Handling/ steering/ Tramlining problems
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Can you put up a link or describe the problems- the heading is a bit broad. However I will say that i have not had tram lining issues, but 4wd is not going to be the same as front wheel drive that i think is the system on the 1.8T. I have experienced it before on powerful front wheel drive cars and it is partly tyre affected, also tyre pressures and alignment of the wheels are all worth checking.
Hello mate
As you know, I too have experienced handling problems. I could best describe this as being hyper camber sensitive. The car chooses to wander across the road (and pull the steering wheel) in either direction depending on what the camber is doing at the time. This is most noticable in rutted roads (e.g. where tram lines have been worn into the surface by heavy vehicles) and under braking.
The car can pull in either direction - sometimes severely.
I wanted to update you on my latest experiences. Recently, I came across a second hand set of 19" Y Audi OEM wheels. I think they had been used at a tyre test or a press day for the A5. Anyway, the second hand set of wheels came up for sale with new rubber on two of them and hardly worn rubber on the other 2.
They were fitted with 255/35 19 Michelin Pilot Sport SP2 XL tyres all round. I inflated them to 38 (fr) and 32 (rr). Incredibly, the car now seems to handle like a dream. I don't know if the problems will start again once the tyres start to wear in a bit but things look good so far.
Previously (when I had the problem), I was running the standard sport wheels (18" V spoke with 245/40 18 Bridgestone Potenzas - I think). I don't know if the thing that cured it for me was the different rim size, tyre type and size or tyre pressures - or all of the above.
The fact is, my car now handles great.
Micw, I can't remember if you said you tried the 19" Y when you went back to the dealer but, if not, it may be worth it or even trying a different tyre type.
I hope that helps
Cheers
Plob
As you know, I too have experienced handling problems. I could best describe this as being hyper camber sensitive. The car chooses to wander across the road (and pull the steering wheel) in either direction depending on what the camber is doing at the time. This is most noticable in rutted roads (e.g. where tram lines have been worn into the surface by heavy vehicles) and under braking.
The car can pull in either direction - sometimes severely.
I wanted to update you on my latest experiences. Recently, I came across a second hand set of 19" Y Audi OEM wheels. I think they had been used at a tyre test or a press day for the A5. Anyway, the second hand set of wheels came up for sale with new rubber on two of them and hardly worn rubber on the other 2.
They were fitted with 255/35 19 Michelin Pilot Sport SP2 XL tyres all round. I inflated them to 38 (fr) and 32 (rr). Incredibly, the car now seems to handle like a dream. I don't know if the problems will start again once the tyres start to wear in a bit but things look good so far.
Previously (when I had the problem), I was running the standard sport wheels (18" V spoke with 245/40 18 Bridgestone Potenzas - I think). I don't know if the thing that cured it for me was the different rim size, tyre type and size or tyre pressures - or all of the above.
The fact is, my car now handles great.
Micw, I can't remember if you said you tried the 19" Y when you went back to the dealer but, if not, it may be worth it or even trying a different tyre type.
I hope that helps
Cheers
Plob
Exactly as described by plob above.
Yes the 1.8T is front wheel drive but this 'wandering' can happen while braking, cruising or accelerating. I have had the wheels and tyres changed which improved things but still very annoying - I am constantly appplying corrections to steering and seem to feel movement in the front suspension through the steering. (like worn bushes)
I had 4 wheel alignment carried out and front toe was way out but made no difference.
I now have 18" V genuine alloys with 245 40 Michelin pilot sport tyres.
Dealer acknowledges it handles poorly but say there is nothing they can physically fix and can do no more until I get engineers report done.
I have also driven a few more A5s and they all seem to have a bit of this characteristic possibly due to a quite weighty steering but mine is far far worse and will shoot off line in an instant. Quite dangerous.
My last car was a TT on similar tyre sizes and no problems like this so its not just that the roads are too uneven for the wide tyres.
micdw:
I get extremely bad tramlining under heavy acceleration on this 1 mile straight to work (extremely uneven and bumpy), its quite severe at times, but its a front wheels drive car, its to be expected. Cruising down the road at 60-70 the car stays perfectly true, its purely under heavy acceleration on uneven roads where it can be quite a handful.
You make it sound like your getting it all the time, you either must be hammering it everywhere you go or be driving on bumpy country lanes. It must just be your driving style, what was your previous car?
I get extremely bad tramlining under heavy acceleration on this 1 mile straight to work (extremely uneven and bumpy), its quite severe at times, but its a front wheels drive car, its to be expected. Cruising down the road at 60-70 the car stays perfectly true, its purely under heavy acceleration on uneven roads where it can be quite a handful.
