KevinGary

Very good advice

soonerfan

My 2014 Q5 TDI got new Continental DWS Extreme Contact All Season tires and an alignment on 5/24/16 at the dealer.
The alignment cost was $139.95. Balancing and mounting of the tires was $30.00/tire.

ThePitts

So, what did you decide to do? And what was the outcome?
I told my dealer this morning that the right front tire is starting to cup, so need an alignment. I was told immediately that it would be around $1000 b/c of all the sensors. Since I haven't experienced any problems (including no clue the tire was cupping), it sounds like all I need is a standard alignment, excluding all the sensor stuff. Am I on the right track?
Thanks for your help.

snagitseven

That's what I had done. No realignment of the sensors was necessary and all works fine.

1st Time Audi

I have a friend that works at Firestone and they offer a lifetime alignment for less than $200. I know it's YMMV, but I think it falls in line with brakes and tires in terms of going away from the dealer for service.


Inspect steering and suspension system
Put vehicle on alignment rack, mount and compensate sensors
Adjust camber, caster, and toe angles
12-month / 12,000-mile limited warranty
Road test vehicle
Print out initial alignment readings
Print out final alignment readings to verify alignment is within specification

In addition to everything offered in the Standard Alignment service:

Provide a Lifetime Warranty* on the alignment, which means we'll set alignment angles on your vehicle every 6,000 miles or whenever needed, free of charge, for as long as you own it.

snagitseven

I hear you, it sounds like a very good deal. But I would take a poke in the eye with a sharp stick before allowing a tire store to do a four wheel alignment on my A6. (Same with an oil change at a Jiffy Lube). I might let them balance and rotate my wheels but that's about it. Too many sad stories including my own. There are just some things better left to the dealer.

JRomulus

Ditto-- Based on Snagit's and other reviews I got a set installed ($992.28 balanced and installed at Sears Chicago burbs) in April and absolutely love them. Use them as my "summer" tires.

I have a set of Michelin 245/45/ZR18 100Y XL Pilot Sport AS/3 that I use as my "winter" tires. As many have mentioned, these Michelins are indeed smooth riding tires but no way come close to their 45K guaranteed mileage. I got 30K on mine and no problem with pro-rated warranty on a replacement set at 3 - 4/32" tread left.

As for alignment, finally, I had a unfortunate experience with valet parking damage to my front end at a major Cincinnati steakhouse last fall that I did not see until two weeks later. They apparently ran it hard into a piece of very low, rear facing steel rebar on a cement parking block (can tell by the nice round 1" diameter dent in the front lower bumper). Occasionally (once in a blue moon) the ACC and Lane Assist will go off, (especially if I ground the bumper parking on a low curb), but I pop back in the plastic inset that surrounds the round passenger side radar/camera, and when the I restart the vehicle at a later time, everything works no problem. The damage is such that you have to be looking for it to see it and since all the electronics work fine, I'll wait to fix it and save the insurance claim for now.

snagitseven

I believe on Tirerack the DWS 06 are rated better than the AS/3 in light snow. Maybe you should swap seasons?

JRomulus

Well, I certainly have that option.
I still think 18" is superior to 19" or 20" in snow. I drive in MI a lot, lots of lake effect deep stuff.

Either way, I'm covered for the next 70 -80K miles

snagitseven

I missed your different tire sizes. Since you have both, it would be interesting to try the DWS 06 in the first light snow then switch to the Michelins to see what the difference would be. Of course as I'm sure you already know, if you drive in deep snow, neither will provide the traction of a dedicated winter tire. Get those and you would have tires for all the seasons - winter, summer and spring/fall.