2010 AUDI S8 four wheel drive

Intelligent technology
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until the car starts to move . The whee l less ab le to transfer power
spins .
Overheating of brakes
To prevent the disc b rake of the bra ked wheel from ove rhea ting if
subjected to excessive loads, the EDL cuts out temporarily . The
veh icle remains operat ional and beh aves in the same way as a vehicle
without EDL .
As soon as the brake has coo led down, EDL switches on again auto­
matically .
& WARNING
• When a ccelerating on slippery surfaces, such as on ice or snow,
alw ay s be careful when depre ssing the a ccelerator pedal. E ven
with the EDL working, the drive wheel s can spin and reduce your
ability to control your car . Risk of crash !
• The in creased safety afforded by EDL does not mean that you
can take safety ri sks. Always adapt your driving st yle to the road
condition s and traffic situation .
fi Tips
If a fault occurs i n the ABS, the EDL is also no t fu nct ion ing . This is
indicated by the ABS warning light~
page 19. •
Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR)
The Anti-Slip Regulati on System prevents the driven
wheels from spinning when the car is a ccel erating.
General notes
T he Anti-S lip Regulation System (ASR) is integrated in the electronic
stabilization program (ESP). When the veh icle starts up and acceler­
ates , the wheels are p reve nted from sp inning by adjust ing the eng ine
powe r to match t he amo unt of grip avai lab le from the road s urface.
How the system works
ASR perfo rms au toma tica lly, i .e . witho ut the drive r's in tervent ion .
With the aid of the A BS sensors~
page 256, ASR monitors the speed
of the driven wheels . If the wheels start to spin, the engine powe r is
reduced automat ically u nti l the t ires find enough gr ip to lock onto
the road s urface. The system is active across the entire speed range.
Th e ASR wor ks in con ju nction with the A BS .
If a m alfu nction sho uld
occur in the ABS, the ASR w ill also be out of action.
& WARNING
The increased safety afforded by ASR does not mean that you can
take safety ri sks . Always adapt your driving style to the road
condit ions and traffic situation.
[ i ] Tips
To ensure that the ASR works prope rly, all four wheels must be fitted
w ith ident ic a l ti res Any differences in rollin g radius of the tires can
cause the system to reduce engine power when t his is not desired .
See also ~
page 318, "N ew t ires and replacing tires and whee ls" .•
Braking
General Information
What affects b raking efficiency ?
Operating cond itions and driving habits
Th e bra kes on t oday's automo biles are still subjec t to we ar,
depending large ly on operating conditions a nd driving habits~ &.
O n ve hicles tha t are eithe r driven mostly in stop- and-go city t raff ic or
are drive n hard, the brake pads should be checked by your author ized
Audi de aler more o ften than specified in the
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Failure to have your brake pads i nspected can result
in re duced brake pe rformance. .,

_________________________________________ I_ n_ t_ e_ ll_,igent technology ,__E~-
The brake assistant will not be operative if there is a malfunct io n in
t he ABS.
& WARNING
Plea se remember that the accident ri sk a lwa ys increa se s if you
d riv e too fast , especially in corne rs or on a slippery road , or if you
follow the vehi cle ahead of you too closely . In cre ased ri sk of an
accident cannot be compensated for e ven by the brake ass istant,
so always maintain a safe speed. •
Servotronic® - advanced power
steering system
The power steering systems uses th e power of the
running engine to allow precise steering with little effort.
Th e advanced Servotronic ® power steeri ng system senses the road
speed and electronically ad justs power assistance to provide
c omfortable and safe s teer ing response exa ctly matched to the
vehicle speed.
Powe r steering will not work if the engi ne is of f. As a resu lt, the
steer ing wheel will be hard to turn .
The power stee ring fluid level is checked during the sched uled main­
t enance se rvi ces.
0 Note
If the re is an ele ct roni c mal func tion, servotroni c will still f unction
like a conventional power steer ing system, prov iding a constant
steeri ng support force tha t is no lo nger propo rt iona te to the ve hicle
speed. This is most not iceab le when turn ing the steer ing wheel at low
speeds (for example when parking), -more effort will be required
than usual.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
•
Be aware of the d ifferent than usual steering response and adjust
your stee rin g for ce acco rdi ng ly.