You make it sound like your getting it all the time, you either must be hammering it everywhere you go or be driving on bumpy country lanes. It must just be your driving style, what was your previous car?
Hi Robb
The symptoms experienced by Micdw and me are not the same as you describe. I agree that front wheel drive cars can get a little skittish under acceleration. However, the problem that we see happens mainly when driving along with a balanced throttle - neither accelerating nor decelerating. You can sometimes predict when it will happen by looking at the camber of the road.
However, most of the time, it comes as a complete surprise. On occasions, the car could pull the wheel from your hands if it wasn't being held tightly. Also, it seems to be worse under braking.
As mentioned, my handling has improved dramatically since removing my 245/40 18" Bridgestone Potenza shod wheels and fitting 255/35 19" Y wheels fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport SP2 XL 96Y tyres.
Cheers
Plob
The symptoms experienced by Micdw and me are not the same as you describe. I agree that front wheel drive cars can get a little skittish under acceleration. However, the problem that we see happens mainly when driving along with a balanced throttle - neither accelerating nor decelerating. You can sometimes predict when it will happen by looking at the camber of the road.
However, most of the time, it comes as a complete surprise. On occasions, the car could pull the wheel from your hands if it wasn't being held tightly. Also, it seems to be worse under braking.
As mentioned, my handling has improved dramatically since removing my 245/40 18" Bridgestone Potenza shod wheels and fitting 255/35 19" Y wheels fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport SP2 XL 96Y tyres.
Cheers
Plob
Hi Plob
Oh strange, well I do have the Y's so maybe its just an issue with the 18" rims. My previous A4 sline on 18's was no way near as skittish under acceleration compared to my A5 though, i just put that down to the wheels and more HP.
Anyway hope you get it fixed micdw.
Oh strange, well I do have the Y's so maybe its just an issue with the 18" rims. My previous A4 sline on 18's was no way near as skittish under acceleration compared to my A5 though, i just put that down to the wheels and more HP.
Anyway hope you get it fixed micdw.
Hi guys,
Yes its not simply under ecceleration that I have problems. Again its just as plob says. I braked suddenly from about 35 mph the other day and it snapped the steering from my hand pulling me left. It was on an uneven surface but its still odd. I do hammer it and on country lanes but I have always driven like this but its just a strange feel. I think most of the problem is down to a strange steering system design. I can feel it constantly through the steering wanting to pull each way but at times its just that feel and not enough to actually pull the car. its odd.
My last car was a TT with similar size tyres and much more rigid suspension. Main reason I sold it was with over 100,000 miles, it was starting to wander on the road. Very dissapointing then to buy a new car that felt much worse.
And plob, Im now running Michelin pilot sport with a fair improvement over the firestone that were fitted. I notice these michelins have very rounded outer and inner edges which basically a guess reduces the width of the contact patch on the road which may be the reason for the improvement compared to the previous tyres which had a much flatter section.
Yes its not simply under ecceleration that I have problems. Again its just as plob says. I braked suddenly from about 35 mph the other day and it snapped the steering from my hand pulling me left. It was on an uneven surface but its still odd. I do hammer it and on country lanes but I have always driven like this but its just a strange feel. I think most of the problem is down to a strange steering system design. I can feel it constantly through the steering wanting to pull each way but at times its just that feel and not enough to actually pull the car. its odd.
My last car was a TT with similar size tyres and much more rigid suspension. Main reason I sold it was with over 100,000 miles, it was starting to wander on the road. Very dissapointing then to buy a new car that felt much worse.
And plob, Im now running Michelin pilot sport with a fair improvement over the firestone that were fitted. I notice these michelins have very rounded outer and inner edges which basically a guess reduces the width of the contact patch on the road which may be the reason for the improvement compared to the previous tyres which had a much flatter section.
Interestingly,
I drove the salemans car at the dealers, A5 1.8T with 19" S5 rims and it is bad also.
I drove a neighbours car on replica 18" y style alloys and it was slightly wandering.
I drove another 1 at the dealers on 17" standard rims - very slightly wandering
Mine now on 18" V style - bad wandering
Mine originally on 18" replica Y style as neighbours car above - Mine was undriveable.
I think it down to tyres more than rims to be honest.
I think I will be getting rid in early 2009 as it seems all the cars to some degree dont handle on these roads. What to buy next?
I have driven a wide range of cars on road and racetrack and never have I seen anything like this.
On original tyres it felt like a car with 100,000 + miles that needed front suspension bushes. The most powerful front wheel drive Ive driven was a mazda 3 mps which has about 230bhp and it was fabulous. This was around a race track and it was so accurate. My car is impossible to accurately place on the road and would be hopeless on a track.
