2011 AUDI R8 SPYDER tire size

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re nec­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read a ll the informat ion that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
imp roperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se­
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci­
dents . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
impa ired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi R8 has two seating posit ions in the
front. Each seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
im proper ly increases the risk of ser ious
pe rsonal in ju ry and death.
- Never st rap more than one person, in­
clu ding small ch ild ren, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- Never let mo re people ride in the ve hicle
t h an t he re are safety be lts ava ilable.
Sa fety belts 109
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe­
ty belt or child restra int.
4 Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling up .
Fig. 1 12 Safety be lt warn ing lig ht in the instr ume nt
cl uster -enla rged
Befor e driv ing off, always :
~ Fasten your sa fe ty belt and make su re you
wear it p roperly.
~ Make s ure that yo ur passenge rs a lso buck le
up and wear their safety belts properly.
~ Protect children with a child rest raint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The wa rning light . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up w hen t he ig nit ion is switched on as a
rem inder to fasten the safety belts. In addi­
tion , you will hear a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also put on the ir safety
belts proper ly.
A WARNING
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effect ive
means ava ilable to reduce t he risk of se­
rio us i nju ry and death in au tomobile a cci­
dents. Fo r yo ur protection and tha t of
your passengers, a lways wear safety
be lts cor rectly when the vehicle is mov­
ing . •
•

Driving with your
quattro ®
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
General information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the time. See also
t::;> page 150.
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even with regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all -sea­
son t ires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels.
Snow chains
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain
roads, th is normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive
Q page 204 , Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels/tires
Only the wheel/tire sizes specified by the
manufacturer may be used on vehicles with
all-wheel drive
<=> page 199.
A WARNING
-Always adjust your driving to road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the extra
safety afforded by all-wheel drive tempt
you into taking extra risks.
- Although a ll-wheel drive is very effect ive,
always remember that braking capacity
is limited by tire traction. You should
therefore not drive at excessive speeds
on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
cou ld beg in to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning). If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in­
crease in engine speed as with a front-
-
Intelligent technology 155
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
ditions. -risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
is not driven for a long per iod of time, the bat­
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e .g. immobi lizer). In certain circumstances it
can resu lt in the re being insufficient energy
available to start the engine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi­
cle handles the distribution of e lectr ical ener­
gy. Starting ability is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Basically, energy management consists of
battery diagnosis , idling current manage­
ment
and dynamic energy management .
Battery diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and battery
temperature . This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current management
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing.
With the ign ition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrical compo­
nents. Data from battery diagnosis is consid­
ered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
individual cons umers are gradually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and thus maintain starting capability. .,..
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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 pressu re."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 k ilograms) times the
nu mber of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle .
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diameter of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ­
ing e levations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated para llel cords.
Production options weight
means the comb ined weight of those installed
regular production options weighing 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, r ide leve lers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic t ire in which the p ly cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan­
tially 90 degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Tires and wheels 191
Recommended inflation pressure
see ~ page 190, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire designed to operate at higher
loads and at higher inflat ion pressures than
the corresponding standard tire. Re inforced
ti res my be ident ified as "XL" , "xl", "E XTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a tire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal d iameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you w ill have to
purchase new tires to match the new r im di­
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width.
Rim width
means nom inal distance between rim fla nges.
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 200 . You may
not find this information on all tires because
it is not requ ired by law.
T he speed rating letter code, where applica­
ble, is molded on the tire sidewall and indi­
cates the maximum pe rm issib le road speeds
~ .&. in Winter tires on page 204.
Tire pressure monitoring system
means a system that detects when one or
more of a veh icle's tires are underinflated and
illuminates a low tire pressure warning tell­
tale.
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Tires and wheels 193
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
Fig. 150 Tire pressure label: located on driver's side B·
pillar
Tire pressure generally refers to the amount
of air in a tire that it needs it to do its job and
safely carry the combined load of the entire
vehicle and its contents. Tire pressure is measured in kilopascals (kPa), the interna­
tional measuring unit and in pounds per
square inch (PSI). Tire pressure is based in
part on the vehicle's design and load limit­
the greatest amount of weight that the vehi­
cle can carry safely and the tire size. The prop­
er tire pressure is frequently referred to as the
"recommended cold tire inflation pressure."
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
because of internal friction when it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold." It is the
inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that counts.
Therefore, you should never let air out of a
warm tire to match "cold tire inflation pres­
sure" recommendations. The tires would then be underinflated and could fail suddenly.
Maintaining proper tire pressure is one of the
most important things you can do to help
avoid sudden tire failure. Underinflated tires
are a major cause of sudden tire failure. Keep­
ing tires at the right pressure is also impor­
tant for safe and responsive vehicle handling,
traction, braking and load carrying .
Tire pres­
sures are particularly important when the
vehicle is being driven at higher speeds, and
then especially when heavily loaded even
within the permissible load-carrying capaci­
ties approved for your vehicle.
"' ..,
-~ --------------- ~ a ;l!; TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION
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COI.O TIRE PRESSURE
- KPa.- PSI
- KPa,- PSI
_ KPa,. PSI
Fig. 151 Tire pressure label
SEE OWNER'S
MANUA L FOR
ADDITTONAL
INFOl n
u
The recommended tire pressures for your Audi
depend on the kind of tires on your vehicle
and the number of passe ngers and/or amount
of luggage you will be transporting.
The tire pressure label located on driver's side
B-pillar on your Audi lists the recommended
cold tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at
its maximum capacity weight and tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was manu­
factured.
If you wish to improve comfort when operat­
ing the vehicle at normal load (up to 2 occu­
pants), you can adjust tire pressures to those
specified for normal vehicle load. Before oper­
ating the vehicle at maximum load, you must
increase the tire pressures to those specified
for maximum vehicle load
9 .&.
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system can only monitor the tire pressures
that are stored. The system does not recog­
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
See the illustration,:;,
fig. 150 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (color of
the actual label and exact location on the ve­
hicle will vary slightly).
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tire
pressure label on driver's side B-pillar always
ta kes precedence. ..,.

