S3 wheel alignment & tyre wear

Hi,

I've got a 2002 S3 with 16K miles on the clock.

10 months back I hit a pothole and had to change a front tyre (big bulge), I had to change both front tyres as the very inside edges of both were very badly worn after only 8K miles. I took the car to a local specialist who tested and said front wheel alignment was fine and suggested that tyre pressures or power steering combined with lots of tight slow speed turning could be the problem. I don't do lots of slow speed tight turning but I admit to having not regularly checked the pressures. Since then, I have been festidious about checking pressures but since hitting another pothole and getting another nice bulge, I have had to change both tyres exactly as before.

The specialist has suggested a 4 wheel base geometry check/fix at £100 but I am unconvinced this will help as I would have thought if the front/back alignment was not correct then I would see different wear patterns - not inside edges.

Anyone got any good advice?.

Other pertinent info - I mainly drive conservatively with no passengers and with only the occasional bit of fun. The car veers very slightly to the left but this may just be due to the road camber. I also occasionally notice a very slight shaking/low frequency bass noise coming from the front particularly when I am coasting downhill at moderate speeds. Tyres have always been the standard Bridgestone RE040's. Wear on the rear tyres is normal and these were changed at

16K which seems OK to me.

Thanks,

Alan.

Reply to
Alan Campbell
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My S3 is just over 3 years old and is having its 80K service as I write this. The 3rd set of tyres are just about reaching the end of their lifespan. All three sets of tyres have suffered from this 'feature' to some extent or another. Each time I've had the tyres changed (at Bracknell Tyre & Battery) they've checked the wheel alignment and said it's fine.

The vast majority of my driving is done on UK motorways (the M4 between Cardiff and Bracknell mainly), although I do like to have a little cornering fun from time-to-time.

The first set were the factory fitted RE040s which did around 23K, the other two sets have been Bridgestone S03 Pole Position which is a vastly better tyre in my experience, both in terms of wear AND grip.

Aside from the front inside edge wear the tyres seem to wear at the same rate all round. I've now taken to swapping the front and rear tyres at around 15K to maximise their life.

Reply to
NickButcher

You are averaging over 26,666 miles per set of tyres. I reckon that's pretty good.

I am happy if I make it to 18,000 miles. :)

-- Doug Ramage

Reply to
Doug Ramage

I'm getting closer to 30K on the S03s. As I said the vast majority of my driving is done during my commute on the M4 from Cardiff to Bracknell 4 days each week so I don't do much cornering!

Reply to
NickButcher

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