GlynH Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 A year ago I had a full service on my S8 by a reputable independent dealer that included a full 4WD alignment on a Beissbarth 4WA setup. Yesterday while checking the car over a friends pit I noticed with horror the inside of both front tyres are showing canvas... The rest of the tyres have plenty of tread - nowhere near the wear bars at all but because of the badly worn inside the tyres are illegal & bloody dangerous... I'm having two new Michelins fitted today at a cost of £271 each - last year I paid £230 a tyre... What I was wondering was should the full 4WD alignment (which cost @£70 I believe) include the tracking? It would be crazy if it didn't but I need to know. Surely if the 4WD alignment was carried out correctly then the inside of the tyre shouldn't be that badly worn...should it? Thanks & regards, -=Glyn=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 I agree Glyn, as far As I know the 4WD alignment is a posh name for setting the tracking. The 4WD alignment systems seem to be as good as the operator and can very easily get things wrong, my garage use a very old fasioned mechanical system for tracking but yet it seems to produce better results than other people get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostKiwi Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Alignment=tracking .... same thing different name. I had an S3 that I had from new and it was exactly the same. Was driving around thinking the front end felt decidedly wayward and it wasn't until I parked it with full lock on I saw why - right through to the steel on both front wheels on the inner edge! That car always did that though no matter what was done to it. The current A8 though wears its tyres perfectly evenly and they went 35,000 miles (most of it motorway) and still weren't down to the bars (quite). Those were Dunlop SP9000's. The new Avon ZZ3's seem to be wearing similarly although with only 8k miles on so far its a bit early to tell... I'd definitely get the alignment checked again. To wear the inner edge suggestes too much negative camber, too much toe out or too little castor angle. I'm pretty sure only toe out is adjustable so I'd start there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlynH Posted May 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys, New tyres fitted Friday and tried to get it booked in for another 4WD alignment but they could not book me in until @ 2nd week in June so until then I am busy scrubbing the inside of £540 worth of rubber :-( They recommended a reputable local dealer to check the tracking who found it was 'only' 1mm out and said that was well inside Audi's tolerance and to try & adjust it might make it worse? So...if the 4WD alignment was carried out and the tracking is OK WTF would cause excessive tyre wear like this? The tyre guy said camber but isn't that part of the toe-in/out of having it tracked? Thanks & regards, -=Glyn=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure11 Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 It could be a combination of Negative Camber and low tyre pressure. But for the life of me I can't see how Camber is adjusted. Toe is adjusted on the end of the steering arms. Increase your tyre pressure a bit and see if that helps. At my last MOT I got an advisory that the inside of my front tyres were worn more than the outside. I had a 4 wheel alignment last year. I have increased the front tyre pressure by a couple of PSI. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewGray Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Suspension arms on their way out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
962C Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 -=Glyn=- Glyn as as in RS246 Glyn with the Polar RS2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lusso Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Glyn as as in RS246 Glyn with the Polar RS2? I had the same problem on my A8 (2000), i was advised by a specialist company that the car is set up with negative camber and there was no adjustment; great for track days but not much good for general use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffy3074 Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 My S8's running PS2's as well (20's, same as you judging by the cost) and they wear evenly across the whole tread, to get the best out of them I do swap them around though (Usually just front to back about half way through their lives) There's somwething wrong there, they shouldn't completely clap the inners like this with so much left on the rest. What pressure are you running them at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
962C Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Glyn as as in RS246 Glyn with the Polar RS2? I had the same problem on my A8 (2000), i was advised by a specialist company that the car is set up with negative camber and there was no adjustment; great for track days but not much good for general use. Random quote of the day award goes to.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick dasterdley Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 I had the same problem on my A8 (2000), i was advised by a specialist company that the car is set up with negative camber and there was no adjustment; great for track days but not much good for general use. According to ESAWIN, you CAN adjust the camber...mine needs doing at the back, and it's a similar set up to the fronts of most of the VW/AUDI range...2 bolts in elliptical holes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsYcHe Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 It's the same setup as the Passat essentially, and the VW garage had a hell of a time getting the camber settings right. Mate of mine who worked for Kwik-Fit at the time said to keep away from anything other than the manufacturers on the higher-end VAG cars. On the subject of wear, mine wears about 2mm difference over the life of the tyre on the front (more worn inside), but that could just be how I drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YiamCross Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 If track rod ends, ball joints etc are worn you can spend as much as you like on tracking but it will do no good. Mine wore out the outside of nearside tyre & I'd had it tracked checked & adjusted several times. New everything on the steering should sort that out, I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostKiwi Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 Thats a good point. Its very hard to tell if ball joints are crackered on an A8 without stripping them down, yet the effects on alignment can be dramatic.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlynH Posted June 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys...appreciated. Actually if anything I may have been running the pressures a little high if the rears are anything to go by according to my tyre dealer... Also if any of the suspension is worn surely the full 4WD Alignment should have highlighted the fact - ditto for the negative camber? Ah well...the least of my worries at the moment... Kind regards, -=Glyn=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now