S4 Uneven tyre wear
Discussion
Took my B6 S4 for an MOT the other day and it failed due to "dangerous" wear on the inside edges of both front tyres. Tyres are Goodyear F1's. Geometry has been tested and it's fine. Anyone else had similar problems and know the cause? The outside edges were more worn than the central part of the tread (which had 6mm or more tread left), but not as bad as the inside edges. The rear tyres were replaced at the same time as the fronts about one year ago, guess less than 10K miles ago, and they are still fine. Will take to dealer for check up when I get a chance, but interested to know if anyone else has had this problem. Cheers.
i have a a4 withe 18 inch rs6 wheels and tryes, i have exactly the same problem, there doesnt seem to be a cure, so i keep my eyes on them then swap them to the back, as i too got caugyht out like this, the bloody canvas was on show!!! yet there was a solid 3- 4 mm on the main tread!?
Fort Jefferson said:
ukdavvy12 said:
What are your actual tyre pressures?
Whats recommended?
And how obsessive have you been about checking them?
39F 35RWhats recommended?
And how obsessive have you been about checking them?
39F 35R
Very.
But I'm not the one with the problem.
Dr G said:
Have you had the front suspension links/bushes checked out? It's perfectly possible your static geometry is fine but if any of the bushes have gone soft...
Well I had the car serviced at a well known independent based in Iver a couple of thousand miles ago. Is this something they would have checked as part of the service? 
Edited by JohnP68 on Monday 8th September 22:18
I would be suprised if the geometry was checked that closely at a routine service
The fact that you have ignored my post about tyre pressures makes me suspect you dont think its important
Thus I would hypothesize that you dont check your own regularly and yours may have wandered leading to the wear pattern you describe
ukdavvy12 said:
I would be suprised if the geometry was checked that closely at a routine service
The fact that you have ignored my post about tyre pressures makes me suspect you dont think its important
Thus I would hypothesize that you dont check your own regularly and yours may have wandered leading to the wear pattern you describe
Your hypothesis is wrong! I incorrectly assumed that your post was directed at the post immediately before yours, i.e. the one from FJ.The fact that you have ignored my post about tyre pressures makes me suspect you dont think its important
Thus I would hypothesize that you dont check your own regularly and yours may have wandered leading to the wear pattern you describe
I run the pressures recommended in the manual, and check them about once a month using my own gauge, not one from some dodgy garage.
Re the last service my question was regarding whether they would have inspected the suspension links/bushes (as suggested by Dr G) - not whether they would have checked the geometry
They all do that, Sir.
Well in my experience they do - all my Quattros (and I've had few) have chewed up the inside edges of the front tyres, and yes all the bushes and alignments etc were checked and fine. Not worn so very badly on the ur's, mind, but pretty bad on the C4s and on whatever generation the AllRoad is.
Well in my experience they do - all my Quattros (and I've had few) have chewed up the inside edges of the front tyres, and yes all the bushes and alignments etc were checked and fine. Not worn so very badly on the ur's, mind, but pretty bad on the C4s and on whatever generation the AllRoad is.
Not much help, I know, but VAG Haldex cars do it too - my R32 got through a couple of pairs of fronts before I had the alignment done by race engineer Neil Garner, who added 2 degrees of toe-in to counteract the wear & bad camber.
www.neilgarner.co.uk
www.neilgarner.co.uk
I think you may be right. Come to think of it, the outside edges were worn quite a bit more than the centre of the tyre. I'm going to get the suspension etc checked out soon, but in the meantime have increased the pressures by a couple of psi (from 39 psi, which I think is the recommended pressure for unladen, up to 41 psi, just below the 42 psi recommended for fully laden use). Might cope better with the way I tend to go around roundabouts
JohnP68 said:
I think you may be right. Come to think of it, the outside edges were worn quite a bit more than the centre of the tyre. I'm going to get the suspension etc checked out soon, but in the meantime have increased the pressures by a couple of psi (from 39 psi, which I think is the recommended pressure for unladen, up to 41 psi, just below the 42 psi recommended for fully laden use). Might cope better with the way I tend to go around roundabouts
Yep, good idea to up the pressure on the front from 39 to 41.Exactly what I did not long after getting my s4.
Does help lessen the wear on the outside edges.
Plus, get yourself some Michelins.
Unfortunately (perhaps) I've replaced the fronts with another set of F1's. The new ones are the asymmetric's though, so might be better anyway. I hope so, as I've been very pleased with the ride etc from the F1's, so I'd like to stick with them.
This has prompted me to check my paperwork and it looks like I actually got about 16K miles out of the fronts, which isn't too bad given the way I drive it I think! The rears, which were replaced at the same time, have about 4mm tread left, so I'd expect to replace them fairly soon anyway.
This has prompted me to check my paperwork and it looks like I actually got about 16K miles out of the fronts, which isn't too bad given the way I drive it I think! The rears, which were replaced at the same time, have about 4mm tread left, so I'd expect to replace them fairly soon anyway.
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