D3 A8 Handling / Brakes

[Norrs2]

As I'm about to pick up (I hope) my D3 A8 3.0tdi q, I'm getting lots of (mostly uninformed) comments from workmates and other friends with Audi's about the A8's handling, and mostly that "you'll not be able to fling that thing round the corners on that road."

Whilst I'm not really taking these 'jibes' seriously, it has got me wondering what opinions are about this. It's not a S8 after all, and it's not yet clear if this one I'm getting has any sport suspension, so, for example, what's the normal suspension like?

The Brakes look quite small on the front from the pictures, but is that just because the 20" wheels make them look like that? Is an upgrade from another model possible/easy/recommended?

I'm not a nutcase, but I do like to make brisk progress and sometime if I'm later than usual for work, it's required.

I'll find out soon enough, but opinions / recommendations would be appreciated.

[IT]

All the A8 suspension is on air and can by dynamically adjusted for a softer or firmer ride - So I wouldnt worry too much there.

Its all an ally chassis, and noticably the D3 chassis is more rigid than the D2 (by design) and to be honest I cant reallty fault it. Sure, a small car could handle better, but in its class I'd be shocked if anything else came close.

The brakes on the D3 are way better than the D2 ever were, and should perform perfectly well for every day driving, even with a bit of 'spirit'

The 3.0 Tdi takes a little bit of winding up to speed from a standstill, but once moving the torque will keep the car moving quite, ah hem, briskly.

I suspect your friends are just jealous.... Enjoy it...

[Norrs2]

Originally Posted by IT

All the A8 suspension is on air and can by dynamically adjusted for a softer or firmer ride - So I wouldnt worry too much there.

Its all an ally chassis, and noticably the D3 chassis is more rigid than the D2 (by design) and to be honest I cant reallty fault it. Sure, a small car could handle better, but in its class I'd be shocked if anything else came close.

The brakes on the D3 are way better than the D2 ever were, and should perform perfectly well for every day driving, even with a bit of 'spirit'

The 3.0 Tdi takes a little bit of winding up to speed from a standstill, but once moving the torque will keep the car moving quite, ah hem, briskly.

I suspect your friends are just jealous.... Enjoy it...

More good info Ian!

I'm not worrying too much about the 3.0tdi needing 'wound up'. It'll be remapped withing a couple of days and should assist with the pick up quite nicely.

I suspect my friends think I'm nuts getting an A8 to do a 500+ miles weekly work haul, and maybe I am, just can't resist!

I'm still wondering about your comment about the wheels looking too far in on my one. Is the offset on the D2 20" wheels different to the D3.

I'm itching for it to be Saturday now, just hope it is what he says it is!

[Dezzy]

I can't comment on the handling of the D3 as i've never drove one, what i will say about the D2 is i was very surprised about the way it handles. Let's not forget they are a 5 meter car and will out handle many smaller cars. Obviously it's never going to be Lotus Elise but who wants to sit in one of those for hours on end.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by it, but i might not have as much experience with the 8 as your mates have

In short they'll all want to ride in it, will deffo be jealous and wouldn't surprise me if they ask to use it for a wedding at some point.

[Norrs2]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

In short they'll all want to ride in it, will deffo be jealous and wouldn't surprise me if they ask to use it for a wedding at some point.

Cheers Dezzy

Funny you should say that, a friend of mine in the village aquired a V10 S8 a month ago, the first weekend she had it, it was doing a wedding job!

I like how the comments so far are saying the handling has surprised them!

[maglite]

Hi, just a few days ago, I bought a 3.0 TDi. Before buying I did take the Merc S 320 CDi and the BMW 730D for a spin. Now what I did note about the A8 is that in the rain, you can put it in sport mode and put your foot down with confidence. With the Merc and the BMW I didn't feel as though they were holding the road as well as the A8 around round-a-bouts. This was in the wet, so I suppose with the great British weather, the A8 makes a perfect car for all seasons. For such a big car, I can assure you, you won't be disappointed. The interior of the D3 in my opinion, is miles ahead of the competition of it's era.

[PsYcHe]

Well.. I'm sure most of the Scottish contingent can confirm that my D3s have both handled more than adequately when vanishing into the distance. Many a hot/performance car have been scared out the way on the twisty bits.

The TDi takes a little bit more forethought to make sure it's wound up for launching from corners, but once you get used to it, you should be good

[Norrs2]

Originally Posted by maglite

Hi, just a few days ago, I bought a 3.0 TDi. Before buying I did take the Merc S 320 CDi and the BMW 730D for a spin. Now what I did note about the A8 is that in the rain, you can put it in sport mode and put your foot down with confidence. With the Merc and the BMW I didn't feel as though they were holding the road as well as the A8 around round-a-bouts. This was in the wet, so I suppose with the great British weather, the A8 makes a perfect car for all seasons. For such a big car, I can assure you, you won't be disappointed. The interior of the D3 in my opinion, is miles ahead of the competition of it's era.

Thanks for that! I appreciate your opinion.

Being used to quattro drive, and our weather (worse up here), I agree entirely, there will be no comparison compared to the RWD competitors in the all weather grip and security department.

Audi Interiors have been a cut above for some time now, but I'm still a bit surprised to hear you say the Audi is miles ahead. Interesting, I would have thought the BMW at least (whilst not as good) was a bit closer to the Audi in terms of material and quality. The Merc's of later years are made from wheelie bins, I've seen enough of their lower models to guess that.

Good to have it confirmed from someone who's tried both though.

[Norrs2]

Originally Posted by PsYcHe

Well.. I'm sure most of the Scottish contingent can confirm that my D3s have both handled more than adequately when vanishing into the distance. Many a hot/performance car have been scared out the way on the twisty bits.

I should manage to make the most of the road from Calander to Lix Toll, I know it well enough...

I would imagine a fast A8 coming up in your mirror would scare most things out of the way!!!

Originally Posted by PsYcHe

The TDi takes a little bit more forethought to make sure it's wound up for launching from corners, but once you get used to it, you should be good

Yeah, helps if you're a bit mad though! Which you ovviously are.

[PsYcHe]

Originally Posted by Norrs2

Yeah, helps if you're a bit mad though! Which you ovviously are.

God, he's less than a week in and got me sussed already