2012 AUDI A5 COUPE tires

tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as measured under controlled conditions on
specif ied government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
t raction performance¢ .&,.
Temp eratu re
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and
C, representing the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ability to dissi­ pate heat when tested under controlled condi­
tions on a specified indoor laboratory test
wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the material of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure ¢.&, .
T he grade
C corresponds to a level of perform­
ance which all passenger car tires must meet
under the Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Stand­
ard No.
109 . Grades Band A represent higher
levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the m inimum required by law.
.8, WARNING
The trac tion grade assigned to this t ire is
b ase d on stra ight-ahead brak ing t raction
t ests, and does not inclu de acceleration,
co rnering, hydrop laning or peak traction
characteristics .
.8, WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is es ­
tablished for a t ire that is properly inflated
and not overloaded . Excessive speed, un­
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separate ly or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible ti re fa ilu re.
Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice . At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires.
-
In some heavy snow a reas, loca l governme nts
may require t rue winter or "snow" tires, those
Tires an d wheel s 267
with very deeply cut tread. These tires should
o nl y be used in pairs and be installed o n all
fo ur wheels. Make sure you purchase snow
tires that are the same si ze and construction
type as the other tires on your vehicle.
Your vehicle is equipped with a ll-wheel drive,
th is w ill imp rove traction d uring winter driv ­
ing, even with the standard tires. However, we
strong ly rec ommend that you always equip all
fou r wheels on you r vehicle with correctly fit­
ted w inter t ires or al l-season t ires, when win­
te r road cond itions ar e expected . This also im­
proves the veh icle's b ra ki ng perfo rman ce and
reduces stopping d ista nces .
Summe r tires p rovide less grip on ice and
snow .
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted
o n all four wheels .
Ask your authorized A udi dealer or qualified
workshop for permitted
winter tire sizes . Use
only rad ial winter t ires.
Winter tires lose their effectiveness whe n the
tread is worn down to a depth of
0.157 inch
(4 mm).
Only drive with winter tires under winte r con ­
ditions. S ummer t ires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °().
If you have a flat t ire, see no tes on spare
whee l ¢ page 263.
P lease alway s remember tha t win ter tire s m ay
have a lowe r speed ra ti ng than the tires orig i­
nally installed on your vehi cle at the time it
was man ufactured. Please see ¢page 264,
Speed rating (letter code) for a listing of the
speed rating letter codes and the max imum
speed at which the tires can be driven.
T he spee d rating letter code (¢ page 254) is
on the side wall of the t ire ¢page 263.
.8, WARNING
Winter t ires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than yo ur vehicle's max-
imum speed . Always know the max imum
~
•
•

268 Tire s and wheel s
speed before driving off . Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
winter t ires. This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and serious
personal injury to you and your passen­
gers .
A WARNING
Driv ing faster than the maximum speed
for which the w inter t ires on your vehicle
were designed can cause tire fa ilu re in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflat ion,
loss of control, crashes and serious per ­
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
rep laced immed iate ly.
- Winter tires have maximum speed rating
that may be lower than your vehicle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster t han the speed for
which the winter or other tires installed
on your vehicle are rated.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to the road and
traffic conditions. Never let the good ac­
celeration of the winte r tires and all -wheel
drive tempt you into taking extra r is ks. Al­
ways remembe r:
- When brak ing, an all -wheel drive vehicle
handles in the same way as a front drive
vehicle .
- Drive carefu lly and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
canno t he lp under black ice condit io ns.
@ For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather cond i­
tions permit . They are quieter, do not wea r
as quickly and reduce fue l consumption .
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted on ly to the front
wheels, a nd only to certa in tire sizes. Ask yo ur
author ized Audi dealer on wh ich tire sizes
snow chains can be used. The snow chains must have
low -profile links
and must not be thicker than 0 .53 inch
(13.S mm), includ ing the lock.
Remove whee l cen ter cove rs and t rim discs
before putting snow chains on your vehicle
¢ 0 . For safety reasons cover caps m ust then
be fitted over the wheel bolts. These are avail ­
a ble from authori zed Aud i dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your veh i­
cle o r instal ling them incorrectly can in ­
crease the risk of loss of cont rol leading to
serious pe rsonal injury .
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes . Always make sure to follow the in­
structions p rov ided by t he snow cha in
manufac turer.
- When driving with snow cha ins never
d rive faster than the speed permitted for
your specifi c snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
@ Note
-Remove snow chains before dr iv ing o n
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wea ring the snow
chains down un necessa rily .
- Snow chains, which come into direc t con­
tact with the whee l rim, can scratch or
damage i t. Therefo re , make sure tha t the
snow chains are s uitably covered. Check
t he pos ition of t he snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces ­
sary. Follow the inst ructions from the
snow chain man ufacturer when do ing so.
(I) Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on cer ­
tain roads, th is normally a lso applies to ve ­
hicles w ith all whee l dr ive .

Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If differen t rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right l ength and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a different vehicle -eve n if it
i s the same model
¢ page 295.
_&. WARNING
Improperly tig htened or maintained whee l
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
whee l bolts can turn easily and be prop­
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can become loose wh ile driving if greased or
o iled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque .
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
-Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torque for the wheel bo lts 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
cl e is moving.
If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
come loose.
Q;) Note
The spec ified torque fo r the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lbs. (120 Nm) with a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lbs.(± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bo lts
Tire s an d wheel s 269
diagonally. After changing a wheel, the
torque m ust be checked as soon as possi­
ble with a torque wrench -preferably by an
a uthori zed Audi dea ler or qualified work­
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Aud i is factory -equ ipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specifically fo r your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling under a var iety o f driving cond i­
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or l ess in the tire's s ize
designation. The numera l rep resents the ra tio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage . Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more.
T he performance of low-a spe ct- ra tio tire s is
p ar tic ul ar ly se nsi tiv e to i mprop er i nfl ation
pre ssure. It is the refo re important that low
a spect ratio t ires are inflated to the specified
pr ess ure and that th e inflation pr essur e is
r e gula rly ch ecked and maintain ed. Tir e pre s­
s ure s should b e check ed at l east once a
m onth and alwa ys befo re a long trip
¢ page 258, Checking tire pressure.
What you c an do to avo id tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, g ull ies
o r ridges on the road, pa rticularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
In orde r to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom ­
mend that you observe the following p reca u­
tions:
- Always ma inta in recommended inflation
pressu res. Check your tire pressure eve ry
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces-
sary . .., •
•

2 70 T ire s and wheel s
- Drive carefu lly 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.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your tires or have them inspected by the neares t
authorized Aud i dealer. Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your t ires every 2 ,000 miles (3,000
km) for damage and wear . Damage is not al­
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air and underinflation, wh ich could eventu­
ally cause t ire failu re. If you be lieve that a
t ire may have been damaged, replace the
t ire as soon as poss ible.
- T hese tires may wea r more quick ly than oth­
ers.
- Please also remember that, whi le these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make mo re no ise than
othe r choices.
Reduced perf ormance in winter /cold
sea son condit ion s
All ti res are des igned for certa in pu rposes.
The low aspect ratio, u ltra high performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are in­
tended for max imum dry and wet road per­
formance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather condit ions. If
you dr ive under those circumstances, you
should equip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, which offer better traction under
those cond it ions . We suggest you use the rec­
ommended snow or all-season tires specified
for your vehicle, or their equ ivalent .
Refe r to ~
page 267 for more deta iled infor­
ma tion regarding w inter tires.
Tire pressure
monitoring system
(l) General notes
App lies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
Each tire , includ ing the spare (if provided),
should be checked month ly when cold and in- flated to the inflation pressure recommended
by the vehicle manufact urer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure labe l. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different si ze than the
s ize indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in­
flat io n pressure labe l, you shou ld determine
the proper t ire inflation pressu re for those
tires) .
As an added safety feature, your veh icle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system ( TPMS) that illum inates a low tire
pressure te lltale when one or more of your
t ir es is significantly under-inflated. Acco rding­
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale i llumi­
nates, yo u shou ld stop and check your tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper pressure . Driving on a significantly un­
der- inflated t ire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire fa ilure. Under-inflation al­
so reduces fuel effic iency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's hand ling and
stopp ing ability .
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire ma intenance, and it is the driv­
er 's respons ibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the level to tr igger illum inat ion of the
T PMS low tire p ressu re tellta le.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
T PMS malfunction ind icator to ind icate when
the system is not operating prope rly . T he
T PMS ma lfunction indicator is combined w ith
t h e low tire pressure te lltale . When the sys ­
tem detects a malfunction , the telltale will
flash for approximately one min ute and then
remain continuously illuminated. This se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunct ion exists .
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat­ ed , the system may not be ab le to detect or
s ignal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a var iety of rea­
sons, including the installa tion of replace­
ment o r alternate tires or wheels on the vehi ­
cle that p revent the TPMS from functioning
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction
te lltale a fter rep lacing o ne or more tires o r .,.

wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the re­
p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly .
Tire pressure indicator appears
Appl ies to vehicles: w ith t ire pressure monitoring sys te m
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig . 2 15 Display: underin flati on wa rning
Fig. 216 Disp lay: System malfunction
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni­
tor ing system compares the t ire tread circum ­
fe rence and vibration characteristics of the in­
d iv idual tires.
If t he pressure decreases in one
or mo re tires, th is is indica ted in the instru­
men t clus ter with a
[I] warning symbo l and a
message ¢
fig. 215. The driver message in the
disp lay goes out after 5 seconds . The drive r
message can be d isplayed again by pressing
the
! SET ! button. If only one tire is affected,
the display will indicate its pos ition.
The tire press ure monitoring system must be
reset via radio o r MM! * each time the p res­
sures are adjusted (e.g . when sw itching be­
tween partial and full load pressure) or after
changing or replacing a t ire on your vehicle
<::> page 2 72 . You can find the recommended
Tires and wheels 2 71
tire p ressu res for your vehicle on the label on
drive r's side B-pillar
c!;> page 256 .
Tire tread circumference and vibrat ion charac­
teris tics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- t he t ire p ress ure in one or mo re tires is too
low,
- t he tir e has s tructural damage,
- the t ire pressu re was changed, w heels rotat-
ed or rep laced but the TPMS was not reset
c::>page272 .
Warning symbols
[I] Loss of pressure in at least one tire c::> .&. .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repa ir if
necessary . T he
[I] indicator l ight in the instru­
ment cluster also illum inates
<::> page 13.
Check/cor rect the p ress ures of all fou r tir es
and reset TPMS via radio o r M MI*.
11@1@1 (Ti re Pressure Monito ring System) Tire
pre ssure! Sy stem ma lfunction .
Ifll@lf:1 appears after switching the ignition
on or while driving
c::> fig . 216 and the [I] indi­
cator light in the instr ument cluster blinks for
approximately one m inute and then stays on,
there is a system malfunction. See your au­
thorized Aud i de aler as soon as possible .
& WARNING ~
- If the tire pressure ind icator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or more of your tires is significant ly unde r­
inflated. Reduce your speed immediately
and avoid any hard steering or b raking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possib le and
check the tires and their pressures . In­
flate the tire pressure to the prope r pres­
sure as indica ted o n the v ehicl e's tire
p ressu re labe l
c::>page 256. Driving on a
sig nifican tly un der- infla te d tire causes
the t ire to ove rheat and can lead to ti re
fa ilu re . Unde r-inflation also is l ikely to
impair the vehicle's hand ling and stop­
ping ability .

272 T ire s and wheel s
- The driver is responsible for maintaining
the correct tire pressures. You must
check the tire pressures regularly.
- Under certain conditions (such as a spor­
ty driving style, winter condit ions or un­
paved roads), the pressure monitor ind i­
cator may be delayed .
- Ask your author ized Audi dealer if run­
flat tires may be used on your veh icle.
Your vehicle regist rat ion becomes invalid
if you use these tires when not permit­
ted. Damage to your veh icle or acc idents
cou ld also resu lt.
(D Tips
- The tire pressure monitoring system
stops working when there is an ESP/ABS malfunction.
- Using snow chains may result in a system
malfunction.
- To ensure a proper TPMS function use AUDI O riginal Tires wh ich are marked
with "AO" or "RO" on the tire sidewall.
¢page 263.
-The tire pressure monitoring system on
you r A udi was ca lib rated us ing tires w ith
the "AO" or "RO" identification. We rec­
ommend using these tires .
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monito ring system
If the tire pressure is adjusted, wheels are ro ­
tated or changed, the TPMS must be reset via
radio or MM!*.
• Turn on the ignition.
• Se lect : the
ICARI function bu tton> Tire
pre ssure monitoring
> Store now .
@ Tips
Before resetting the TPMS, the current
pressu res of all four tires must correspond
to the specified values. Adjust the t ire
pressure and reset the pressure in the tire
pressu re monitoring system according to
the load you are carrying
¢ page 256 .

