2010 AUDI S8 Owners Manual

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& WARNING (co ntinued )
just going to replace a light bulb , then it is enough to switch off
the lights .
• Before disconnecting the battery , switch off the anti-theft
alarm system! Otherwise you will set off the alarm.
• When disconne cting the battery, first disconnect the negat ive
cable and then the po sitive cable.
• Before reconnecting the b attery, make sure all electrical
consumer s are sw itched off. Reconnect the positiv e cable fir st and
then the negative cable . Never inte rchange the cables -this could
start a fire!
• Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out battery.
It could
explode! If a battery has frozen, then it must be replaced . A
di scharged batter y can freeze over at 32 °F (0 °C ).
• Make sure the vent hose is always attached to the opening on
the side of the battery .
• Never use batteries which are damaged. There is the danger of
an explosion! Alway s replace a damaged battery.
& WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
• Battery posts , terminal s and related accessories contain lead
and lead compounds, chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and reproductive problems. Wash hands after
handling.
0 Note
• Do not disconnec t the vehicle batte ry when t he ignit ion is
switched on o r when the engine is running, otherwise, you will
d amage e le ctro nic c ompone nts in t he ele ctrica l sys tem.
Safety first
• If your ve hicle is go ing to sta nd for a long per iod of time w it h out
bein g driven, protec t th e battery fro m "freezi ng", o therw ise i t wi ll be
damaged and will then have to be replaced .•
Battery charging
Sta rting t he e ng in e req uires a well c harged battery.
Always read and heed all WARNINGS b elo w =:> & and=:> &
i n "W orki ng on t he batt ery" o n
page 3 01.
- Turn off th e igni tio n and all electr ica l co nsum ers.
- Make su re the area is well vent ilated w hen you charge the
batte ry .
- Attach the red (posi tive
(B) c la m p of the charging equip­
me nt to the posit ive te rmin al o f th e bat tery and t he b lac k
( n eg at ive(:)) clam p to t he jumper term inal.
- Only now plug t he m ain s lead for the c harg ing e quip ment
i n to t he wa ll outlet a nd tu rn it on=:> &.
- Make sure the charging rate is not over 30 amps/14.8
Volt.
- When the b attery is fully c harg ed: Turn t he ch arging
equ ip m ent off and remo ve t he mains l ead fr om the wall
ou tlet.
- Now remove the clamp s for the cha rging eq uipment .
A discharged ba ttery can freeze a t temperat ures of on ly O 0C. Allow a
frozen batte ry to thaw comp letely before attempting to charge it
=> & . However, we recomme nd not usin g a thawed battery aga in
because the battery casing can be cracke d due to ice formation and
c a n l eak battery a cid. .,._
Vehicle care Technical data

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Battery charging (Maximum charging rate of 30
amps/14.8 Volt )
When charging at /ow voltages (e.g . w ith a trickle charger ), th e
battery cab les do not have to be disconnected first. The batte ry caps
should
not be opened when cha rging a ba ttery .
It is not necessary to remove the battery from the luggage compart­
ment, and i t is also no t ne cess ary to dis connect the cables.
Fast charging the battery (charging rate above 14.8
Volts)
For technical reasons do not use a battery cha rger that uses voltage
grea te r t han 14 .8 Vol ts to ch arge yo ur vehicle's ba tte ry .
& WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerou s.
• Always follow the operating instructions provided by the
battery charger manufacturer when charging your battery .
• Never charge a frozen battery . It may explode be cause of g as
trapped in the ice . Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
• Do not reu se batteries which were frozen . The battery h ousing
may have cracked and weakened when the battery froze.
• Charge the battery in a well ventilated area. Keep away from
open flame o r elect rical spark. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas gener ­
ated by the battery i s explosive.
• To reduce the danger of e xplosion , never connect or disconnect
c harger cable s while the charger is operating.
• Fast charg ing a battery is dangerous and should only be
attempted by a competent technician with the proper equipment .
• Battery acid that may spill during charging should be wa shed
off with a so lution of warm water and baking soda to neutralize
the acid.
0 Note
N ever use a fast cha rger as a booster to s tart the eng ine. This w ill seri­
ously damage sensitive e lectronic components , such as control units,
re lays, ra dio, etc., as well as t he ba ttery cha rger. •
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the s ame specifications and
dim ensions as the original equipment b atte ry.
Inte lligent e nergy ma nagement in yo ur vehicle is responsib le for
distr ibuting the elect rical energy throughout your vehicle
~ page 258. T he intelligent energy management sys tem will keep
the eng ine battery charged better than vehicles without this system .
T o m ake s ure the addi tional e lectr ic al energy is available o nce aga in
after you have changed the battery, we recommend that you install
b atter ies of the same type and manuf actur e only ( the same as t hose
installed at the t ime you r vehi cle was delive red) . Specifications are
liste d on the ba ttery ho using. Your a uthorized Audi dealer w ill then
code the battery management control unit.
Th e new batte ry must have the same capacity, volta ge (12 vo lts),
ampe rage, const ruct io n and p lug sealing .
When installing the battery, make s ure the ign ition and all electrical
c ons umers are turned off.
0 Note
Mak e sure the vent ilat io n hose o n the side o f th e battery is
connec ted, otherwise fumes or battery acid can leak o ut.
<£> For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal of a ba ttery, we recom­
mend you r auth o rized Audi dealer change the ba ttery for you.
Ba tte ries con tain sulfu ric acid and lead and must a lways be disp osed
~

