Lowering and tire wear?
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From: I-95
Lowering and tire wear?
The title pretty much says it. Approximately how much faster will tires wear say with an inch of drop vs stock and with 2 inches of drop vs. stock? I'm not looking for exact numbers but just a general rule of thumb. There's nothing really wrong with the stock suspension geometry and tires are pretty damn expensive (I just paid $1200 total for 4 of them).
Also, I would definitely have crunched the front on parking bumpers at least a couple times, probably not hard enough to require body work but hard enough just the same. So I'm trying to do some algebra or calculus or something to figure out if I should lower the car at all and if so how much.
Or maybe there's no calculation that makes any sense and you just have to go "Screw it, it looks gooood." ( in which case I'd still like to have an idea of how long my tires will last.)
Also, I would definitely have crunched the front on parking bumpers at least a couple times, probably not hard enough to require body work but hard enough just the same. So I'm trying to do some algebra or calculus or something to figure out if I should lower the car at all and if so how much.
Or maybe there's no calculation that makes any sense and you just have to go "Screw it, it looks gooood." ( in which case I'd still like to have an idea of how long my tires will last.)
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From: I-95
Looks is a pretty big component of it, the car just looks faster and sleeker when it's lowered and (imo) if you get it into a slightly nose-down posture. the only practical thing I've heard is that it lowers the center of gravity, which helps to control body roll and make the car ride better at speed. There may be other reasons, I dunno.
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From: I-95
I'm pretty sure that you're wrong, that lowering the car puts the front wheel on their inside edge, and the more you lower it, the more it rides on that edge, increasing wear even more. I believe there is no way to adjust the leveling od the front wheels foe reasons having to do with the steering, but the back wheels can be adjusted to ride flat.
Last edited by LeadToRome; Nov 24, 2010 at 05:42 PM.
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From: Niagara Falls Canada
As long as it can be put in alignment no issues. I have two lowered cars and both have even tire wear a GTI and a TT. The TT I had to use a camber kit to get it set up right. The GTI they were able to align. I can only tell you what I know based on my personal experience.
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I'm pretty sure that you're wrong, that lowering the car puts the front wheel on their inside edge, and the more you lower it, the more it rides on that edge, increasing wear even more. I believe there is no way to adjust the leveling od the front wheels foe reasons having to do with the steering, but the back wheels can be adjusted to ride flat.
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,480
Likes: 1
As long as it can be put in alignment no issues. I have two lowered cars and both have even tire wear a GTI and a TT. The TT I had to use a camber kit to get it set up right. The GTI they were able to align. I can only tell you what I know based on my personal experience.
Also, aren't the suspension system different from the VW's to Audi's, with the exception of the A3's and the TT's ? Which may explain why the bushing kit works are popular among the VW owners and the TT owners but not so much in the Audi circle.