maxcap

The reason I didn't just go with what was printed in the manual, is my experience that auto manufacturers change the oem tire (obviously same specs, but small variations in performance) at various times thru the production year. Maybe with the low volume of this config, they secured a single source for the entire production year. In any case thanks for the rigorous debate, and ill update this thread if I get anything new from the dealer.

onthebeam

I've been thinking about this recently and ready to add more air. Since I'm normally alone, I've set the tire pressure to the lesser amounts above. However, I find that the car isn't cornering up to the level of the very good tires I purchased—too soft. On the other hand, too much air is a harsh ride. So, next step is to go up to the max level, compare the handling and then see if there is perhaps a happy medium.

Others notice lesser handling when going down in pressure to the 1 to 2 passenger level??

uberwgn

When I go on a road trip, and the car is filled with people + their junk, I'll air the tires up to something close to the MAX LOAD values.


However, 99.9% of the time, I fly with the published Normal load values + 2psi on all our vehicles. That works well on our local roads.


There's nothing wrong with experimenting a bit on this. Try to remember that Audis are front wheel drive cars and carry the majority of their weight on the front tires, not the rears. The Congressionally-mandated labels foisted upon us make no sense.

jjsC6

An update...I dropped my pressures this morning from 38/38 to 32/36 f/r and there is no doubt that it rides a lot better now. I hear it "thump" at highway speeds over expansion joints, but I'm not feeling any of the jiggling I did before. I still need to drive it to work and back to experience the same roads, but I feel certain it made a significant difference. You still know you have low profile tires, and I still think 19s would be a better tradeoff, but it is more acceptable.

Baloo588

Glad to see that you did it. My brother has a 2014 Audi A6 with the sports package and 20 inch rims and we dropped the pressure to normal load and the ride harshness and jiggling that is not found in the GS F-Sport or 5 series was gone. However, your pressure is the opposite of the manual. It should be 36 front and 32 rear.

jjsC6

I transposed my numbers, I did do it the other way.

I owe you one for your first post!

maxcap

I lowered the tire pressures to normal load vs. max load as discussed herein, and drove out to the beach this weekend.

Low and behold I get a flat on the front passenger side tire. The damage/puncture was to the inside sidewall of the tire. Both the service guy and I were surprised as neither of us had ever seen it happen there (bottom and outer sidewall of course). Granted the beach roadway's are soft and shifting/cracking outer perimeter due to the sand base... but still. Have driven many other cars with low profile tires out there (hamptons), and never had a problem in the past.

Not sure if the pressure made a difference, instead of just being a random occurrence, but I'm going to take a little more pressure and harsher ride in the future. Not sure if everyone with the same model gets the same tires, so to clarify this was a 265/35R-20 Continental Pro Contact TX.


Two further points:

1. The included donut works well, and the car was still very stable at much higher speeds than recommended under it's use. I drove home about 175 miles, and had no difficulty at all.

2. Wanted to give a big positive shout out to the guys at Jack Daniels, Saddle River Audi, who replaced the tire (about 3K on it), without so much as a peep asking me to pay anything. BTW I did NOT buy the road hazard tire protection package that was offered at sale, but they said it was warranty none the less. My previous car was an A6 from Town Audi in Englewood NJ, where upon discovering a bubble in the sidewall with only about 2K on it, they refused to replace under warranty and cost me mucho out of pocket.

jjsC6

Sounds like a totally unrelated event.

Baloo588

I have always gotten worse experiecne with flats with the "softer" continentals compared to Michelins or Bridgestone. This is irrespective of the tire pressure. I dont inflate to max pressure because it ends up bending the rim more often when hitting a pothole. I think this is otherwise a random occurance because Audi has recommened the lower pressure for better wear and its spot on. We get even wear with normal load pressure and only me in the car.

onthebeam

As mentioned above, I've been running at the lower of the two Audi recommended pressures but didn't think handling was up to the level of the excellent Yokohama Advan Sport A/S tires I recently switched to. I upped the pressure to 38/41 and the handling is now nice and crisp. Ride softness isn't overly hard, although slightly firmer than before. Worth the tradeoff. These tires start out smooth and quiet so they are still very nice at this pressure.

Mileage has also come up at least 1 MPG.