194 Tire s and wheel s
The table be low lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the Audi model
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi- cle's capacity weight and the tire sizes instal­
led on the respective models as original
equipment, or as a factory option.
Engine
(dis­
place­
ment in Tire designation
Tire pressure front Tire pressure rear
normal load full load normal load full load condition condition condition condition
liter )
a -cylin­
der
4 .2
inder
5.2 235
/3 5 R1 9 9 1 V
XL
295 /30 R19 100V X L
305 /30 R1 9 10 2V X L
235 /35 R19 91 V X L
295 /30 R1 9 100V XL
305 /30 R19 102V X L
XL= reinf orc ed
PSI
45
Because tec hnical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment dur ing the model yea r, a l­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure labe l on you r vehi cle w it h the
tires on your vehicle. Make s ure that the ti re
size information on the veh icle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be­
longs to someone else or you bought the vehi­
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on mak ing sure that
load limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
veh icle . These load lim its are technically refer­
red to as the vehicle's G ross Vehicle We ight
Rati ng ("GVWR"). The G ross Ax le Weight Rat­
i ng ("GAWR") is the max imum load that can
be app lied at each o f the veh icle's two axles.
The G ross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance stic ker labe l located either
on the driver's side B-pillar. The tire pressure
labe l on your Audi lists the maximum com­
b ined weight of all of the occupants and lug­
gage or other cargo that the veh icle can carry.
For the location of the tire pressure label
¢ fig. 15 0 .
kPA PSI kPA PSI
310 45 310
41
41
kPA PSI
280 41
280 41
kPA
280
280
280
280
.&_ WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
h icle cont ro l, a crash o r other accident, se ­
r ious pe rsonal injury, and even death.
- Ca rrying more we igh t than your veh icle
was designed to carry wi ll prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­
crease the risk of a loss of vehicle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been over load­
ed can fail s uddenly ca us ing loss of con­
trol and a crash.
.&_ WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci­
dent.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
f lation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
f lation can a lso lead to s udden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowout and sudden de­
flation, ca using loss of veh icle cont ro l.

