RE: They call me the wanderer...

[JustaxPHX@aol.com]

> Mike Velgia brings up a good point : Eibach springs have lowered the car
~1.5"
> and as such some have suggested that bump steer is more likely and, I am
> running 215/50-15 Yokohama AVS Intermediate tires on Fuchs rims.

As the resident suspension curmudgeon, I must point out that, technically
speaking, lowering your car doesn't have any effect upon bumpsteer since
you're really just moving to a different static point along an unchanged
curve.   That said, it might be possible that your suspension is now operating
in a part of the curve where bumpsteer is more prevalent -- it is usually
worse at the travel extremes but not always -- thus you're noticing it more
than you did before.  Shock damping could also be affecting this, too.

> Graydon's descriptions of 'vague' are as precise as my steering is not.  It
> seems to take an inordinately large percentage of my attention to keep the
> car from from ending up at an uncommanded place on the road.  We'll assume
> for the moment that my attention span is at least no shorter than.... ahhh,
> what was the question?  Anyway, given a flat, straight road with minimum
> crown and without ruts my car does not track straight.

These are exactly the symptoms I've experienced as well and I've confirmed
that they largely go away when I install the OEM wheels and tires.  I'm still
running the stock alignment settings since my car is a daily driver, it's
still at the stock ride height (or ever-so-slightly higher!) and I'm not after
racetrack performance and/or tire wear for my drive to work.
  
Adding the steering damper made a substantial difference in how my car's
steering feels, especially on crowned and/or rutted roads, of which there are
plenty around here (fortunately, though, we don't have too many potholes in
Arizona!).  I would also point out that Audi added the damper to the V8 and
'91 200q, both of which came with 7.5" wide wheels and wider, lower-profile
tires than either of our cars did, and as somebody has pointed out, Audi
doesn't usually spend extra money without a good reason for doing so.

> Ultimately Phil is right, it is alignment.  But back to Mike's point, what
> is the correct alignment spec for non-OE parameters like tire size and
> suspension height... any theories out there?
 
Based upon my experience, I'd suggest adding a bit more negative camber and
taking out a bit of toe but I haven't tried this myself ... tuning with tire
pressures is easy -- FWIW, I'm running SP-8000s with 38psi in the front and
34psi in the rear -- but I don't think it's going to solve the problem for
you.  It hasn't for me, at any rate...

JG