Will running different wheel diameters damage quattro transmission?
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Will running different wheel diameters damage quattro transmission?
Hello -- I want to conduct a simple short duration test to try to determine if my front wheel bearings are failing (or have failed), of if its my nearly worn out Dunlap Sport Maxx tires that are causing the extreme noise and vibration that makes it feel like I'm driving on tank treads. Basically I want to put my much smoother running winter tires back on the front (Nokians) temporarily and drive around a little to see if the vibration goes away with the Dunlaps or if my front wheel bearings really are grinding away like pepper mills. My Dunlaps are 17" wheels and the Nokians are 16". I haven't actually measured the total diameter of each wheel to see how much difference there is between the lower profile summer Dunlap and the higher profile Nokians, but I would imagine there might be as much as 1/2" difference. Obviously I can just put all four of my winter tires back on the car but it's a pain (literally). So the question is, would temporarily driving with potentially two different wheel diameters between the front and rear wheels cause any damage to the quattro drive train? (I would imagine the the ESP might not be too happy, but I don't plan on doing any 'drifting' to see if its my tires or the bearings that are making all this vibration).
Thanks in advance for your input.
mas6700 2002 2.7T 6 spd. Ming/Vanilla with all opts. except GPS
Thanks in advance for your input.
mas6700 2002 2.7T 6 spd. Ming/Vanilla with all opts. except GPS
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Personally, I think it's a better test will all four tires, and it's just lazy to do only two. That said, the Miata tire calculator can give you an idea of how different the two circumferences are. If this is only a short test of a couple of miles, Bernie has the right answer.
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Thanks. I'll check out the Miata tire calculator.
Yeah, I guess I'm being lazy for not wanting to swap out all four tires. Now that I think about it, it might be better to leave the quieter Nokians on before I bring the car to a second service shop to have them evaluate the front wheel bearings. I brought the car in to a local indy a few weeks ago for an oil change and an estimate for my 80K service and they were the ones who said I needed new front wheel bearings. I told them that I just put my summer Dunlaps back on and I know they make a lot of noise and vibration, and most likely that is what is making you to think my wheel bearings are shot. The guy immediately said, "oh no.. we also listened with a stethoscope...", at which point my 'BS meter' went off the scale. But now I'm not really sure if it's just the Dunlaps themselves or if the bearings really are grinding away. So the idea of putting the quieter tires on and getting a second opinion seems like a good idea. Thanks for the motivational input.
mas6700
Yeah, I guess I'm being lazy for not wanting to swap out all four tires. Now that I think about it, it might be better to leave the quieter Nokians on before I bring the car to a second service shop to have them evaluate the front wheel bearings. I brought the car in to a local indy a few weeks ago for an oil change and an estimate for my 80K service and they were the ones who said I needed new front wheel bearings. I told them that I just put my summer Dunlaps back on and I know they make a lot of noise and vibration, and most likely that is what is making you to think my wheel bearings are shot. The guy immediately said, "oh no.. we also listened with a stethoscope...", at which point my 'BS meter' went off the scale. But now I'm not really sure if it's just the Dunlaps themselves or if the bearings really are grinding away. So the idea of putting the quieter tires on and getting a second opinion seems like a good idea. Thanks for the motivational input.
mas6700
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Yeah, that was the general idea. Just for a 10 or 15 minute test to see if my tires are making all this noise from the front or its my wheel bearings. I'll probably just put all four 16" Nokians on and then take it to another service place for an evaluation of the bearings (see above reply).
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