Tyre Wear

[Sportingmac]

I had my tyres replaces at 10000 miles - but they were not as bad as some I saw also having a tyre change. Audi did a second wheel alignment for me and raised the tyre pressure to 40psi. I am now at 18500 miles and very little wear showing now - so I am expecting to see 20k plus on this set of fronts.

In teh handbook (p341 I believe) it does say to inflate to max - which is contrary to the fuel cap figures of 35psi.

So the compromise of 40psi seems to be working for me. I also leave the suspension set up at Dynamic - combination seems to work quite well.

My local dealership is brilliant - the service technicians take time to talk to me and explain what they are doing and why - customer service where it should be - not in a suit behind a computer.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by mattyboy

Hi....

Help and advice required please.

I have a re-occuring problem with my Q7, with the wheel alignment and subsequent tyre wear on the outer 20% of the tyres.

Audi did replace an original set of tyres free of charge, however the re-occuring problem is resulting in tyre changes every 8000 miles.

Is there an alternative tyre available that will be more durable? or is changing the wheels a better option?

It also looks like increasing the psi to 42 may help, is this true?

Please advise, I am fed up speaking to my audi dealership ony to be told its my fault due to under inflation of the tyres and the camber of the road causing my Q7 to pull to the left!?!!

Previous premium tyres only lasted 10,000 to 11,000 miles but since changing to Maxxis Maurauder budget tyres inflated to 40psi some 8000 miles ago, they have hardly worn at all as far as I can see. This is a RESULT

[dvdsam0]

Originally Posted by mattyboy

Hi....

Help and advice required please.

I have a re-occuring problem with my Q7, with the wheel alignment and subsequent tyre wear on the outer 20% of the tyres.

Audi did replace an original set of tyres free of charge, however the re-occuring problem is resulting in tyre changes every 8000 miles.

Is there an alternative tyre available that will be more durable? or is changing the wheels a better option?

It also looks like increasing the psi to 42 may help, is this true?

Please advise, I am fed up speaking to my audi dealership ony to be told its my fault due to under inflation of the tyres and the camber of the road causing my Q7 to pull to the left!?!!

I have put on the Cooper Zeon XST's with good results so far. There is certainly more tread depth to the edges, which should make them last longer than the stock tyres. Changing the wheels wont really help, The only way the wear issue is going to be resolved is when someone (Quite probably an aftermarket supplier) goes through the process of engineering an adjustable suspension setup that will not adversely affect the safety and handling of the car. Audi must have spent a lot on R&D to get a car of this size to handle well, tyre life expectancy obviously did not rate as a high priority.

[theguvnor]

Vehicle: Q7 3.0 V6 Diesel Reg April 07
Tyres Goodyear Eagle F1 275/45Z R20
Mileage 19755
Tyre status. Just about to have third front set fitted

I really like the Q7, but I am concerned by the front tyres being scrubbed of their outer tread prematurely, together with the ongoing expense it threatens, and disappointment with Audi's minimal response to what is clearly a well known issue for many Q7 owners in this respect.

I have read widely of the Q7's tyre wear problem on this forum, and on others. In doing so I have also read those postings which attempt to rationalise, and explain why such tyre wear is to some degree to be expected. This is done by reference to numerous factors, such as the car being a very heavy performance SUV, the manufacturers decision to bias the wheels and tyre setup towards grip and performance rather than economy, driving styles, among many other factors. However, this must be true of a number of vehicles in this class that seem to avoid this complaint.

It's probably true that some owners will unfortunately have not run their tyres at the correct pressure for prolonged periods of time, unaware of the damage being caused until too late. Futhermore wheel alignment and tracking can be disrupted by potholes, and 'kerbing'

However the numerous complaints about the very same issue which I will now refer to as 'scrubbing' of the front tyre's outer edges, rather than simply tyre wear, is really without doubt. Audi's one time only offers of free tyre replacement after x miles, or discounted tyres after y miles, is just a PR sticking plaster, as well as an admission of sorts.

Even a 'concessional' 25% discount off a replacement tyre by the Audi dealership still makes that offering more expensive than the independant marketplace.

I think most people can acquire relatively easily the above tyre , fully fitted, balanced, and VAT included for circa £200, rather than the full price £299 my Audi dealer feels they have to charge.

The tyres I have had to replace have had approx 3-4mm of tread remaining on approx 75% of the tread surface measured from the inside edge, but the remaining 25% of the tread to the outer edge of the tyre has been scrubbed down to the legal minimum of 1.6mm.

The vehicle underwent a 4 wheel alignment and tracking check by the supplying Audi dealership, and the results were reported back as being normal and within Audi's tolerances, despite the tyres outer edges showing scrubbing damage. The attempt to charge me for the check was eventually dropped, as it was discovered that it could be recouped from Audi by the dealership.

This type of tyre wear is not what the vast majority of new owners could have expected, no matter what their previous experience might be of 'other high performance vehicles'. For many reasonable Q7 owners this cannot be acceptable tyre wear, or even high tyre wear, but premature and unacceptable tyre destruction of the outer edges of their front tyres.

Audi's free one off tyre replacement, or one off discount is a sop to placate rightly aggrieved customers. Of course I assume Q7 sales personnel are grateful for this 'throw in' which might prevent a sale being scuppered with better informed potential customers. It is not a strong selling point that a number Q7's owners are having to seperately fork out £400-£600 on front tyre replacements around every 7000 miles, ongoing.

I suppose Audi's recent effort to educate its Q7 customers in 'tyre care' may extend the life of some tyres for some customers, and 'manage' the expectations of some others. Unfortunately, despite the one off free/discounted tyre (if the mileage qualifies it), Audi maintains its parameters for the wheel setup as being correct for the car and how it is supposed to drive. This will remain of slim comfort to customers who survey their otherwise servicable tyres with outer edges scrubbed of their tread, in believing Audi have got it wrong.

Are the majority of Q7 customers going to be content with the technical arguments regarding the compromises of sporty handling and cornering stresses v extended tyre life? Unlikely. If the tyre wore out more quickly than they would like, but across the whole of the tread area, then maybe they would be more accepting.

Are the customers happy? No, not when their tyres each costing £200-£300 all too quickly look like those you might see on a unroadworthy, MOT failure, rather than a prestige SUV vehicle the Q7 aims to be.

[Quacker]

My maxxis tyres cost £85 plus VAT and seem on course to lasting over 15000 miles compared to 10,000 for premium brands. The only downside is more noise at around 100mph.

[becci_han]

I have had this problem since owning the Q7, had new front tyres replaced under warranty at 8k miles. Now having new ones again under warranty at 23K due to them saying my tyres were not bald and had 3mm of trim, then when looked closely they agreed you could see the wire on the outer wall. Obviously dealer was very embarassed as they had had it for 2 days to check tyres and fix another problem and clearly hadn't looked at the tyres at all.
It has had the geo checked twice. Love my Q7 but don't want to have to replace tyres 3 times a year, which dealer is saying can be normal.
This was never told to us when we bought the car.