Tramlining

[MalcolmS]

can someone explain what's meant by tramlining please?

Having been driving my RS6 for almost 2 months now my main gripe which is starting annoy me is when cruising on a straight piece of road or motorway. My previous 530 Beemer would cruise along smoothly with just one finger on the steering wheel and the very occaisonal direction correction. I can't do that on the RS6 - even with one hand firmly grasping the steering wheel I seem to have to constantly make minor corrections to keep it on a straight line.

Is this tramlining?

Is this just a fact of life from 4WD and large wheels / tyres? What's everyone else's experience?

PS - don't get me wrong. Despite this I still get out of the car after every journey with a huge smile on my face! :R8kiss:

[Hy Octane]

Sounds like you need to check..
1) Alignment
2) Control arms + bushings for wear..
3) worn tires

Tramlining is when you notice that your wheel wants to follow a line or groove in your lane causing the car to steer itself along that line and possibly into another lane etc.
Having said that, remember that quattro's steering is susceptable to road camber.. in other words, the car will tend to drift towards whichever way the road is leaning.. this is just how it is..

[DuckWingDuck]

Incidentally, if you fine folks remember a few weeks ago I posted pictures of my incredibly worn right front tyre. Apparently it does have something to do with control arm + bushing. The service dude rang me this morning and said something about having a wrong control arm installed at one point. Hmm, will report back when I get the car back in a few days.

[cornishmoocher]

You Definately have a problem there me old mate! I can steer my avant at 140 with 1 finger no problem (although i tend to try not to!) only with minor shifts and at 50 or 60 on a straight bit i can let go altogether and i get no pull whatsoever. This is the first car i have ever had that can do this!
Tyre wear is a good one to check first, apparently if the tyres are more than 3 mm deferent it will completely screw your handling, hence why you should always change your boots in pairs.

[DuckWingDuck]

On an awd, shouldn't you change your tyres all four at once?

[cornishmoocher]

On a recent visit to Audi to get new tyres (I have tyre insurance), they say only need to do front 2 or back 2 together as long as they are no more than 3 mm different. If they are 3mm or more the car will track really badly. This is common on PO cars as people generally only change one at a time as they are sooo expensive. This leads to uneven wear all round. people who know or who have owned the cars from new or reletively so, tend not to suffer this, as they do change them as pairs. The gospel according to "Matt the tyre" Tonbrige Audi's tyre guru.
As a by the way, as long as the tyre is legal, Audi have no obligation to change them prior to sale obviously, so a good one to check before you buy. I changed all mine on the day I bought it just for piece of mind, but it is £1000 a set now to change!

[DuckWingDuck]

PS2s here in the states will run about $330 or so, so ya, it's a bit less than two grand to swap out a whole set. God damn taht's expensive! Good to know on the pairs, I've always swapped my tyres out in pairs in all my previosu cars (this is my first awd).

[gjg]

On a recent visit to Audi to get new tyres (I have tyre insurance), they say only need to do front 2 or back 2 together as long as they are no more than 3 mm different. If they are 3mm or more the car will track really badly. This is common on PO cars as people generally only change one at a time as they are sooo expensive. This leads to uneven wear all round. people who know or who have owned the cars from new or reletively so, tend not to suffer this, as they do change them as pairs. The gospel according to "Matt the tyre" Tonbrige Audi's tyre guru.


only lunatic would change one tire at the time ..... on rs6 ...

[Aronis]

now wait a minute. I got a nail in a tire and although it was plugged and I could have also patched from the inside I opted to replace that ONE tire. No problems with tracking.


But if course I had only about 50 miles on the tires. LOL. Got the car in the winter drove 2 miles, put on snows, put summer tires back on in spring, drive about 6 miles, got nail. Dam.

When I put the next set on (ps2) I got another hit. Hit something on the highway, no flat, but lost a chunk of sidewall and replaced that one tire. I had about 1000 miles on that set.

But of course with a high mile set, I would not change just one, but do it in pairs, thats just common sense.


Mike

[LIRS6]

I have no tracking issues with mine - you need yours checked out. good luck.

[BLITZEN]

You definitely have some sort of problem, but it's not tramlining.

Since you're checking your tires, make sure to measure depth completely across the width of the tire from the outside to the inside. The problem I had (and also Duck seems to have) was suspension related, and wore out the inside of my tire to the strings while the outer 3/4 looked good as new.

[MalcolmS]

thanks for all the useful comments guys - much appreciated...

Sounds like I need to make another trip to the local Audi dealership.

The tyres have always been replaced in pairs and are all the same make and size at the moment with the rears only being replaced 500 miles ago (the problem pre-dates this tho'). The fronts are still in very good nick but i noticed some slight feathering on the outside edge of the nearside wheel so maybe the tracking does need checking.

Good to hear of the one fingered 140mph tho' :) I'd be off the road if I did that.

I'll stick it in for a check and report back.

[peiserg]

somewhat related. I just priced out MIcheling ps2's from Discount Tire. $1370 OUT the door, installed.

Called fletchers... they will meet the price ($300 each), and throw in four oil changes and alignment! sounds good to me!