S4 B8 2012 STEERING/CORNERING ISSUE

[cam888]

Hi Guys,

I have a question if anyone could help me please? I am aware of the issues with steering racks on the B8/8.5 but i cant seem to find anyone having the issues that i am. I'll put the spec of the car below so you can see what its got and had done

2012 S4 s tronic B8
39k miles
ADS
Dynamic steering
19" 8.5 width standard wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 3 tyres (new)
Ultra racing strut brace/ middle under/ rear brace
4 wheel alignment done 4 weeks ago
steering set to comfort all the time
suspension set to dynamic all the time

The problem that i have is when hard cornering the front wheels feel like they are hopping for want of a better word, it feels unstable and the vibration can be felt through the steering wheel. In normal driving the car feels fine and i have no other issues with the steering. Since i have fitted the front strut brace this has improved the steering by about 20% and i now have slightly less vibration.
My question is has anyone else with 19" wheels come across this? is this just a trait of the dynamic steering you have to live with? my plan is to check all the front suspension bushes and borrow some other wheels with continental tyres to see if the softer sidewall is helping to cause the issue.

Thanks for any input

 

[Cerbera9]

Do you have the Sports Diff as well?

 

[cam888]

no, no sports diff, whatever the issue is its coming from the front. I know the 2009 cars had bush issues but i bought the car from audi around 3 months ago and nothing was done on the mot. All i can think is wheels/tyres or slight play in a bush which might not show up during the pdi/mot as the steering is fine until pushed in a corner.


thanks

 

[xpoweruk]

Does it do it with traction control switched off ?
Tyre pressures good ?
Engine mounts not leaking ?

 

[cam888]

Hi thanks for the reply,

I cant say ive tried with the traction control off, i have put the pressures up to 40 psi front and around 36 rear, this seemed to have helped the issue slightly but is still very much there. I forgot to add i also have h&r anti roll bars fitted which at the time helped slightly.
I would normally believe it was the size of the wheels causing the issue but a family emmeber has 19" on there s line with standard s line suspension/steering and it drives so much better than mine does even with the mods. As for the engne mounts i cant say i have checked this but the problem only really appears on quite hard cornering.

Thanks

 

[Cerbera9]

Are you sure your roll bars are fitted correctly as I believe it is possible to fit the front the wrong way round and it fouls the suspension arms when cornering?

 

[cam888]

yeah, they were done at awesome gti but the issue was there beforehand :/

thanks

 

[Cerbera9]

I know it sounds silly but are the tyres fitted correctly, outside labelled edge on the outer of the wheel? what tyre pressures are you running?

 

[cam888]

yeah they are fited correctly and the tyre pressures are currently 38F and 36R, i have gone out at dinner and although it is wet i turned the asr/traction off and there didnt seem to be any issues with the steering that i get with it turned on! is there anything that can be done with vagcom to fix this does anyone know?

thanks

 

[cam888]

Just to report back i unchecked the dynamic steering option with vagcom and its stopped the issue's i was having. I have read that when the dynamic steering detects the car slipping it adds steering inputs to guide you in the direction to avoid trouble, this was obviosuly happening since in normal driving the steering was fine with no issues at all.

Thanks for your help guys

 

[Cerbera9]

Glad you got it all sorted. Was the dynamic steering an option you had activated with vagcom or was it factory spec?

 

[xpoweruk]

Good to hear it was an easy fix in the end

 

[cam888]

Thanks Guys

It was a factory option with the ADS and 19" peelers, shame he didnt spec the diff though considering all the other stuff he did

 

[gary_a4_quattro]

Just a quick question, does disabling the dynamic steering improve the steering feel ? Cant help but feel the steering hasnt the feel that I would really like, there's what I can only describe as a slightly vague feel and an almost over sensitivity when motorway cruising, requiring almost constant correction albeit very small steering input. ( Full 4 wheel alignment carried out recently and tyre pressures all ok - no improvement )