Tyres on same axle

[youlton2007]

Good morning all! A little advice in needed pls.
I have a Q7 and the other day Westfield Valet parking spanked my rear wheel on a kerb and damaged the wheel and tyre. Long story short, my insurance company are saying they only need to replace 1 tyre. I am getting info from Audi saying they recommend that you don't have different tyre tread depths on the same axle BUT the insurance company are saying that Audi are saying you don't.
Any advice will be appreciated
Thanks in advance [emoji106]


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[Guest 2]

Its not a must. Im sure there are hundreds of quattro car's out there with differing tread depths and tyre brands. It'll be fine.

[h2bnd]

I don't think it's a problem on the Quattro, haven't heard any reports of damage to car on any of the forums. I was an apprentice mechanic when Vauxhall brought out the calibra and cavalier 4x4 turbo and that had problems if you didn't replace all 4 tyres at the same time.


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[Q7newbie]

This is a scenario putting you in between a rock and a hard place.
Audi are right in saying that they recommend you always have a matching set of tyres per axle. The guys above are right in that there are lots of people driving around with mismatched tyres with no real evident issues. But Audi state several reasons for their insistence on the identical tyre issue. Namely:
handling and stability delivery.
Braking distances, ergo safety levels. The Q7 has the highest safety rating of any SUV in production, these results are only replicable with such a tyre configuration.
Also, Audi maintain that any gross mechanical failures or safety elements that fall outwith the companies recognised stats would not basis for a valid claim against audi if the car was proven or known to have have different type or age of tyre on the same axle. Seems all quite extreme, (1 out of million type situations).

In summation - ur insurance is be cheap (surprise surprise), and Audi are being a typical melodramatic, money hungry car manufacturer trying to maximise after-sale income via playing on the fears of car owners.

If you're paying for it, I'd stick to the single wheel and tyre repair. If it's being paid by insurance (eg Premia Solutions) I'd stick to my guns, get a written declaration from your local Audi stating it's imperative that both are changed, and force the insurance to replace both tyres.

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[JMR1]

Once the tyres are identical to each other,should be ok. As in what happens when you have to use the brand new spare wheel,and the other tyres all have 15'000+miles on them?

[Q7newbie]

Well, if it's the smaller self-inflating space saver, the concerns are evident: the difference in size means a smaller contact point t with the road, and even if they're the same size, the difference in wear will result in different amounts of road contact, which leads to incorrect load distribution across the axle, which affect the handling, balance and braking. The key issues being the amount rotation each tyre would be putting would differ and the tyre to Road contact would differ to. Resulting in varied stopping abilities.
For example, if you had a brand new spare on one corner and 15,000 mile worns the on the other side, if you were driving in a straight line and from 50mph you braked hard, the car would swerve or turn. To which people's natural reaction is to yank the wheel in the opposite direction making it more like to hit other cars or roll yours. Proportionately the consequences would be worse depending in speed and weather.

Bearing in mind this is a bit of an extremis hypothetical just to help illustrate better the concerns that arise from different size or age of tyres on a single axle.

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[zollaf]

obviously if you fit the space saving spare you are automatically breaking the law anyway by having a tyre of a different size on the same axle. it wouldn't pass an mot like this, but is deemed safe to use on the rad for 30 miles at upto 50 mph. brake hard on it and it will pull up straight enough , but with all the electronic devices, abs, esp etc, it will be perfectly safe. its more to do with the diffs not liking to be used constantly although in reality it won't really matter. put odd sized tyres on a landrover freelander and you will destroy the viscous coupling within a few miles mind, so there are some cars you can't do this with. but the question is, who is going to pay for any damage caused by this new tyre. are the insurance company going to cover you if audi refuse to fit a new gearbox under warranty because they rightly told you to not fit one new tyre. ??? i would want that bit in writing from them, but i doubt you would get it...

[youlton2007]

Thank you ALL for your replies. I will be sticking to my guns and will be changing insurance companies when I can.
I will let you know the outcome once I have spoke with LV/Highway/Hoopers on Monday.
Cheers


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[youlton2007]

Finally resolution. They have agreed to 4 tyres and the repair to the wheel and paint them. Thanks all for your input [emoji16]


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[zollaf]

blimey, thats a result. are you going to keep the 3 tyres or stick em on ebay ??

[youlton2007]

I will have to see what happens. Maybe the insurance company will insist on the garage disposing them...if not then I will keep. Cheers


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