RE: 16" Rims on 4kq's

["PAT MARTIN" <MARDKINS@classic.msn.com>]

I disagree with the wider tires =better handling automatically.  Unless you 
are going to engineer a suspension around your tires they will probably make 
it handle worst.  Even when I went from the stock 14" wheels and tires to the 
16's the suspension is not up to the task.  I can feel the wheel bounce over 
bumps at higher speeds. This is with a "performance" suspension. I am not an 
engineer but I wonder if there is a point on a car where the wider tires start 
to decrease traction due to the weight being spread by more surface which 
would equal less psi.  He is also right about the geometry's.  If you push the 
center of the wheel out you are going to change the geometry's of the 
suspension. Now why that is bad I do not know but it does open up some 
questions like where do you set the alignment and what does that do to things 
like bearings and ball joints.  
Pat Martin
864000csq  2 1/2 cat back, H&R-Boge,advanced and loving it.  Drilled and 
stopping it.  Koenig Cobra 16x7 with AVS Intermediates, turbo coming soon, 
K&N.
95 subaru legacy 
Bothell, Wa
 


	Changing the suspension and tires is not going to cause problems
on the car...quite the opposite in fact.  The handling of the car should
be greatly improved as well as traction.  The original intention on
these cars was to make them comfortable_to_drive.  It doesn't hurt
anything, other than the ride, to change the suspension setup on the
car.

	cya!

	-mark nelson

	'90 s2 (building for SCCA Pro Rally)
	'85 4ktq (10vt transplant in the works)



> ----------
> From: 	pacdev@csn.net[SMTP:pacdev@csn.net]
> Sent: 	Thursday, September 04, 1997 7:08 AM
> To: 	Mark Nelson; PAT MARTIN
> Cc: 	quattro
> Subject: 	RE: 16" Rims on 4kq's
> 
> 
> Hey folks
> Going wider on tires will also probably mean rubbing at the spring
> perch. 
> Clearances are tight already. That means spacers, which means recalc
> on springs 
> and shocks which change response characteristics of the platform(car)
> which 
> means all the work done by Audi engineers on complex computer programs
> that 
> anticipate all events including accidence avoidance etc. goes down the
> tube.
> 
> If you want a race car get a race car.
> 
> (From a former racer who has learned the hard way)
> I've spent good dollars chasing the performance envelope only to find
> I was 
> going backwards instead of forward.
> 
> Cheers
> 
>  
> Paul A. Caouette
> Partners for Community Development
> Denver, Colorado
>  83 TQC with 207k & Still Going
>  85 4000Q 
> And Many past Audis Gone but not Forgotten
>