Evil Buddha

Hotchkis Sport Anti-Sway Kit front and rear installed this week. Also had the RS 4-2 Blue - Pagid Compounded Race Pads made for the Audi 8pot installed with MotulĀ® RBF 600 in the lines. And I can't forget the most important part, the Potenza RE-01R 275/30/19's. I ran 39psi in the fronts and 41psi in the backs. The tires needed a lap or two to heat up and then the car became totally neutral. Grip was superb with NO under steer, in fact I found that I could use the throttle to force the rear out with a quick lift and it would then snap back in line with a bit of gas. The turn in is now immediate and the car seems to barely lean at all. I found myself able to keep up, not pass but keep up with (No BS) a Lotus Elise. If I had to guess the car feels like it's had about a 40% improvement in handling. I should warn anyone considering this setup that the ride is quite a bit stiffer, in other words you now feel every crack in the road. The cars stock brake pad sensors will also need to be bypassed with any of the Pagid pads. I noticed that I can still catch all four in a redline shift to second but it is now only possible when the tires are cold. I don't know if hardcore is the best way to describe a four door sedan but that is how she now tracks.

MrBucket

I just got the 275/30/19 RE-01R on my car last week and they are absolutely amazing for a street tire. My dealership sure did hate me for trying to get them mounted and inflated. First their machine was broken so it wasnt until 2 days later that it got fixed and they got the tires on the wheels, and then it took 6 hours for them to get them seated and inflated, but all their hard work sure was worth it.

daveak05

such a difficult mounting procedure with several tries on seating the oversize tire? that would sure be something of concern to me.

larrycr

It was a real comedy watching a local Goodyear dealer trying to mount the 18" tires on my S4 a few years ago. Recently, though, an authorized Tire Rack installer had no trouble with the 19s on my RS4.

Sounds to me like his dealer didn't have the machine they needed. I can't imagine a place like the Tire Rack spending much time mounting, considering how many mounted sets they ship. But you have to invest in the right equipment. And it isn't cheap.<ul><li><a href="http://www.moderntiredealer.com/t_inside.cfm?action=performancehb_det&amp;storyID= 1185">Tire Mounting Article</a></li></ul>

Evil Buddha

It works well. Why not?

larrycr

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/63784/fm2.jpg"></center><p>
I think they're nominally set to about 32, and if you go up to 40 the car loses a lot of grip. Their physics model seems to be a bit off in this respect. Relative changes from the nominal work as expected, but I learned in a hurry not to set the tires to real world pressures.

Bob W.

and the sways have nothing to do with ride comfort. did you check your pressures after a few laps? based on larryv's comments, 39/41psi cold pressures might be a bit high for a starting point.

larryV

are those cold tire pressures or measured immediately after a session?

Vijay

Bridgestones have tremendous grip, but they are heavy and the sidewalls are very stiff. On my 350Z roadster, I switched from Bridgestone S-03 pole position to Michelin PS2 in the identical size. The difference in ride was night and day.

Stiffer sway bars will detract *slightly* from ride comfort over uneven road surface since they will cause the car to act more like it has a rigid axle.

Bottom line....EVERYTHING is a trade off!!

Evil Buddha

105 F on the track. I had a 1.3 hr drive up to the track so I never really had a cold tire.