Tyres destroyed on inside wall

[rhencullen1989]

Hi Sumpy, another strange thing is mine also had the Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres on, i know they have done over 10K, as i said before the backs (which are now in my garage) and the fronts both had about 4mm of tread left on them, it was just the very inner edge of the fronts that were worn right down, left worse than right cords showing on left, just bald on right.

Audi don't know what part is causing the camber to be out of tollerance by 0.6 degrees but they suspect either top arms or hub carrier is slightly bent. They don't know which, so its a process of elimination, an expensive one at that!!!!!!!!!

I have just replaced all 4 tyres (its a quattro) with Goodyear Eagle gsd3's, so it will be interesting to see how they wear, although like i said in a previous post, the front toe angle was also out on both fronts.

My intention is to do the arms first (after xmas) as they are easier than the hub carrier, then if it's still out, it will be the hub carrier, i hope Audi do me a good deal on 4 wheel alignment as it could be back twice more!!!!!!!!!

[Martin F]

Sumpy did you get a before and after printout ?

[Sumpy467]

Martin- yes I got a before and after printout. Haven't got the figures to hand at the moment, will post them later if your interested in the spec's (?)

Have noticed it's still sounds like it's scrubbing on slow tight turns though. Makes me wonder if Audi have got the spec right.
Used to work with a chap who had the new shape Jag- took it to a Jag specialist who adjusted his tracking slightly more than the quoted amount for better driving alignment (from experience).

Still easily sorted- don't turn so tight!

[danclyon]

Just come back from having the 4 wheel alignment done. Not far off minor adjustment on front, otherwise spot on. Also had a look around for any damaged bits whilst on ramps, none found.

On the plus side the fitter is going to consult with goodyear rep, might get free replacement tyres so they can disect them and find any manufacturing fault. Watch this space!

If two have done it and others have reported it it's not a manufacturing fault, but just a characteristic of wear of that type of tyre - be very surprised if Goodyear are interested!

As others have said, not all 4 wheel laser alignment places are created equal, nor is all kit.

I had mine done at Protyre in Cambridge and it took nearly an hour (and that was after they had cleaned and freed up all the suspension components while the wheels were off and being changed. The system they used was real-time so you could see mfrs designed spec along with where the wheels were in relation to this and they then adjusted until it was as bang-on as possible.

Might be worth trying somewhere else...

cheers,
Dan.

[Martin F]

Martin- yes I got a before and after printout. Haven't got the figures to hand at the moment, will post them later if your interested in the spec's (?)

Yeah, it would be good to see them particularly the camber figures.

Be even more interesting if somebody has the Audi specs to compare them with.

[rhencullen1989]

I have the Audi specs for a 2003 - 2006 sportline quattro GmbH from 8E-2-025688

FRONT CAMBER-: MIN -1 degree 12 min. MAX - 0 degrees 22 min.

FRONT TOE-: MIN 0 degrees 8 min. MAX 0 degrees 12 min.



REAR CAMBER-: MIN -1 degree 50 min. MAX - 0 degrees 50 min.

REAR TOE-: MIN 0 degrees 8 min. MAX 0 degrees 15 min.


Mine were all put correct except front left camber which is -1 degree 52 minutes. This is 40 minutes (or 0.66 degrees) over limit. Suspect bent upper arms or hub carrier.

[nanafagis]

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread so please keep us updated if anybody finds out causes. I too have gone through 7 tyres in under a year, all worn on the insides or blown out. The scary thing is how difficult it is to notice with it being on the inside edge. My car is also on 19"s so i know how expensive it is to replace the goodyears!

I've had 4wd alignment checked, camber, toe in whatever that is and they made a few slight adjustments. Just had suspension and the underneath checked in my last service and was told all is ok there.

Since then one tyre tore on the inside edge BUT i think (hope) it was already punctured as it had a piece of metal in it.

Maybe the 4wd checks have sorted things, maybe not. I've only done 2000 miles on these tyres so will know in another 2000 or so as theyve only been lasting 4000miles a pair!

Just a thought does your car seem to crunch the tyres at low speeds when turning or setting off from a standstill? (feels a bit like ABS on snow) Mine's either got a fault or maybe that's just a trait of the quattro system.

Like i say please keep us informed if any solutions are found and i'll do likewise!

Cheers

[bez101]

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread so please keep us updated if anybody finds out causes. I too have gone through 7 tyres in under a year, all worn on the insides or blown out. The scary thing is how difficult it is to notice with it being on the inside edge. My car is also on 19"s so i know how expensive it is to replace the goodyears!

I've had 4wd alignment checked, camber, toe in whatever that is and they made a few slight adjustments. Just had suspension and the underneath checked in my last service and was told all is ok there.

Since then one tyre tore on the inside edge BUT i think (hope) it was already punctured as it had a piece of metal in it.

Maybe the 4wd checks have sorted things, maybe not. I've only done 2000 miles on these tyres so will know in another 2000 or so as theyve only been lasting 4000miles a pair!

Just a thought does your car seem to crunch the tyres at low speeds when turning or setting off from a standstill? (feels a bit like ABS on snow) Mine's either got a fault or maybe that's just a trait of the quattro system.

Like i say please keep us informed if any solutions are found and i'll do likewise!

Cheers

7 tryes and all checks out have u checked the wheels fitment iv had this on aftermarket wheels b4 i did all that u guys have done then put my 17's oem back on had the wheels checked and its was a fault on the wheel where it bolts up kjust a thought

[rhencullen1989]

The scuffing you are experiencing on near full lock i.e when pulling out of your driveway etc is caused by the tyres sort of scuffing/skipping, i personally don't think this is a problem and is to do with the sheer width of the tyres (mine are standard 235) i think you will notice it more when the weather is colder like today (i put this down to the rubber being stiffer when colder) also it seems worse when the tyres are fairly worn compared to new ones.

I know several friends who's audi a4's do this and they think the same as me.

I also think that a lot of this slow hard turning could be something to do with the inside wear, but i could be proved wrong. My wife drives my quattro and its mainly used for small journeys and lots of parking! (mainly at expensive shopping centres!!!!!!!!!!)

[Dave Avant]

Mine's also scrubbing on full lock too!! but doesn't always do it!! I turn a full hard right out of the car park at work everyday. It seems to be worse when wet, but doesn't always seem consistantly as bad each time and even when wet each time too, sometimes it doesn't do it!!

Also got alot of wear on the front tyres, mainly on the outsides. Has been laser aligned twice with the same set of tyres.

I also have a clunk on the front too. I've changed the dampers all-round, upper arms and tie-rod ends. I took the bottom arms off the other week to check them and they were fine, although I did find the sub frame main bolt was hanging out by 1.5 inches!!!! Tightened it back up expecting my clunk to go, but no!! I do think the grip and handling isn't good compared to my previous cars (Peugeot, Rover, MG and BMW) Maybe the multi-wishbone set-up is just over kill and causes more problems than creating a good handling car!?