MileHighJC

On a recent road trip (about 1700 round trip), I noticed that I had more road noise than I expected. When I returned from the trip, I took the car in for 15000 mile service, and asked the service tech to have a look for me.

The report is that I have some cupping on the tires (Bridgestone RE970AS). Up until now, they have been VERY quiet, and I have been happy with them. They were installed at 4344, rotated at 13257, and the 15K service was done at 15838. The Audi service tech asked me about whether I had hit anything that might have knocked the alignment out - which I have not.

So... Im no tire expert. I cant imagine how the car would be out of alignment from normal driving conditions (I have never hit a curb, or even any significant potholes). Is it possible that the tire shop knocked it out of alignment when installing or rotating? Perhaps it was out of alignment on delivery (Im going to check my stored P zeros to see if there is any evidence of cupping which could indicated the car has always been out of alignment).

Appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.

JC

snagitseven

What tire pressures have you been using on the RE970AS and have they ever been rotated front to back? Mine have 17K and are wearing evenly with no appreciable noise since new. I use 35psi/32psi f/r as recommended in the manual for 19" A/S unless going on a long trip with a full load. My tread gauge shows about 40% usable tread left. Should get about 30-35K miles out of the set.

MileHighJC

35/32 and the rotation at 13257 was front to back. The are not BAD, but the increase in road noise is noticeable. I cant see the cupping per se, but feeling back and forth across the inside edge of the tires you can feel it.

I really don't want to wear these out pre-maturely. I think I have caught it early enough to take action, but I suspect Im about to experience some finger pointing... Audi may say that DTW screwed it up, DTW may try to say it was out of alignment from the get go, and they may both try to accuse me of hitting something. I guess at the end of the day, Im going to have to pay to have the alignment checked and resolved if it is out, which while not pocket change is probably a whole lot better than having the tires wear.

Edit >>> CYA. Challenge Your Assumptions.

I'm usually quite retentive about checking tire pressures, especially before long trips. In this case, I wasn't. I should have been. I took the car for tire rotation the Saturday before our trip, and SPECIFCALLY discussed the appropriate tire pressures. Life got busy. I didn't check them before we headed east. Stupid, I know.

So thanks for challenging me Snagit, I went out to check them, and found all four significantly over inflated (like close to 40lbs ea). After swearing like a sailor on leave after a case of whiskey, I adjusted them and took the car for a drive. They SEEM to be much quieter (hard to adjust for road surface differences). I'm hoping whatever "damage" was done was minor. Ill be having a rather direct conversation with the manager of the shop, but at the end of the day, I blame myself the most. NEVER trust what someone SAYS they put in the tires. Check. Period.

Grrr.

snagitseven

Just for clarification, alignments are only covered under warranty the first 12 months if they were misadjusted at the factory (per the warranty booklet). So, it's going to be on your dime at this point regardless of how it happened (if it's even out of alignment in the first place).
Are all the tires in the same condition? If not, moving the worst two to the back might help even things out a bit.

MileHighJC

That is also what I understood. Service advisor said he would try to work with me if my P Zeros were cupped (I had JUST put the Bridgestones on when the car went in for 5000 service, so there was no way to see if there was a problem).

Having said that, I think the problem is probably rooted in them being overinflated. I may try for some help with the tire shop, but I'm not terribly optimistic.

jr'sAudiA6

I currently run my A/S tires(NITTO Motivo) at 42 front 40 rear and I have not experienced any cupping issues. I have around 10K miles on them at this time and recently put about 7K interstate miles on them, with a rotation thrown in at 5K. So, I do not think the 40 PSI you found had them over inflated since the max load setting is 46/44 for our cars.

I did a little googling for causes of "cupped" tires and in general what I found is the cause is usually related to a worn suspension component, such as a worn or bad shock or bent control arm. Not saying that this may be your issue but in general even a misalignment does not cause cupping it causes other types of wear issues.

Just my 2 cents on the subject.

MileHighJC

Hmmm. The do think I have a shock mount problem on the right rear (the clicking noise on undulating roads). The tires showing the wear were just rotated up to the front from the rear.

This might not be over... You would not think a 15K car would have a worn shock, and I have hit nothing that would have bent a control arm, but who knows.

jr'sAudiA6

I agree that a bad or worn shock or bent control arm seems far fetched on such a new vehicle. It is hard to tell from your initial post if the wear problem is on all four tires or just the ones that were on the front. If I understand what your initial post the wear is on the inside edge of the tire and what you are calling cupping is uneven wear of the inside edge. In any case if it is on the inside edge of the tire(s) than maybe it is and alignment issue possibly with the toe alignment. That is the only adjustment the car has BTW.

James517

Accelerated wear on the center of the tire - suspect over inflation.

Accelerated wear toward both edges -- suspect under inflation.

Cupping - suspect a suspension/alignment issue.

Accelerated wear on the outsides of the front tires -- suspect autocrossing.

keithl

How are you liking those tires, I was giving them serious consideration on my A6 as I read good things about them.