Abnormal Tire Wear?

"Mike" wrote

Why? This can result in uneven tire wear.

Can you describe the abnormality of it (or post a picture)? Also, what size and model of tires do you have?

Such is 'beauty' of Torsen. It's best to replace all 4 at the same time.

Yep. Tire rotation is common knowledge these days. Although with quattro, tires usually wear quite evenly, even if not rotated. Still, the fronts wear out quicker because they do all the turning, so should be rotated.

Personally, I never had an issue with uneven tire wear. If you have summer tires, 18-20K miles of life is actually not uncommon though. Whether they're worn unevenly or not, they might be ready for replacement.

The fact that only one tire wore unevenly is strange though. If we exclude improper inflation (since you said you check it frequently), then I would look into the following: a. alignment - dealer can verify if it's needed b. worn suspension component - again, dealer should be able to check this c. tire defect - this one will be tough to prove, I'm afraid, and if you can get any money back, it'll be from the tire manufacturer rather than from an Audi dealer, me thinks.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Cheers,

Pete

If would help to know what the wear /is/!

In general - more wear in centre = overinflation, more wear on both shoulders = underinflation, more wear on one shoulder = tracking problem (dynamic or static)

Just as a data point: I have a 2002 A4 3.0 Quattro with the original Dunlop SP9000 tires on it. They are just about shot now at 33,000 miles.

-s

Tire wear is certainly driver influenced, but inflation and rotation are also major factors. I try to rotate tires every other oil change and I always inflate to spec. Over air wears the tire centers and in the quattros it seems to induce a pulse through the steering. Under air (even a few pounds) seems to make the car feel like it's running on flatted tires. I usually get about 35 to 40,000 miles on my summer tires, I have

22,000 on my Blizzaks. Yes, they are pretty shot. On one of my 100's, I had a couple tires wear unevenly and prematurely before I realized that my rear struts wear shot. The extra jounce at the wheels with a bit of out of balance shredded them real quickly. You might have a bad front strut! Also, these cars are super sensitive to balance. Be sure they are perfect to get the best wear life. Finally, it may be the case that you had a bad tire or damaged the belts by running over something or hitting a curb. In that case, the tire can look fine, but wear out prematurely. I had this experience on one of my A42.8Q's after I ran over a ball peen hammer at speed In that case, I chased the problem for weeks to figure out what was wrong. It wasn't until we concluded that the belts were separated that I remembered hammering the hammer.

What are your driving habits?

33K isn't that bad on a set of high performance tires. Tire life and stickiness are usually on opposite ends of the stick. The treadwear rating is what..... about 280?

Yes, the tread wear rating is 280. I usually get about 100 miles per point of tread wear rating (perhaps that's the point?). Besides the A4, I have a Passat, and that got 30,000 miles from a set of SP5000's (t/w 300) and

20,000 miles from a set of SP8000's (t/w 200). My daily commute is 55 miles each way, mostly highway, mostly "above 55 mph".

-s

Steve, It sounds like you got good service from them. You can go to higher mileage tires but... well... It all depends on your driving needs.

Do you have any need for snow traction?

I now have Dunlop Sport A2's on my '01 A6 2.7Tq. They don't stick near as well as the SP 9000's on an offramp but I get traction in any weather, rain or snow. They are rated 420-AA-A and cost $110 apiece installed in Cincinnati.

Jon

I am "happy" if I get more than 15,000 miles from my tyres.

-- Doug Ramage

A lot can also depend upon the age of a tyre, as well - IIRC it's to do with styrene migration over time, making the rubber stiffer and less "grippy".

Certainly, my tramlining has disappeared by replacing the old tyres (18-24 months old) and the car feels a lot more predictable when cornering "briskly".

YMMV (pun intended ;o)

H1K

Oh yes; I live in upstate New York. I have Dunlop Winter Sport M2's mounted at the moment (205/55-16 on steel wheels), with which I am quite pleased. The combination of quattro and winter tires leads to the worst aspect of Audi ownership: no matter how bad the weather is, you can still get to work :-)

-steve

What is the nature of the "abnormal wear"? Is it even or uneven across the tread? The fact that it's only one tire suggests an alignment problem. I got

50,000 miles out of the original Dunlops on my 98 A4 2.8q. Only a couple of rotations and a couple of balancings plus one alignment in all that mileage. I watch my tires carefully and keep them inflated to 40 psi. I did not see excessive center tread wear and the wear bars were not quite showing when I replaced them with Kumhos. Rotation is no cure for a fundamental alignment problem which is what you may have had. Usually, you can feel an alignment problem but I understand that is not a hard and fast rule. Get the proper 4 wheel alignment from your Audi dealer and a set of Kumho Ecsta Supras - great tire for a great price.