I have a 1999 Audi A4 quattro that has had inner front tire wear for a while.

A 4 wheel alignment was performed about 2 years ago. At the time I think I had it done mostly because of tire feathering which was causing road noise.

What is normal tire wear on a quattro? I read here in other posts, some complaints of outer tire wear but nothing concerning inner tire wear. I could be from lack of rotation or maybe the alignment was not performed properly...

 

The last alignment was probably done correctly; however, alignments need to be done more than once every 2 years.
Not rotating your tires will make the problem worse.

Your current problem is probably due to alignment issues. Most likely camber and/or toe settings are out of spec.

 

If you haven't rotated the tires front/back in the last 30K mi. ,
you will find inner wear on the front tires.
If you put these worn tires on the back, they will cause the
rear wheel bearing to go.

 

pot holes / curbing / speed ramps + many more reasons to have the tracking/alignment checked

 

I've been told that is a normal characteristic of Quattro, the vehicle pushes outward with a slight negative chamber causing the tires to wear quicker in the insides. I totally took my front down to the metal mesh on the insides, usually i would check the tire wear from the outside never noticing it until i was detailing the car once and got a good look at the inner tread. but if you rotate and keep the alignment in check it will be signinficantly minimized. FYI Audi service charges about $200 for all four, i'd suggest going elsewhere.

 

not true by any stretch of the mind, if the tyres wear on the inside only there is a problem

 

Thanks for the responses so far. The tires have 50k miles and have not been rotated often enough. I take good care of my 2 cars, but this one is my wifes and I neglected it... The fronts have been there since the alignment which is about 20k miles. They are worn in the middle to about 6/32nds left but the first inch on the inner no longer has thread.

I am getting two new tires tomorrow and will have the alignment checked. I don't think it's the issue, I think it's more the lack of rotation. These tires may have been in the front for 40k of the 50k miles. I'm not positive, but my records show that I rotated after 20k miles, after another 10k and now after 20k. I know of a place that charges $80 for a quattro aligment instead of the dealers $180. Will let you know if it was off.

I have also been told that is a normal characteristic of Quattro and other AWDs.

I'm supprised to hear that worn tires will affect the rear bearings, has this been a frequent problem for others?

 

depending on the tyres you have fitted and the offset, rotation has nothing to do with it front tyres wear faster then rear but on the 4x4 that's about equal so rotations = nowt ish, 4x4 pull equall ish

 

Tires are the same size as original OE 205/55R16 and wheels are OE so no offset change.
I'm talking about inconsistent wear accross the width of the same tire, not different wear rates between front and rear.

 

Thats what audi service had told me, i wanted them to align the car and they said it was normal for the insides to wear faster on the fronts, so i don't know why they would turn down an extra $200. And the front will wear faster, even on a quattro because they have to transfer power and steer the car.