I agree they aren’t going to run them down, I need to be careful what I say but it was an option discussed that I try Michelin’s for one tyre cycle. When I informed my contact that one or two have said that the 255/30/19 in Michelin form is too wide, so they have gone to 245... he said on that note his plans had changed and said to not change tyre sizes because of how sensitive the Quattro is. I’ve been told it is important to keep the same setup because with the staggered setup you’re running two different sizes, 255/30/19 and 235/35/19 in Pirelli are designed to have a perfect matching rolling circumference for the Haldex. If you change to the Michelin variant etc, the rolling radius could be different between the two tyres as they won’t have been manufactured in conjunction.
Basically Pirelli have said they want to help and I genuinely believe them having spent some time in discussions and multiple visits. I’ve been told if there is an issue they will own up to it because our safety is of upmost importance. But at the same time, Pirelli UK can’t go back to HQ in Milan and say they’ve got an issue.. the first question that Milan will ask, is how many tyres are affected. If Pirelli UK can report even 25/30 cases, that’s just not going to be enough to launch a worldwide recall / adaption. If and only when the numbers get serious will anything be likely to happen, until then there isn’t any chance because as you’ve said.. Audi are a customer of Pirelli and it isn’t a boat they want to rock, ever.
I’ve been in touch with one company who were very helpful and I’d some research, they are confident they could fix my issue by installing a ‘camber correction kit’ which would be aftermarket Powerflex bottom arm bushes to take off an amount of camber. To do this, the work and alignment came to around £500 which is quite steep and to be honest, I’d rather not go down the route of changing the geometry other than alignment tweaks. I can only imagine of the warranty implications of that, probably the same or very close to the impact Audi say lowering springs will have. I got told that springs will void the drivetrain warranty as far back as the gearbox due to “excess vibration”.
I really have come to learn my lesson and would rather spend a few notes than be in and out of a dealership battling a warranty claim if an issue isn’t cut and dry. Some times what in the grand scheme of things is very little expense, the car can be greatly improved and sanity withheld haha. But at the same time I’m conscious of the fact I need to satisfy my warranty.
I didn’t know you’d changed to Goodyear and that’s interesting feedback, thank you. I don’t think I’m aware of anybody else that has changed to Goodyear on here, many have gone to Michelin. To be honest, if the Michelin tyres had the same great aesthetics / kerb protection I would be hardness pushed to not swap. But Pirelli have been fantastic with me and continue to be, it’s only fair I support the brand in return for at least as long as that service continues if it’s practical to do so and I have done when it comes to buying tyres for our other cars.
Thanks for your positive input T-800