thebauer

Have 20000 miles on my 2111 A3. Rear tires,especially passenger side has heavy wear. Front tires are great--is this an alignment problem? Continental OEM tires.

A6S4

It may be. With the quattros, both the front and rear alignment is important -- and necessary to be done by qualified and properly equipped shop. If I recall, the A3 is FWD but still may suffer from an alignment issue. While the camber of the cars is such that the inside of the tire will wear a bit quicker than the rest of the tires, premature wear like you are referencing may be indication of a need for an alignment. With the mileage you are reporting, suspension issues are probably not the culprit.

Just had my A8 aligned, due to tire wear and "chopped" tread. Can't believe the difference in the feel of the car. The rear was really out. Dealer alignment was the solution.

Hope that helps...

thebauer

thanks for the feedback. I booked an alignment at the Audi dealer for next week. Both rear tires are worn significantly more than the front--odd with a front wheel drive car. The car drives well etc. I believe the tires were rotated about 15000 miles ago. The passenger side tire (wear bar) is nearly even with the remainder of the tire--outside edge is more worn than the rest of the tire. The driver side rear is not worn as much but still more than the front. Wear bar is not as worn.

thanks again.

LWNY

Not sure what this means:

" The passenger side tire (wear bar) is nearly even with the remainder of the tire--outside edge is more worn than the rest of the tire. "

Does that mean passenger side tire has worn down to the wear bar evenly? Or does it mean the passenger tire's wear is roughly equal to the other tires, except for the outer edge.


Anyway, from the sounds of it, maybe it is due to tire pressure issue? Not sure if it is alignment given the rear driver's side is worn relatively evenly. Somewhat less pressure means more rolling resistance, but not enough to cause abnormal wear.

record10

My A3 goes through tires faster than any other car I have ever owned. The OE A6's were ****. I went to Pilot XGTV4 - then Potenza's, then Avon then back to Potenza's...they ALL scallop. I have a lifetime alignment from Firestone ($200 and well worth it). So, the car is always in spec for the laser alignment four wheel at multiple Firestones. The tires wear and get loud...I have never been afraid to spend money on tires...but for the A3 (note - worst car I ever purchased new)...I am going cheap on the tires cause it ruins any tire in 15k or so.

Oh - been checked by dealers (4) and multiple other places. It is in line. The best word I heard was that the car is "too light" for many tires...it does sort of make sense. Makes no sense to me...but I paid cash for the car so I put up with it. My 997 T/S does not eat tires as fast.

thebauer

The wear bar on the passenger rear tire is worn nearly smooth--on the outside of the tire. The drivers side rear tire is also worn but more evenly. The front tires have very little wear.
Seems odd to me since this is a front wheel drive. At the 5000 mile check up the Audi guy got excited because the rear tire pressure was 38 lbs (like the front) when the book calls for 32 lbs in the back. I said, hey Audi put the tires on --I never changed the pressure.

LWNY

could be due to EBD, which apropriates the amount of braking force based on how hard you press the pedal. At lower braking level, more of the rear brakes are applied so as to minimize nose-dive, which would also mean more rear tire and brake wear. But it shouldn't make drastic a difference, unless your driving style makes the worst of the situation..which would be slow acceleration & slow braking, which minimizes front wear and maximizes rear wear.