198 Tires and wheels
cargo and lugg age load ca­
pacity is 650 lb s. (1400-750
(5
X 150) = 650 lb s.)
5. Determin e the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle .
That weight may not safely exceed the a vailable cargo
and luggage load capacity
c alculated in Step
4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer , load from your trail­
er w ill be tran sferred to your
vehi cle . Consult this manual
to determine how thi s re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
.,.Che ck the tire sidewall
( ¢ page 199 , fig. 153) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
diff erent things i ncluding prop er installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv ·
ing s tyle.
Fig. 152 T ire tread: trea d wea r ind icators (TWI)
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The orig in al tires on yo ur vehi cle ha ve
1/ 16 inch ( 1.6 mm) hig h "wear indica tors"
¢ fig . 152 ru nning acro ss the tread . Depend·
ing on the ma ke , t here will be six to e ight of
them even ly placed aro und the tire. Marks on
t he tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or ot her
symbols) ind icate the pos itions of the tread
wea r indica to rs. Wor n tir es must be rep laced .
Differ ent figures may apply in othe r countries
¢ .&_ .
Tire pressure
Incor rect t ire pressure causes premature wea r
and can cause sudde n tire blow-out . For this
reason, tire pressu re must be checked at least
o nce a month
¢ page 195.
Driving style
Driving fast around c urves, heavy accele rat ion
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new ve hicles are balance d.
However, va rious s ituations dur ing everyday
driv ing can cause them to become unbal·
anced, resulting in vib rations you can usually
feel t hrough the steer ing whee l.
Unb alanced w hee ls m ust be rebalance d to
avo id excessive wear on steering, suspension
and ti res. A whee l m ust also be reba lanced
whe n a new tire is insta lled.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incor rect wheel alig nment can cause exces ­
s ive tire wear , impa iring the safety of the vehi ­
cle.
If tires show excessive wear , have the
w hee l alignment chec ked by an authoriz ed
Audi deal er or qualified wo rksh op.
All-wheel drive
Only the wheel/ti re sizes specif ied by the
manufacture r may be used on veh icles with
all-wheel drive. For detai ls see ¢
page 155.

204 Tir es and whe els
eq uip all four wheels on your vehicle with cor ­
rectly fitted winter tires or all-season tires,
when winter road conditions are expected. This a lso improves the vehicle's braking per­
formance and reduces stopping distances.
Summer tires provide less grip on ice and
snow.
W inter t ires (snow t ires) must always be fitted
on all four wheels.
Compat ible tire pressure mon itor ing sensors
must be installed on all fou r winter tires for
the tire pressure monitoring system to func­
tion proper ly ~
page 201 .
Ask your authorized Aud i dea ler or qualified
wo rkshop for permitted
winter tir e sizes. Use
only radia l winter tires .
W inter t ires lose the ir effectiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of 0.157 inch
(4 mm) .
Only drive with winter tires under winter con­
d itions . Summer tires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °C).
Please always remember that w inte r tires may
have a lower speed rating than the t ires origi­
na lly installed on your veh icle at the t ime i t
was manufactured. Please see
r:!> page 200 ,
Speed roting (letter code) for a list ing of the
speed rating letter codes and the maximum
speed at which the tires can be driven.
The speed ra ting letter code
(~ page 191) is
on the s ide wall of the tire
r::!> poge 199.
A WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than your vehicle's max­
im um speed . Always know the maxim um
speed before driving off. Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
w inte r tires . This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and serious
personal in ju ry to you and your passen­
gers.
A WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your veh icle
were designed can cause t ire failure in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation,
l oss of cont ro l, crashes and ser ious per­
sonal injuries. Have wo rn o r damaged ti res
r eplaced immediately.
- W inte r ti res have maxim um speed rating
that may be lower than your vehicle 's
maximum speed.
- Never drive fas ter than the speed for
which the win ter or othe r ti res installed
on yo ur vehicle are rated.
A WARNING ~
A lways ad just your driving to the road and
traffic condit ions. Never let the good ac­
celeration of the winter tires and all-wheel
drive tempt you into taking extra risks. Al­
ways remember:
- When braking, an all-wheel drive veh icle
handles in the same way as a front drive
veh icle.
- Drive carefully and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even w inter t ires
cannot help under black ice conditions .
~ For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather condi­
tions permit. They are qu ieter, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumpt ion.
Snow chains
-
S now cha ins may be fitted only to the rea r
whee ls, and o nly to certa in tire sizes . Ask your
autho rized Aud i dea le r o n whi ch tire sizes
snow c hains ca n be used.
T he snow chains must have low-profile links
and must not be t hicker than 0 .53 inch
(13 .5 mm), in cl ud ing the lock.
Remove wheel center covers before putt ing
snow c ha ins on your vehicle~@ . For safety
reasons cover caps must then be f itted over

the wheel bolts. These are available from au­
thorized Audi dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi­
cle or installing them incorrectly can in­
crease the risk of loss of control leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes. Always make sure to follow the in­
structions provided by the snow chain
manufacturer .
- When driving with snow chains, never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
- Remove snow chains before driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct con­
tact with the wheel rim, can scratch or
damage it. Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitably covered . Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow chain manufacturer when doing so.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve­
hicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims. If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
Tires and wheels 205
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
r:!> page 211.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose causing loss of
control, a collision and serious personal in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­ erly tightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different wheels bolts on your
vehicle.
-Always maintain the correct tightening
torque for the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving.
If the tightening torque is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
come loose.
(D 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 wheel bolts diago­
nally. After changing a wheel, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author­
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been selected specifically for your model for their superb performance, road feel
and handling under a variety of driving
IJ>,
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