Hello All,

I just got my A3 back from the dealer after a check of some very irritating items.One was for an excessive (I believe) noise which I thought might be a wheel bearing. The dealer tells me they checked every one and they were all OK and attribute the noise to the tires which they tell me are feathering/cupping. I asked if it could bea suspension, alignment or chassis issue and they tell me it is definitely the tires and these Pirelli P6's seem to be more prone to this than Continentals or Goodyear OE tires.Everything else checks out OK within specs. My tires have plenty of tread left and I cannot see any cupping or feathering. I am reluctant to buy a new set of tires now with all of the tread left (there is 22,000 miles on them). Has anyone else had a problem with this?? I searched the forum but I get no hits on my search. Most all of you guys on this forum have as much (or more) A3 knowledge as any Audi dealer and I respect you opinions. I hope you can provide some insight. Would an alignment help?? This noise detracts substantially from a great driving experience and is driving me nuts!!

They gave a 2006 VW Rabbit 2.5 6sp automatic for a loaner and it was much more quite than my A3. It was riding on Continentals.

Secondly, I wanted my headrests to be even with the top of the front seats. They tell me no can do as they are designed to be above the top of the seat. Is this true?? (minor issue, but I thought I would throw it out there).

Hey, I got a free car wash out of the visit.

 

Somewhat similar issue...

I have the P6's all season on my A3 and almost the same mileage on them 30,000km which is around 22k miles.

I have recently noticed a annoying hum coming from the car at speeds between 100-125 kms/hr. I have a feeling myself that its the tires.

I have always had an issue with all seasons...I am looking into summer HP tires and then obviously the big switch to Winter tires as the season changes.

The hum is quite loud, but I have also noticed the interior noise a bit louder than usual. I am thiking of taking it to AUDI but I have a feeling they'll tell me either A. They can't hear it...or B . Its not a big deal, just keep driving!

 

When I went to look at the 2007 A3, the dealer only had a used 2006 one to test drive. It had the Pirelli P6 tires on it and it sounded like a truck with off-road tires. I mentioned this to the salesman, and he said it was probably the tires. While the tread still had a fair amount of depth to it, I could see and feel that the tires had feathered. I went ahead and bought the 2007 (which has the Pirellis), and if they begin to sound like that test-drive car, I will replace the tires.

 

There has been a lot of issues with the tires cupping/feathering on the A3. I haven't experienced the problem, but I have PZero's from the factory that only lasted 20k miles. The new Toyo's are even quieter and riding nicely. I'm not sure what is causing the cupping problem, but I would buy HP summer tires, then a winter set if needed for this car. I think it would make for a much happier driver.

Cheers!

 

Near as I can tell, tires don't cause their own cupping and feathering, but bad suspension alignment does. My experience is that cars with 'firmer' sport suspensions are more susceptible to alignment-related tire problems. Maybe there's less compliance to self-correct alignment errors. And a "performance handling"alignment withgreater negativecamber, more caster, and less toe-in typically wears tire faster than a "stock stability" alignment. I've seen some cars set up for handling that get less than 10K on tires that other alignments would give 30K of wear. Asking an autocrosser about suspension alignment is usually more than a one-beer discussion.

Do any members out there have the stock and recommended performance alignments for an A3?

 

I have the exact same problem. (Threeput - I thought you were me writing that post)
Took mine over to the local tire store yest.for a rotate/balance - having a lot of noise - mostly a whah, whah, whah..... at almost any speed, but worse at some. Tht's on top of the standard tire noise that has definitely gotton louder as the tires have worn down.
The car has 22,222 miles, with the factory Pirelli's P6's
Only one wheel was slightly out of balance,butthe techshowed me thethat all of the tires were feathered and the rears were cupped (on the insides)and that an alignment was almost definitely necessary.
Once on the rack he found three out of four wheels were out of range....
According to the tire shop, here are the recommended ranges:
Front left and right:
Camber: -1.5° to .5°
Toe: 0.08° to 0.25°
Front Cross Camber: -0.5° to 0.5°
Front Total Toe: 0.17° to 0.5°

Rear left and right:
Camber: -1.7° to -0.7°
Toe: 0.17° to 0.33°
Rear total toe: 0.33° to 0.67°
Rear Thrust angle -0.17° to 0.17°

In his opinion, the front tires only had 2-3K miles left while the rears had 4-5K miles left, so I rotated them to hopefully have them last evenly. (Then I went to an empty lot and tried to burn off the cupping - if you know what I mean!)
I'll be needing some tires soon then, so any reccomendations would be welcome. Definitely thinking summer or HP since the weather is good enough all year round in the ATL.
I had good luck with Yokohamas (AVS)on my Integra - anyone put those on their A3?
BTW - Included Maintenance for 50,000 miles is a joke, and the dealer wanted close to $200 for rotate/balance/alignment vs. $90 at the local chain.

 

I used Yoks on my GTI they were horrible wore out so fast. I switched to Braums and lasted twice as long...they are great.

As for dealer alignment, those guys are crooks. I think Firestone or Bridgestone? has life alignment for something like 150. its worth it on these sports cars I think cause you can get an alignment every 3 months...forever...so maybe take a look might be worth it....

 

Having the same problems with my stock tires. Those pirellis suck.
Buying some wheels with Toyo proxies F4.
I got the tires picked outbut having problems picking the correct wheel to get.
Color is black... Any one got any suggestions? Would love to see some pics of wheels on audis.

 

My 2 cents,
I have the Dunlops on my 06 A3 and highway noise is louder than I would like but I will live with it untilI cantestother tires.