New wheels/tires, now car pulls hard right.

[anmagro]

New used BBS RK wheels with summer tires even tred wear from what i can see. no bends as i can see. now the car pulls to the right. within 40-50 yards of letting the wheel go, im inches from the curb. rather than totally straight like it was.

also, am i rubbing? i can only fit the very TIP of my finger between the rear control arm and my new tire. is this enuf room?

[fatbrembos]

have you tried alignment? of balancying the tires? that could be the case but dont know

[B_EEZY]

^ agreed especially if you changed the wheel and tire size you may need a new alignment or the wheels may simply need balancing

[anmagro]

how much are those going to cost??

[Coopa]

An alignment should run right around 70-120 bucks. Be cautious of where you take it however. I've heard many shops can't do a complete alignment, I believe it's got something to do with the camber and the engine cradle iirc? I think requires some special tools for the toe too. Make sure the shop you take it to has all the proper tools to do it (you're average place won't). If they don't get it all right you're tires will end up having goofy treadwear and other issues.

[nyca4tqm]

Alignment first then let us know..

[dcampana]

I am a bit lost on the reason for needing an alignment for a wheel and tire change? The dynamics on angles, toe/ camber/castor, will not change regardless of the wheel and tire combination. the geometry of degrees does not change, just the circumference of the tires.

Anmagro- nothing else was changed, just wheels and tires; correct? no lowering or raising of the car? also, try to put the previous wheels and tires back on the car and see if the sterring goes back true.

the wheel and tire package could ahve faults: tire cupping/ uneven wear can cause changes in steering geometry. are the tires directional? if so the wear can cause pulling/ pushing...

If I were you, i would do things that do not cost anything but time, just to rule things out first.

keep us posted...

[A4monkey]

I am a bit lost on the reason for needing an alignment for a wheel and tire change? The dynamics on angles, toe/ camber/castor, will not change regardless of the wheel and tire combination. the geometry of degrees does not change, just the circumference of the tires.

Anmagro- nothing else was changed, just wheels and tires; correct? no lowering or raising of the car? also, try to put the previous wheels and tires back on the car and see if the sterring goes back true.

the wheel and tire package could ahve faults: tire cupping/ uneven wear can cause changes in steering geometry. are the tires directional? if so the wear can cause pulling/ pushing...

If I were you, i would do things that do not cost anything but time, just to rule things out first.

keep us posted...

^agree...If the car was lowered along with the new tires/wheels than you definitely need an alignment. But if your car was pulling straight, and all you changed were tires/wheels and NO suspension work was done, than you should not have to do an alignment. If the tires are uni-rotational make sure they're spinning in the correct direction.

[Haenszel20v]

Is it possible that you weigh over 450lbs, and your old tires were worn accordingly... thus now un-worn tires cause an issue? When you get alignments do they make you sit in the car?

[viceprp]

I get my AWD Alignment for $59..

[quattro16]

There USED from what he said. If you really can't tell by eye then you really need a 4 wheel alignment. And becarefull where you go as most shops say they can do it and really cant adjust everything. Where are you located in NY? Maybe I can help.

[anmagro]

I live in mount sinai (coram) but i go to school in hicksville, so im inbetween those 2 places daily via the LI expressway. the car had an alignment done about 2 weeks before i added the new wheel combo. the tires are one dicrectional and all facing the right direction. would rubbing cause this? i feel a gap between the inside of my rear tires and the control arm but i cant fit the tip of my pointer finger between it. could some rubbing cause the problem? also, what does rubbing sound like? is it just the "echo moan" of the tires? or is there a distinct sound? cuz i cant tell.

[VMRWheels]

how's the tire pressures? Are these your old tires that you swapped over to the new wheels?

[quickaudi07]

Alignment at Audi is 180 depending on location, Balance will run you around 80.. Enjoy your new rims :)

[quickaudi07]

if the tires are used. than you are screwed and you need to get new tires.. Mine did the same crap I ended up getting new tires and everything was nice a quiet..
Bets place to get new tires.
http://www.tires-easy.com/

That's where i got mine. I payed 560 with shipping.

[A4Rob]

if the tires are used. than you are screwed and you need to get new tires.. Mine did the same crap I ended up getting new tires and everything was nice a quiet..
Bets place to get new tires.
http://www.tires-easy.com/

That's where i got mine. I payed 560 with shipping.

Wow that place has great prices!

