I recently got a nail in my back tire and plugging didn't do the trick because I drove on the flat for too long before I realized a nail was in my tire. I tried to plug it, then later had to replace the tire. On my way to replacing the tire, I had to drive with an under inflated spare, which ended up blowin up on the way there, so I need s a spare replacement.

My 02 Audi TT is AWD, now with the new tire installed, one of my back tires is brand new, the other one has 10K-15K miles left on it and and is in pretty good condition. However, the difference in thread makes the tires not exactly balanced (on a straight / leveled road, I let go of the steering wheel, as a normally do for fun, it alway turns a bit to the left).

My question is do I need to replace my other back tire, even though the tire has some thread on it so my car is balanced (especially b/c its AWD)? When I asked my mechanic he said I can if I want to but it isn't that urgent and nothing will happen if I don't...


So I am stuck between doing the following:

1) Buying an additional rim and installing a new tire on the car and install the old tire on the rim and use it as a spare, however, the Audi TT being as small as it is, I am not sure a normal sized rim would fit where the spare was.

2) Buy an authentic audi TT spare from eBay or a junk yard and keep my old wheel as is

3) Buy an authentic audi TT spare from eBay or a junk yard and install a new wheel, throw out the old one

I appreciate any suggestions and am really not sure what to do in this situation.

Many thanks in advance,
Matt H.

 

Hi Matt,

I wanted to comment on your post in regards to the tire diameter. Please take a moment and read this article from our website. Having more than a 4/32nd difference in tire diameter can cause major issues with a Quattro system.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=18&

Let me know if you have additional questions.

 

I would get another new tire for the other side.use the take off for a spare.with awd should replace tires in pairs.unless the tread depth is within Audi spec.