Tires and wheels 251
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system* can only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recog
ni ze the load cond it ion of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor
ing system* will be impaired if you store nor
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi
cle at its maximum load
c;, & .
See the illustration c;, fig. 196 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (co lor of
the actua l labe l and exact location on the ve
hicle will vary slightly).
Tire designation
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to change. In the event of d iscrepancies, the t ire
pressure label is located on the driver's side B
pillar always takes precedence.
The table below lists the recommended cold
tire inflat ion pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal
led on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
Model/
Engine normal load condition full load condition
fronta> reara>
front rear
PSI kPA PSI
A7: 235/55 Rl 7 99Y
3.0 liter High Performance
6-cylinder
S7:
4.0 liter a-cylinder 255/45 R18 99H
All Season
255/45 R18
99Y
High Performance
255/40 R19 l00H XL
All Season
255/40 R19100YXL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99H XL
All Season
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
255/40 R19
l00Y XL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
32 220
32 220
32 220
35 240
36 250
240
36 250
39 270
41 280 29 200
35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 4
1
280
32 220 38 260 41 280
33 230
42 290
42 290
35 240
44 300 44
300
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
al no rmal load condition c:;,page 250.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment dur ing the model year, al
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle w ith the tires on your vehicle.
Make sure that the tir e
s ize informat ion on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle .
'
I
'
I
•
•
252 Tires and wheels
This is especia lly important if the vehicle be
longs to someone else or you bought the vehi
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas
sengers also depends on making sure that
load limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are technically refer
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (' 'GVWR"). The Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance sticker label located on the
driver's side 8-pillar. The tire pressure label on
your Audi lists the maximum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
location of the tire pressure labe l
¢fig . 196.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in crease the risk of a loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload
ed can fail suddenly causing loss of con
tro l and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer - does not make the vehi
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating.
A WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci
dent.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation cause increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can also lead to sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowout and sudden de
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil lar.
The recommended tire pressures are on the
tire pressure label and in the table
¢ page 250, Cold tire inflation pressure.This
means that the pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not been driven for
more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the previous three hours.
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal friction as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is highe r when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold ."
It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let air out
of a warm tire to match "Cold tire inflation
pressure" recommendations¢
page 250. The
tires would then be underinflated and could
fail suddenly.
The tire pressure label on your Audi lists the
recommended cold tire inflation pressures at
maximum capacity for the new, original
equipment tires that were on your vehicle at
the time it was manufactured. For the loca
tion of the label¢
fig. 196.
Most tires lose air naturally over time . They
can also lose some air if you drive over a pot
hole or hit a curb while parking. It is usually
not possible to see whether the radial tires ..,.
254 Tire s and wheel s
-The use of incorrect tire pressure values
can lead t o acci dents or other damage .
T herefore it is essential that t he driv er
o bserve the specified tire pressure values
for the ti res and the correct pressu res for
the f unct ion of the tire pressure mon itor
ing system*.
- Always inflate tires to the recommended
and co rrect tire pressure befo re d riving
off.
- Driv ing with under inflated ti res bend
more, lett ing them get too hot resu lting
in t read separation, sudden t ire fa il u re
and loss o f control.
- E xcess ive speed and/ove rloading can
c ause heat bui ld-up, sudden t ire fail ure
and loss o f control.
- If the t ire p ress ure is too low or too high,
the tires w ill wear prematu rely and the
vehicle will not hand le we ll.
- If the t ire is no t flat and you do no t have
to change a wheel immed iate ly, drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta
t ion to check t he tire pressure and add
air as required.
(D Note
Dr iving w ithou t va lve s tem caps can cause
damage to the tire va lves. To prevent this,
always make sure that facto ry installed
valve stem caps on all wheels are secure ly
mounted on the valve.
@ For the sake of the environment
Unde rinflated tires will a lso increase the
fue l cons umption.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or
weight that any vehicle and any t ire ca n car ry .