• Have the prob lem checked and set r ight by an A udi dea ler as soon
as possib le.
[ i ] Tips
• Whe n the eng ine is runni ng, neve r hold t he steering w hee l turned
all the way to the right or to t he left for longer than 15 seconds. The
powe r stee ring pump wi ll over heat the hydra ulic fluid if yo u keep
holding the steeri ng w heel tur ned all the way. This is likely to damage
the power steering system .
• If the power stee ring system shou ld fa il entire ly, or if the engine
is not r unning (fo r examp le, while being towed), you w ill still be a ble
to steer the vehicle. However,
considerably more effo rt will be
req uired to do so .
• If the power steering system s hou ld have a lea k, or is not func­
tioning properly, contact your authorized Au di dea ler immediate ly .
• The power steering system requ ires a specially formulated
hydra ulic fl uid. The power stee ring re se rvoir is t he one located mos t
forward o n the left side of the eng ine compa rtment=:>
page 290 . The
correct fluid leve l in the reservoir is important fo r proper f unctioning
of t he power steering. •
Dr"ving with your quattro®
With All Whee l Drive, all four wheels are driven .
General information
With All Wheel Drive, power is d istributed to all four wheels. This
happens au tom atically depending on you r d rivi ng style a nd the roa d
conditions at the time. See also=>
page 253, "Electronic different ial
lock (ED L)".
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Intelligent technology
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W inter tires
When d riving in the winter, your vehicle with A ll Whee l Drive has an
advantage, even with reg ula r tir es . In wi nter road cond it ions i t may
be advisab le to mount w inte r tires (or all-season tires) for imp roved
dr iveabili ty and braking: these tires m ust be mounted on
all four
wheels .
See also => page 323, "Winter tires".
Tire chains
Whe re tire chains are mandato ry on certa in roads, this normally also
applies to veh icles with A ll Whee l Drive=>
page 324, "Snow chains ".
Replacing wheels/tires
Veh icles with All Wheel Drive m ust always have t ires of the same size.
Also avoid tires with different trea d de pths . For details see page
=>
page 318, " N ew tires and replac ing tires a nd wheels" .
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clearance to be used as a n
off -road vehi cle. It is the re fore best to avoid ro ug h trac ks and uneven
ter rain as muc h as poss ib le. Also re fer to=>
page 263 .
& WARNING
Always adjust your dri ving to road and traffic conditions. Do not
let the extra safety afforded by All Wheel Drive tempt you into
taking ex tra risks.
• Although the All Wheel Drive is very effective, always
remember that braking capacity is l imited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at exce ssive speeds on icy or slippery
road surfaces.
• On wet road surfa ce s, be careful not to drive too fast because
the front wheels could begin to slide on top of the water (aqua­
planing ). If this should occur, you will have no warning from a
sudden increase in engine speed as with a front-wheel drive
vehicle. Always drive at speeds which are suited to the road condi­
tions - risk of crash. •
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy m ana gemen t con tr ols the distributi on of elec­
trical ener gy an d thu s optimiz es the ava ila bility of elec­
t ri cal ene rgy f or starting the en gine.
If a vehicle w ith a convent iona l energy system is not driven for a long
pe riod of time, t he b att ery is di sch arged by idling current con sumers
(e .g. immob ilize r). In certain c ircumstances it can result i n there
be ing insuffi cien t energy avai lab le to s tar t the engine.
I n te lligent e ne rgy management in yo ur vehicle ha ndles the dist ribu­
tion of e lectrical energy . Starting ab ility is ma rkedly improved and
t he life of the battery is extended.
Basically, energy management consists of
battery diagnosis , idling
current management
a nd dynamic energy management .
Battery diagnosis
Batte ry diagnosis co nti nu ously deter mi nes the s tate of the batte ry .
Sensors determine battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
t empe rature. This determines the cur rent sta te of charge and the
power of the battery.
