Tires & Radio

["Al Powell" <APOWELL@agcom.tamu.edu>]

> I'm a relatively new owner of a 86 Audi Coupe GT..  Am I missing 
something,
> or is it really the way the car was designed?  I have to have the ignition
> turned on to apply power to the radio.  If so, does it hurt anything to have
> the ignition on without the engine running?  I can anyways wire the radio
> around the ignition switch, but why on earth didn't the Audi engineers put
> in an auxilary position on the switch like all good North American Cars?
> 
> Norm Rashleigh
> Ottawa Canada..  I can sit and listen to my car radio :-(

Norm - Audis and VWs are famous for having the radios connected so 
they can be turned on regardless of having the key on.  Your car has 
probably been modified by an owner who got careless and left the 
radio on, had a dead battery, and re-wired to prevent it from 
happening again.  If it's returned to original configuration, it 
should turn on any time, and if you open the driver's door with the 
radio on, you should hear a warning chime to remind you to turn it 
off.  Finding the correct connection to restore the chime may be a 
challenge.  Leaving the key in the ON position is a no-no.

> From: higginst@nimo.com
> Date: Mon, 03 Jul 95 14:11:24 est
> Subject: Tires tires tires
> 
>      Well, thank you all for your comments, and thanks to all those who 
>      have commented in the recent past.  I have gone over a bunch of 
>      archives re: tires for my buddies (and before winter, my) 1990 100.
>      
>      Just one Q: I currently have Goodyear Eagle GT+4 P205/60/R15's on the 
>      front and Pirelli P6 P195/65/R15's on the back (thats the way I bought 
>      it with 55K on it). Any guess as to what OE was?, (my guess is the 
>      Pirelli's).  Oops, I lied, heres another question: Mr. Tire 
>      Salesperson says I can get BFG Comp TA's HR4 P215/60/R15's on it (BTW 
>      she's not a quattro). Good idea?  

Tom -  we have replaced Goodyear originals on both an 84 5KT and a 
1990 200T with the BFG H-series Comp TA's.  The sidewalls are a bit 
more flexible than the Goodyears which were the OEM tire, but frankly, 
I was not impressed with the Goodyears.  

IF you're looking for maximum response and hard cornering, I would 
probably look for a stiffer tire than the BFG.  However, if you want 
a very good all-around tire which has a nice ride and still handles 
well, I think the H-series Comp TA's are an excellent value!   I just 
bought a set for $76 each (plus all the silly add-ons) by going to 
Discount Tire and showing them their own mail-order ad in Car & 
Driver.  The C&D price was $72 each, and we mutually agreed that $76 
each was a fair allowance for the cost of shipping each mail order 
tire.

BTW - there is an old and new series tread pattern in the Comp TA; 
the first car had the old pattern, and for the newer car, I got the 
new pattern.  I THINK the old pattern might have a hair more open 
tread, which might perform better in snow.  I like the new tread 
myself, and would probably get a second (steel) set of wheels with 
real snows for serious winter driving.  If you can find a store with 
pictures of both patterns, choose for yourself.  A few stores 
still have the old tread pattern in stock.  We put the new series BFGs 
on and immediately went on a 1600 mile trip, and they were smooth as 
silk and a more pleasant ride than the Goodyear GAs they replaced.  I 

Hard to tell what your OEM was, but a great number of Audis were set 
up from the factory for various Goodyear radials.
 



****************************aTm*************************************
Al Powell                           Voice:  409/845-2807
Ag Communications                   Fax:    409/862-1202
Texas A&M University                Email:  a-powell1@tamu.edu 
WWW page - http://agcomwww.tamu.edu/agcom/rpe/alpage.htm

  "Knowledge is good" - On statue at Faber College - Animal House

***************A Washington State Cougar in Aggieland***************