A4Driver

I just hit a pothole on my way to work, nicked my rim and made a small hole in the sidewall of my tire. My tire is now flat. I ordered a new tire but it won't be at the tire shop until tomorrow afternoon. Will driving on my donut spare screw up my car in any way? I will need to drive a total of about 15 miles before I get the tire changed.

And what about the diameter of the new tire? My current tires have about 6,000 moderately-driven miles on them and show very little wear.
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Old Dog

Sorry, couldn't resist the revised thread title .

Driving on your spare will not screw up your car in any way, just stay within the recommended max MPH.

Now, as for your second question: And what about the diameter of the new tire? Here's where it gets a little confusing or up for debate. Just very recently I read some threads/posts that say, if you have quattro, they should be replaced in pairs because of the wear on the older tire on the same axle. Some have even gone as far to say, and probably it's the dealers, ALL four should be replaced . Just quoting here now, I certainly wouldn't do it personally. Even getting a second I would be hesitant, but then again it would depend on what kind of mileage on the tires. I know you said you have 6,000 miles, but I honestly don't know at what point another new tire should be considered.

Have a look on AW as this is where I saw this.

Sorry the answer to your second question was not as clear cut, but at least you know now there are two schools of thought.

NJRoadFan

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

Somehow I don't think 6000 miles will make much of a difference in rolling diameter. Driving on the spare that long shouldn't be an issue.

Old Dog

Great link NJRoadFan. Very interesting info contained in it including shaving the tire(s) to match usage. I've now included the link in my Audi-related references as it has nearly everything one needs to know about tires from looking at the other subject titles .

Take care

av_audi

So the A4 does not have a full size spare anymore?

Old Dog

2007 A4/B7 was the last year for a full size spare. It has never been used and the 5-double spoke OEM wheel is mint. Wish I knew what I know now and mixed it in with the tire rotations to keep the wear equal to the other four.

Oh well, live and learn .

NJRoadFan

No, and a full size wheel will not fit in the spare tire well either. We should be lucky the car even came with a spare, the trend today is to supply cars with a fix-a-flat repair kit. Not an ideal solution, particularly when the tire is severely damaged.

matthewsjl

Your pain is my pain!

I was forced into the kerb on Wednesday AM by a gardening type truck encroaching on my lane. Took out my right front tire and rim. Luckily, wheel/tire insurance is picking up the tab for the tire and rim - but I'm also on the donut.

In my view, there isn't an problem with the donut as long as you're within the max speed (or there about ;-).

As for the issue of replacement and matching. I don't think it really matters too much to the drivetrain. Tires will always have some rolling circumference differences due to wear/inflation. The drivetrain should cope.

I'm really not worried as I had about 1.5k on the old Conti that bit the dust.

John.

NJRoadFan

Strongly suggest an alignment, particularly if it was the front wheel. Also make sure nothing is bent (control arms seem to take the blunt of the impact).

snagitseven

The exact same thing happened to me (at about the same mileage). I was traveling at 80 mph on the interstate and hit a bad pothole in the left lane blowing out a large hole in the sidewall. I had to drive home about 25 mi on the spare. I ordered the tire from Tirerack, took it to a tire shop, had them check the rim (it was ok) and mount and balance the front left.

20K mi later and I've had no issues. I agree with what others have said - 6K wear is not enough tread difference to cause any quattro issues.