2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER wheel alignment

192 Tires and wheels
cargo and lugg age load ca­
pacity is 650 lbs . (1400-750
(5
X 150) = 650 lb s.)
5. De termine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle .
That weight may not safely exceed the a vailable cargo
and luggage lo ad capacity
c alcul ated in Step
4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a tr ailer , 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.
.,. Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 193 , fig. 151) 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. 150 T ire tread: trea d wea r ind icators (TWI)
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI )
The orig inal tires on yo ur vehi cle ha ve
1/ 16 inch ( 1.6 mm) hig h "wear indic ators"
¢ fig . 150 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
the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) ind icate the pos itions of the tread
wea r indica to rs. Wor n tires must be replaced .
Different 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 189 .
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 eve ryday
driv ing can cause them to become unbal·
anced, resulting in vib rations you can usually
feel th rough the steer ing whee l.
Un balanced w hee ls m ust be rebalance d to
avo id excessive wear on steering, suspension
and t ires. A whee l must 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 sa fety of the vehi ­
cle.
If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee 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 d rive. For details see
c::> page 147.

What do I do now? Trunk escape handle
Appl ies to vehicles: with trunk escape handle
In case of an emergency, the front lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk es­
cape handle.
.. To open the front lid pull the handle.
The trunk escape handle inside the luggage
compartment is made of fluorescent materia l
to g low in the dark.
.&_ WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only
in an emergency.
Breakdown kit
The breakdown kit consists of vehicle tool kit
and tire mobility system.
Fig. 152 Breakdown kit in luggage compartment
@ Vehicle tool kit
@ Tire mobility system c::> page 203
The breakdown kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor .
The tool kit consists of the following items :
- Hook for removing hub cap
- Lug wrench
- Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver w ith reversible blade
- Towing eye
- Jack* (not a vehicle component; contact your
authorized Audi dealer if needed)
Before returning the jack* to its place, retract
the jack arm fully .
What do I do now ? 203
Note: some of the items listed above are pro­
vided on certain mode ls only or are optional
extras.
.&_ WARNING
- Never use the hexagonal socket in the
handle of the screwdriver to loosen or
tighten the wheel bolts .
- The jack* (available as a replacement
part) is intended only for your vehicle
model. Under no circumstances use it to
lift heavy vehicles o r other loads; you risk
injuring yourse lf.
- Never start or run the eng ine while the
veh icle is supported by the jack *.
- If you must work under the veh icle, al­
ways use safety stands specifically de­ signed fo r th is purpose.
- Using a bumper jack to ra ise the vehicle
wi ll damage the bumpe r system. The
jack may slip, caus ing injury.
Tire repair
General and safety pointers
Tire repair is intended only for temporary,
short-term use .
Fig. 153 Ti re damage for which the Tire Mob ility Sys ­
tem is not suited
-
Your vehicle is equipped wi th a tire repa ir k it,
the
Tire M obility Sy stem (T M S).
In the event of a t ire failure, the TM S is in the
luggage compartment under the floor.
It con ­
s ists of the tire sealan t and an elec tric air
pump.

208 What do I do now ?
-On hard, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping.
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- D o not raise the vehicle u nti l yo u a re
sure the ja ck is sec urely engaged.
- P assenge rs must not rema in i n the ve­
h icl e when it is ja ck ed up.
- M ake sure t hat passengers wait in a
safe p lace away fro m the vehicle and
well away from the road and traffi c.
- M ake sur e jac k position is correct, ad­
just as necessary and then co ntinue to
r ai se the j ack .
CD Note
A floo r jack or the pads o n the hoist arms
m ust
not be posit ioned at the points
s hown
-arrows-.
Remov ing the wheel
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
F ig. 1 59 Whee l change: alignment pin inside the top
hole
Afte r you have loosened a ll wheel bolts and
ra ised the veh icle off the ground, perform the
following steps to remove a nd rep lace the
wheel :
Removing the wheel
" Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdri v­
er handle
to comp lete ly tu rn out the top­
most wheel bo lt and set it as ide on a
clean
surface. "
Sc rew the th readed end of the
alignment
pin
from th e tool kit hand-tight into t he
now vacant bolt ho le
c::> fig . 159.
" Then complete ly unscrew the other wheel
bolts as described above.
" Take off the whee l leaving the a lignment
p in in the bolt hole
c::>(D .
Putting on the wheel
" Lift the spare whee l and carefully s lide it
over the alignment pin to guide it in place
c::>(D .
" Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
ha ndle to screw in and tighten a ll whee l
bolts
slightly .
" Uns crew the alignment p in and insert and
tighten the rem aining wheel bol t slightly
like the res t.
" Tur n t he jack hand le co unter-clockwise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re­
leased.
T he wheel bo lts must be clean and turn easily.
Check the contact s urfaces of whee l and hub.
Remove contaminants on these surfaces be ­
fore insta lling the w heel.
T he hexagonal socket in the screwdriver ha n­
dle makes it easier to handle the w heel bo lts.
The reversible blade should be removed.
When mounting
unidirectional ti res, observe
the d irection o f rotation
c::> page 206.
CD Note
W hen remov ing or inst alling the whee l,
t he r im cou ld hi t the b ra ke ro tor and dam­
age the ro tor . Wor k caref ully an have a
second pe rson hel p you.
(D Tips
Neve r use the he xagona l socket in the han ­
d l e of t he screwdriver to loosen or tighten
the wheel bo lts .