Talbot

I can say I pretty much agree here. I'm still kind of living the "OH, WOW" factor after dropping my pressures from the 39psi the dealership clowns inflated them to.

Don't wait, Mark. Go outside RIGHT NOW and free the N.

mplsbrian

An observation I've made is that the manual specifies "normal pressures" as being for "up to 3 adults" -- and in the rear especially, it's a substantial several PSI drop from "max load" which if you think about it is really 4-5 adults and some suitcases -- aka just a couple hundred more pounds in the vehicle than "up to 3 adults."

It makes me wonder if there is even more leeway to drop pressures even further for cars that normally carry 1, sometimes 2 adults and zero luggage...but that Audi omitted that column from the manual for the sake of either simplicity (too much to think about) or safety (oops I'm running 1-person pressures and 5 people need to pile in and now I'm risking a sidewall blowout at the first pothole).

What I'm positing is, I bet we could all drop 1-3 PSI down further for an afternoon of just-the-driver canyon carving and experience and even further "wow" factor on these crazy-good summer tires. (I think someone mentioned at some point that these exact same Conti SportContact 6 tires I got on my 19" v-spokes are also OEM on the R8?)

The flip side of that is probably "be sure to re inflate before you let the whole family hop in" -- or as Mark guessed, yes, you'll increase tire wear -- and it may even become a safety issue.

superswiss

I wouldn't recommend that. While canyon carving you are loading up the tires way beyond normal driving. If you don't have enough pressure, your tires will start rolling over the edges in hard corners, or if you hit a bump or a pothole you have a higher chance bending your rims. But what it really comes down to is maximizing the contact patch of the tires even after they heat up. I personally prefer a little reduced contact patch for canyon carving for a bit of sliding fun, so I usually go with the max tire pressure and then reduce it back down to normal tire pressure the next day. For really hard driving on the track, many people start measuring the hot tire pressure and tire temps to make sure contact patch stays even as the tires heat up and even let out air if the pressure gets too high due to the temperature increase. That's the reason the new RS vehicles can optionally be had with direct TPMS, so you can keep an eye on the pressure and temps right from the cockpit. That's perhaps a little overkill for canyon carving, but if you wanna take it to the extreme you would stop along the way and measure the pressure and temps and adjust it down or up depending on how your tires are heating up.

Talbot

Alright Mark... you said you got your pressures 'fixed' @ the dealership when you got your new engine, so we're awaiting your remarks on how it drives now.

markcincinnati

A couple of things:

With the new oil, the operating temps are up about 4 degrees F.

And, typical Audi, at 5,000 miles the engine seems to get a power boost -- does the same at 10,000 miles.

Today has been a low humidity 80F day.

My drive was at about 5:15PM -- I went to my special road -- if I'm lyin' I'm dyin' it was MINE all MINE. No other cars, period. Very rare.

Part of the road is a straightaway, speed limit 45. I got up to 86, before I had to clamp down in anticipation of the corner marked 15MPH.

Although this is subjective, I would say I took the curve at close to 50 and floored it at the apex and "rocketed" to the next curve (which is in the opposite direction) and damn near made 90 before I hit the brakes with steady but not "urgent" pressure and took the opposite curve perhaps another +2MPH. Engine temp rose to 224 -- the highest ever as I paddle shifted to 2nd gear and the RPM's shot up to 5K.

Both the power and the grip were fantastic.

I had not really expected the change to be as noticeable.

Front 37, Rear 35. Full tank. only person in the car, "me" -- I weigh 205.

An RS4 would have to be damn near criminal.

I want one.

Talbot

Spectacular write up! I really enjoyed that.

rsilvers129

One problem with wider tires up front is that it can lead to spinouts when hydroplaning or in snow/ice. That is why if you have to replace two tires, the better ones always need to be on the back, even for a FWD car.