i ran over an open manhole last night and put a huge hole in one of the front tires on my 02 a6 avant. the guy at the tire shop told me due to my car being a quattro, i need to replace all 4 tires right away. is this necessary? can i replace the front two for now and not do any damage to the tranny? i was hoping to put off new tires until next fall. any help?

 

You don't have to replace all 4. For the quattro, they all have to be the same size. If what this guy was telling you is true, you would have to carry four spare tires.

 

It depends how much wear is on the tires. If you just bought the other tires you would be fine. If the other tires have more than about 3/32" of wear alreadyon them, then you do need to replace all four.

 

the old tires are pretty worn. like i said, i wanted to wait until next fall or late summer to replace them. they would make it through this winter for sure. can i replace the front two now and get the back two in a few weeks?

 

I found a page here. It appears that we Audis are fine with old and new tires. But the information is also somewhat confused to me.Can anybodyshed more light?

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/diffautoAWD_AWD.html

 

If your old tires are pretty worn and you live in Wisconsin, I wouldn't be trying to make it through the winter on them to save a few bucks. Get good rubber and save a life....maybe your own. Tires are generally discounted more in sets of 4 than in pairs. And don't forget an alignment - hitting an open manhole could really mess it up.

 

when i said pretty worn, i just meant that you can tell the difference between a brand new tire and the ones i have on now. i don't think that they are ready to be replaced though. i've driven through a lot of wisconsin winters, the majority of them in far northern wisco. the ones i have on now have been doing fine in the snow. if i have to replace them all that's what i'll do, but i don't like to replace things before it's necessary. it seems a shame to toss the tires when they still have some life in them.

 

I would say if there is no more that a 30% or so difference, no problem

 

See if you can find a used tire of the same size and brand to use till next summer.

 

i already purchased one new tire. that's why i was hoping i could just do the front two for now. there seem to be some conflicting ideas about whether you do need to have all the same tires or not. the new tire is the same size and rating as the others. what can happen and why if all 4 tires are not replaced?