Re: Tire pressure

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

On Wed, 28 Aug 1996, Dan Masi wrote:

> On Aug 27,  7:26pm, STEADIRIC@aol.com wrote:
> 
> > 38 front 36 rear says me.  Suspension kitted of course and in the
> > everpopular 215/60-15 on 7.5" rims
> 
> For us non-modded types, is there an advantage to running
> higher pressure up front than in the rear?  What affect does
> it have?

well, all audis have the engine sitting IN FRONT of the front axle.
the front tires have a lot of mass to support.  my v8 used to have the
front tire sidewalls bulge out even with 40+ psi and going around the
turns there was a mushy feel too which was cured by higher pressures.

i have since upgraded to 17 inch wheels with lower sidewalls and
things are much better.  the P7000s are amazingly compliant, so i have
them inflated to 45 psi up front for a nice sharp feel.  at those
pressures i never have to worry about bending the wheel.  i run 40 psi
at the rear.  ride quality is just very slightly knobbly at low
speeds; at higher speeds, the deficiency of the boge turbo gas dampers
are evident.  for a lighter car like the a4 it would make sense that
these numbers are excessive.

playing with tire pressures is one of the most harmless handling mods
you can make to your car.  just go buy one of those cigarette lighter
driven pumps and experiment away.  i would start out high and then
lower it bit by bit until you find the perfect setting.


eliot