A3IceSilver

Picked up my '08 A3 2.0T Premium right at the end of July. Love it.

Driving down from North Jersey, on the way back to Philadelphia, on the ramp from the NJ Parkway to the NJ Turnpike, I hit something hard enough to tear the front drivers side Pirelli P6 right in between the threads. Clearly, it was metal of some sort, as there is a impression on the treads of something hairpin-shaped.

We were going about ~40 MPH, coming up on the entry toolgate, I didn't see anything but we felt a slam (like you might on a rough road seam in the A3), then a hiss. My wife was with me, so I was not pushing it at all. While I was pulling over, the TPMS warning came up. The front drivers tire was completely flat, must have happened almost instantaneously. We had to limp home, almost 70 miles at 50 MPH on the POS compact spare. Driving 50 on the NJ Turnpike is almost a religious experience, nothing quite like a tandem trailer barreling past you at 80 in a small ride like the A3.

A few questions:
- Are the P6 Four Seasons tires particularly fragile? It's likely I hit a bit of metal on the wrong agile, but I'm curious if this is a common occurrence on these tires. The tire has a 2 inch tear in between the treads.
- Has anyone replace the compact spare with a full-size tire and matching wheel? The A3 compact spare is still a step up from the expanding, blow-up hobby-kit spare I had with my 2005 Touareg, but I never had to use that.

Thanks!

A3IceSilver

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I had the jack lined up on the rib.. it must have came out of alignment and wound up crushing in the rocker panel. I was careless for not checking after contact with the car. Noticed that just now. Worst part is that I read &amp; understood the directions in the manual..

Ben's e//S2

Real tough spot to repair as well.

A3IceSilver

I'm such a dumbass

marls

ouch... that sucks. at least you get to get rid of those p6's.

panzrwagn

Unless you can find an old-school body man that hammers first and torches only as a last resort. The goop is both acoustic and rust-proofing, so if it's split or damaged - fix it.

I ALMOST did the same thing but noticed the metal bending in time. Now I lift my A3 only by the rear of the A-frame mount in front and by the trailing arm mount in the rear. They hold up the whole car anyway.

I have a low profile aluminum racing jack and rubber pads at home. If I had a flat, I'd call roadside assistance or AAA.

IMHO, the inability to be jacked up without damaging the vehicle is the single worst feature of an A3. I challenge anybody from Audi NA to jack up the front of an A3 using the factory tools without damaging the vehicle.