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not handle
well and is more difficult to stop . Over load ing
can no t on ly lead to loss of veh icle contro l,
b ut can also damage impor tan t par ts of the
vehi cle and can lead to s udden tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the veh icle to crash. Your safety and that of your passengers also
depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded . Vehicle load includes everybody
and everything in and on the veh icle. These
load lim its are technically referred to as the
vehicle's
Gro ss Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes t he weight of the basic
vehicle, a ll factory installed accessories, a full
tank of fuel, o il, coolant and other fluids plus
maximum load. The max imum load incl udes
the number of passengers that the vehicle is
i ntended to car ry ("seat ing capac ity") with an
ass umed we igh t of 150 lbs (68 kg) for e ach
passenge r at a designated seating posi tion
and the total weight of any luggage in the ve
hicle . If you tow a trai ler, the weight of the
trai ler hitch and the tongue weight of the
loaded tra iler must be included as part of the
vehicle load.
The
Gros s Axle Weight R ating ("GAWR") is
the maximum load that can be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and the
Gross Ax le Weight Rating are listed on the
safety comp liance sticker label located on the
driver's side B-pillar . Your Audi has 4 seat ing
pos itions, 2 in the front and 2 in the rear for
total seating capacity of 4 . In some vehicles
the re a re 5 seating pos it ions, 2 in the front
and 3 in the rear for tota l seating capacity of
5. Each seat ing position has a safety belt
¢ page 140, Safety belts .
T he fact that there is a n upper limit to yo ur
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weight Rating means
t h at the total weig ht of whatever is bei ng car
ried in the vehicle ( in cl udi ng the weight of a
trai ler hi tch and the tongue weight of the
l oaded trai le r) is limited . The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mean that less we ight can be carried as lug
gage.
T he tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined weight of a ll of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that .,..
the vehicle can carry. For the location of the
label
~ fig. 196.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload
ed can fail suddenly, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth
er things that you plan to trans
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be
overloaded.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX
Tires and wheels 255
KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢ fig. 196.
2. Determine the combined weight of the driver and pas
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined
weight of the driver and pas
sengers from
"XXX" kilo
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ fig. 196.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car
go and luggage load capaci
ty. For example, if the "XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150
lbs. passengers in your vehi
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca
pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-7 SO
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step 4.
•
•
256 Tires and wheels
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail
er will be transferred to your
vehi cle. Consult thi s manual
to determine how this re
duces the available car go
and luggage lo ad capacity of
yo ur vehicle .
.,. Check the tire sidewall
(9 fig . 200 ) to de termine the
de signated load rating for a
s pe cifi c tir e.
Tire service life
The s ervi ce life of tires dep ends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correc t tire pressu re and driv
ing style.
Fig. 198 Tire tread: tread wea r ind icators ( TWI)
Fi g. 1 99 Rotat ing t ires fo r m ore eve n wear
Tread W ear Indicator (TWI)
The o rigi na l t ires on your ve hicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators" ¢
fig. 198 r
u nning across the tread. Depend
ing on the make, t here will be six to eight of
them even ly placed aro und the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for examp le "TWI" or other
symbols) ind icate the positions of the tread
wear indicato rs . Wor n tires must be rep laced.
D iffere nt f igures may apply in othe r countr ies
Q ,&. .
Tire pressure
Incorrect t ire pressure ca uses premature wear
and can cause sudde n tire blow-out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
o nce a month ¢
page 2 52.
Driving style
Driving fast around c urves, heavy acce lerat ion
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
Fo r all four tires on your ve hicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear t ires a re rotated according to
the tire manu fact urer's suggested tire rota
tion intervals. Please remember the follow
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from t he
veh icle service interva ls outlined in your
Warranty
& M aintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
o n t he vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; theref ore, we recommend t hat y ou
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation int ervals .
- Veh icles w ith front-wheel dr ive experience
more tread wear on the fro nt wheels com
pa red to a ll-wheel drive ( quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown¢
fig. 199.
- Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires ¢
page 274.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new ve hicles are balance d.
Howeve r, various s ituations during everyday
dr iv ing can cause them to become unba l
anced, resulti ng in vibrations you can usually
feel th rough the steer ing wheel.
liJJ,-
28 6 G enera l inform ation
designated seating position) and luggage
w eight ¢.&, .
Gross Axle W eight Rating
The Gross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle ¢Lr!, .
