Wesley Walls

After having my '98 A4 1.8T serviced the other day, the service manager called to tell me that he'd noticed some problems with my new Bridgestone Potenza RE730 tires (they have only 3,000 miles on them).

He stated that he noticed significant "cupping". While I'm a little unsure as to the common meaning of the term, what he meant was this:

If you look at each individual block of tread - particularly those on the outer edges of the tire - the leading edge is taller than the trailing edge. In other words, in side profile, the outline of the tire terraces from tread to tread rather than the profile being a smooth circle. He said that this was not a good sign, and that the tires would begin "roaring" very soon. He said a common and effective technique for combating the problem is to reverse the direction of rotation for the tire (by swapping to the other side), but since these are directional tires, this solution is not an option.

Upon my own personal inspection, it is very apparent to the visual eye - not just by running your fingers over the tread.

Have any other owners of the RE730's (or any other tires) experienced this problem? I would appreciate your input.

Thanks,
Wesley Walls
'98 A4 1.8TMS APR

WJM

Mark P commented on this a few weeks ago

CP

If the tire is standing up on the ground, does the middle of the tread bow in towards the rim, or out?

WJM

no imagine driving on little wedges

ReyHey

All 4 wheels? could be worn shocks, coupled with hard rubber compound?

Wesley Walls

Correct interpretation.

WJM

Mine are SUPER loud after 18k. I havent inspected for this condition but I wouldnt doubt it.

My car is approaching 30k...so I dont think the shocks arguement is valid.
Cupping isnt really the correct term for this condition. Wedging is more appropriate (me thinks)

trip3564

previously had tried a set of the bridgestone RE930s on my honda. they did get loud after a few thousand miles. i had a similar problem with unorthodox wear patterns on them. i didn't find them particularly grippy. they road OK. and they were noisy. they were supposed to be better than the dunlop D60A2s that i usually got. nope.

Dead

taller than the trailing edge. I have only seen it the other way around. Are you sure that the edge that contacts the ground first when the tire is rotating is not lower? Toe adjustment is usually cited for this problem but I have seen it happen on cars when this was not the case. I have RE730s with only a couple K miles on them and have this problem. I have had a theory on why this happens with some tires. I call it the Trac II razor theory. I have posted it before and it is long.