Ibis RS

My low pressure warning light came on and I found that I had a screw in my tire. The screw couldn't have been in a worse place; where the tread meets the sidewall.

Here's the deal... This tire cannot be patched and God forbid a shop would put a plug in it. The first problem here is that this tire is shot and needs to be replaced. The second problem is that the tires still have 50% tread so all four tires need to be replaced in order for the all wheel drive to function properly. All four tires on you Audi must be symmetrically equal or your quattro will be having a hard time working properly.

Option #1 Buy 4 new PS2's - $1600

Option #2 Buy 1 new PS2 for around $375. Have a specialty tire shop shave the tread down on the new tire to match the circumference and tread depth as the other three tires. - $40

Total for tire, mount shave and balance. - $450

This may have already been discussed in this forum but wanted to pass it along anyway.

Brett

TNT13

There's been some discussion on Quattro must have tire tread depth match to 1/32. So I think option 2 is your best bet. Actually, this is the first time I heard about shaving down to match circumference and depth. I think you are ahead of the game already.

ArthurPE

I'd buy 2 new tires and put them on the same axle
the rear usually wears faster, so I'd put them there
save the other for a spare

I'm not sure about the 1/32...my rears wear considerably faster
usually 50% left on the rear and 75% on the front when all installed at the same time...that's > 1/32 difference, more like 2-3

consider:
people run different pressures F & R, ie, marginally different diameters without issue
there is 50% more weight on the front (60/40 or 1.5 x 40 = 60), so this will result in a different rolling diameter, even at the same pressure

titsataki

I would have the tire shaved.

Alternatively if the other 4 tires are on their way (how much tread is left...) Maybe go for the 4 new tires and then try to sell the old 3 tires. It would be a bit of pain since it may involve shipping but it could worth a try.

Cheers

Nick

Reggie

Tire Rack will shave tires for you

Reggie

The 4/32nd rule applies to all tires on a quattro if I remember correctly:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=18

Hockeyman11385

You could look on eBay for a used PS2 in your size and then shave it as necessary. You would save a lot of money on the new tire.

ArthurPE

new PS2's are 9/32 (Audi oem)
measure yours, get the 2 with the most tread...
as long as they are 5/32+ you are OK (within 4/32)
put 2 new tires on the axle that wears fastest (on mine, rear)
since the rears wear faster, they will 'catch up' quickly ad all should wera our at ~the same time...

can tires be rotated on the RS4 (front to rear)?

when matching tires sidewall fatigue factors in, even with the same tread depth (shaved) a tire with 10k miles will feel different than a new tire that's shaved...

I'm not sure I would ever replace 1 tire, unless the set only had < a few kmiles on them

ArthurPE

probably the best idea ^^^

a used one may not even need shaved...

Ibis RS

Buying a used tire on eBay is one idea as long as you are sure the tread depth is close to your existing tires. If the tread depth is well under, you need to start over. If you buy a used tire that is well over and you need to shave it; you will find that the tire shops will not shave a used tire. Used tires have embedded rocks and hidden metal from the road that will damage the cutting tool. Not to mention that it potentially could cause harm to the person doing the shaving when the tool catches the hidden foreign object.

I ordered the tire, had it shaved and mounted. No drama... Done!