Strange ride.

johnyfartbox

A2OC Donor
United-Kingdom
On the new car it came fitted with these on each corner..........They are virtually new but I just cant get used to them..........what I'm trying to say is the car seems to (for want of a better word)..tramline.
Its really strange to feel the car wondering slightly from left to right. Am I right in thinking that the low profile tyres like these can cause this wondering or should I check further into it and have the steering components checked out .



DSC_0065.jpg
 
Hi Johny,

Ive got these wheels fitted on my A2 and dont have any 'wondering'. Ive only ever had these wheels fitted on the A2 but have played with different wheel and tyre sizes in the past on other VAG Gp cars and have also never had any 'wondering' due to tyre profiles. The first thing I would check is the track rod ends/steering rack ball joints as these are easy enough to see and is cferatinly a DIY job. They are also quite cheap, but dont go too cheap with aftermarket parts, go for OEM better (not sure what is better as I like to keep things OEM)

A quick google search of 'check track rod end condition' will show you what to check.

Hopefully this helps.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Thanks for the reply Tom.
I will get things checked out ASAP.
I have the luxury of being able to swap the wheels from my other A2 to see if that will make any difference.
 
A wider tyre can lead to tram lining type sensations, especially if the road surface is worn by vehicles with a wider track such as HGVs etc. Given the A2 track is fairly narrow, that could be contributing to your problem.
 
Yep agree completely. I'm guessing that the tyres are 205 width so that's 410mm of tyres on a little A2 hence the tendancy to tramline.
 
205/40 ZR 17.
thats what I can make out on the photo i uploaded.

I will deffo swap them onto the other A2 and see what happens.
 
My 17s and 16s both do it (205 tyres). Wheel alignment helped, it was comically bad, amazed that I kept it on the road!
But my 16s are awful at the moment; I had my springs and dampers replaced last year and I'm wondering if the drop-links were broken in the process (annoying because they were new). Might be worth checking too.
 
My 215 tyres don't tramline, but my Mk1 Golf used to be awful until I noticed the track Ros ends had perished.
 
i would tend to think that steering and suspension should have a good inspection for any wear and tracking , worth changing wheels to rule the tyres out but from whats been posted so far I would also check axle alignment aswell
 
i would tend to think that steering and suspension should have a good inspection for any wear and tracking , worth changing wheels to rule the tyres out but from whats been posted so far I would also check axle alignment aswell

Yes,

One thing I have learned about A2s in my many years of ownership is that for some reason they need to have the steering aligned far more often than any other car I have owned!!

So it is always worth getting the alignment checked.

Steve B
 
Ok lads.....after much tooing and frowing I took the wheels off the written off A2 (it was brought back to me this morning) the old A2 now has two spacesaver wheels and an octavia wheel and one of the low profile wheels on it so it can be moved around. I put all four wheels on the new A2 (new to me) and took it for a test drive...........result........no more tramlining what so ever...........drove straight as a die and felt much more comfy.

Now....what do I do with these low profile tyres and wheels, they certainly arnt going back on Ill tell ya.............bloody awfull ride.

The perrelis that are on are virtually new with loads of tread , I believe they were put on last november but didnt do much millage.

Dont get me wrong, they are a great looking wheel but the tyres ??? Nah..........dont like um at all.

The two rear ones are in good nick but the front two rims have started to bubble a bit and the laquer is peeling on one ...........

Im no tyre expert and I have had a go at reading the tyre thread on here regarding whats what but that just leaves me stumped........

So I might just be selling them on unless I could get a standard type tyre on those rims.
 
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