Thumping/bumping sound when turning.

[luvsspeed]

I was going to get a wheel alignment to start off the new year, its been a year since my last one. Last night when I was leaving work I made a full lock left turn and noticed a thumping/bumping sound from the front passengers side wheel, like I had a flat tire. I repeated the same turn several times and it did the same thing. Could it just be the front end out of alignment, or something more? A little background complete front suspension refresh done 11/2014, inner and outer tie rods done 11/2013.

[TEB]

I was going to get a wheel alignment to start off the new year, its been a year since my last one. Last night when I was leaving work I made a full lock left turn and noticed a thumping/bumping sound from the front passengers side wheel, like I had a flat tire. I repeated the same turn several times and it did the same thing. Could it just be the front end out of alignment, or something more? A little background complete front suspension refresh done 11/2014, inner and outer tie rods done 11/2013.

Only when turning left? Could be an axel CV joint starting to go. Any bad boots?

[luvsspeed]

Only when turning left? Could be an axel CV joint starting to go. Any bad boots?

None that I noticed when changing my oil the other day. I thought possible CV joint for a second, but doesn't sound like that typical clicking or pop sound.

[luvsspeed]

Well first thing in the morning I heard and felt it. Drove 20 miles to work and after that I did not hear or feel anything. I took it to an alignment shop right after the drive to work and they kept it most of then day and they did not find anything. No front end play, no bad axles, not out of alignment. They were just a stumped as me. Could it be the tires are flat spotting when the car sits for a few hrs?

[IslandHydro]

I thought all these cars did that, due to the all wheel drive

[Aok303]

I thought all these cars did that, due to the all wheel drive

i thought this too, i hear a sound like x2 as loud as the abs when they are pumping if im at a full turn going below i dunno lets say 25mph but above 5mph
i checked the suspension like 10 times and wrote it off as the car trying to correct quattro due to wheel turn/speed
my ATTS prelude would do this once in a while

so i hear it like once every 6 months, i did the same thing and took the same turn like 5 times first time i heard it

[DarrenOman]

Can you lay under the car and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth. My wife had a similar issue in her LR3 and turned out to be the lower control arm bushings

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[VinnysS4]

x2 on control arm bushings. Mine make this exact noise and pretty much every single bushing is bad on my front end. You are loading the bushings up while turning and then the bump is usually the arms moving around with a cracked bushing. Have someone turn the wheels as you are under the car looking specifically at the control arm bushings. just my .02

[luvsspeed]

x2 on control arm bushings. Mine make this exact noise and pretty much every single bushing is bad on my front end. You are loading the bushings up while turning and then the bump is usually the arms moving around with a cracked bushing. Have someone turn the wheels as you are under the car looking specifically at the control arm bushings. just my .02

Better not be the bushings seeing how the control arms are just a 1yr old. Seems strange that it would only do it when cold.

[VinnysS4]

What brand tie rod ends were used ?What bushings /control arms did you use? Did you torque them under load or with the suspension drooped? It could be bad strut mounts...

[luvsspeed]

What brand tie rod ends were used ?What bushings /control arms did you use? Did you torque them under load or with the suspension drooped? It could be bad strut mounts...

I have the fcp euro kit. Indy vw/audi shop did the install and I had new strut mounts as well. Everything on the front end is new. It kinda feels like it is binding up on one side and not the normal awd noise. I wonder if it has to do with the temps here the past few weeks. I know it wasn't this cold her last year. I don't think it helps that all my tires psi was way off and I have summer tires.

[luvsspeed]

Update:

Well took the car to the alignment shop that I normally go to, but this was not the shop that put the control arms in (that shop is over an hr away). I was told that the car could not be aligned and that I would need adjustable control arms. I will attach a picture of the pre-alignment results.I did debate on getting adjustable control arms when I got my refresh done, but I was told in forums and by indy shop that if I wasn't going to lower the car they were not needed. Makes me wonder if the indy shop I took it to even did all the work, did more harm than good, or just saw that wasn't going to fix the problem and took my money instead of telling me.. I did ask for the alignment results paper after they did the work, they told me that they did not get one from the shop they took it to that did the alignment.I always like to see that so I know whats what. I also asked to see the old parts and they told me the thew them in the trash. So I guess I'll be getting some spc control arms this week, unless someone can see something else that can cause the alignment issue from the picture below.

