Tyre Wear

it may be that you have slight excess toe out, get it checked and decide for yourself before adjustment

------------------------------------------------- Ted Rubberford. 'The Man In The Red Latex Skintight Suit'

Next time you replace the tyres get them to play with the tracking too. If they're okay now and you're thinking of getting them replaced you may as well have both the tyres and tracking done at the same time.

--Nick.

Richard, Wear on the inside of the tyres seems to indicate ball joint problems causing excessive camber (tyre lean - top inwards). Depending on the vintage of A4 there have been myriad problems with failing ball joints - some have been covered by warranty, some by recall. I'd stop in at the dealer and see if yours is covered. Cheers! Steve Sears

I'd be tempted to get it checked by an Audi dealer, an accident repair company or a motorsport type place. They should have tracking gear that's better than the average tyre fitting place has (I've been ringing around today, and it doesn't seem many places check camber, just tracking). And 4WD tracking sounds like it could be very complicated to me (adjustable rear end?).

Thanks for the reply.

The car is 2000 Audi A4 Quattro. I had an MOT done at the Audi dealer 2 months ago while the car was still under warranty and they did not find anything wrong then. The problem was evident at the time.

Richard

Depends on where you are but google for 4 wheel laser alignment locally e.g.

Thanks for the reply.

It is more complicated than just normal so I am reluctant to take it to a tyre place. But Audi dealers charge ridiculous amounts ( I've heard up to £200) for an alignment check. I want to avoid this if it turns out the wear is 'normal'.

Richard

Get a simple car like a Fiesta or something, you shouldn't buy a car that you can't afford to run, expenses like this are part and parcel of having a car which only a few years ago would have been able to compete in international motorsport and win.

It is complex and this is why you have to pay a lot in maintenance.

mrcheerful

Who said I couldn't afford it ? I just don't want to throw money away. A different thing entirely.

So a road going A4 is similar to 'international motorsport winning car' ? I don't think so !!

Richard

what about:

Hannu Mikkola leaves the opposition dumbstruck when Audi officially launches the quattro on the Algarve Rally. Mikkola, running as a course car on the quattro's first public outing, sets a searing pace. Had times counted towards the event, the Audi would have won by 30 minutes!

Franz Wittmann won the Austrian January Rally in the Audi quattro's first competitive outing. Shortly afterwards, Hannu Mikkola clinched Audi's first World Rally Championship win in Sweden. The Finnish driver also won the RAC Rally in Great Britain. Michèle Mouton caused a sensation on the San Remo Rally as an Audi works team driver, becoming the first woman ever to win a World Rally Championship event.

Michèle Mouton won the Portuguese, Acropolis and Brazilian World Rally Championship events only narrowly missing out on the Drivers World Championship title. Victories by her team-mates Hannu Mikkola in Finland and Great Britain and by Stig Blomqvist in Sweden and Italy helped Audi to the Manufacturers World Championship title.

Wins in Sweden, Portugal, Argentina and Finland, meant Hannu Mikkola was crowned World Rally Champion for the first time. Stig Blomqvist rounded off a good season by winning the RAC Rally.

Walter Röhrl started Audi's most successful year in rally competition by winning in Monte Carlo. Team-mate Stig Blomqvist won the Drivers World Championship title with wins in Sweden, Greece, New Zealand, Argentina and - for the first time in an Audi Sport quattro - the Ivory Coast, proving himself a worthy successor to Hannu Mikkola, who triumphed in Portugal. Audi won the Manufacturers Trophy for the second time.

your car is a modern derivative of these

mrcheerful

since with the possible exception ( and I doubt it wholeheartedly) of the first example none of these is a group N (or equivalent, its been a long time group1 I think in those heady days) showroom category car all the others will be homologation rally specials with a very limited production and trick items like fully adjustable rose jointed suspension outsize turbochargers not at all derivative of road going cars. They bear bout the same resemblance to the A4 as my Escort XR3i does to the Escort RS 1600 mk1 and remember 1880s audi quattro -100 /80 different body shells engines boxes same name.Richards question is entirely valid is it a normal wear under certain conditions? geometry check at a tyre depot? ROFL take a tip when you get home check they tightened your wheel nuts thats often the level of service.Its a shame that dealers treat routine checks as a milch cow I'd look around for an independant explain your problem and ask if they can deal Derek

When I was running a Honda Civic VTi (170BHP ish). I was told by the dealer on delivery to expect that sort of wear and it looked to be set up to wear that way (and saw it). It didn't half stick when cornering so I assume the entire flat of the tyre went into play at that point. Maybe it is a deliberate manufactuerer setup since a 'quattro' spec is going to be more to teh performance end of the range. Check with your dealer if this is normal behaviour.

Warwick

First of all thanks for the replies.

Just had a service done today and I got them to check my inner tyre wear. They reported that there was wear on the outer side as well. I did not really notice this too much but I am no expert. They checked the wheel alignment and suspension said it was absolutely spot-on not just within tolerance. I assume this is due to under inflation but I keep my tyres up to specification so I am a bit confused. I guess it is nothing to worry about though when purchasing new tyres soon.

Any comments about this.

Thanks in advance.

Richard

I think that you are experiencing is normal wear from driving the car aggressively like an audi should be driven. You are making the tires work on the twisties : )