sarahwhispers

[ duh - i posted this to the A4 forum at first shoulda posted it here! Sorry for the repetition! ]

I have a 99.5 A4 2.8 qms.

I had about 25k on my stock Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires and one of the front tires was damaged beyond repair. I bought two new and made the other good front tire a full-time spare.

I had them mounted at a European car shop, and the guy said that replacing only two tires could damage the center differential, but I didn't think he really knew what he was talking about because he was talking about heat buildup in the viscous fluid of the center differential. I thought the A4 center diff (torsen) was mechanical, but then again, he *did* work for a european car shop...

I estimate the difference in tread depth to be about 1/8", which by my calculations translates to about a 3/4" difference in tire circumference.

Argh. I'd hate to replace all four tires just because one was damaged, but I'd hate more to ruin the center differential.

I saw several other posts about this, but some were with faster wearing tires, and some were with a much smaller mileage difference.

I also read the owners manual, but it seems to have conflicting information. One page 130, in one sentence it says, "All four wheels must always have the same rolling radius.", but then later in the same paragraph it says, "The proper function of the system is not affected by unevenly worn tires." Is there a *real* specification for this tolerance?

Suggestions? Information?

Thanks!

Sarah

Eddie@Tirerack

As long as you match a pair on the same axle then it should pose no problem with the Q.

Call me to discuss or if you should need to order!

Eddie

WClark

I saw this a few days ago and it sparked my curiosity. Rather that state a personal opinion (do all 4) I went to the service manual (Bentley published Audi A4/S4 manual). It states that tires should always be replaced in pairs on the same axle (front or rear) and the tires with the deepest tread should go in front.

Hope this helps more than confuses...