Idling current management
Id ling current management red uces energy consumpt ion while the
veh icle is s tanding. W it h t he ignition swi tched off, it con trol s the
energy supply to the var ious electrica l components. Data from
b attery di ag nos is is conside red .
Depe nding on the batte ry 's state of charge, individ ua l consumers a re
gradually t urne d off to prevent excessive discha rge of the batte ry an d
t hus main tain sta rting capabili ty .
Dynamic energy management
W hile the vehicle is being driven, dynamic energy management
dis trib utes the energy generated acco rding to the nee ds o f the indi -•

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Tire service Life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of different
things including proper installation and balancing,
correct tire pressure and driving style.
_/l
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Tread Wear Indic ator (TWI )
Fig. 2 54 T ir e t read :
t rea d we ar i ndicators
( T WI)
Fig . 255 Rotati ng
t ir e s fo r mo re e ve n
w ea r
Th e or iginal t ires on your veh icle have 1/16 inch ( 1.6 mm) high "wear
ind icators"=> fig . 254 running across the tread . Depending on the
make, there w ill be six to e ight of them evenly placed around the tire.
Marks on the t ire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other symbols) indi­
cate the posit ions of the tread wear indicators . Worn tires must be
replaced. Different fig ures may apply i n other countr ies => ,& .
Vehicle OP-eration
Tire pres sur e
Incorrect tire pressure ca uses premature wear and can cause sudden
tire blow-out . For this reason, tire pressure m ust be checked at least
once a mo nth =>
page 313.
Driv ing style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration and hard braking
increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the same service life, we
recommend that the fron t and rear tires a re rotated accord ing to the
t ire manufact urer's suggested tire rotation intervals . Please
remember the follow ing:
• T ire ro tat ion interva ls may differ from the ve hicle service in tervals
outlined in your Warranty
& Maintenance book let.
• The longer one tire is used in one location on the veh icle, the more
i t wears at certain points; therefore, we recommend that you follow
the t ire manufacturer's suggested tire rotation intervals.
• Vehicles with front-whee l drive experience more tread wear on the
front wheels compared to all-wheel dr ive (quattro
® ).
• Please rotate tires as sh own => fig. 255.
• Extra care must be taken when rotat ing d irection-spec ific tires
=:> page 341.
Wheel balancing
The w heels on new vehicles are balanced . H oweve r, various sit uat ions
dur ing everyday dr iving can cause them to become unbalanced,
resulting in vibrations yo u can usu a lly fee l through the s teering
wheel.
Unbalanced whee ls must be rebalanced to avoid excessive wear on
steering, suspension and t ires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed. _,,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

Tires and wheels Ill
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If you install rims, which do not have the sensors, or have sensors
w hich are not compa tible, then the tire pressure moni toring sys tem *
w ill not wo rk p roperly. I n this case, t he tire pressure monitor ing
system * wo uld not be ab le to monitor the tire pressure or warn yo u if
it is necessary .
• The battery inside of the tire pressure sensor has a limited service
l ife.
• Always dr ive wit h the
valve stem caps securely mo unted. We
recommend using factory ins ta lled
valve stem caps. As k your autho ­
r ized Audi dea ler to rep lace lost
valve stem caps .
Th e insta llation of repl acement tir es w ith s teel co rd bo dy plies in the
t ire sidewa ll may ca use ma lfunctio n of the tire pressure mo nitoring
system *, and is not recommende d (cord material informat io n i n
molded on the ti re s idewall).
Always check your tire pressure monito ring system* indicator afte r
re plac ing one or mo re tires on your vehicle. If the tire press ure m oni­
to ring system* indicator flashes, or is on, your system is not working
pro perl y. Yo ur repla ceme nt tire might be incomp atible with your t ire
pressure monitoring system*, or some component of the tire pres­
sure mon itor ing system * may be damaged.
& WARNING
• Using incorrect or unmatched tires and / or wheels or improper
tire and wheel combinations can lead to loss of cont rol, collision
and seriou s per sonal injury .
