RE: Wider tires on front...

[paul.heneghan@bbc.co.uk (Paul Heneghan)]

From: Audial@aol.com
>. . .  he noticed that the tires were worn unevenly front to rear and 
chastised me for
>letting the car run in this condition.  He has run 4KQ rally cars for years
>(he informed me that the '84 was 'zee best Quattro' for this, BTW) and told
>me that even the small diameter difference front to rear would cause
>unnecessary wear on the driveline.

Hello Alex and co.

I have heard this rumour several times before and do not agree with it. 
 Audi realised that there would be occasions when front and rear (virtual) 
axles would be going at different speeds (going round corners, differently 
worn tyres etc.) and for this reason they provided a central diff.  From 
what I've heard, and from my own experience, these are notoriosly 
long-lasting items, even on abused cars.

Does your mechanic also advise you not to go around corners as that would 
also cause unnecessary wear on the driveline?  Just think of all the work 
those poor front and rear diffs have to do.

The only conditions under which your mechanic's statement is valid is if you 
lock the centre diff, which for most of us is not an everyday occurence.

What do you all think?

Paul
paul.heneghan@bbc.co.uk
1984 Audi 80 quattro
1989 Audi 100 Avant