russbert

OK, this is going to be a little bit of complaining and hopefully a LOT of helpful information for the rest of you as I detail what has been going on for this past week re: my staggered RS3 tire situation.

Last Thursday (7/5) while going out to lunch I hit a small but deep pothole here in town. It jarred the car quite a bit and my dashcam recorded a few phrases that I won't repeat here on a public forum. Let's just say I was really upset as I thought the pothole may have damaged both the tire and the wheel on the front passenger side (255/30R19). Everything seemed fine that day but when I started to go out to lunch the next day, as I drove out of my driveway and experienced a slight drop from the driveway to the road I heard a strange noise quickly followed by Loss of Air Pressure warning on the dash (or something to that effect). Sure enough, the tire had bubbled on the sidewall and had now ruptured. I was able to quickly get back to my garage and I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Pirelli's protect the wheel due to the tire's design.

Of course, there is NO spare tire and a tire repair kit is never going to work on an issue like this one. I called the RoadVantage folks (the company through which I have tire/wheel/windshield/lost key insurance) and they informed me that the tire and wheel costs would be covered. A rental is ONLY covered IF the wheel is damaged though and fortunately it was not (found out later) and only for five (5) days at $50/day.

Now here is where the "fun" begins. I called a neighbor who owns a major tire business and he ordered a replacement tire on Monday will delivery the next day. I couldn't go on Tuesday but on Wednesday (yesterday) when I began the process, a few interesting things happened. First ALL OF YOU should pull out your tool repair kit because when I did, the tool that removes the plastic lug nut covers was missing. So after locating some needle nose pliers, I was able to remove the covers so I could get to the lug nuts. Then I took the tire/wheel to my friend's business only to find two very interesting things (yet again about the RS3).

1) The inside of the Pirelli tire has FOAM all around the inside of the tire. I am assuming that is to help deaden tire noise but they had never seen any tire like this before! It was also pointed out by my neighbor that any use of the tire fixer that comes with the RS3 will basically ruin the tire since the foam inside the tire will absorb the "fixer foam" and cause it to be severely out of balanced once it sets. So there is another data point for each of you to consider re: plugging the tire versus using the other stuff.
2) The fact came into play when I noticed that the new tire was NOT EXACTLY the same as mine. Not only was it missing the foam, but the tread was different, as was the thread wear number and they were run flat tires. After he made a few phone calls we found out that the Pirelli tires (I am talking about the OEM ones BTW) are made for DIFFERENT cars! I had received one for a Mercedes and not an Audi. So now I have to wait until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest or Monday to get the replacement "AUDI" tire. However as I mentioned above he did confirm that the wheel itself was not damaged at all.

Hopefully I will not have any payment issues when all is said and done but after being without the use of my RS3 for a week (luckily its not my only vehicle) I am wondering IF I should have a "spare tire/wheel"? But if I do I am ASSUMING that it would have to be the largest one since this is a staggered setup.

So I would love to hear from others as to your thoughts / comments. I am definitely aggravated by this situation but extremely grateful the "blowout" happened when it did and NOT while I was driving in a "spirited manner".

zzcett

Your experience sounds very frustrating - and potentially so for many of us as well! I, too, have been considering purchasing a single spare tire and wheel so I could at least buy time to transport the car without a flatbed and/or wait for a perhaps replacement tire to arrive. I was thinking of making it the rear tire/wheel combination (of the staggered setup) as that should work in all 4 corners; it's not clear to me we could put the bigger front tire/wheel on the rear. I'm wondering how long the car could go with such a setup (mismatched sizes on the rear), if needed. Is there some risk of damage to the drive train somewhere?

SteveO987

What actually happened to the damaged tire? With the way the stock Pirellis are so stretched, I'm curious what happens to them when one hits a pothole. Did the sidewall develop a leak or was it the tread area?

I hit a pothole in my MK6 Golf R and the tire developed massive sidewall bulges but still held air (I was actually surprised with the sound it made when I hit the pothole at 60mph that the tire didn't just split open).

russbert

It was the sidewall and I will post a picture tomorrow sometime. I also have a video from the dashcam when I hit the pothole but I won't bore everyone with that. But while the hole was relatively small, it was wide enough and definitely deep. The impact was jarring enough that the video was stored on the SD card under the accident folder so it wouldn't be deleted.

westmc

Just as an FYI, there are at least 3 different versions of the Pirelli PZ4 tires specifically for Audi. The RS3 needs R02. I'm curious. If you had the insurance covering it, why not just go to the dealership? The Audi roadside assistance that came with the car for free will cover the tow to the dealership.

