Low Speed Vibration

[tmothyjc]

I have a A4 B6 2.0 Multitronic 130,000km with 235/45/17 alloys. Between 40 to 60 km/h I have a vibration which is getting worse. All other speeds there is little or no noticeable vibration. I have Pirelli P6 tyres fitted. Any help would be great.

[cheesemax]

Here's a couple of possibilities starting with the cheapest/easiest;

- have all your wheels checked to see if they are still properly balanced and the rims are undamaged. It's not unusual for alloy wheels to throw off a weight now and again.

- check each individual tyre to make sure they are still round. I know this may sound a little ???? but it is possible that one of the belts in your tyre has shifted or is defective (my Pirellis did exactly that). Check this sooner rather than later. A defective or shifted belt inside the tyre can have deadly results at highway speeds if it actually tears away from the tyre.

- wheel bearing (less likely)

- something bent in the front end suspension

I'm sure other members will provide additional advice, but these may be a good place to start.

Good luck.

[timothyjc]

Thank you for your advice. Much appreciated.

I took my car back to tyre dealer where I purchased my last 2 Pirelli P6's. They inspected them and found them defective (I was told of a "weight shift"??), although only 3 months (10,000km) old. They replaced them free. I drove the car and found that about 50% vibration disappeared. I went back this afternoon and replaced the other two P6's which were about 30,000km old. The car now has virtually no vibration although these P6's do make a slight whirring sound which is I suppose the tread pattern.

Full marks to the dealer but I will probably choose another tyre in future.

Thanks again.

[cheesemax]

Glad to hear it worked out for you. I've used both winter and summer (performance) pirellis and have to say that I've always been less than overwhelmed by their performance. Particularly after the belt shifted in one tire (my dealer was not as cooperative as yours) so I had to buy 2 new ones. Actually, I almost had to buy 4 new tires because of the difference in tread depth (nearly outide of tolerance levels required for the Quattro).

Happy trails!