PM Hurdy, as John was one of the early adopters on this forum of the Vreds. Maybe he can give you a heads up.
In all honesty, I doubt that you'd notice a difference with just a 2psi change. You can't do any damage by over-inflating tyres.
2 PSI over no - but overinflating tyres in general can cause poor wear patterns, bursting from over inflation... more liable to pot hole damage, less grip due to higher pressures...
Urban myth. Sorry, but on decent tyres, you will NOT get any of those scenarios you state from over-inflation.
I've personally been running pressures much higher than those recommended for over thirty years. It suits my driving style, and for every vehicle I own, I always experiment with tyre pressures to tune the handling characteristics to the way I drive. It doesn't matter if they are front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, four wheel drive or one wheel drive - I tweak em all. And crucially, I'll re-adjust pressures if/when I fit different tyres.
My GTI runs 35psi on the rear, 44psi up front - and I never get adverse wear patterns, never had a burst tyre, never had problems with grip or traction, never had damage from pot holes. The only down-side of higher pressures is very slightly less comfort, an advantage is better fuel economy.
Other cars I've run tyres at 60 psi (granted, they were either Pirhelli, or Courier [made by Pirhelli]).
Other vehicles I use have pressures of 90psi and 130psi - none go pop!
I think 36 PSI is the maximum I would want to run these particular tyres on a Golf.
You're out on your own re the Vreds - many folks need to run them at 40+ psi.