Alan Campbell

Hi,

I've got a 2002 S3 with 16K miles on the clock.
10 months back I hit a pothole and had to change a front tyre (big
bulge), I had to change both front tyres as the very inside edges of
both were very badly worn after only 8K miles.
I took the car to a local specialist who tested and said front wheel
alignment was fine and suggested that tyre pressures or power steering
combined with lots of tight slow speed turning could be the problem.
I don't do lots of slow speed tight turning but I admit to having not
regularly checked the pressures.
Since then, I have been festidious about checking pressures but since
hitting another pothole and getting another nice bulge, I have had to
change both tyres exactly as before.

The specialist has suggested a 4 wheel base geometry check/fix at £100
but I am unconvinced this will help as I would have thought if the
front/back alignment was not correct then I would see different wear
patterns - not inside edges.

Anyone got any good advice?.

Other pertinent info - I mainly drive conservatively with no
passengers and with only the occasional bit of fun. The car veers very
slightly to the left but this may just be due to the road camber. I
also occasionally notice a very slight shaking/low frequency bass
noise coming from the front particularly when I am coasting downhill
at moderate speeds. Tyres have always been the standard Bridgestone
RE040's. Wear on the rear tyres is normal and these were changed at
16K which seems OK to me.

Thanks,

Alan.

NickButcher

My S3 is just over 3 years old and is having its 80K service as I write
this. The 3rd set of tyres are just about reaching the end of their
lifespan. All three sets of tyres have suffered from this 'feature' to
some extent or another. Each time I've had the tyres changed (at Bracknell
Tyre & Battery) they've checked the wheel alignment and said it's fine.

The vast majority of my driving is done on UK motorways (the M4 between
Cardiff and Bracknell mainly), although I do like to have a little
cornering fun from time-to-time.

The first set were the factory fitted RE040s which did around 23K, the
other two sets have been Bridgestone S03 Pole Position which is a vastly
better tyre in my experience, both in terms of wear AND grip.

Aside from the front inside edge wear the tyres seem to wear at the same
rate all round. I've now taken to swapping the front and rear tyres at
around 15K to maximise their life.

Doug Ramage

"NickButcher" <nickbutcher@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:348b73240e693c2e5fbede2cff0f42fe@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com...
> My S3 is just over 3 years old and is having its 80K service as I write
> this. The 3rd set of tyres are just about reaching the end of their
> lifespan. All three sets of tyres have suffered from this 'feature' to
> some extent or another. Each time I've had the tyres changed (at Bracknell
> Tyre & Battery) they've checked the wheel alignment and said it's fine.
>
> The vast majority of my driving is done on UK motorways (the M4 between
> Cardiff and Bracknell mainly), although I do like to have a little
> cornering fun from time-to-time.
>
> The first set were the factory fitted RE040s which did around 23K, the
> other two sets have been Bridgestone S03 Pole Position which is a vastly
> better tyre in my experience, both in terms of wear AND grip.
>
> Aside from the front inside edge wear the tyres seem to wear at the same
> rate all round. I've now taken to swapping the front and rear tyres at
> around 15K to maximise their life.
>
>

You are averaging over 26,666 miles per set of tyres. I reckon that's pretty
good.

I am happy if I make it to 18,000 miles.
--
Doug Ramage

NickButcher

I'm getting closer to 30K on the S03s.
As I said the vast majority of my driving is done during my commute on the
M4 from Cardiff to Bracknell 4 days each week so I don't do much
cornering!