See the problem here? The sidewall of our longterm 2009 Audi A4's front tire has a growth. It's audible too, producing a subtle thubthubthub at low speeds.
It's the result of either a particularly nasty pothole or a parking job gone horribly wrong. In either case, we're parking the A4 until the tire can be replaced.
Tirerack.com lists the A4's Bridgestone RE050A in 245/40/R18 at $239.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 6,845 miles.
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huisj says:
01:18 PM, 02/18/09
This is what scares me about a car I've been looking at. I need a little interesting hatchback to replace my aging old Focus, and the number of Saturn Astras sitting on local lots are intriguing, but it seems that almost all the 5-speed ones have the 18" wheels. Being in Michigan, I have visions of the tires doing exactly what they did on this A4.
firstwagon says:
02:14 PM, 02/18/09
It might be a defect in the tire. I had a Goodyear bulge out like that and the Goodyear dealer replaced it for free.
337 says:
02:51 PM, 02/18/09
Low profile tires... But they look so good! Hurray sports package.
billt9 says:
04:04 PM, 02/18/09
How do you get a bulge like that? My uneducated guess votes for defect.
blueguydotcom says:
08:03 PM, 02/18/09
My RFTs on my Cooper S got one of those. I've never seen that on a non-RFT.
FWIW, after driving an 09 A4 Quattro - i'd park it forever and walk away too. Lousy car for the money.
stovt001 says:
08:25 PM, 02/18/09
You guys have the worst luck. Seriously. Just thought you should know. Aww heck, what am I talking about? You drive and evaluate cars for a living. Your lives are awesome.
epbrown says:
04:36 AM, 02/19/09
@blueguydotcom: I had the same defect on my M Coupe, it's running Pirelli P-zeros, not RFTs. I thik mine was a combination of low-profile tires and Chicago potholes.
saallroad says:
07:48 AM, 02/19/09
I had the same bulge on a tire on my Audi allroad, and it was due to a pothole causing a problem with a seal on the rim.
subytrojan says:
12:21 PM, 02/19/09
"Who is your daddy and what does he do?"
"I'm a cop, you idiot!"
desmolicious says:
01:43 PM, 02/19/09
Check out the photos for the Nissan 37Z intro. The first one shows it cornering with the front wheel off the edge of the road, in the unpaved rough dirt.
Driving like that will lead to "mysterious" tyre side wall and wheel damage...
actualsize says:
08:02 PM, 02/20/09
Subytrojan, you should be reading stories about bears that go shopping.
mrak says:
05:41 PM, 04/ 8/09
AUDIble that's what AUDI stands for..