A4Q crosswind sensitivity

[Greg Spark <sparkg@wave.co.nz>]

I cannot agree with this, Fringe - at least as far as my A4 1.8Tq goes.
My car has 16inch wheels with 205/55 Contis and _factory_ sports suspension.

I have 25000 quick kms on it and the further I've driven it the more impressed I've
become with the steering. It does not tramline - (I'm going to 225/50 next: that
may be a different story?), and it _does_ stay centered very well - even on a
cambered road, which puzzles me.

The "problem" with the steering is that all FWD foibles have been technoed out
with the virtual axis geometry. The car _is_ very light in the steering and feels
lifeless on first aquaintance. However the steering is extremely accurate and
responsive (especially considering the tyres are not particularly low profile)
and in my experience requires minimal inputs to maintain the straight-ahead. It
is also one of the best cars I've driven in crosswinds - minimal corrections
required.

Steering kickback, tramlining and heaviness give the driver the feeling he is
_controlling_ the car - the A4 has none of these characteristics and I think many
confuse this perfection as a fault - this feeling disappears as time goes on and
the steering then becomes one of the best features of the car - IMHO anyway.

On reflection, the V6s extra weight over the front wheels compared to the 1.8T
may have a significant effect on steering - anyone done a careful comparison?

------------------original message-------------------------------

> Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 17:53:46 -0700
> From: Fringe Ryder <Fringe@ai.net>
> Subject: A4Q crosswind sensitivity (was wind noise)
> 
> I initially wondered about that and other drift-related items, but I've
> since decided that the actual problem is that they reduced torque steer too
> effectively.  The car doesn't stay centered very strongly.  This means it
> takes little effort to tell it where to go, but it also means that it takes
> constant vigilence to make sure you're telling it correctly.

-- 
Greg Spark
sparkg@wave.co.nz
Hamilton, New Zealand
'96 A4 1.8Tq 5sp MTM 187hp