Timmay

Was thinking the same thing.

superswiss

Sounds like your neighbor ordered the wrong tire. Did he not check the sidewall? This shouldn't be a surprise to somebody in the tire business, but all car manufacturers work closely with the tire manufacturers and have tires built to their spec. These tires are marked on the sidewall with a manufacturer designation and can signficantly differ from the standard tire they are based on. Anything from compound, construction to tread pattern can be different. The designations for Audi are AO for the A, Q and S models, and RO1 and RO2 for RS and R models. The foam stuff is Pirelli's new noise cancellation technology and was first used on the RS7.

Fixeroh

russbert: very sorry to learn about your frustrating misfortune regarding the tire. That really stinks but thank you for sharing your circumstances with us. Odd how we can all benefit from other's misfortunes at times. I've had my car less than a month and still have less than 200 miles on the damn thing. Was waiting on PPF and paint treatment but my specialist in the Army Guard and training for several weeks; so minimal driving right now. I still learning so much about the car at this time. The staggered wheel/tire setup has me scratching my head as I have always rotated my tires. Not possible with the OEM setup obviously. And now the tire situation you describe. I've not been able to find the plastic lug cap cover remover (PLCCR - lol) but knew I needed one from my wife's Q7. Also found the Q7 PLCCR right away. I did pull off the front wheel of my RS3 to see if my winter wheel/tire from my S3 would fit over my RS3 CCBs. NOT EVEN CLOSE! So I will be selling my S3 winter wheel/tire combo. Have to do the same for the winter set I bought for my wife's previous Q5. Definitely will not fit on her current Q7. Brakes on the Q7 are massive!!!

I have the wheel/tire insurance package from Audi. Thought it prudent and it does cover aftermarket wheels and tires as long as they meet the Audi specs. ONLY reason I signed up. So I assume Audi would get the correct tire in a situation as yours. Have always understood that if you use tire repair foam on any tire that you will be trashing the tire later as the foam just messes everything up. It's a temporary tool to get a car to a repair facility. Was not aware of tire foam manufactured into a new tire however. Totally new to me! Interesting however. As we do get a fair amount of snow here in the winter, I've been pondering what do regarding tires. After reading your story, I'm inclined to do what numerous other RS3 owners have done and get a new set of aftermarket wheels and mount some good performance all season tires. With a square setup. 235 or 255 all around with same wheel size so i can rotate. Know all seasons are not great in bad snow but I have an old Ford truck for those snowy days. Continental makes a great high performance all season tire so that may be my choice. Have you considered changing the OEM setup at all? I would still keep the OEM package and run it during the summer months as well as I don't believe it would sell to anyone except RS3 owners of course.

Again, sorry for the problem. Don't find it complaining at all and it was educational for me. Thank also for the other inputs. The comments by superswiss were very helpful. Russbert, please let us know how this works out and hopefully you used up all your bad luck for some time.

russbert

I finally have a few minutes so let me make a few comments quickly. First THANKS for the tire information; it helped me and I hope it helps others as well. I have to admit I probably made a fatal ASSUMPTION (something I was taught NOT to do 45 years ago in Computer Science classes) that because my dealership is over an hour away the tow would NOT be covered. Is this a bad assumption on my part? Does anyone have first hand knowledge? If not I will call Audi later.

I should have also asked this group but since I have so many neighbors who build drag racers, etc. and I was extremely tired from my trip to the ER (kidney stone) I just plain messed up but I am hoping others will learn from my flawed thinking.

Again thanks to everyone for your comments; it's appreciated.

russbert

NO, that was ENTIRELY my fault as I didn't check the sidewall carefully enough (I'm still going to blame it on my trip to the ER). Once he did see the tire and talked with someone I **HOPE** they ordered it correctly so I don't have to wait even longer. But if I do I have no one to blame but myself. However, thanks to all of you I now know A LOT more about these Pirelli RO2 tires.

So let me ask another question. I have never particularly been a huge Pirelli fan and was planning on replacing them with Michelin Sports when it's time. What issues, if any, will I have to watch out for (assuming there are any)?

Thanks again; y'all are the best resources I know.