Rear road holding very poor, please help.

[Stvn66]

Hi,

Thank you for accepting me into this forum, this is my first post.

I have just purchased a 2008 1.6 A3 and I find the back keeps swinging out/skids when I turn corners as though the car is drunk or I am on thin ice. I have checked the tyre pressures and tread and all is well. Any advice will be much appreciated.

Also, are there any rubber or foam pads that fit the centre console as I find my knee keeps on resting on it?

Thank you.

Steve

[Magnet]

Hello Steve,

Thanks for joining and welcome. 
We’ve had a two year older one of these in the family since new - now on 172k miles, and now pending replacement of most of the rear suspension arms due to the rubber bushes starting to crack. 
I mention the rear suspension only since even with this known wear, we’ve never experienced of the issue you enquire about within the motoring we do, which includes occasional motorway, but mostly B and C roads. 
Great that you have checked the tyre pressures ( many don’t!), so that we can discount that.
Incidentally, what pressures are you setting these to and does the car have matching tyres on the same axle - brands of all 4?  

If this were mine, I would be getting the rear suspension thoroughly checked for wear - and there are many links - and if confirmed to be acceptable then get the wheel alignment checked. Never get the alignment adjusted without checking for wear. 
Quite important :- How would you describe your driving style? 
Just comfortable motoring?  Or specify the degree of ‘enthusiastic’ motoring that suits you. 
Please come back to us. 

Knee and centre console? Sorry Steve, not noticed any issues there either. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[cliffcoggin]

Steve.

Road holding of an A3 is usually as good as any other medium size car of that era. I never had the rear end of my 2007 A3 break away even when I inadvertantly took a bend too fast. Therefore I believe something is wrong with either your car or your driving. You don't sound like a boy racer so lets assume the car is at fault.

I would look first at the quality and pressure of the rear tyres. I know you said the pressures were correct, but the correct pressure depends on wheel size and vehicle loading. Please tell us more details.

Then there is the matter of tyre quality and type. Are the tyres ultra cheap from an unknown manufaturer? Is the tread depth reasonable, or on the limit?

If tyres prove to be OK, then as Gareth suggests the rear suspension should be examined, including tracking. Rear tracking normally never changes unless the car has been crashed, but your description of drunken rear end behaviour sure sounds like a tracking error.

I too found the centre console uncomfortable when the seam down my jeans rested against it. I resorted to some foam rubber pipe insulation wrapped around the bar. It looked ugly but helped a lot.

[Stvn66]

Hi Gareth,

Thank you very much for your reply.

For the record I am a comfortable driver and not a speed demon!

As you said, the tyres are mixed at the front and back so I will match them to see what happens. A very knowledgable friend has taken the car for a spin and said it is fine and so maybe I just need to get used to it.

It feels soft to drive whereas my previous was probably a harder drive with less, shall we say  'sway' 🙂

Once again thank you for taking the time to reply.

Best regards,

Steve

[Stvn66]

Hi Clifford

Great idea about the foam piping, I will definitely try this.

Hope I didn't sound a bit of a princess 😜

I am sure the car will be fine as I have had a guru friend check it out and he said it is fine, just a different driving experience to what I am used to.

Many thanks,

Steve

[Magnet]

Many thanks for coming back on this, and reassuring us that you are a ‘steady’ driver! 
Another important point I forgot to mention was the effectiveness of the rear ( in particular) shock absorbers. This can make a significant difference to the car’s handling. 

Come on Steve share with us the pressures you have set the car on, and as Cliff suggests as well- the makes of each tyre and the amount of remaining tread. 
Rushing off and renewing them would not be my priority ( possibly will change this view when you tell us what you have on there now) until other suspects are eliminated. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Stvn66]

The tyres are 205/55 R16.

At the back I have 1 x Kumho + 1 x Presa and the same set up at the front, no idea why they were not paired up by the previous owner!

I am now going to put the 2 x Kumho at the front and the 2 x Presa at the back.

All the tyres are like new:)

I have set them all at 30 psi as the previous owner had the rear set at 35 psi.

Thanks guys

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Stvn66

[Magnet]

Many thanks again Steve, 

Sounds a good idea to pair them. As you probably know, Kumho are mid range. Presa ?? Probably Chinese best, but let’s not condemn them since they are like new. I would just be rather cautious in the wet. 
Incase it helps, I too set mine to 30 psi all around - 35 is too high in my book, even if fully laden. 
Again from my experience, I’ve always fitted Michelin, with an odd skirmish with Continental. In fact, I need to treat ours to a new set, but find Michelin ( same size as yours) are now over £100. I did look at Uniroyal Rainsport 5 when they were £70 each last month - fully fitted with Kwik Fit. Now they are listing then at £85! 
Camskill have them on supply-only at a very good price. 
Wondered what the experienced view on here might be about them- ? 
Another thing worth checking since you have the mix on the same axle at the moment is whether either the Kumho or Presa is an XL tyre? This could make a handling difference if one is and one isn’t. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.

p.s. Don’t forget the shock absorber possibility. 

[Stvn66]

When the time comes I will put on a set of 'Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance' tyres as I had on my previous car.

Never had any issues with them whatsoever 🥇

[cliffcoggin]

It's never a good idea to mix tyre brands on the same axle. The differing tread patterns will grip differently as the load changes as you turn corners.

I don't recall the precise pressures I had on my A3, (I no longer have the car,) but I am fairly certain the rears were a few psi higher than the fronts. My Haynes manual merely refers to the sticker on the fuel filler flap, so that is no help I regret.