Allraodgone

just finished a 325 mile break in road trip (now at 435 miles)and I was a bit surprised at the bumpy/rough ride on some sections of highway. I hit some brand new pavement and it was silky smooth but on some older highway the car was very bouncy...surprisingly so

What tire pressure you you S Line guys running on those massive 20 inch tires? I shudder to think I might have made a mistake with the 20's if ride quality is sacrificed. Looks are awesome but the ride is key in my mind.

ELEVENS

For some reason, mine was delivered with 44psi all the way around. I lowered them to 33 (factory recommended) and it rides much better. Too rough? I don't think so. And our roads here in Michigan are on par with third world country roads, crumbled, cracked, and potholed. I wouldn't go much lower than 33 for risk of bubbling a sidewall and/or bending a rim.

Q5SLINE

Definitly check your tire pressure. Mine cam with 50 psi all around. Delaer stated this was normal for most dealers to over inflate. 33 psi all around my 20 s ride very nice could not be happier.

Allraodgone

Doh, checked pressure, was 45 PSI, dropperd to 33 and needless to say, the improvement in ride and cornering is night and day.

No sure why the dealers are not correcting the tire pressure as part of the inspection process. Thanks!

ELEVENS

Lawyers

bob m

???

Bob

ELEVENS

OK let me start out by saying lawyers are like politicians. Everybody loves his own, but hates all the others. Except for me. I hate all politicians, but like most lawyers.

Think about this: The dealer has nothing to lose by over inflating the tires. It is perfectly safe, so long as they don't exceed maximum pressure which is 51psi for the Bridgestone 20's on my Q5. As a bonus, it will tend to accelerate tire wear, which has the effect of increasing revenue for the dealership.

Add into the mix that the vast majority of American drivers will never check their tires. Just look at this forum. I would have thought that people here were enthusiasts. But not necessarily, as multiple owners here have posted in several different threads that they "discovered" that their tires exceeded 44psi all the way around. I checked mine on the day it was delivered and posted my findings here that they were grossly over-inflated..

Now if the customer bitches about a rough ride with his over-inflated Q5 20" tires, all the dealer has to say is, "gee, most customers appreciate the extra pressure because it increases fuel mileage, but we can very quickly and easily lower yours to whatever you would like! We recommend the 33psi!".

Now consider if the dealer delivered a car with 29psi, the factory recommended pressure for the 20" tires with 3 occupants or less. If the tire has a slow leak, or if the temperature drops 20 degrees, well now we have a low tire situation, the tire overheats, it blows out, and the SUV rolls over and kills an occupant. (Remember a few years ago the whole Firestone tire fiasco with SUV's?). THAT'S what I was referring to in my previous post regarding "Lawyers". Everybody gets names in the wrongful death lawsuit. Dealer, Audi, you name it.

Now nothing against lawyers, I like (almost) every lawyer I have met. It's mostly the U.S. tort-centric legal system that's to blame for a lot of what's wrong in this country. Yes, they've righted some wrongs too, but on balance, I think it's not a good long-term situation at all.

Jusforfun

its not the dealers who over inflate... its the way they are transported to stop them lurching around. Also they strap around the tires so they need to be solid. The dealers or rather the service need to have it written up in giant letters somewhere obvious that pressure need to be reset. It seems to be the most common complaint.

ELEVENS

Guess it depends on the dealership then. Back when I worked my way through college at a car dealership, one of the things I did was prep new cars. Tire pressure was a check list item and it was never missed. In fact, the service manager issued a personal tire gauge to each tech and every Monday morning we all got together and checked our gauges to make sure they all read the same. An effective quality assurance system and we didn't even need a computer!

The G Man

Its also for preventing flat spots on the tire from sit in one spot for too long. Audi dealer should make adjusting the tire pressure as part of their new car prep. Set the tires to the proper pressure according to the door jam sticker and then set the TPMS afterward, that way, if the customer get a low pressure later, the warning light will come on.