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of properly in compliance with all environmental regulations .
Disposing of vehicle batter ies improperly is
very dangerous to the
environment .•
Windshield/headlight washer
container
F ig . 251 E ngine
compa rtme nt: W ind·
sh iel d and h eadlight
w asher flu id con tainer
The washer fluid container is marked wi th the symbol ~ on
its cap.
- Before you check anything in the engine compartment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS~ & in "Working
in the engine compartment" on page
289.
- Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer fluid. You can fill
the container to the top.
- Press the cap back onto the filler neck a fter filling the
container.
You can find the reservoir capacity i n the table in~ page 360 .
To p revent lime residue from bui ld in g up on the spray jets, use
distilled wate r when refilling . Always add a glass cleaner solution
(with frost p rotection in the winter) .
Vehicle OP-eration
0 Note
Do not mix engine coo lant antifreeze o r any other additives to fill up
the w indshield wash er reservoir .•
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

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Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most abused
parts of a motor vehicle.
T ir es may be the least apprec iated and most abused pa rts of a moto r
vehicle. Tires are, however, one of the most important parts of a
veh icle, parti cularly conside ring the comparative ly small patch of
rubber on eac h tire that assu res that all- important co ntact between
you , your ve hicle and the road .
Ma inta in ing t he correct t ire pressu re, making s ure that your veh icle
and i ts tires do not have to carry more weight than they can safely
hand le, avoid ing damage from road ha za rds and reg ula rly inspect ing
tires for damage incl ud ing c uts, s lashes irregular wea r and overall
condi tion are the mos t important th ings that you can do to help avoi d
sudden tire fa ilure includ ing t read separation and blowouts .
Avoiding damage
If you have to drive over a curb or sim ilar obstacle, drive very s lowly
and as close as poss ible at a right angle to the cu rb .
Always keep chemicals including grease, oil , gasoline and bra ke fl uid
o ff the t ires .
Inspect the ti res regularly for damage (cuts, crac ks o r bl ist ers, e tc .).
Remove any foreign bodies embed ded in the trea ds.
Storing tires
M ar k tires when yo u remove t hem to indica te the d irect ion of rota ­
tion . This ens ures yo u to be able to mo unt them co rrectly whe n you
re insta ll them.
Wh en r emoved, t he wheels or tires s hould be sto red in a c ool, dry and
preferably da rk p lace. Sto
re tires in a ver tica l pos it ion if they a re not mounted on rims, in a
hor izonta l position if they are mo unted on r ims.
New tires
N ew tires have to be bro ken in~ & .
Th e tread dep th of new tires may v ary, ac cor ding to t he type an d
make of t ire and the tread pattern.
Hidden damage
Dama ge to t ires and rims is often not readi ly visible . If yo u notice
unusu al v ib rat ion o r the veh icle pulls to one sid e, t his may i ndicate
that one of the tires has been damaged. The tires must be c hecke d
i m medi ately by an a uthor ized A udi deale r or quali fied w or ksh op .
Unidirectional tires
A u nidirectional tire can be identified by arrows on the sidewall, that
point in the d irect io n the tire is des igned to rotate. Yo u m ust follow
t he s peci fied dire ction of ro tation . T his is nece ssary so th at t hese
tires can develop the ir optimum c haracter istics regarding gr ip, road
noise, we ar and hy dropl aning res istance. For more informa tion
~page 341 .
& WARNING
New tires or tires that are old , worn or damaged cannot provide
maximum control and braking ability.
• New tires tend to be slippery and must be broken in. To reduce
the risk of losing control, a collision and serious personal injuries, drive with special care for the first 350 miles (560 km) .
• Driving with worn or damaged tires can lead to loss of control,
sudden tire failure , including a blowout and sudden deflation ,
crashes and serious personal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
replaced immediately. .,_

