Help,

Have an A4 Quattro, 1990 1.8T and it has about 62,000. I got about 32,000 out of original tires and don't remember the outside edges wearing like these are. The tires I have now are Yokohama YK420's and are supposed to have a 60,000 mile warranty but the outside is gone (rubber still there but no tread). My tire shop that carry's the 60,000 mile warranty is telling me another 2 rotations until I am down to the wear indicator where they would replace them. So I have about 30,000 miles on these tires and the outsides of all 4 are worn almost exactly the same. The inside is normal wear. The car handles normal, good responsive steering. At about 45,000 miles on one of my free rotations the tire shop pointed out the tires were starting to wear on the outside. He suggested taking it in for an alignment. I took it in and got a 4 wheel alignment (where it was quattro didn't know if it was necessary or not?) anyway he said the front was out a little and he was supposed to straighten it out. Since then it has continued to wear about the same. Really seems to be scuffing the outside edge of the tread off. Do I need to take it to a stealership to see what is wrong. I did a search of this forum and back in July there was a post talking about control arms and tie rod ends needing to be replaced if a car was handling bad but my handling seems fine just the wearing of the tires??? Any ideas of where to start??? The tires are the stock size 205/60 R15's. Thanks Scott

 

Don't know about your case specifically...but generally:

1) Camber adjustment is off (that could be the suspension components you mentioned)

2) Alignment is off (but you had that checked).

3) Tire inflation (under inflated).

4) Somebody is joyriding in your car everynight, driving it altermately on the left side and then right side wheels. This takes skill and practice, don't try it at home!

 

you shouldn't have suspension problems with only 62k miles. i'd find someone better at alignments.

 

BINGO! Thats your problem Im 99% sure. Alignment would cause "scalping" or "feathering" , bad camber would cause wear on EITHER the inside and outside, toe would "feather" and caster wont do a damn thing. And I dont think thrust angles are very important on these cars. SO Ill put my million dollars on under inflation.

*edit* whoops I saw that its on the outside, so I retract my bet and put it on too much positive camber. but what I said is still true and would cause the above situations

 

someone's been cornering too hard.

 

Doing donuts again? Lol, yeah, these guys are probably right, get your alignment checked.

 

me too haha i rotated tho not 4 worn ... yet haha

 

haha sounds like mine, my dad occused me of hitting curbs even tho i have no rash on the wheels. but the tires are messed up. i had to tell him that when i corner the fold and wear down the sides

 

These cars are just too much fun to drive if you don't take the corners just a little bit fast...Right??? Anyway it is probably my driving style a little as the car was driven by my wife for most of the first 30,000 miles and she is not an aggressive driver. For the past couple of years we have been car pooling to work so most of the miles have been put on by me and I do take corners a lot harder than she does. Thanks for the advice I'll try to find someone else to do a good alignment job. P.S. Is there any reason to get a 4 wheel alignment on these Quattro's or just a front end alignment??? I opted for the 4 wheel last time and they said my back was fine and the front was out a little. Thanks for all your help and if any of you live near Layton Utah and know where I can find a good shop to do a quality alignment I would appreciate the information or do I bend over and go to the stealership to get it done right? L8tr, Scott.

 

Not underinflation I am a fanatic about keeping these at 32 psi all the time. I just talked to the people that did the initial alignment and they are telling me to bring it back in and they will reshoot it and check the camber. He said he thinks it might be the toe where all 4 tires are wearing exactly the same. He also said he thinks it might be an issue due to this car being a quattro. Are any of you seeing the outside edges of your tires wearing badly with 30,000 miles on a tire that has 60,000 mile warranty??? I think I talked with someone who knows what he is talking about so I will take it back in and let them double check it again and see what they think. Thanks for all your input. Scott from Layton, UT.