Hello Audi owners! Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their Audi A6 - just this year my fiance has experienced 4 tire blowouts while driving her 2010 Audi A6. The A6 is equipped with the standard low profile tires. All blowouts were located on the sidewall of the tire. I'm sure some of this is due to driving through potholes, running into curbs, etc. Does anyone have advice (other than drive more carefully)? Is there a specific tire that protects against this issue?

Thanks everyone for your feedback!

Trent

 

Consistent sidewall blowouts - were they all the original tires, or did replacements blow out as well? Same wheel or all around? Same corner or different? Inside side or outside?

If they were all original, might have been a defective batch or they were damaged during installation.
If all on the same wheel, or same corner, then either a bad rim or a suspension issue?
Inside side would point to rubbing; outside might be hitting objects on cornering.

Low profile tires do put more stress on the sidewall (since there's less rubber to absorb the energy) but multiple blowouts sounds like something is really wrong. Were the tires the correct load rating? I've seen people put tires with too low a rating on A6s - they are pretty heavy cars, and if you drive agressively they can't take it.
Not to cast aspersions, but do the sidewalls have a lot of curb rash? My wife was notorious for hitting curbs cornering at speed and not saying anything about it...
Jim

 

I'm on my third set of oem 17" tires and did puncture a sidewall in Detroit after hitting a pothole (it was filled with water,and I thought it puddle until it almost jarred my teeth out). Yes, low sidewall tires are more susceptible to sidewall failure and puncture, period. 17s are not too bad, but be real careful with 18s and 19s. I only run my 18s in the summer and I am sure that on some roads I appear drunk as I swerve to avoid potholes, road junk, and just bad surface. On the other hand, only one failed tire in 204k miles and I am still running the original suspension.