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& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Tires age even if they are not be ing used and can fail suddenly ,
e specially at high speeds . Tires that are more than 6 year s old can
only be used in an emergency and then with special care and at low
s peed .
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weigh t (in excess of those sta ndard items wh ich
may be replaced) of automatic transmission, power steer ing, power
bra kes, powe r win dows, power sea ts, radio, and heate r, to the exte nt
that these items are available as factory-insta lled equipment
(whet her i ns ta lled or no t).
Aspect ratio
means the r atio of t he he ight to t he widt h of the t ire in percent.
N umbers of 55 or lower indicate a low sidewa ll for improved steer ing
res ponse and bet ter over all h andling on dry p avemen t.
Bead
means the part of the t ire that is made of stee l wi res, w rapped or
re in forced by ply cords and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a brea kdown of the bond between components in the bead.
Cord
means the st rands forming the plies in the ti re.
Safety first
& W ARNING (co ntinued )
• Never mount u sed tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous history ." Old u sed tires may have been damaged
eventhoughthedamagecannotbeseenthatcanleadtosudden
tire failure and loss of vehicle control.
• If you notice unusual vibr ation or if the vehicle pulls to one side
when driving, always stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check
the wheels and tires for damage. •
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the t ire pressu re recom mended by the vehicle manufa ctu rer
for a tire of a desig nate d size that has not been driven for more than
a couple of m iles ( kilomete rs) a t low speeds in the t hree hour per io d
before the tire pressu re is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a moto r vehicle wit h standard equipment
incl uding the max imum ca pac it y of fue l, o il, and coo lan t, air condi ­
tioning and additiona l weig ht of optional eq uipment.
Extra load tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads and at higher inflat ion
pressures than t he co rresponding sta ndard t ire. Extra load tires may
be identif ied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewa ll.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ( "GAWR ")
means the loa d-carrying capac ity of a sing le ax le system, measure d at
the t ire-grou nd interfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
mea ns the maximum tota l loaded we ig ht of the vehicle .
Vehicle care Technical data

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Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated to carry for a given infla­
tion pressure. You may not find this information on all tires because
it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating fo r a tir e at the maximum permissible inflation
pressure for that tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure to which a tire may be
inflated. Also called "maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the number of occupants seated
in the vehicle up to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distr ibution of occupants in a vehicle .
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteriors of the sidewalls of
an inflated tire, including elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber -coated paralle l cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed regular production
options weigh ing over 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not previously considered in curb weight or
accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof
rack, heavy duty battery, and special trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords that extend to the
beads are laid at substantially 90 degrees to the centerline of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see=> page 307, "Cold tire inflation pressure".
Reinforced tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads and at higher inflation
pressures than the corresponding standard tire. Reinforced t ires may
be identified as "XL ", "x l", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a tire and tube assembly upon
wh ich the tire beads are seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the bead seat . If you change your wheel
size, you w ill have to purchase new tires to match the new rim diam­
eter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nom inal distance between rim flanges.

