r8 v8 mag ride

[jdearden]

hi guys just in the process of finding a r8. i want a silver one carbon side blades, nav heated seats and mag ride. manual
i have found a few cars that meet my spec apart from all have 1 thing missing.
the heated seats are a must as i get a bad back occasionally and heated seats sort it right out.


my main question is the mag ride worth it. as i may have found a off market car that meets all the others spec but not mag ride and is very well priced.

pros and cons would be great,

thank you in advance

[Nedzilla]

When I was looking for one I wanted Mag ride but to be honest find myself rarely using it. It does firm the suspension up quite considerably and unless you are on a very nice road or a race track you will probably leave it in the standard setting.
It does seem to be one of the 'must have' options on a used R8 but beware!!! The dampers are known for failing in a short period of time and by that I mean as little as 10k miles and cost an eye watering £800+ each for the part alone!

From what I gather after speaking to many owners and on R8 talk it really is hit and miss though. Some owners have seen less than 10k miles of easy driving while others have lasted 50k+ miles with lots of abuse.

One of mine started knocking a bit at 19k though I haven't sorted it yet as it still seems to drive fine and I got the usual BS from Audi saying they wanted £312 labour just to diagnose the problem when they probably knew perfectly well what it was.

[Dr G]

They ride and drive really well without; I'll try and find which issue of evo magazine it was where they compared a very basic spec R8 to competitors and were still highly complimentary of its road manners.

It's a desirable option for resale but priced accordingly buying without is no issue.

[BentleyTTRS]

I have mag ride on my TTRS. Never use it. As has been said, its a desirable option, but I think as time goes on it will become less and less desirable. If I keep mine long enough, I'm sure a set of KW's or Bilsteins will probably find there way on it.

[jdearden]

well the one i was looking at without mag ride the deal just didn't seem right. ive now found another one but its doesn't have heated seats.
it just seems to be that there is something missing of all the cars im looking at, but im set on silver manual with carbon blades which limits me,

im assuming to retro fit heated seats would be a fortune

[PositronicRay]

I don't understand Mag ride.

It's like having an "uncomfortable" button which simultaneously reduces grip, as the tyres skip over any road irregularities.

[BentleyTTRS]

That about sums it up!

[blank]

You can't 'not use' magnetic ride.

It's on all the time, just in different modes.

In a TT it is fantastic for taking the edge off an otherwise knobbly ride quality. Never tried it in an R8 but I'd imagine it's the same principle and that the ride quality in 'normal' mode is improved when compared to a standard car.

[Dr G]

Blank is correct; it has two modes but is always active and adapts to road conditions/driving.

It's particularly noticeable in a TT with large wheels.

[anonymous-user]

blank said:

You can't 'not use' magnetic ride.

It's on all the time, just in different modes.

This. I'm surprised how many people fail to understand this, especially as it's discussed so many times on PH.

I had an R8 for just over a year and only looked at Magnetic ride cars. Some will say the standard suspension is fine, which I'm sure it is, but the Mag system really is incredibly good. When cruising along it keeps the ride soft and compliant and then once you start to push on it will stiffen up to give a firmer ride. The only time you have to 'use' the system is when you want to 'lock' it in the sport mode which is useful for track days.