Vehicle capacit y weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max . load) is list
ed either on the dr iver's side B-pilla r or inside
the fuel filler flap.
Roof weight
T he m aximum perm iss ible roo f we igh t is
22 0 lb (100 kg ). The roof weight is made up
of the weight of the roof rack system and the
weight of the object be ing transported
¢ page 62 , Loading the roof rack.
A WARNING
- T he ac tual Gross Axle Weight Rat ing at
the front and rear axles shou ld not ex
ceed the permissible 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.
{[) 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 ha ndling is not impa ired.
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible
axle loads or the max imum gross vehicle
weight . Always remember that the vehi
cle's handling will be affected by the ex
tra load . Therefore, adjust your speed ac
cord ingly.
- Always obse rve lo ca l regu lations.
-
Dimensions
The specifications refer to the basic model.
Diff erences may occur dep ending on th e mod
el type and options o rdered, for example, ti re
si zes.
~ 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 spo ilers or exhaus t system compo
nents, may be close to the ground . Be
careful not to damage them .
Data
Data
A7 Sportback 310 hp., 3.Q, liter 6-cylinder engine
Applies to vehicles: with 3.0 liter 6-cyli nde r engine and all-wheel d rive
Engine data
Maximum output SAE net
Maximum torque SAE net
No . of cylinders
Displacement
Stroke
Bore
Compression ratio
Fuel
Dimensions (approx .)
L eng th (wit h license pl ate brac ket)
Width (across mirrors) He igh t (unloaded) hp@
rpm
lb-ft@ rpm
C ID (cm
3
)
in (mm)
in (mm)
-- ,
__ ...
310@ 5500-6500
325 @ 2900-4500
6
182 (2995)
3.50 (89 .0)
3 .33 (8 4.5)
10 .3 : 1
Premium unleaded (91 AKI) Recommended for maxi
mum engine performance. Further details
Qpage 225,
Gasoline
in (mm) 1 95.6 ( 4969)
in (mm) 84.2 (2139)
in (mm) 55.9 (1 420)
Turning circle diameter (curb to curb) ft. (m) 39. 0 (11.9)
Capacities (appro x.)
Fuel tank
- Total capacity
- Reserve (o f to tal capacity)
Windshield fluid container
Windshield and headlight washer
fluid container *
Engine oil
with filter change gal (liters)
19.8 (75.0)
g
al (li ters) 2. 6 (10.0)
quarts (liters) 3.7 (3.5)
qu arts ( liters) 5 .2 ( 4.9)
quarts (lite rs) 7.2 (6.8)
287
•
•
288 Data
S7 Sportback 420 hp, 4.0 liter a-cylinder engine
Applies to vehicles: with 4.0 liter 8-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive
Engine data
Maximum output SAE ne t
Maximum torque SAE net
No. of cylinders
Stroke
Bore
Compressio n ratio
Fuel
Dimensions ( approx .)
Leng th (with lice nse pl ate bra cket)
Width (across mirrors) He igh t (unloaded) hp@ rpm
lb-ft@ rpm
CID (cm
3 )
in (mm)
in (mm)
__ ,
-~ .. ,
420 @ 5500-6400
406@ 140 0-5200
8
24 3 .67 (3993)
3 .50 (89 .0)
3 .33 (84.5)
10 .1: 1
Premium unleaded (91 AKI) Recommended for maxi
mum engine performance . Further details¢
page 225,
Gasoline
in (mm) 1 95.6 (4969)
in (mm) 84.2 (2139)
in (mm) 55.9 (1 420)
Turning circle diamet er (curb to curb) ft . (m) 39 .0 (11.9)
Capacities (appro x.)
Fuel tank
- Total capacity
- Reserve (o f to tal capacity)
Windshield fluid container
Windshield and headlight wa sher
fluid container *
Engine oil
with filter c hange gal (li
ters)
19 .8 (75 .0)
gal (li ters) 2. 6 (10. 0)
q uarts (lit ers) 3 .7 (3 .5)
qu arts ( li1ters) 5 .2 ( 4.9)
quarts (li te rs) 8 .8 (8.3)