2012 AUDI A5 COUPE tire type

252 Tire s and wheel s
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle . Tires are,
however, one of the most important parts of a
vehicle, particularly considering the compara­
tive ly small patch of rubber on each tire that
assures that a ll-impo rtant contact between
you, your vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire pressure, mak ing
sure that your vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry mo re weight than they can safe ly han­
d le, avoiding damage from road hazards and
reg ularly inspecting t ires for damage includ­
ing cuts, slashes irregu la r wear and ove rall
condition are the most important things that
you can do to he lp avoid sudden tire failure in­
cluding tread separation and blowouts.
Avoiding damage I f you have to drive over a curb or similar ob­
stacle, drive very s low ly and as close as possi ­
b le at a right angle to the curb.
A lways keep chem ica ls includ ing gre ase, o il,
gasoline and b rake fluid off the ti res .
Inspect the t ires regularly for damage (cuts,
cracks or b listers, etc.). Remove any fo reign
bod ies embedded in the treads.
Storing tires Mark tires when you remove them to indicate
the direction of rotation . Th is ensures you to
be ab le to mount them correctly when you re­
install t hem.
When removed, the whee ls or t ires should be
stored in a cool, d ry and preferably dark place .
Store tires in a vertical pos ition if they are not
mounted on rims, in a horizontal pos it ion if
they are mounted on rims. New tire
s
New t ires have to be broken in¢&,. .
T he tread depth of new t ires may vary, accord­
ing to the type a nd make of t ire and the tread
pa tte rn .
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and r ims is ofte n not readily
vis ible . If you notice unusual v ibrat ion or the
vehicle p ulls to one side, th is may ind icate
t h at one of the t ires has been damaged . Th e
t ir es m ust be checked immed iate ly by an au ­
tho rized Aud i dea le r or q uali fied wor ks hop.
Unidirectional t ires
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar­
rows on the sid ewa ll, that po int in the direc­
t ion the t ire is desig ned to rotate. You mus t
f ol low the specified d irection of rotation . This
is necessary so that these tires can develop
their optimum characterist ics regarding grip,
road no ise, wear and hyd rop laning resistance.
For more information ¢
page 2 79.
A WARNING
-New tires or tires that are old, worn or
damaged cannot provide maximum con­
trol and braking ability .
-
-New tires tend to be slippery and must
also be broken-in. To reduce t he risk of
losing control, a collision and se rious
pe rsonal injuries, drive w it h specia l care
for the first 350 miles (560 km).
- Driving with worn or damaged tires can
le ad to loss of control, sudden tire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de­
fl ation, c rashes and seriou s personal in­
juries . Have wo rn or damaged t ires re­
p laced immediate ly .
- T ires age even if they are not being used
an d can fai l sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith specia l care and at low
speed.

262 Tires and wheels
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
Fig. 212 Tire tread: tread wear ind icators (TWI)
_____ __,.J)
Fig. 213 Rotating t ires for more even wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The origina l tires on your veh icle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
¢
fig . 212 running across the tread. Depend­
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewa ll (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn tires must be replaced .
Different figures may apply in other countries
¢ & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden t ire blow-out. For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
¢ page 258.
Driving 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
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow­
ing:
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service interva ls outlined in your
Ma intenance and Warranty Booklet .
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pa red to all-wheel drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown¢
fig. 213.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires¢
page 279.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced.
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal­
anced, resulting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces ­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the vehi­
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro ® must a lways have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type.
For details see
¢page 210. ..,.

26 6 T ire s and whee ls
- Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- All four wheels must be fitted with radial
tires of the same type, size (roll ing c ir­
cumference) and the same tread pattern.
Driv ing with different ti res reduces veh i­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare t ire is not the same as the
t ires that are mounted on the veh icle -
f or example with winte r tires -on ly use
the spare tire for a short period of time
and dr ive with extra care. Refit the nor­
ma l road whee l as soon as safely possi ­
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum speed for which the tires on your veh icle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading t ires 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 un­
derinflated .
- For technical reasons it is not always
poss ible to use wheels from other vehi­
cles -in some cases not even whee ls
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel tr im discs on the ve­
hicle whee ls, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat, increasing stopping distances and caus­
ing a collision.
0 Note
- For technical reasons , it is not general ly
possib le to use the whee l rims from oth­
er vehicles . This can ho ld true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve- hicle (fo
r example winter tires or wide
profi le tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive w ith
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle
as soon as possib le.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap.
The va lves could get damaged.
@ For the sake of the env ironment
D ispose of o ld tires in accordance with the
l ocal requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality g rades can be found where applicab le
on the tire side wall between tread sho ulder
and maximum section width
~ page 263,
fig . 214.
For exampl e: Tread wear 200, Trac tion AA ,
Tempe rature A.
All passenge r car t ires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requirements in add ition to these
grades .
Tread w ear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tested
under controlled conditions o n a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear
one and one ha lf (1 1/2) times as well on the
gover nment course as a ti re g raded 100 .
The relative performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of their use, how­
ever, and may depart s ignificantly from the
no rm due to va riations i n driving hab its, se rv ­
ice practices and differences in road charac ter­
istics and cl imate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the ..,.

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
~
•
•

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 .

designated seating position) and luggage
weight~&. .
Gros s Axle W eight Rating
The G ross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle
q .&. .
Vehicle capacit y weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max. load) is list­
ed either on the dr iver's side B-pillar or inside
the fuel filler flap.
Roof weight
The maximum perm issible roof weight is 165
lbs. (7 5 kg). The roof we ight is made up of
the we ight of the roof rack system and the
weight of the object be ing transported
qpage 74, Roof load .
.&, WARNING
- The actual Gross Axle Weight Rat ing at
the front and rear axles shou ld not ex­
ceed the permiss ible weights, and their
combination must not exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rat ing .
- Exceeding permissib le weight ratings can
result in vehicle damage, accidents and
personal injury.
CD Note
- The vehicle capacity weight figures apply
when the load is distributed evenly in the
vehicle (passengers and luggage). When
transporting a heavy load in the luggage
compartment, carry the load as near to
the rear axle as possib le so that the vehi­
cle's handling is not impa ired.
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible
axle loads or the maximum gross vehicle
weight. Always remember that the vehi­
cle's handling will be affected by the ex­
tra load. Therefore, adjust you r speed ac ­
cord ingly.
- Always observe loca l regu lations.
-
G ene ral in formation 29 1
Dimensions
The specifications refer to the basic model.
Differences may occur depending on the mod­
el type and options ordered, for example, tire
sizes.
CD Note
When driving up steep ramps, on rough roads, over curbs, etc. it is important to re­
member that some parts of your vehicle,
such as spoilers or exhaust system compo­ nents, may be close to the ground . Be
careful not to damage them .
•
•