what effect does strut-tower brace have on '88 80 Quattro? (a nd > > other stuff)

[Larry C Leung]

Alot of tire problems are more alignment based than particular tire/car
based. On Audis (particularly stock older ones with struts) the roll is
signficant, and strut suspensions cannot compensate (in tire alignment to
the pavement) for the roll. So the only solution is to set the front
camber to be quite negative (> - 1.5 degrees) so that when the body
rolls, the tire still remains perpendicular to the pavement instead of
riding on the outside shoulder. Another trick is to add + caster, which
may be difficult on a 4KQ or CGT, possibly a bit easier on a type 44 with
it's built in camber plate. On a 4K, you'd probably have to bump the
subframe forward to gain any caster. 

The other problem, is carrying in too much speed to the turns, or
powering in too early with the steering wheel still cranked over (i.e.
can you say, UNDERSTEER!?!!?). Try apexing later and braking sooner,
you'll be able to apply more effective power when the tire is not riding
on it's shoulder, and you'll be smoother and faster, too. Having raced a
different VAG product with the same basic traits, you'll have to trust me
on this. Driven smoothly, you'll actually have a whole lot more exit
speed which is really fun, and your tires will survive a whole lot
longer, which means less $$$ and more speed. Sounds fun to me!

LL - NY

On Mon, 16 Jul 2001 09:38:56 -0700 "Darringer, Chris"
<Chris.Darringer at schwab.com> writes:
>Tess,
>
>As you already know, I am having a very similar tire chunking problem 
>with
>my '90 80q.  I don't think I have a solution to the problem, but I 
>wanted to
>record some of my observations on some of the variables that may be
>involved.
>
>I used to have 195 60 14s on my car (Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce), with 
>a 320
>treadwear rating.  I never had a chunking problem with these tires 
>after
>almost 70k miles.  I then bought 205 50 15s (Dunlop Sport 8000s) and 
>by the
>third track event both front tires were down to cords.  I now have 205 
>55
>15s (Goodyear Eagle F1 steel) with a 320 treadwear rating, and I have 
>some
>very minor chunking but otherwise no major problems.
>
>I still think there is some fundamental cause in the suspension of 
>this car,
>but the only thing I can conclude from my experience is that lower 
>tire
>profile and softer tire compounds may be contributing factors.
>
>What about the tires themselves?  I don't think the make of tire has
>anything to do with this.  Many people on this list and in the Q club 
>are
>using the tires we destoryed without similar problems.
>
>What about the suspension?  Well, you have a lower suspension than I 
>do, and
>a larger sway bar, and the problem persists.  I had my suspension 
>looked
>over several times, and even though the car has 166k on the odometer, 
>there
>were no obvious problems with worn bushings, etc.  I described the 
>problem
>to a local Audi tuner who has a very good reputation for tuning 80s 
>and 90s,
>and his recommendation was to install Koni coilovers.  He didn't seem 
>too
>enthusastic about the larger sway bar idea, claiming that the stock 
>bar was
>big enough.
>
>What am I going to do?  Stick with 55 profile tires with relatively 
>high
>treadware ratings.  Maybe some day I will get frustrated by the 
>performamce
>limitations of doing this, but by then I will have saved up enough 
>money to
>buy a new Audi.
>
>Chris
>'90 80q
>
>
>> From: "Tessie McMillan" <tessmc at drizzle.com>
>> To: "Quattro at Audifans. Com" <quattro at audifans.com>
>> Subject: what effect does strut-tower brace have on '88 80 Quattro? 
>(and >
>> other stuff)
>> Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 11:18:59 -0700
>>
>> Hi listers!
>> 
>> All these problems I've had with street (and now competition) tires 
>on my
>> Quattro 	at SIR -- where I chunk JUST one tire: the right 
>front --
>have
>> started me thinking about any more things I can do to stiffen the 
>front of
>> my car to even out tire wear. I have to admit I learned to drive on 
>a
>> ...
>> Does anyone have any comments on this? I DO have Blaufergnugen's 
>22mm
>>