Full lock thud/clunk weirdness

[pudding]

OK, so here's a weird one.

First thing in the morning, full lock reversing off my drive I get a single thud through the floor and I can hear & feel a tyre scrabbling/skipping.

Same again leaving off work at 5pm, but this time it's full lock driving forwards.  Feels like the passenger side front wheel on each occasion.

Additional journeys during the day are absolutely fine.

At lunchtime today I took the car to a quiet carpark, put it on full lock and drove very slowly in each direction, forwards and backwards.  Absolutely nothing.  All smooth and silent.  The car drives normally otherwise. 

Normally I would jump straight to CV joint but it's unusual for a worn joint to clunk once and then not do it again for hours.

It passed the MOT in October, so assume the tie rods and rack would have been checked for play.  VW dealers are normally very thorough with MOTs as it's the perfect opportunity for them to sell you parts and labour, but nothing was flagged.

Everything is new under there, apart from the CVs and tie rods, and it has SuperPro Console bushes and TyrolSport dead set. 

Anyone else experience this?

Oh and this only happens when it's really cold outside, and only on slippery block paved surfaces.

[OEM+ DUB]

I get the same issue with my GTI on cold mornings when the road is icy/greasy when leaving my driveway.  I always back on so am pulling off forwards and the car seems to slip slightly with the wheels on lock as I turn out and over the central camber of the road.  I've put it down to the extreme camber of the wheel on lock and the edge of the cold tyre just giving up grip momentarily.  I would not think this is anything to worry about as my car has done it every winter over the last 9.5 years of ownership on new tyres, nearly worn out tyres, old standard suspension and current recent B8/VWR set up.

Hope this helps put your mind at ease...

[pudding]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I did some Googling earlier and apparently this is common in the high performance Audi community as well.  S5s, S4s, R8s, RS6s etc all known to do it.

You are spot on    As confirmed by an Audi dealer, it's a phenomena known as the Ackermann geometry which causes the inside tyre to slip laterally when the outside tyre takes a much bigger turning arc.  I guess we've all seen HGV trailer wheels jumping about when they take tight turns.

It's most noticeable in the winter when the tyres are left over night to get stone cold.  A momentary loss of grip.   Last year I had 205/55/16 squidgy winter tyres on, and standard suspension, so I didn't notice it.  The year before that it was a very mild winter and didn't do it.  It's a very disconcerting (and expensive) sounding noise when you first hear it!

Every day is a school day with these cars!

[Stupots]

@Pudding I've had the same noise/feeling about a year now. Car was fine, no noise, then I replaced my suspension with OEM Sachs shocks/springs and it was a good 6 months before it started... I've had it in the MOT centre prior to test for them to have a wobble and inspection of everything up front and they can't find fault. It really is a single clunk/that you can feel through pedals/steering when doing a 3 point turn, one when turning into full lock and again when nearly straightened out... I wish I could cure it, as it's really annoying me now and happened as ofter in the summer as the winter. I wondered if it could be a top mount bearing (they were replaced 18 months ago) but during normal driving the car feels solid and silent.

I then thought maybe the circlip on the end of the driveshaft may be releasing from the CV joint as the wheels are turned and popping back in as the wheel straightens, but it's hard prove that. I did the CV joints a couple of years ago, so they should be good.

Not convinced it's something I should just live with.

Cheers, Stu.

[OEM+ DUB]

Your symptoms sound more like an alternative issue, particularly given that it happens regardless of ambient temperature/time of year.

Top mounts could be to blame but would also like to suggest subframe movement - easily fixed/eliminated with the upgraded bolts and grip spacers available from VW/TPS.  If you get the car up in the air you can often see witness marks where components are moving against their mountings and a lever/pry bar is a great way to check if anything is loose or has play in it around the subframe, hubs, etc.

As you have recently done CVs/driveshafts, and with the clunk not being constant on lock, unless you have a damaged CV boot I wouldn't think it would be them.

Hope this helps.

[pudding]

Yeah that does sound a bit different to my issue.   Mine hasn't made any noises at all since the weather has warmed up. 

That's an interesting theory about the CV joint circlip.  I can't see that happening personally.  Circlips can hold back a ton of force providing it's not the hammering kind of force!   Seized top mount bearings would twist the spring causing a 'twang' noise as it slips on it's mounting surface.  A dull thud/thunk/jolt felt through the floor is more indicative of the tyre slip problem we've described above, or something beefy moving under heavy load, such as the subframe.