Had terrific luck with this years ago in Florida winters.

Star Spec (my gauge = el cheapo Advance) 31F/29R psi

The specs liked the lower pressure, especially in the rear. This was on an offset set up, prior to STR's creation. 245F 255R

 

Cool. I'm going to try 36f/34r a few runs next time

 

Does 1-2 lbs per wheel of extra rotational mass have a real world effect on times?

 

For as much as unsprung weight gets touted as the best kind of weight you can reduce (things like 1 pound of unsprung is equal to 7 pounds in the trunk), I have never actually felt a difference going as much as 5 pounds heavier or lighter per wheel. I just added 12 pounds of unsprung weight to my S and as much as I hated the idea, I could not tell difference...on the street anyway, if I was doing back to back autocross runs then maybe it could be felt.

The only lightweight part that has ever made a significant difference for me was a lightweight flywheel on an E30, that made the car obviously quicker in 1st and 2nd gear.

 

We've been running 34/32 on RS3s and it's felt quite good. Though keep in mind what tire pressures end up working well for you are also influenced by the alignment you have and your suspension setup. We'll probably continue to run these pressures on NFRad's car this season. Since we codrive his car, I'm putting 255 star specs on 949 wheels on my car as my street tire so we can swap in my wheels if it's wet. I ran star specs the season before last and in the wet they felt just as good and manageable as in the dry...even in this standing water. I ran those at 32/30.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLsEcMsv4w0

 

Your tire pressure gauge could explain why you liked lower pressures. You should compare your gauge to a high dollar longacre gauge and see if your gauge reads low. I use a $180 longacre gauge and my kooks feel really mushy under 32 psi. Granted I have kicked some butt with them at 32f/30r on a cold, rain, and slick course. Although the tires felt mushy even though I achieved higher grip in that situation. Normally I stay in the 34-36 range. I watch how much they roll over to determine if I'm going to lower the pressure or not.

 

Who's to say your $180 longacre is accurate? My $25 moroso gauge is within 1psi of multiple other tire pressure gauges on grid, many of those belonging to multi time national champions... Some of them have super exspensive gauges, some don't. As long as he tests his gauge against others and sees where his reads compared to them then he should be good to go.

 

When the bridgestone motorsports trailer used to come to the san Diego tour every year, I would ask to use their pressure gauge tester. Was spot on up until last year. Now it reads 2lbs low...(ie. 36=38).

 

I also have the moroso gauge and it's always read the same as the super expensive ones

 

I use a 99 cent stick gauge :| maybe I should invest in something better