'01 A6 Sudden Tire Wear
#1
'01 A6 Sudden Tire Wear
Long time lurker here...2001 A6 with factory 'sport' suspension.
So, I switched over to my winter tires today and was shocked to see severe wear on the inside edge of both front tires. The drivers side was the worst. The last time I checked wear was less then 5000 miles ago - all was fine. This car has a history of excellent tire wear and I've owned it since new. It rides and steers fine - I can't say I notice any difference. It has a total of 102,000 miles and has never had anything done to the suspension.
Could this be an indication of shot upper control arm bushings ? Do these cars lose alignment as they age ? I can hear an occasional 'click' every once in a while when hitting a square edge bump at low speed.
I wanted to check the expert forums first before taking it to a shop. Now that the snows are on, I don't want THEM ending up with the inside edge worn to the cords...
So, I switched over to my winter tires today and was shocked to see severe wear on the inside edge of both front tires. The drivers side was the worst. The last time I checked wear was less then 5000 miles ago - all was fine. This car has a history of excellent tire wear and I've owned it since new. It rides and steers fine - I can't say I notice any difference. It has a total of 102,000 miles and has never had anything done to the suspension.
Could this be an indication of shot upper control arm bushings ? Do these cars lose alignment as they age ? I can hear an occasional 'click' every once in a while when hitting a square edge bump at low speed.
I wanted to check the expert forums first before taking it to a shop. Now that the snows are on, I don't want THEM ending up with the inside edge worn to the cords...
#2
AudiWorld Super User
I have had the same and mine is at 67k with no history of problems and no changes to the suspension.
I can only assume it is due to wear in the bushes and so the extra movement allows the wheels to toe out or excess negative camber.
I can only assume it is due to wear in the bushes and so the extra movement allows the wheels to toe out or excess negative camber.
#4
AudiWorld Super User
If you can't find any wear on suspension components or car where the tires are hitting, it has to be alignment.
Perhaps caused by a suspension component wear but unusual to happen on BOTH front tires.
Unusual to do what appears to have happened. I've used Dunlop SP9000 tires on 2K4.2A6 for 145K miles w/o any problems with front alignment. Have had multiple UCAs replaced and last time just rebushed the inner bush on the front UCAs w/o aligning the front end.
Get it aligned/have shop look at it.
Perhaps caused by a suspension component wear but unusual to happen on BOTH front tires.
Unusual to do what appears to have happened. I've used Dunlop SP9000 tires on 2K4.2A6 for 145K miles w/o any problems with front alignment. Have had multiple UCAs replaced and last time just rebushed the inner bush on the front UCAs w/o aligning the front end.
Get it aligned/have shop look at it.
#5
If you can't find any wear on suspension components or car where the tires are hitting, it has to be alignment.
Perhaps caused by a suspension component wear but unusual to happen on BOTH front tires.
Unusual to do what appears to have happened. I've used Dunlop SP9000 tires on 2K4.2A6 for 145K miles w/o any problems with front alignment. Have had multiple UCAs replaced and last time just rebushed the inner bush on the front UCAs w/o aligning the front end.
Get it aligned/have shop look at it.
Perhaps caused by a suspension component wear but unusual to happen on BOTH front tires.
Unusual to do what appears to have happened. I've used Dunlop SP9000 tires on 2K4.2A6 for 145K miles w/o any problems with front alignment. Have had multiple UCAs replaced and last time just rebushed the inner bush on the front UCAs w/o aligning the front end.
Get it aligned/have shop look at it.
A couple of questions concerning control arm replacement...
Is it normal to treat both UPPER and LOWER control arms as wear items, or is it typically the UPPERS that go ?
Is it necessary to get the car realigned after control arm replacement ? I'm considering doing it myself after watching the Bentley video and it doesn't look like any adjustments need to be released, although I may have missed it.
One note - I had the 'front assembly' or whatever they call the whole front end of the car, removed this summer to replace the alternator. Is it possible the alignment could have been messed up when this was done ? I don't know how far into the suspension (if at all) that front clip goes. That's the only work done that could have changed anything.
My engineer brain is just trying to get itself around the problem. It has a tendency to over evaluate everything before commanding my body to make a move
Thanks all !
#6
#7
How often do you check your tire pressure? I've found that even with a perfect alignment and new suspension bits and pieces, if I run less than 35psi in the front tires the wear accelerates dramatically.
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#8
I typically run in the high 30's with the Dunlop SP9090's (front).
But I wouldn't expect low tire pressure to severely wear just the inside edge (?)
#9
AudiWorld Super User
I have not done any suspension repairs at all.
I suspect it could now do with a complete front and possibly rear service, reaplacing any worn bushes but I will probably sell the car in the next few weeks now so I am not intending to do it, although it would be nice to see how it drives after the work was done.
The only time I have dismantled the front was to replace both CV joint boots about two years ago.
I suspect it could now do with a complete front and possibly rear service, reaplacing any worn bushes but I will probably sell the car in the next few weeks now so I am not intending to do it, although it would be nice to see how it drives after the work was done.
The only time I have dismantled the front was to replace both CV joint boots about two years ago.