[924Carrera]

They are correct in that the front has absolutely 0 camber adjustment unless you have adjustable arms...with the exception of sliding the subframe from side to side which would increase camber on one side and decrease it on the other (basically just to even them out...and that's a huge undertaking that, according to Audi, requires about 10 new one-time-use bolts). Obviously, the camber is set from the factory so unless you lower the car it typically does not need to be adjusted, as you were told. The camber values there, -1 and -1.3, are pretty normal. I believe the Audi spec is around -0.9 degrees, but honestly bad toe adjustment is what wears tires out faster. I wouldn't be worried about it.

The toe can very easily be adjusted both front and rear (as can the rear camber). It looks like you are a little out of spec on a couple of the wheels for toe. Did that shop claim they couldn't do the toe adjustment either? If so, that's total BS. I have personally aligned my car and adjusted the toe all around. I prefer a 0 toe in the front for a good balance of turn-in response and stability on the road. Too much toe out (negative values) will make the car very responsive to steering input but prone to wandering around. Toe-in helps the car stay on track, but too much will reduce steering response. Factory specs call for a bit of toe-in front and rear, as is typical for most cars.

[luvsspeed]

They are correct in that the front has absolutely 0 camber adjustment unless you have adjustable arms...with the exception of sliding the subframe from side to side which would increase camber on one side and decrease it on the other (basically just to even them out...and that's a huge undertaking that, according to Audi, requires about 10 new one-time-use bolts). Obviously, the camber is set from the factory so unless you lower the car it typically does not need to be adjusted, as you were told. The camber values there, -1 and -1.3, are pretty normal. I believe the Audi spec is around -0.9 degrees, but honestly bad toe adjustment is what wears tires out faster. I wouldn't be worried about it.

The toe can very easily be adjusted both front and rear (as can the rear camber). It looks like you are a little out of spec on a couple of the wheels for toe. Did that shop claim they couldn't do the toe adjustment either? If so, that's total BS. I have personally aligned my car and adjusted the toe all around. I prefer a 0 toe in the front for a good balance of turn-in response and stability on the road. Too much toe out (negative values) will make the car very responsive to steering input but prone to wandering around. Toe-in helps the car stay on track, but too much will reduce steering response. Factory specs call for a bit of toe-in front and rear, as is typical for most cars.

They could. This I from when I changed my tie rods in 2013.

[luvsspeed]

I haven't gone through tires like this since my rice days. I had a fully modded car then, but this car is 99% stock. Its different when your spending $300 a set of tires and you can get them anywhere vs $500+ and you have to order them all the time. I've had my S for a little over 8yrs and tire wear sucks. I know in the grand scheme of things its nothing compared to other things that can go wrong. I gotten off easy owning my car compaired to others on here. Coolant leak, starter and control arms are the only major things I've had to deal with since I've got her and I'm thankful. This is just like having a check engine light on, or a fluid leak to me annoying.

[luvsspeed]

I have vacation coming up in a week and had planned on changing my motor mounts and tranny mount. If I truly need adj uca's I rather do it all at the same time, since I have them time. I just wanna know for sure if adj uca's are really needed, so I can get them ordered monday. I hope some more people can chime in over the weekend

[924Carrera]

If you want the camber back within spec, adjustable UCA's are the only way to do it. As I said before, I wouldn't be too worried about the camber values you have right now, because they aren't that far outside the spec, but if the arms need replacement anyway, it's nice to have the adjustable option in case you decide to lower the car more or just want more adjustment. (More than none, basically).

[luvsspeed]

Well I found out what was the caused the issue. The shop did not tighten the lower shock nut, which caused the shock to twist and move on tight turns. I still went ahead and put in adjustable upper control arms. Under $300 in parts and 4hrs of my time.