URS6 wishbones

[HMS-S6]

As a mechanic i was disgusted in myself today!!

Unusually for me i parked the ''USS S6'' with the wheels on lock this morning only to see that the inner edges of the front tyres are completely bald!! To be fair, so are the outsides and not much on the middle either (and my old man owns a tyre shop!)

I'm guessing that aside from 'practicing' on islands, this is indicative of balljoints/wishbone bushes just like on any car?? or, like some Jags do they always tend to do this??

In two weeks i'm ditching the early Avus wheels (225/50/16) in favour of the later runout S6 ones (255/40/17) since these tyres (conti sport contacts ) are, even to me, not going to be cheap i don't want to scub them needlessly.

Is there i cheap source of decent wishbones for these cars? Is it possible to replace the bushes and joints??

[s2_wot]

The rear wishbone is a bloody expensive part from audi, the bushing at the chassis side cannot be replaced so you've got to change the whole thing.
I got replacements from QH from my local factor. The kit comes with replacement outer bushings that connect to the ARB. Parts are common with the A6 C4.

Replacement lock nuts for the ARB are essential. I reused mine and they have worked loose a little. New ones ordered. I know you can reuse lock nuts 2-3 times but mine were probably the originals.

A good 4 wheel alignment (camber and track) is well worth investing time in. I guess your dad will have the equipment.

[HMS-S6]

The rear wishbone is a bloody expensive part from audi, the bushing at the chassis side cannot be replaced so you've got to change the whole thing.
I got replacements from QH from my local factor. The kit comes with replacement outer bushings that connect to the ARB. Parts are common with the A6 C4.

Replacement lock nuts for the ARB are essential. I reused mine and they have worked loose a little. New ones ordered. I know you can reuse lock nuts 2-3 times but mine were probably the originals.

A good 4 wheel alignment (camber and track) is well worth investing time in. I guess your dad will have the equipment.

Thanks for that. The annoying part is that i checked the balljoints six months ago and because i thought they were ok i bought the ones on the end of the ARB from audi!!!

Do the bushes at the car end of the wishbone fail often? Do the QH ones feel ok on your car? With my car having a running fault i have been having to keep my corner speed up and don't want to think they'll fail quicker.

I would look into polybushes but last time i used these i hated them!!

[s2_wot]

Thanks for that. The annoying part is that i checked the balljoints six months ago and because i thought they were ok i bought the ones on the end of the ARB from audi!!!

Do the bushes at the car end of the wishbone fail often? Do the QH ones feel ok on your car? With my car having a running fault i have been having to keep my corner speed up and don't want to think they'll fail quicker.

I would look into polybushes but last time i used these i hated them!!

I'm a believer in a fairly compliant suspension given the roads we have here. My guess is that they must have been a common enough failure on the C4 range if QH stock them.

The car side bushing on mine failed because of completely knackered front shocks. I knew this the day I bought the car. For a big boat of a car I'm happy with the QH items, however with roads and driving style I'm prepared to check them often.

Sorry I've made a mistake above. It's the ball joint end that can't be replaced. The car side bushing is available as a replacement item. Take care to check the inner diameter of that bushing. I recall that when I removed mine from the car there was a stainless sleeve through the bore to ensure a tight fit with the bolt. I just swapped it over.

The camber plates at the top of the shock sometimes need the holes extended to get the camber within range. I didn't have to do mine but have read on a US site about this.

Next on my list is the ARB bushings / bearings. They're a fairly over engineered lump but I can feel a little play in them.

Are you getting any vibrations under heavy braking?

[HMS-S6]

No braking is faultless really, no vibration or pulling.

I will most probably make a job of it as i already have in stock Bilstein B6 yellow shock for the front and top mounts, just not had time to do it and have no inclination while it won't pull right!

And yeh you're right, unless you're doing alot of track days or you drive a saxo polybushes are useless and i'm sure make a car handle worse on uk's roads!

[Piefke]

Unusually for me i parked the ''USS S6'' with the wheels on lock this morning only to see that the inner edges of the front tyres are completely bald!! To be fair, so are the outsides and not much on the middle either (and my old man owns a tyre shop!)

Is in your S6 the Audi sport suspension or the standard (comfort) suspension and which S6 type is it ? V8 or R5, manual or automatic gearbox ?

Mostly the S6 with sport suspension or after market (lower) sport suspensions have the problem. The front camber is (for the front tyres, not for driving fun ) too negative, and it isn't possible to adjust them more positive. You can extend the elongated holes in the upper mounts.

Is there i cheap source of decent wishbones for these cars? Is it possible to replace the bushes and joints??

If you mean the front control arms, 4A0407151 and 4A0407152, offers Wulf Gaertner (brand "Meyle") these in a "heavy duty" version, complete control arms or only the inner bushings (4A0407183D) The HD control arms are cheaper than Audi Parts and "Premium OEM Parts" from Lemfoerder (ZF Group).

But i look for this inner bushings in a harder version (PU or something like that) and hope to have better fortune to find something in U.K.

P