ALFA ROMEO GIULA QUADRIFOGLIO

We play around with tyre pressures and drive modes, and fall in love with our Alfa all over again

- Steve Sutcliffe [e-mail]

TYRE pressures. In Formula One they mean everything, but for mere road cars, they don't matter that much, do they?

It depends. In an average family runabout, or a big heavy SUV, you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference between 30 and 40psi. But in a finely honed thoroughbred like the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, tyre pressures are a key ingredient, and they are often all-too-easy to get wrong. As I've recently discovered.

The problem is, the Alfa's handbook recommends pressures that are, I reckon, too high. And having experimented with various different pressures in the last couple of months, I've found a setting that I believe makes the car even better to drive than it otherwise would be. If you're interested, they are 2.5 bar at the front and 2.2 bar at the rear. Or in old money, 36psi front, 32psi rear.