274 What do I do no w?
Replace it as quickly as possible with a stand ­
ard whee l and tir e.
There are some restric tions on the use of the
compact spare t ire . T he compact spare t ire
has been designed specifically fo r you r type of
vehicle . It must not be swapp ed with a com­
pact spare t ire from another type of veh icle .
Snow cha in s
For technical reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is
not p ermitt ed .
If you do have to dr ive with snow cha ins and a
front tire fails, mount the spare wheel w ith
tire instead of a rear t ire. Install the snow
cha ins on the rear t ire and use it to rep lace
the defective front tire .
A WARNING
-Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
dicators.
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and w ith ex­
treme caution and careful driving.
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as possib le w ith the
normal wheel and t ire .
- After mounting the compact spare tire,
the tire pressure must be checked as
soon as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
compact spare tire must be 4 .2 bar; oth­
erwise, you risk hav ing an accident.
- Do not drive faster than SO mph (80 km/
h) . You risk having an acc ident .
-Avoid full-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing . You risk hav­
ing an acc ident.
- Never drive us ing more than one spare
wheel and tire . You risk having an acci­
dent .
- Normal summer or winte r tires must not
be mounted on the compact spare whee l
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the spare tire is not permitted.
If it is necessary to dr ive with tire chains, the spare wheel must be mounted on the
front ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front wheel
must then be installed in place of the
rea r whee l w ith the flat tire . Installing
the t ire cha in before mounting the whee l
and tire is recomme nded .
- Loose items in the passenger compa rt­
ment can cause se rious personal injury
du ring hard bra king or in a n accident.
- Never store the inflatable spare ti re or
jack and too ls in the passenger com ­
partment.
- Always store all jacking equipment,
tools, and the inflatable spare t ire in
the luggage compartment.
-Tighten the knurled retaining screw for the inflatable spare tire securely .
Changing a wheel
· Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel.
" After you experience a t ire failure, pull the
car well away from mov ing traffic and try to
reach
l evel ground before you stop ¢ A_.
" All passengers should leave th e car and
move to a safe location ( for ins tance, behind
t he guardrail) ¢&_ .
" Engage the
pa rking brake to prevent your
vehicle from rolling unintentionally¢&_ .
" Shift into
1st gear on veh icles with manual
transmiss ion, or move the
selector leve r to
the P posit ion
on vehicles w it h automatic
transmiss io n*.
" If you are towing a trailer : unhitch the trail­
er from you r vehicle.
" Take the
ja ck ¢ page 2 73 and the spare tire
¢ page 2 73 o ut o f the luggage compart­
ment .

278 What do I do now ?
-Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe p lace away from the vehicle and
well away from the road and t raffic.
- Make sure jack position is correct , ad­
just as necessary and then continue to ra ise the jack.
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
tire
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
F ig . 224 Changing a whee l: usi ng the screwdrive r ha n­
dle (with th e blade removed} to turn th e bo lts
Fi g. 225 Changing a whee l: a lignm en t pi n insid e t he
top hole
Afte r you have loosened a ll wheel bolts and
r a ised the veh icle off the ground, remove and
r eplace the wheel as follows:
Removing the wheel
" Remove the topmost wheel bo lt completely
with the
hexagonal socket in the screwdr iv­
er hand le (vehicle tool kit)
~ fig. 224 and
set it as ide o n a
clean surface.
" Screw t he thre aded end of the
alignment
pin
from the too l ki t hand -tig ht into the
empty bolt hole ~
fig. 225.
" Then remove the other wheel bo lts as de ­
scribed above. "
Take off the whee l leaving the a lignment
pin in the bolt hole
~CD .
Putting on the inflatable spare tire
" Push the spa re tire over the alignmen t pin.
" Scr ew on t he wheel bolts an d tig hten them
slightly u sing t he hexagona l socket .
" Remove the a lignment pin and insert and
tighten the rema ining wheel bolt slightly
like the rest.
" Turn the jack hand le counter-clockwise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re­
leased .
" Use the wheel bo lt wrench to tighten all
wheel bo lts firm ly
~page 276. Tighten
t hem
in a criss cross pattern, from one bolt
to the ( approxim ate ly) opposite one, to keep
t he whee l cen tered .
" Perform the steps required after c hangin g
the whee l~
page 275, After changing a
wheel.
T he hexagonal socket ma kes it easie r to re ­
move t he whee l bolts from the rim . Care
sho uld be taken when removing the reversible
blade .
(D Note
When removi ng or insta lling the whee l,
the r im cou ld hit the b rake r oto r and dam­
age the rotor. Work caref ully and have a
second pe rson to help you.
(@ Tips
- Wh en mount ing tires w ith unidirectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat­
tern is po inted the right way
~ page 279.
-The wheel bolts s hou ld be clean and easy
to turn. Check for dirt and corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the w heel
and the hub. Remove all d irt fro m these
surfaces be fo re remounting th e whee l.
- Do not use the he xagonal socket in the
sc rewd river handl e to loosen or t ight en
t he whee l b olt s.