Audragon

I hit a road wide pothole/ditch the other day which way rather jarring. I can see no visible damage, tire pressure is fine, and alignment(it goes straight) seems true but a little looser than before. Corner turn in feels a bit wallowy. I took off all 4 wheels and checked for any obvious out fo roundness or tire damage and can not notice anything. One of the wheels looked like it may be slightly out of round. I notice that the car feels a bit unbalanced above 80 when braking and I just want to get an idea of how to diagnose or interpret this, pre dealer visit next week.

Thanks for any input.

dubcwhis

Would I be able to see the girl in your sig better if I had 3d glasses?

Det. Mickylaren

U sure it's not the placebo effect?

Audragon

Dub, I shot about 80 frames of that chick. I have not tried the 3d glasses, let me know.

Audragon

when braking from the 65-80 range I get a vibration, and the steering has some play that is pronounced when turning.

bhvrdr

You are out on the boat and it just doesnt track correctly anymore after a structural stringer is broken. Sounds like you may be having this problem. In these cases, I tend to error on the side of caution. Check and make sure no suspension components or rims appear bent or damaged (including sway bar links). If the hit was REALLY hard AND you can see some exterior signs of trauma, than id replace the tire proactively (I drive at high speeds and it's worth the safety margin). Cheers! Mike

basel

if the tire is holding pressure...its kinda hard to diagnose as a serious problem...

no doubt the wheel is damaged, but unless you can xray it - youre not going to know the exact severity of the damage.

u can have the wheel repaired - re"spun" to attempt to fix it "trueness". i have had this done to a wheel i lipped before, i had the same issues you are having + unable to hold tire pressure...

althought to the eye yer wheel may look true...it is likely bent ever so slightly...

after my wheel was repaired...it was better, but i still had issues at high speeds (shaking) - as fixing can only do so much...

you do run a risk of a hairline fracture splitting do to normal stress...

if these are yer OEM audi wheels - most would agree that they are made to hig tolerances and can take much abuse...but you have to feel safe driving on it...

since you are holding pressure, the bend is not "too bad", and you could go either way...fix...not fix...replace...

again...it is tough to know...always could be a hairline fracture...

Audragon

what's up. And I am switching to my summer rubber and getting aligned to see if that fixes it. Guess it's time for fluid flush and get ready for the season a week or two earlier than expected.

bhvrdr

Good ideas. That'll at least narrow it down better. Good luck.

StrikerNo9

switch the wheel to the front/rear and see if the problem follows it. That way you may find out if its just the wheel or suspension or a combination of both