[dangerous_dave]

Stop giving this guy so much horrible information. This isn't personal towards anyone but you guys don't know alot about cars.

Any time you change 4 tires, you need an alignment. Your old tires are worn and they get wear matched as they go along. Your new (used) tires are wear matched to the alignment of the car they were on before. Now that you have new wheels, a completely different size I assume, the camber and toe will be different even if they were brand new tires.

Low tire pressure on that side wheel could cause your car to pull too. Get your tires rebalanced for good measure and get a 4 wheel alignment. The only thing you can't adjust in the front is caster. You can adjust camber on an Audi despite what some may believe. You just have to know how. If you want it done right, take it to a dealer. I doubt someone working at Town Fair Tire or something like that will know that you have to move the subframe to adjust camber but you could get lucky.

The noise you are hearing is probably just tire noise. You said they are directional summer tires. Those have a harder rubber compound and get noisy as they wear.

Again, this isn't personal but you guys are giving the OP so much bad information.

[dcampana]

^^^ nice looking prices!! oh man!

[anmagro]

im going to move the tires around sometime soon. its raining and snowing here on long island. the tred on the tires are too deep to be considerd 'worn'. thank you all for your post.

can one give me a verbal discription of how 'rubbing' on a control arm should sound?

also, this pulling to the right that i discribe, its in no way dangerous to the car or me, correct? its just something that will get annoying after a while, right?

[dangerous_dave]

Typical. Another post where the OP doesnt do what will fix the car when he asks for a solution.

[anmagro]

Typical. Another post where the OP doesnt do what will fix the car when he asks for a solution.

not really sure what your talking about here. im going to do what cost the least amount of money first. i dont have all the cash in the world. first i will swap the tires around and see if that helps, my next step will be either an alignment of the wheels or the car, just like you said.

dangerous_dave, and others, thank you so far. maby if i get find a spot where theres no snow in the ground i will do that today.

[GingerWizard]

test

[GingerWizard]

Dammit....I just posted a reply and it did not work. Lets try again....

So, I purchase a CPO '07 B7 S4 back in December.
Soon after purchasing the car I noticed that it pulled to the right.
Soon after that, I was offered a set of 19" Hartmann Gallardo wheels in exchange for my 18" OEM wheels.
Unfortunately, when I took my front drivers side wheel off, I noticed that the inside tire wall was worn through, suggesting an alignment issue.
Fortunately the dealership replaced all 4 tires under warranty, and when they fitted them the also performed a 4 wheel alignment.
When I got the car back things were certainly better but I did think there was still a slight pull to the right.
However I convinced myself that I was being paranoid/over sensitive.....and only had the car for 4 days before I got new wheels!

This last weekend I bought and mounted a second hand set of 19" Hartmann RS4 Reps.
Having spent some time with the car and the new wheels I know that I am not being paranoid and the car is definintely pulling to the right.
At first I though perhaps it was just the new wheels, and to be sure, I brough the car in for another alignment on Monday.
Everything was pretty well aligned already (presumably from the dealership alignment) but the tech did adjust a couple of things (I have the form in the car....I meant to bring it in but forgot....I will post details later).
The pressure in the front right side tire was a little lower than the others but he corrected that!!
Even after that the car is still pulling.
So I brought it in again today for John (the fella who did the alignment) to take another look.
They tried rotating the tires and it STILL pulls!
We took it out on the road and let it roll in neutral and still it pulls so it is not a drivetrain/quattro issue!


Any ideas?
What else is there to check?
Steering geomerty??
wheel balancing - could this really be the issue (I have seen this with TWO seperate set of wheels).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I tried to take a picture of the angle of the steering wheel when I drive.
I have to keep it at about 2 degrees to the left in order to go straight.
I have added a couple of red lines so you can see the difference.
As soon as I let go, it pulls right!
Also, when I park up and let go of the wheel it twitches over the right...

[walky_talky20]

If the brakes are dragging on the right front wheel (stuck caliper, stuck sliders, stuck pads, etc) then it will cause the car to pull right. It will also cause that wheel to have more brake dust and heat after a drive. This is one possible cause.

[Euromike]

If the brakes are dragging on the right front wheel (stuck caliper, stuck sliders, stuck pads, etc) then it will cause the car to pull right. It will also cause that wheel to have more brake dust and heat after a drive. This is one possible cause.

hows the car free roll? should answer that question.