I drove the salemans car at the dealers, A5 1.8T with 19" S5 rims and it is bad also.
I drove a neighbours car on replica 18" y style alloys and it was slightly wandering.
I drove another 1 at the dealers on 17" standard rims - very slightly wandering
Mine now on 18" V style - bad wandering
Mine originally on 18" replica Y style as neighbours car above - Mine was undriveable.
I think it down to tyres more than rims to be honest.
I think I will be getting rid in early 2009 as it seems all the cars to some degree dont handle on these roads. What to buy next?
I have driven a wide range of cars on road and racetrack and never have I seen anything like this.
On original tyres it felt like a car with 100,000 + miles that needed front suspension bushes. The most powerful front wheel drive Ive driven was a mazda 3 mps which has about 230bhp and it was fabulous. This was around a race track and it was so accurate. My car is impossible to accurately place on the road and would be hopeless on a track.
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237 Posts
micdw - sorry to read about your problems.
Although I have a completely differnt car (BMW 525 MSport) I have experienced a long running saga with the same symptoms.
My car at different times throughout it's life has exhibited an alarming tendency to tramline and pull me accross a camber. Originally I read the BMW forums that all pointed to worn bushes as a known cause of this. Although the car only had 10k on the clock when I acquired it I badgered my dealer constantly to check the bushes / tracking / suspension etc. but all to no avail and the dealers only comment every time was -"tyres". With my tyres only part worn I was not happy with this answer and blamed it on the fact they were runflats.
When I replaced my tyres I noticed a massive improvement with the problem but very shortly into their life it seemend to return.
On the verge of getting rid of the car because of this problem, I brfriended my local tyre dealer for some help. His answer was "uneven wear due to incorrect (too low) tyre pressures" The combination of run flat sidewalls and low tyre pressure led to the pulling action when crossing a camber. I know that you don't use runflats but he did explain that low profile tyres have hard sidewalls and will exhibit similar tendencies at low pressures. I was sceptical but resolved to check my tyre pressures every week and after 75,000 miles of doing this my cars handling has improved tremendously and the only time i feel any tramlining is when my tyres near replacement.
I had read your post earlier and presumed that your garage would have checked pressures etc. but I have just read your other post at http://www.a5oc.com/forums/showthread.php/19-y-tyre-3618/index.html where you confirm that you run the pressures at 30psi max. I do think that this may be a large part of your problem so would urge you to try this prior to ditching a car that most people have no problem with (as I nearly did).
Cheers and good luck.
Although I have a completely differnt car (BMW 525 MSport) I have experienced a long running saga with the same symptoms.
My car at different times throughout it's life has exhibited an alarming tendency to tramline and pull me accross a camber. Originally I read the BMW forums that all pointed to worn bushes as a known cause of this. Although the car only had 10k on the clock when I acquired it I badgered my dealer constantly to check the bushes / tracking / suspension etc. but all to no avail and the dealers only comment every time was -"tyres". With my tyres only part worn I was not happy with this answer and blamed it on the fact they were runflats.
When I replaced my tyres I noticed a massive improvement with the problem but very shortly into their life it seemend to return.
On the verge of getting rid of the car because of this problem, I brfriended my local tyre dealer for some help. His answer was "uneven wear due to incorrect (too low) tyre pressures" The combination of run flat sidewalls and low tyre pressure led to the pulling action when crossing a camber. I know that you don't use runflats but he did explain that low profile tyres have hard sidewalls and will exhibit similar tendencies at low pressures. I was sceptical but resolved to check my tyre pressures every week and after 75,000 miles of doing this my cars handling has improved tremendously and the only time i feel any tramlining is when my tyres near replacement.
I had read your post earlier and presumed that your garage would have checked pressures etc. but I have just read your other post at http://www.a5oc.com/forums/showthread.php/19-y-tyre-3618/index.html where you confirm that you run the pressures at 30psi max. I do think that this may be a large part of your problem so would urge you to try this prior to ditching a car that most people have no problem with (as I nearly did).
Cheers and good luck.
I have run all variations of tyre pressures and what I running now just under 30 psi is by far the best. I picked the car up from dealer when they fitted new wheels and tyres and they had 36psi in all wheels and it really was undriveable. The cars tendancy to jump off line was exagerated As far as I can see having driven 5 different A5s at this stage, it is a characteristic of the car that is showing up strongly on the roads im using but some cars are worse than others. That may be tyre related.
An independant engineer said that even though Ive had wheel alignment done by the Audi dealer, it may well have been done incorrectly as he said it very much depends on the technician using the machinery and he has seen this reguarily to be the case.
Runnning the tyres at 30psi loses a little of the sharpness of the car in cornering but its much better crossing the crown of the road etc.
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