__________________________________________________ T_ ir_e_ s_ a_ n_d _ w_ h_ e_ e_l_s _ ...... 911
•
& WARNING (conti nued )
personal injuries . Have worn or damaged tires repl aced immed i
ately.
• Winter tires have ma ximum speed rat ing that may be lower
than your vehi cle' s maximum speed.
• Never drive faster than the speed for which the winter or other
tire s installed on your vehicle are rated.
& WARNING
Always adjust your driving to the road and traffi c cond it ions .
Never let the good acceleration of the winter tires and all -wheel
drive tempt you into taking e xtr a risks . Alway s remember :
• When braking, an all -wheel drive vehicle handles in the same
way as a front drive vehi cle.
• Drive carefully and reduce your speed on icy and slippery road s,
even winter tires cannot help under black ice condit ions .
<£> For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather conditions permit. They are
qu ieter, d o not wear as qu ick ly and reduce fue l con sump tion.•
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted only to t he fr ont w heels, and only to
certain tire sizes . Ask your authorized Aud i dealer on which tire
s izes sn ow chains ca n be used .
I f you are going to use snow chains, then you must instal l them on
the front wheels at least.
Th e snow chains must have low- prof ile l inks and must n ot be t hicke r
than 0 .53 inch (13 .5 mm), including the lock. Remove whee
l center covers and trim discs before putting snow
chains o n yo ur vehicle =>
(D. For safe ty reaso ns cover caps must
then be fitted over the wheel bolts. These are available from autho
r iz ed Audi dealer s.
& WARNING
Using the wrong snow chain s for your vehicle o r installing them
incorre ctly can increase the risk of loss of control leading to
s erious personal injury .
• Snow chains are available in d iffe rent sizes . Always make sure
to follow the instructions provided by the snow chain manufac
turer .
• When driving with snow chains never drive faster than the
speed permitted for your specific snow chains .
• Always observe local regulations.
(}) Note
• Remove snow c hai ns be fore d riving on roads not covered wit h
snow to avoid damaging tires and wearing the snow cha ins down
unnec essarily .
• Snow chains, which come into direct contact with the wheel rim,
can scratc h or damage it. Therefore, make sure tha t the snow cha ins
are suitably covered. Check the position of the snow chains after
dr iv in g a few yards an d cor rect if necessary . Fo llow the i nstruct ions
from the snow cha in manufacturer when do ing so.
[ i ] Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain roads, this normally
a lso a pplie s to veh ic le s wi th A ll Wheel D rive .•
Ve hic le care
IIIJIL_T~ ir~e =s~ a~n~ d~ w~ h ~e~e~ l~ s '.,_ ______________________________________________ _
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the correct
torque .
The design of wheel bo lts is matched to the factory installed rims . If
different rims are fitted, the correct wheel bolts with the right length
and correctly shaped bolt heads must be used. This ensures that
whee ls are fitted securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
I n certain circumstances, you may not use wheel bolts from a
different vehicle -even if it is the same model~ page 318.
& WARNING
Improperl y tightened or maintained wheel bolt s can be come loose
c au sing lo ss of control , a co llis ion and seriou s personal injur y.
• Alwa ys keep the wheel bolt s and the th reads in the wheel hubs
c lean so the wheel bolt s can turn ea sily and be properl y tightened.
• Never gre ase or oil the wheel bolt s and the thre ad s i n the wheel
hub s. They can become lo ose while drivin g if gre ased or oiled ,
e ven if tig hten ed to th e specifi ed torque .
• Onl y use wheel bo lt s th at bel ong to the rim being in sta lled.
• Nev er use differ ent wheel s bolt s on your vehicle.
• Alway s m aintai n the corre ct t ightenin g to rq ue for the whee l
bo lt s to r edu ce the ri sk of a whe el los s. If the tighten ing torque of
t h e w heel bolt s is too l ow, they c an loose n a nd com e out when th e
v ehicl e is mov ing . If th e tighte ning torque is t oo high, the whe el
b ol ts an d threads can be dam ag ed and the whee l can become
loo se .
0 Note
The specified torque for the wheel bolts is 90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a
tolerance of ± 7,4 ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts diagonally.
After changing a wheel, the torque must be checked as soon as possible with a torque wrench
-preferably by an authorized Audi
dea ler or qua lified workshop .•
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is fac tory-equipped with low aspect ratio tires. These tires
have been thorough ly tested and been selected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road feel and hand ling under
a variety of driving conditions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated by a numera l of 55 or
l e ss in the tire's size designation . The numera l represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relat ion to its tread w idth expressed
in percentage. Conventiona l tires have a height/width ratio of 60 or
more .
T he perform ance of lo w-as pect-rati o tire s is part ic ul arl y s ensit ive to
improp er infla tion pr essure. It i s there fore important that low
a s pect ra tio tir es are inflated to the sp ec ified pre ssure an d th at th e
i nfl ation pre ssure is regularl y checked and m aintained . T ir e pres
s ure s should b e checked a t lea st once a month and alw ays before a
long trip~ page 274, "Checking tire pressure".
What you can d o to avoid tire a nd rim dama ge
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more easi ly by impact with
potho les, curbs, gull ies or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire
is underinflated.
In order to minimize the occurrence of impact damage to the tires
of your vehic le, we recommend that you observe the fo llowing
precautions:
• Always maintain recommended inflation pressures . Check your
tire pressure every 2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if necessary .
• Drive careful ly on roads with potholes, deep gullies or ridges.
The impact from driving through or over such obstacles can
damage your tires. Impact with a curb may also cause damage to
your tires . .,_