• Always use tires, rims and wheel bolts that meet the specifica­
tions of original fa ctory-in stalled tires or other combination s that
have been specifically appro ved by the vehicle manufacturer.
• Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly ,
especially at high speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years old can
only be u sed in an emergen cy and then with special care and at
lowe r speeds.
• Never mount used tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous history." Old used tires may have been damaged
Safety first
& WARNING (co ntinued )
eventhoughthedamagecannotbeseenthatcanleadtosudden
tire failure and loss of vehicle control.
• All four wheels must be fitted with radial tires of the same
type, size (rolling circumference ) and the same tr ead pattern.
Driving with different t ires reduces vehicle handling and can lead
to a lo ss of control.
• If the spare ti re is not the same as the tires that are mounted
on the vehicle - for example with w inter tires - only use the spare
tire fo r a sho rt pe riod of t ime and drive with extra care. Refit the
normal road wheel as soon as safely possible.
• Never drive faster than the ma ximum speed for which the tires
on your vehicle are rated because tires that are driven faster than
their rated speed can fail suddenly .
• Overloading tire s cause heat build-up, sudden tire failure,
including a blowout and sudden deflation and loss of control.
• Temperature grades apply to tires that are properly inflated
and not over or underinflated.
• For technical reasons it is not always possible to use wheels
from other vehicles - in some c ases not even wheel s from the same
vehicle model.
• If you install wheel trim discs on the vehicle wheels , make sure
that the air flow to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced airflow to
the brakes can them to overheat , increasing stopping distance s
and causing a collision.
• Run flat tires may only be u sed on vehicles th at were equipped
with them at the factory. The vehicle must have a chassis designed
fo r run flat tires and a factor y-in stalled tire pres sure monitoring
system* that indicates a loss of tire pre ssure. Incorrect use of run
flat tires can lead to vehicle damage or accident s. Check with an
authorized Audi dealer or tire specialist to see if your vehicle can
be equipped with run flat tires . If run flat tires are used , they must
be installed on all four wheels. Mixing tire types is not permitted . ..,_
Vehicle care Technical data

Tires and wheels -________________ f!ffl
Safety Standa rd No. 109 . G rades Ba nd A rep resent higher levels of
p erf or ma nce on t he laborato ry tes t w hee l than t he mini mum
r e q uir ed by law .
& WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on straight-ahead
braking traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction characteristics.
& WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is established for a tire that is
properly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinfla ­
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or in combination, can
cause heat buildup and possible tire failure. •
Winter tires
Winter tir es co n imp rove ve hi cle ha ndlin g on sno w an d
ice. At temp eratur es be low 45 °F (7 °C) w e rec ommen d
ch angin g to wi nte r tires .
In some heavy snow areas, loca l gover nme nts may requ ire t rue
w inter o r "snow" tires, those with very deep ly cut trea d. These tires
sho uld only be used in pairs and be installed on all four wheels . Make
s ur e you pu rc h ase snow ti res t hat a re the same size and const ruction
type as the ot he r tir es o n your veh icle .
If your ve hicle is equ ipped w ith all-whee l drive* , this will improve
tra ction durin g w inte r dr iving, even wi th th e sta ndard ti re s . Ho wever,
we st rongly recomme nd that you a lways equip all four w heels on your
vehicle wi th co rrec tly fitte d win ter tires o r all- season tires, when
w inter road conditions are expected . T hi s also improves the veh icle 's
bra king perfo rma nce and re duces stop ping distances .
S um mer tir es p rovide less gr ip on ice and s now .
Safety first
Wi nter tires (snow tires) m ust always be fitted on all fo ur whee ls .
Compat ible tire press ure monitor ing sensors * must be installe d on
all four w in te r tir es fo r the tire pr essure mo nitoring sys te m * to func­
tion pro per ly ~
page 320.
Ask your a uthor iz e d Audi dealer or qualified wor ksho p fo r per mitt ed
winter tire sizes . Use only rad ia l w inte r tires .
W inter tires lose their effectiveness w he n the trea d is wor n down to
a dep th of0 .1 57 inch (4 mm) .
