2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER traction control

Driving with your
quattro ®
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
Gene ral inform ation
W ith all-wheel dr ive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the t ime . See also <::;>
page 142.
Winter t ires
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
a ll f our
wheel s.
Snow chain s
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain
roads, th is normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive
Qpage 198, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheel s/tire s
Only the wheel/tire sizes specified by the
manufacturer may be used on vehicles with
all-wheel drive
<=> page 193 .
A WARNING
-Always adjust your driving to road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the extra
safety affo rded by a ll-wheel d rive tempt
you into taking extra risks .
- Although a ll-wheel drive is ve ry 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 begin 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-
-
Int ellig ent technolog y 147
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 t ime, the bat­
te ry is d ischarged 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 ica l ene r­
gy. Starting ability is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Bas ica lly, energy management consists of
b atte ry diag nosis, idling current m an age­
m ent
and dy namic energ y manag ement .
Batte ry diagno sis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the batte ry. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and batte ry
temperature . This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current manag ement
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing.
Wi th the ign ition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrica l compo ­
nents. Data from battery diagnosis is consid­
ered.
Depend ing on the ba ttery'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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A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury !
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of "hydroplaning " and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds . Tir es that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your 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.
Tires and wheels 193
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 151 Tir e specifica tion codes on t he s idew all o f a
t ir e
No. Description
CD Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nominal w idth of tire in millimeters
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
(f) U.S . DOT tire identification number
® Audi Origina l tire
® Severe snow conditions
@ T ire ply composition and materials
used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac­
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major .,.
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dealer will g ladly provide you with more
information.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- T emperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the ti re side wa ll between tread shoulde r
and maximum section wid th ¢ page 193,
fig. 151 .
For example : Tread wear 200, Tract ion AA ,
Temperatu re A .
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requi rements in addition to these
grad es.
Tread we ar
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a spec ified
government test course .
For example, a t ire graded 150 would wear
one and one half (1 1/2) t imes as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100 .
The relat ive perform a nee of ti res depends
upon the actua l conditions of their use, how­
ever, and may depart sign ificantly from the
norm due to var iat ions in dr iv ing habits, serv­
i ce practices and differences in road character­
i stics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, B and
C. Those grades represent the
tire's abil ity to stop on wet pavement as
measured unde r controlled cond it ions on
spec ified gove rnment test su rfaces of asphalt
and concrete . A tire ma rked C may h ave po or
t ra ction perfo rm ance¢ &..
Temp erature
The temperature grades are A (the h ighest),
B, and C, repr ese nting the t ire's resistance to
the gene rat io n of heat and its ab ility to dissi-
Tire s an d wheel s 197
pate heat when tested under controlled condi ­
tions on a specified indoor laboratory test
whee l.
Sustaine d high temperature can cause the
mater ia l of the tire to degenerate and red uce
tire life, and excessive tempe rat ure ca n lead
to s udden tire failure ¢ &. .
T he gr ade C correspon ds to a level of pe rform ­
ance which all passenger car tires must meet u nder the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stand­
ard No . 109 . Grades Band A represent higher
l evels of performance on the laboratory test
whee l than the minimum requ ired by law.
A WARNING
The traction grade assigned to th is tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include accele rat ion,
cor neri ng, hy droplaning or peak t ra ction
ch aracte rist ics.
A WARNING
T he temperature grade for this tire is es­
tablishe d for a tire that is properly inf lated
and not overloaded . Excess ive speed, un­
derinflation, or excessive loading, e it h er
separately or in combinat ion, can ca use
heat bui ldup and possible tire failure.
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 areas, local governments
may require true w inter or "snow" tires, those
with very deeply cut tread. T hese tires should
o nl y be used in pairs and be installed o n all
fou r wheels . Make sure you purchase snow
ti res that a re the same si ze and construction
type as the othe r ti res on you r vehicle.
If your vehicle is equipped w ith all-whee l
drive*, th is w ill improve traction during winter
driv ing, even with the s tanda rd tires . Howev-
er, we stro ngly recommend that you always ..,.
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