've done both retrofits before and it works just fine.

So the only difference between the sport and non-sport suspension option is the springs?

[mjfloyd1]

Struts and shocks are different too

[Glacier6]

As 07S6 mentioned, you also go from the 4 spoke steering wheel without paddles to the 3 spoke sport wheel with paddle shifters.

[ImpartialFocus]

My 13 A6 had the sport suspension. I liked all the upgrades it had with it (Steering wheel, stiffer suspension). The ride is appropriate for a sports sedan in my opinion. I drove the non-sport suspension version and it was a softer ride, but the cornering wasn't as tight. For the A's, the paddle's are worth it. When you want to pass, I always tapped the downshifter twice and had the car in the right power band to launch around cars. That was nice. I've since moved on to the S6 (air ride), and the 'comfort' mode seems to be about where the A6 sport version was. The Sport mode in the S6 is noticeably stiffer.
Go with it. As a daily driver it's still comfortable and adds enough upgrades to be worth it.

[Xexyz]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I just agreed to the purchase of a 2013 CPO A7 with the sport package that I'll be picking up next Saturday. I can't wait!

[AudiA6A5]

Congrats, good call going with the Sport pkg

[Xexyz]

So I picked up my A7 on Saturday and drove it back up from Kansas City. I mentioned on the Audi subreddit that I couldn't really tell the difference between comfort and dynamic modes aside from the steering, and someone responded asking me if I had "DRC, air, magnetic, or just springs and shocks" suspension. How do I find this out? Does the A7 have different suspensions aside from the sport/non-sport suspension packages?

[Glacier6]

So I picked up my A7 on Saturday and drove it back up from Kansas City. I mentioned on the Audi subreddit that I couldn't really tell the difference between comfort and dynamic modes aside from the steering, and someone responded asking me if I had "DRC, air, magnetic, or just springs and shocks" suspension. How do I find this out? Does the A7 have different suspensions aside from the sport/non-sport suspension packages?

You just have sport package springs and shocks. Air is only available on S7 and RS7; DRC is only available on RS7.

For the A7, the drive select modes do not affect the suspension in any way.

[yeuchau]

picture of it didn't happen, lol
congrats on the car anyway

[Xexyz]

@Glacier6 - Thanks, but now I feel sad that I didn't get an S7.

@Yeuchau - I've taken a few pics of the car in my garage, I just have to upload them.

[SunDevil]

@Glacier6 - Thanks, but now I feel sad that I didn't get an S7.

Did you discuss this with the dealership before buying? I have the sport suspension and 20's. My car rides reasonably firm for the type of car that it is. That's in dynamic.

[Xexyz]

Did you discuss this with the dealership before buying? I have the sport suspension and 20's. My car rides reasonably firm for the type of car that it is. That's in dynamic.

Nah. Realistically speaking an S7 was more than I wanted to budget, so I stuck with the A7. I've also got 20s and am very pleased with how it rides in dynamic - although to be completely honest it's still a little softer than my tastes. I kind of felt a little let down because the reviews I read said dynamic was really harsh, but all in all I think it's fine.

Maybe my next Audi will be an S7.

[mjfloyd1]

In an A6, dynamic only changes the steering and transmission shift points, not the suspension since it is springs (vs air on S models)