Only drive w ith w inte r tires under w inte r con ditions. S ummer ti res
h and le be tter w he n t here is n o sno w or ic e on t he ro ads and the
temperature is above 45
°F (7 °().
If you have a flat tire, see notes on s pa re w hee l~ page 318 .
Please always re m em ber tha t win ter tires may have a lower speed
rating t han the t ires originally insta lled on yo ur veh icle at t he t ime it
w as manuf act ur ed . P lease see ~
page 320, "Spee d ratin g (le tter
code)" for a listing of the speed rating lette r codes and the maxim um
s peed a t whi ch the tires can b e driven.
T he spe ed rat ing letter code(~
page 309) is on the s ide wall of the
ti re ~
page 318.
& WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limit s that may be lower than
your veh icle's maximum speed. Always know the maximum speed
before driving off. Never drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific winter tires. This will cause damage to the tires
leading to an accident and serious personal injury to you and your
passengers.
& WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed for which the winter tires
on your vehicle were designed can cause tire failure including a
blowout and sudden deflation, loss of control, crashes and serious _,,
Vehicle care Technical data

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lation of replacement or alternate tires or wheels on the vehicle that
prevent the TPMS from functioning properly. Always check the TPMS
malfunction telltale after replacing one or more tires or wheels on
your vehicle to ensure that the replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow the TPMS to continue to function properly .•
App lies to veh icles: with Tire pressure monitoring syste m
Introduction
The tire pressure monitoring system monitors air pres­
sure in all four road wheels and the spare tire* while the
vehicle is moving.
As soon as the tire pressure monitoring system senses a significant
loss of air pressure in one or several tires, text messages and yellow
symbols appear in the instrument cluster display to alert the driver.
The
1warning light in the instrument cluster comes on when the tire
is significantly underinflated
=> page 17.
The warning light
L also illuminates in the case of a system malfunc­
tion.
The system continuously receives radio signals from sensors located
inside each tire.
Be aware that tire pressure is also dependent on the temperature of
the tire. For every 18 °F (10 °C) increase in tire temperature, tire pres­
sure increases by about 1.5 psi (0.1 bar). The tire warms up while the
vehicle is moving and tire pressure rises. So you should adjust tire
pressure only when the tires are
cold, when the temperature of the
tires is roughly the same as the ambient air temperature.
In order to keep the tire pressure monitoring system properly cali­
brated, tire pressure on all four tires and on the spare tire* should be
checked at regular intervals, adjusted if necessary and saved in the
proper setting (recommended pressure)=>
page 330.
The tire pressure is shown on the tire pressure label. On USA vehicles,
the tire pressure label is located on the driver's side B-pillar. On
Canada vehicles, the tire pressure label is located either on the
Safety first
driver's side B-pillar or inside the fuel filler flap. The tire pressure
label lists the recommended cold tire inflation pressures for the
vehicle at its maximum capacity weight and the tires that were on
your vehicle at the time it was manufactured. For recommended tire
pressures for normal load conditions, please see chapter
=> page 310.
The current temperatures and pressure of your tires can be viewed in
the MMI
=> page 329.
& WARNING
• When the tire pressure monitoring system warning light is lit,
one or more of your tires is significantly under-inflated. You
should stop and check your tires as soon as possible, and inflate
them to the proper pressure as indicated on the vehicle's tire pres­ sure label =>
page 310. Driving on a significantly under-inflated
tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure. Under­
inflation also is likely to impair the vehicle's handling and stop­
ping ability.
• Do not adjust tire pressure when tire temperature is excessive.
This could lead to serious tire damage and even cause the tire to
burst, with the additional danger of an accident.
<£> For the sake of the environment
Driving with under-inflated tires reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread
life.
(I) Tips
• Each tire, including the spare*, should be checked monthly when
cold and set to the recommended inflation pressure as specified on
the tire pressure label=>
page 310.
• The tire pressure monitoring system helps the driver to keep an
eye on tire pressures. But the driver still has the responsibility for
maintaining the correct tire pressure. .,,,
Vehicle care Technical data