Tires with extra outside shoulder tread?

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Seems to me you're just paying the price of your driving style. The autocrosser in me suggests more negative camber. Other than that, you're out of luck. I've never heard of a tire that has more tread at the outside edge like that.

Many posters have already said that you're rolling over the sidewall a bit, and they're probably right. Why do you flatly turn down any alignment advice?
 
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No can do, because each tire has an inside and an outside sidewall. I can go front to back and vice versa, left to right and vice versa, or criss-cross.

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Says who? All the tires I've ever had were reversible. Some even had white walls that one could turn in or out. Even directional tires AFAIK can go on either side as long as they still point forward.

I've seen the SF driving video you made. Looks like a fun way to chew through rubber. How about some pics of how your tires are wearing now?
 
I agree that my driving style is to blame.

I know that there at least used to be tires such as GY Eagle GS-C that did have extra meat on the shoulder.

I'm tired of having to explain myself, but since the alignment is constantly being questioned, I will elaborate and hopefully put an end to speculation. I refuse to blame alignment, because of the remote chance of an alignment being the issue. The alignment was done by the local suspension specialist at Roger Kraus Racing in Castro Valley. Brandon Kraus himself did the alignment on their state of the art optical Hunter machine in my presence. He accommodated my wishes within what's possible. Roger Kraus Racing is THE place to take an Audi for an alignment in the Bay Area. I have never had tires wear as evenly as now. Alignment is spot on. At a cost of $140 for a basic alignment, attempting to improve what with almost 100% certainty can't be improved seems an expensive and futile proposition.

One thing I will check is if maybe the car has developed a problem with one of its many control arms. I imagine a worn control arm bushing might cause a turned-in tire to "tip outward" which might cause some unnecessary edge wear. After all, the car is 11 years old.
 
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position:
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Another continuous circumferential rib adjacent to the inside shoulder blocks enhances wear quality

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Doesn't say anything about the outside shoulder.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3:
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And finally, the virtual ribs flow into the shoulder area to form long, stable shoulder blocks that grip the road during cornering and help resist the wear associated with aggressive driving

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That appears to be the best candidate so far.
 
Mori's right. An asymetrical tread pattern has different elements on the inside and outside shoulders (look at a Goodyear RSA, Nitto Invo, Goodyear Eagle ResponsEdge). They are designed to mount only one way and are stamped "Mount This Side Out". If you reverse the tire on the rim, you alter the way the tire handles. It may not be for the worse but it is not as intended.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.j...p;x=35&y=17

Directional tires can be dismounted and swapped but not asymetrical.
 
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Alignment is spot on.

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Spot on what? There's no single correct alignment setting for any given car. Different driving styles and tires will require different alignments. Sure Brandon is well-qualified as an alignment expert, but unless he goes with you during your day with pyrometer in hand and takes multiple trips back to the rack for changes, he won't know exactly what setup will work the best for you. Unless you start quantifying things, it's all pie in the sky. As far as I can tell, you haven't put the alignment question to rest, it just sounds like you don't want to deal with it.
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My alignment guy gives me the same confidence yours does to you, but just because he set it up doesn't mean the outside edges won't wear on the autocross course...or in real life either. Again, it's all about the numbers.

You know, one definition of crazy has to do with repeating the same alignment over and over hoping for a different result each time...
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Sorry, I won't stick my nose into your thread anymore - I hope you find a good solution!
 
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Alignment is spot on.

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Spot on what? There's no single correct alignment setting for any given car. Different driving styles and tires will require different alignments.

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"Spot on alignment" as defined by me: the tires wear evenly across the normal contact patch, while all setting are within factory specs.

I'm not totally ruling out that fiddling with alignment settings might be able to reduce shoulder wear by a hair, but having fiddled in the past excessively with alignment of one of my other cars, I don't think it's worth it, most of all because there is almost certainly going to be a trade-off.

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You know, one definition of crazy has to do with repeating the same alignment over and over hoping for a different result each time...

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The alignment settings were always adjusted from one alignment to the next.
 
I would suggest a higher PSI. The way to do it is chalk it up and increase pressure, then check where the chalk mark end. Repeat until you get the wear location inside the trend blocks.
 
This suspension was designed for spirited driving. The range of allowed adjustment is pretty wide to accommodate a variety of driving styles and preferences. Leaving the "within specs" range is not a good idea on this car.

I'm leaving this thread now. Whoever wants to carry on, do what you must.
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Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 would meet your requirements (with the exception of price) if I am understanding your requirements correctly. FWIW, I have been very pleased with these tires, as my BMW (with the sport package and rims) came with these from the factory.

michelin-pilot-sport-ps2_lg.jpg
 
Increase your camber, your car has a MacPherson front suspension which is notorious for a bad dynamic camber curve when cornering. If you really drive agressively I would recommend at least -1.5* in front and -1.0* in back.
 
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Says who? All the tires I've ever had were reversible.


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Not true, Dunlop SPA2 has "outter" and "Inner" side even though they are not directional. It is suppose to have a harder rubber on the outside and softer on the inside.

They are not the best tires in terms of tractioin, but if you want to level out the wear, this may be your better shot if you are willing to sacrafice ultra high grip for good/ok grip.

Looks like what you need is a stiffer sway bar and spring/struts, rather than tires with thicker sidewall trend.
 
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your car has a MacPherson front suspension

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I don't think that's true. The B5 A4 has a four link front susp. with upper and lower control arms, stabilizer bar, coil spring, and gas shock absorber

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My bad, none of what I said really applies then, although with spirited driving more camber will help wear even on multilink and double wishbone front suspension. Also, Audis are typically quite front heavy and this combined with your driving style may contribute to increased wear. Unless you are willing to increase your negative camber you are just going to have to pay to play. Plus, that lets you try out all the cool new tires that keep coming out.

Jon
 
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Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 would meet your requirements (with the exception of price) if I am understanding your requirements correctly. FWIW, I have been very pleased with these tires, as my BMW (with the sport package and rims) came with these from the factory.

michelin-pilot-sport-ps2_lg.jpg


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I was going to suggest a tire with an uninterrupted block of tread in the center like this one. The solid tread block in the center squirms around less and bears the brunt of load on the tire better. Other than that, I agree with most of the recommendations on this thread.
 
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