Delaware_Tom

I know that the manual says to inflate snow tires 3 psi more than the regular tires. For my 2001 A6 2.7T, that would be 37 psi all around for 1 - 3 people since the door sticker lists 34 psi for 215/55/R16.

However, that same door sticker lists 38 psi front and 42 psi back for the same load and 205/55/R16 M+S tires.

I just had 215/55/R16 Nokian Hakka Q's put on my OEM wheels and mounted on the car. I tried the 38front/42back inflation and the steering seemed way too light, so now I'm giving 37 all around a try.

Why would Audi recommend a 4 psi higher inflation for the REAR for the 205/55/R16 size? It seems like the front would be heavier and want the higer inflation pressure with 1 to 3 people in the car.

Should I have gotten 205/55/R16's instead of 215/55/R16's for winter tires? I'm coming off of 235/45/R17's and the new tires make the steering seem way lighter as it is - I can't imagine the 205's inflated rock hard.

I don't have a lot of experience with snow tires, so what would you guys recommend? Stay 37 all around or make the rear a bit higher pressure than the front? Searching the forum didn't turn up a lot of snow tire inflation discussions but that might just be the search function acting up again.

Thanks for any advice,

- Tom

Reggie3

If you are running passengers around then extra psi in the rear is probably a good thing. Probably 36/38 would be fine.

Now go get a pizza at Grottos for me.

Reggie

98.52.8QMS

Eddie@Tirerack

I agree with Reggie. I would suggets basing it off of Audi recommended perssures, but you can certainly fine tune it to your preferences. I would say a 2-3 psi variance from OEM recommendations should be pretty good for you, but play around until you see what you like!

And dont forget you ned to check it more frequently in wintertime!

Eddie<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/pressure.htm">Air pressure tech</a></li></ul>

Kirk

... reduce the cars tendancy to understeer. This is independant of summer or winter. As for Audi's recommendation to go +3 for winter, this is because for every 10 deg colder, your tires loose around 1psi of pressure.

Just as Eddie and Reggie say, you should experiment a bit with your pressures both front and rear for both your winter and summer tires. For winter I would start with the 37 all around and see how you like the balance then play around from that point.

Also, the pressures are cold pressures and you should never let air out of tires that are warm.

Kirk