contribution to good road holding and safe
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated
¢ .&. .
We recommend that all work on t ires and
wheels be performed by an authorized A udi
dealer. They are familiar with recommended
procedures and have the necessary spec ial
too ls and spare parts as we ll as the proper fa
cilities for dispos ing of the old tires .
Authorized Audi dealers have the necessary information about techn ica l requ irements for
installing or changing tires and r ims.
R eplacing t ires and wheel s
Tires shou ld be rep laced at least in pairs and
not individua lly (for example both front tires
or both rear tires together).
Be s ure to read and heed the information to
the tire pressure monitoring system*
¢ page 249.
Always buy rep lacement radial tires that have
the same specifications as the t ires approved
for your ve hicle by Audi. Replacement tires
must always have the same load rating speci
fication as the original equipment or approved
optional tires listed in the table
¢ page 235.
Audi-approved specification tires are specially
matched to your vehicle and its load limits ,
and can contribute to the important road hold
ing, driving character istics, and safety of the
veh icle. The table
( ¢ page 235) lists spec ifica
tions o f the t ires approved for the Audi mod
e ls covered by your Owner 's Literature .
T he tire pressure labe l located on dr iver 's side
B-pillar (¢
page 235, fig. 177) lists the speci
fications o f the orig inal equipment tires in
stalled on your veh icle at the time it was man
ufactured .
Federal law requires t ire manufacturers to
p lace s tanda rd iz ed information on the s ide
wall of all tires¢
fig. 180 . This information
i dent ifies and desc ribes the fundamental
characterist ics , the quality grade of the tire
and a lso provides a tire ide ntificat io n number
Tire s an d wheel s 243
for sa fety standard certification and in case of
a reca ll.
Tire specifications
Knowledge of tire specifications makes it eas
ier to choose the co rrec t tires . Radial ti res
have the tire specifications marked on the
sidewa ll, for examp le:
P255 / 35 Rl 9 96Y XL
This co nta ins the following information :
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
(where app licab le)
255 Nom inal tire width i n mm of the tire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In
general, the larger the number, the wider
the tire
35 Height/w idth ratio in percent (aspect ra -
t io)
R Tire construct ion: Radial
1 9 Rim diameter code (i n inches)
96 Load rating code
Y Speed ra ting letter code
XL (or "xl", " EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" Indicates
t h at the t ire is a"Re info rced" or an " Extra
Load " tir e
M+S (or "M/S") Indicates that the ti re has
some mud and snow capab ility
The tires could also have the informat ion of
direction of rotation ¢
page 231 .
Tire manufacturing d ate
The manufact uring date is also indicated on
the tire sidewall (possibly only on the
inner
s ide of the wheel):
"DOT ... 2212 .. . "means, for examp le, that
the tire was produced in the 22nd week of 2012.
Speed rating (letter cod e)
The speed rating letter code on the whee ls in
dicates the maximum permissible road speeds
¢ .&. in Winter tires on page 247.
P up to 93 mp h (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mp h (1 58 km/h)
R up to 106 mph ( 170 km/h)
•
•
248 Tires and wheels
driving a few yards and correct if neces
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to
vehicles 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 installed rims. If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right 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
¢ page 275.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose causing loss of
control, a collision and serious persona l in
Jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop
erly tightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different wheels bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the correct tightening
torque for the wheel bolts 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 veh i- cle
is moving.
If the tightening torque is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lbs . (120 Nm) with a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lbs. (± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bolts
diagonally . After changing a wheel, the
torque must be checked as soon as possi
ble with a torque wrench -preferably by an
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory -equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road feel
and handling under a variety of driving condi
t ions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
The low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven
tional tires have a height/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is
particularly sensitive to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pressure and that the inflation pressure is
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pres
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
¢ page 237, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact with potholes, curbs, gul lies
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated . ..,.
