[s-cars] Tire Load Ratings

[calvinlc at earthlink.net]

How much attention should I pay to these?  The reason I ask is because I am
looking for replacement tires for my '01 A6.  One of the tires I was looking
at was a Conti Extreme Contact.  The tire only has a 91 load rating, which
is 1356 lbs.

If I take the curb weight of the car 3836, and the weight distribution,
which is 60/40 for an auto, that yields:

3836 * .6 = 2301 lbs up front
2 front tires combined = 2712 lbs

This only leaves 411 lbs of weight left that can be put on the front tire.
Now I know that anything you put inside the car will have some weight on the
rear tires as well, but it sure seems like this would be close, given 5
people in the car.  The original Conti Touring Contacts on the car (which by
the way suck!) have a load rating of 93, which is another 77 lbs per tire,
which makes it a lot more comfortable.

Am I worrying about something I shouldn't?

--Calvin