Magnet

Hello A ( proper name?) If you are doing 10k/a and expect a set of tyres to still have ‘a decent amount of tread’ after 4 years, then I think you have expectations beyond the reasonable. I just don’t see it, even if you spend on the best. In case it helps:- Based on family experience, if I had a 4x4 type vehicle I would be going with Pirelli Scorpians. I’ve recently fitted a set of Kumho on our largish family saloon. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. A ? - not too fussed on your choice of forum name.

Welcome Mike, Have you talked with Audi Customer Services to confirm/refute that? Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Ewan - nice looking car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Saj, I would suggest it’s well worth getting your mechanic to check them first - rather than just embarking on changing them when they are serviceable. Possible suspect - top suspension mount?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Or the ‘sender’ - often incorporated in the hub casting.

Welcome Chris, I have removed the location of the main dealership you post about, since they are unlikely to access this site and openly explain their involvement. Kind regards, Gareth.

It’s not a question of trust Martin, it a question of actual values and their significance. Appreciating opinions differ, but I wouldn’t be in any hurry to replace an expensive battery before confirming that your alternator output is indeed what it should be. Getting the battery tested would be a progressive move however - subject to it being fully charged at the point of testing.

As suggested - just take it to Halfords and get the alternator output checked.

Good luck with that Andy.

Apologies Andrew - misinterpreted this to mean you couldn’t source a replacement! My mistake. Hopefully someone will be along to help you out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Andrew, Where are you searching and struggling to find one? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello again Andy, Thank you for confirming you will respond to the forum with the outcome of your experiment, but I thought it worth repeating the question since, even at that stage, you were making it clear that you were dissatisfied with the forum responses. My response included a number of questions which I note you have neglected to answer, but still…. I’m not speaking for any other members on here, but your assumption that we are not like your Honda forum advisers who get their hands dirty. I can assure you Andy that that certainly doesn’t apply to me, and I could brag for hours about my restoration, and other engineering skills developed over more than 5 decades - none of which were associated with my profession - but I choose not to. I feel I must apologise for the resultant dissatisfaction experienced, even though I’m not really reading much into what may be termed honest opinion. It might be worth sitting down with a couple of glasses of wine and just looking forward to hopefully positive results from your experiment. If it works long term - great. If it doesn’t, it’s only money that has been thrown away, and no one has been hurt. Good luck and contentment Andy. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, I’ve distanced myself from this thread, but I’m sorry to hear that answers to date have not been of any help. I/we don’t know what your particular discipline is in in the sphere of Chartered Engineer, but to me, the logic seems to point that you went into purchasing this vehicle, in knowledge that it was burning oil, and it would be reasonable to expect that the seller would ‘under estimate’ the extent. I don’t like to assume anything, but we just hope that it was ‘bought cheap’. What I am unsure of, what was the extent of your knowledge on the issue before ( in caps) you bought it. If it was as you write now, then you entered into the purchase with your eyes wide open - unlike other poor unfortunates on this site - and if so, did you do so on the basis of placing your faith in sorting this out, via. the course of action you now intend to carryout? Would I be on the right line by now thinking that any contra opinion is seen as unhelpful, and what you were hoping for from here was ‘ Sounds a great idea Andy’. Now whether you are amenable to this suggestion, or not, but what would be great would be if you were to add to our knowledge bank, and actually try your procedure - and most important to others on here - report back on the subsequent figures regarding the reduction in the vehicle’s oil consumption. Would you be prepared to do that for us Andy? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Mark, I guess there are lessons to have been learned from this:- If you are not competent to assess a vehicle’s condition, then always arrange an independent assessment before ( in caps) committing to purchase. Do not depend on MOT’s to represent the overall (in caps) condition of the vehicle. I hope your trust in allowing them to repair it is justified, and they are not going to use cheapest-available parts to repair it. Please let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

What is trying to be said here Charlie is that it seems (in caps) that the alternator is at fault, but I would get an independent check on this before taking action. I fully agree with what Cliff is trying to reinforce - don’t assume the battery isn’t sub standard as well - until that has also been tested. If it were mine, I would investigate the route to getting your alternator repaired if found to be faulty. Kind regards, Gareth.