Verdict
The big blue Alfa is not without its faults, but the more time I spend with it, and the more I hone its set-up by playing with the drive modes and tyre pressures, the deeper my affection for it grows. I can’t get enough of it.
- Mileage: 13,895
- Efficiency: 22.1mpg
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 Romeo 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.
Both are a touch lower than the figures Alfa Romeo itself recommends, even with two passengers on board, let alone four. But if you have a Giulia QF, trust me – or at least try these pressures and see how it feels. The ride quality alone is transformed.
