A4again

I just had the 40K service done using my Audi care. I changed out my tires prior to the appointment so i could have it aligned. I asked them to roadforce balance the wheels since it was going to be on the lift
The dealership calls me later in the day and states that the Continental Pure Contact tires wont balance and are not Audi Approved. I found this funny as A. I am a tire distributor and B. they sell the same tires on their website (For considerably more than anyone else) They told me they couldnt index the tires and blamed it on the manufacturer.. They also told me they had their top technician with 20 years experience who performed the work. Since when did the "Top" technicians perform tire balance work?
The tires were spec'd exactly to the specifications that the tires i replaced that came on the vehicle. When i challenged them with data and my background, they simply stated it was unable to be performed at their shop
This was after they also discovered the water pump leaking even though i have told them since week 1 that there was a strong coolant smell. Of course i have to return for the work as they do not stock anything. When i asked if it were related to the current pump recall they told me there was no such recall.
I did take the car to one of our dealers and they road forced the tires with no issues,
I am planning to buy another car this year and can state with confidence it will never be from Fathers and Sons in West Springfield

cuke2u

There isn't a B9 current coolant pump recall is there? There was one for the B8 though..

clr1945

Can you explain what "road force" entails? That's not a term I've ever encountered.

A4again

Road Force wheel balancing is a more precise way to balance wheels which matches tires and wheels (Indexing) to create a vibration free ride. On performance tires
It will typically improve the ride.

And yes there is not a current recall on the B9 for the water pump but they did state that they have seen an increased number of B9 Audis' with coolant leaks at the Thermostat housings and or water pump

securityguy

The dealer must have a special balancing machine to perform the RF balance...this is all I have ever done to my tires since these machines came out. Google Road Force balance for more detail but it has a roller that places pressure on the tire while it is being balanced to look for further imperfections in the tire and/or wheel to reduce NVH. The cost is the same.

@A4again...it just goes to show you how MORONIC dealer's service people can be to tell you what they did about your tires. Total IDIOTS and I'd be having a conversation with the GM on this one!

clr1945

Thanks for that information. I learned something new today!

audi8k

Well, the reason for me to buy tires with "AO" marking and specification is that they should be uniform enough so that a normal balancing of the wheels (off the car) is sufficient.

A4again

Audi Specifications can be matched and out performed by a number of manufacturers. The Pirellis that were equipped at purchase performed terribly and could not be balanced.
The dealer even stated they were a problem tire especially after i replaced them. Temperature, Speed rating, weight capacity are all factors and easily matched.
Audi Spec's Continental on the cars, currently a summer performance tire called extreme contact.
When you get into the larger widths a standard balance will suffice, but performance tires can be difficult.

kurtatx

There is no B9 recall on coolant pump.

There was some confusion on a couple of online sources saying the 2017 was included in an earlier recall, but they were mistaken.

superswiss

Any tire can be road force balanced, but the question is with how many pounds of road force you end up with. Pretty much anything over 20 lbs is no bueno. Hunter I believe states 25 lbs, but you can have vibration with anything over 20 lbs. Do you know what your dealer got it down to? You always wanna know what the numbers are. My indy shop sends tires back that are above 20 lbs, so your Audi dealer may simply have found that they can't get it below 20 or 25.