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Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the tread and bead.
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire is designed to be driven for extended
periods of time. The ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to 186
mph (298 km/h)=>
page 320. You may not find this information on
all tires because it is not required by law .
The speed rating letter code, where applicable, is molded on the tire
sidewall and indicates the max imum permissible road speeds=>
& in
"Winter tires" on
page 323.
Tire pressure monitoring system*
means a system that detects when one or more of a vehicle's tires are
underinflated and illuminates a low tire pressure warning telltale.
Tread
means that portion of a tire that comes into contact with the road.
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread from the tire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the principal grooves designed to give a
visual indication of the degrees of wear of the tread. See=>
page 317,
"Tread Wear Ind icator (TWI)" for more information on measuring
tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tir e information system developed by the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that is designed to
help buyers make relative comparisons among tires. The UTQG is not
a safety rating and not a guarantee that a tire will last for a prescribed
number of miles (kilometers) or perform in a certain way. It simp ly
gives tire buyers additional information to combine with other
considerations, such as price, brand loyalty and dealer recommenda­
tions. Under UTQG, tires are graded by the tire manufacturers in three
Safety first
areas: treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance . The UTQG
information on the tires, molded into the sidewalls.
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number" It begins with the letters "DO T" and
indicates that the tire meets all federal standards. The next two
numbers or letters indicate the plant where it was manufac tured, and
the last four numbers represent the week and year of manufacture.
For example,
DOT ... 2209 ...
means that the tire was produced in the 22nd week of 2009 . The
other numbers are ma rket ing codes that may or may not be used by
the tire manufacturer . Th is information is used to contact consumers
if a tire defect requires a recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and luggage load plus 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the vehicle's total seating capacity as listed on the label located
either on the driver's side B-pillar or on the inside of the fu e l filler
flap.
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is determined by distrib­
ut ing to each axle its share of the maximum loaded vehicle weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is determined by distrib­
uting to each axle its share of the curb weight, accessory weight, and
normal occupant weight (distributed in accordance with tab le below
=> page 310) and dividing by two. ._
Vehicle care Technical data

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Occ up ant loading and distribution for vehi cle normal load for various d esignated seating capacit ies
Designated seating capacity, num- Vehicle normal load , number of Occupant distribution in a nor­
mally loaded vehicle
ber of occupants occupants
4
5
Cold tire inflation pressure
2
3
2 in front
2 in front, 1 in back seat
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
Fig. 252 Ti re pre ssure
l a bel : lo cate d eit he r o n
driver 's s ide B-pilla r or
in sid e t he fue l fill er
flap
TVIE' I IU COl.D 'nRI! MCUUM
PNIU DIMCNIIONII PMIIION Dtl "*lit A f:11101>
....
·-.. OIIICOUM
- KPA,. PSI
- KPA,. PSI
- KPA,. PSI
Fig. 2 53 Tire pre ssure
lab el
Ma inta in ing p roper tire pressure is one of the most important th ings
you can do to he lp avoid sudden tire fa ilure. Underinflated tires are a
ma jo r ca use of sudden t ire failure. Keep ing t ires a t the right pressu re
is a lso important for safe and responsive vehicle handling, tract ion,
bra king and loa d ca rry ing .
Tire pre ssures are particularly important
when the vehicle is be ing dr iven at higher speeds, and then espe­
cially when he avily loaded even within the permi ssible load·
carr ying capacities approved for your veh icle.
Th e recommended tire pressures for your Audi depend on the kind of
tires on your vehicle and the number of passengers and/or amount of luggage you will be transporting.
O n USA veh icles, the tire pressure label is lo cated on the drive r's side
8-pillar. On Canada vehicles, the t ire pressure label is located either
•
T ir e pressure ge nera lly refers to the amount of air in a t ire that it
needs it to do its job and safely carry the combined load of the entire
veh icle and i ts conten ts. Tir e pressure is measured in kilopascals
(kPa), the international measur ing unit and in pounds per square inch
(PSI) . Tire press ure is based in part on the veh icle 's design and load
limit -the greatest amount of weight that the vehicle can carry safe ly
and the t ire size . The proper tire pressure is frequently referred to as
the "recommended cold t ire inflation pressure." Air in the tires
expands when the ti re hea ts up because of i nterna l fr iction when it
flexes in use. The ti re p ressu re is highe r when the t ire has wa rmed up
than when it is "cold ." It is the inflation pressure in a "co ld" tire that
co unts . Therefo re, you should never let air out of a warm tire to
match "cold tire inflation pressure" recommendations . The t ires
would then be under inflated and could fail suddenly.
on the driver's side 8-pillar o r inside the fuel f iller flap. The ti re pres- ...