Jim, here's what happened with my 98 gs3: when the steering started doing that, it was a sign of one of the lower ball joints about to fail. It also made a loud squeeling noise when turning at low speeds in parking lots. eventually the passenger side lower ball joint failed, I hauled it to the dealer and changed both sides.
Now, having said that, I think it could be a psooible reason for your problem, although I think it's happening too early for you (an 03 with only 45000, should be flawless), but again I don't know the history of the car, but I know that if you corner hard all the time, especially with wider rims and tires, it puts a bigger load on the steering and suspension assemblies, or it could be a defective joint. Mine is an older gs3 and had 120,000 on it when it happened, and i can tell you that for the last 20,000 i was fish-tailing on every corner i can, i had almost slik worn out tires, and i was having fun with it, but i paid the price. if suspension is too soft too, it could also mean that the car was driven hard on corners (low speeds with a lot of power). I don't know that car's history but it sounds like the previous owner autocrossed the car or something, if so, then all of what you're experiencing is very possible at 45000.
also, usually when you put wider rims and tires, it's a load on the power steering pump, so if there's any defect in the pump or lines, it could lead to a slow turning rebound effect like the one you're experiencing.
what I would do is, if you have warranty, have the dealer or a trusted mechanic check steering and suspension assemblies for possible play, power steering pump and lines.
If not, surely someone else here will shed more light on it
let us know what happens