2012 AUDI A6 wheel bolt torque

252 Tire s and wheel s
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 whee l bolts is matched to the
factory insta lled rims . If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the r ight
length 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 bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
r=> page 280.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tightened o r maintained wheel
bolts can becom e loose ca using loss of
c ont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
Jury .
- Always keep the w heel bolts an d the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
w heel bolts can turn easily and be p rop­
er ly tigh tened .
- N ever grease or oil the wheel bo lt s an d
the threads in the w heel hubs. They can
become loose while d riving if greased or
oi led, even if tightened to the specified
torq ue.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- N ever use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Alw ays maintain the co rrec t tighten ing
torq ue fo r th e wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bo lts is too low, they
can loosen and come out w hen the veh i­
cle is moving. If the tighteni ng torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads can be damaged and the whee
l can be­
come loose.
@ Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torque whee l bolts diago­
nally. After changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque w rench -preferably by an author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your A udi is facto ry-eq uipped w it h low aspect
ra tio tires. These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specific ally fo r your
model fo r their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling under a variety of d riving condi ­
t ions . Ask your author ized A udi dealer for
more details.
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation. The n umera l represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven­
t iona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect -ratio tires is
particularly sens iti ve to imp roper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly ch ecked and maintain ed. Tire pre s·
sure s should be checked at lea st once a
month and always before a long trip
r=> page 241, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ra tio tires can be d amage d more
easily by impact w it h potholes, curbs, g ull ies
or ridges on t he road, particularly if the tire is
u nd eri nflated.

• Move select or lever to p osition P q ,& .
• If you are towing a trailer, unhitch the trail­
er from your veh icle.
• Take the
jack and the spare t ir e out of the
luggage compartment
q page 257,
q page 257.
A WARNING
You or your passengers cou ld be injured
while changing a whee l if you do not fol­
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a f lat t ire, move a safe dis­
tance off the road. Turn off the eng ine,
turn the emergency f lashers on and use
other warning devices to alert o ther mo­
torists.
- Make su re that passengers wait in a safe
pla ce away from the ve hicle and well
away from the road and traffic.
- T o help preven t the veh icle from mov ing
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fully set the parking brake
and block the whee l diagonally opposite
the wheel being changed . When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­
ing the Automat ic Transm iss ion in "P"
(Park) will
not prevent the vehicle from
moving.
- Before you change a wheel, be sure the ground is level and fi rm. If necessa ry,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
- After installing the spa re wheel, make
sure that you replace the flat tire/whee l
in its sto rage area properly and tighten
the kn u rled re taining screw securely.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow the se­
quence described below step-by-step and in
exa ctly that order .
-
1. Remove the decorati ve wheel cov er* . For
mo re deta ils see also
Q page 260, Deco­
rative wheel covers
o r q page 260,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps.
2 . Loosen the wheel b olts q page 260.
What do I do now? 259
3. Locate the proper mounting point for the
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9 .
jack and align the jack below that point
q page 261.
Raise the car with the jack q page 261.
Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then insta ll
th e spare c> page 262.
Tighte n all wheel bolts lightly.
Lower the vehicle wi th the jack.
U se the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly
t ighten a ll wheel bolts q page 260 .
Replace the decora tive wheel co ver*.
A WARNING
A lways read and fo llow all WARNINGS and
informat ion¢
& in Raising the vehicle on
page 261
and r::> page 263.
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following .
• Replace the too ls and the jac k in their prop­
er locat ion .
• The fault whee l wi ll not fit inside the spare
wheel well. Store it in the luggage compart­
ment and secure it so that it does not slide
r::>page 59.
• Check the tire pressure on the spare wheel
immed iate ly after mounting it.
• As soon as possib le, have the
tightening
torqu es
on all wheel bolts c hec ked with a
t o rque wrenc h. The co rrec t tighte ning tor­
que is
90 ft lb (120 Nm).
• Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possi ­
b le.
(D Tips
- I f you not ice that the wheel bo lts a re
corroded and difficult to turn while
changing a tire, they should be rep laced
before you check the tightening torque.
- Drive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked. ..,_
•
•

Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction .
Using a sp are t ire w ith a tread p attern
int ended fo r use in a specific dir ection
When us ing a spare tire w ith a tread pattern
in tended for use in a specific direction, please
note the following:
- The direction of rotation is marked by an ar­
row on the side of the tire .
- If the spare t ire has to be installed in the in­
correct direction, use the spare tire only
temporarily since the ti re will not be able to
achieve its optimum performance character­
i st ics with rega rd to aquaplaning, noise and
wear.
- We recommend that you pay particular at­
tent ion to this fact du ring wet weathe r and
that you adjust your speed to match road conditions.
- Replace the flat tire w ith a new one and
have it installed on your veh icle as soon as
possib le to restore the handling advantages
of a unid irectiona l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the info rmation c:> page 246 , New
t ires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
going to use a spare t ire which is different
from the tires on your veh icle.
After you change a tire :
-Check the tir e p re ss ure on th e spare imme­
di ately after in st a ll at ion.
- Have th e wheel bol t ti ghtenin g torqu e
ch ecked with a torque wrench a s soon a s
possible b y your autho riz ed Audi dealer o r
a qu alified ser vic e statio n.
- With ste el a nd alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts a re correctl y tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (1 20 Nm ).
- If yo u n otice that the wheel bolt s are cor­
r oded a nd d ifficult to tu rn whil e changi ng
a t ire, the y should be replaced before you
chec k the t igh tening to rque. What do I do now? 263
- Repla ce the flat ti re w ith a new one and
h av e it i nsta lled on you r veh icle as s oon as
po ssible. Remount the whe el cov er.
Un til th en, d riv e with extr a care and at re­
duc ed sp eeds.
A WARNING
-
- If you are going to equ ip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be sure to read the information¢
page 246,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always make sure the damaged wheel or
even a flat tire and the jack and tool kit
are properly secured in the luggage com­
pa rtment and are not loose in the pas­
senger compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forward , injuring anyone in the
veh icle.
- Always sto re damaged wheel, jack and
too ls se curely in the luggage compa rt­
ment. Otherwise , in an accident or su d­
den maneuver they could f ly forward,
causing injury to passengers in the vehi­
cle.
•
•