RS3 intermittent pulling to the right

[Steely_eyed]

Hey everyone, thanks in advance for all of your help, I am looking forward to being part of this community.

So I hit a pothole hard about a month ago. Messed up my tire, rim, and bent a strut. I have since had all of that replaced and the alignment is back in spec, however sometimes when I am driving the car wants to pull pretty hard to the right. The pulling isn't constant though, and it seems to go away, or at least be greatly diminished when I turn ESC off or put it in sport mode. Is it possible that the wheel speed sensor is messed up? Or something else.

Another symptom I've noticed is that when I am leaving a stop light, with ESC on and gearing in sport mode the car feels neutered. Shifting isn't smooth, and the car doesn't accelerate smoothly. When ESC is in sport mode, shifting is imperceptible, smooth as silk and the car goes like a bat out of hell. I asked my mechanic to check it out and he said he pulled codes and there was nothing.

Before I take it back to my mechanic, I am going to swap my front tires to see if it is tire pull. Or could it be that one tire is new, and the speed of that wheel is slightly different?

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your help!

[b1aZe]

If one front tire is significantly more worn than the other, you could have this issue AND really mess up your transmission. Tires should be within 2/32” tread depth of each other MAX. I’d argue both tires should have been replaced period.

[Steely_eyed]

I brought that up when the dealership replaced the one tire. They said that they weren't worried about it. The other three tires weren't worn much when.

[Steely_eyed]

Also, from my understanding the RS3 is primarily FWD, and the rear gets power only when the car detects slipping in the front. If that is the case, should I swap the new tire to the back?

[MikTip]

I had the lower ball joint nut come loose and the ball joint would come out of the bottom of the hub and cause pulling to the right under accelerating...



This nut. I used blue loctite on them. So far all is good.

[noseyp]

Also, from my understanding the RS3 is primarily FWD, and the rear gets power only when the car detects slipping in the front. If that is the case, should I swap the new tire to the back?

You might have staggered wheels so you can't swap tires front to back. Some 8V RS3 have staggered 255/30/19 front and 235/35/19 rear. Some have square all around (I think 235/35/19).

[Rod Paine]

You might have staggered wheels so you can't swap tires front to back. Some 8V RS3 have staggered 255/30/19 front and 235/35/19 rear. Some have square all around (I think 235/35/19).

On our 2019 RS 3 we're running 245/40/18 all around on Neuspeed RSe10 18x8.5 wheels. We've completed
30,396 miles of fast country back road runs, out of a total 42,217 miles as of yesterday. Our tire configuration
has proven to be a very good one, given my 64 years of fast country back road running. I'll be 83 shortly, so
I've been driving for quite a while and sure hope it lasts a while longer. Our RS 3 has proven to be a truly great
automobile. And I've had a few truly great vehicles over the years, fortunately.

My Photo Gallery shows our Audi RS 3 with the 245/40/18 wheels. Vastly superior to the 235/35/19 configuration!

[o1turbo30v]

axle damage can also occur if you bottomed out the suspension that hard.

[TheContrarian]

Another symptom I've noticed is that when I am leaving a stop light, with ESC on and gearing in sport mode the car feels neutered. Shifting isn't smooth, and the car doesn't accelerate smoothly. When ESC is in sport mode, shifting is imperceptible, smooth as silk and the car goes like a bat out of hell. I asked my mechanic to check it out and he said he pulled codes and there was nothing.

Can you provide your tire/wheel sizes front and back? What you describe here can sometimes happen with the staggered setup. Do you see the traction light flickering when you feel this lag?

[Steely_eyed]

Can you provide your tire/wheel sizes front and back? What you describe here can sometimes happen with the staggered setup. Do you see the traction light flickering when you feel this lag?

The traction light has not come on during the lags or the pulling