
24 6 T ire s and whee ls
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle . Tires are,
however, one of the most important parts of a
vehicle, particularly considering the compara
tive ly small patch of rubber on each tire that
assures that all -important contact between
you, your vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire pressure, making
sure that your vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry more weight than they can safe ly han
d le, avoiding damage from road hazards and
reg ularly inspecting t ires for damage includ
ing cuts, slashes irregu la r wear and overall
condition are the most important things that
you can do to he lp avoid sudden tire failure in
cluding tread separation and blowouts.
A vo idin g dama ge
I f you have to drive over a curb or similar ob
stacle, drive very slow ly and as close as possi
ble at a right angle to the curb.
A lways keep chem icals including grease, oil,
gasoline and b rake fluid off the tires.
Inspect the tires regularly for damage (cuts,
cracks or bl isters, etc.). Remove any foreign
bod ies embedded in the treads.
St orin g tire s
Mark tires when you remove them to indicate
the direction of rotation . Th is ensures you to
be ab le to mount them correctly when you re
install them.
When removed, the wheels or tires should be
stored in a cool, dry and preferably dark place .
Store tires in a vertical position if they are not mounted on rims, in a horizontal position if
they are mounted on rims. N
ew tir es
New t ires have to be broken in¢&,. .
The tread depth of new t ires may vary, accord
ing to the type and make of t ire and the tread
pattern .
Hidden damag e
Damage to tires and r ims is often not readily
vis ible . If you notice unusual vibrat ion or the
vehicle pulls to one s ide, th is may ind icate
that one of the t ires has been damaged . T he
t ir es must be checked immed iate ly by an au
tho rized Aud i dea le r or q ualified wor kshop.
Unidirecti onal t ires
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar
rows on the sidewall, that po int in the direc
t ion the t ire is designed to rotate. You must
fol low the specified direction of rotation . This
is necessary so that these tires can develop
their optimum characteristics regarding grip, road noise, wear and hydrop laning resistance.
For more information
¢ page 274.
A WARNING
-New tires or tires that are old, worn or
damaged cannot provide maximum con
trol and braking ability .
-
-New tires tend to be slippery and must
be broken in . To reduce the risk of losing
control, a collision and ser ious personal
injuries, drive w ith special ca re for the
fi rst 350 m iles (560 km).
- Driving with worn or damaged tires can lead to loss of control, sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de
flation, c rashes and serious personal in
juries . Have worn or damaged tires re
p laced immediate ly .
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at low
speed.

@ Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all-wheel dr ive.
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 right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are f itted
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 291.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can becom e loose caus ing loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
Jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
w heel bolts can t urn easily and be prop
erly t ightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while d riving if greased or
oi led, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use whee l bolts that belong to the
rim being installed .
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the co rrect tighten ing
torq ue for the wheel bo lts 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 vehi
cle is moving. If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
Tire s an d wheel s 263
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
(D 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) . Torq ue whee l bolts diago
nally. After changing a whee l, the torq ue
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
You r Aud i is facto ry-equ ipped w it h low aspect
ra tio tires. These tires have been tho ro ughly
tested and been se lec ted spe cifically for you r
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of driving condi
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or le ss in the tire's s ize
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect -ra tio tire s is
particularly sens it iv e to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio t ires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressur e is
regularly che cked and maintain ed. Tire pre s
s ures should be checked at least on ce a
m onth and alwa ys before a long trip
¢ page 2 52, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damage d mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, g ull ies
or ridges on t he road, partic ularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
Ill>-
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298 Index
------------------------------------
Data .... ....... ......... ... .... . 28 7
Start-Stop-System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
start ing .. .. ................ ..... .. 75
Starting with jumper cables .. .. ..... 279
Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Engine compartment ........ .... ... . 232
C losing the hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Opening the hood ................. 230
Safety instructions ........ .. .. .... . 230
Working in the engine compartment .. 230
Engine coolant .................... . 237
Adding coolant ............ ... .... . 238
Checking the engine coolant level . . . . . 23 7
Expansion tank ........... .. .. .. .. . 237
Malfunction symbol ....... .. .. .... .. 16
Radiator fan .............. ... .. .. . 239
Temperature gauge ........ ..... .. .. 11
Engine oil ... ................ ..... . 232
Adding .. .... ........... .... .... . 235
Additives . .. ............. .. .. .. ... 235
Changing .... ... .... .... .. .. .. .. . 236
Check ing the engine oil level .. .. .. .. . 235
I ndications and cond it ions requ iring ex-
tra checking .. ........... .. .. .... . 235
I ndicator light ........... .. .. .. .. .. 18
O il consumption .......... .... .... . 234
Oil grades . ................. ..... . 232
Oil level symbol .................... 21
Pressure malfunction ....... ... .. .. .. 18
Recommended oil check intervals ..... 235
Sensor defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Specification and viscosity .. .. .. .. .. . 232
Engine sound .............. ... .... . 102
E ng ine speed limitation ....... .. .. .. . . 21
Engine start-stop mode
refer to Star t-Stop-System ... .. .. .. .. 82
Engine start system (indicator lights) . ... 18
Environment Break-in period ......... .. .. .. .. .. . 204
Cata lytic converter ........ .. .. .. .. . 205
Disposing of your vehicle battery . ... . 244
Driving at high speeds .............. 207
Driving to minimize pollution and noise 206
Fuel . .. .. ............... .. .. .... . 227
Fuel economy ............ .... .... . 206
Leaks under your vehicle ... .. .. .. .. . 230
Lett ing the vehicle stand and warm up . 207
Proper disposal of drained brake fluid . 240 Proper disposal of d
rained engine cool-
ant ..... ..... .. .. .............. . 238
Proper disposal of drained eng ine
oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235, 236
Recycling used engine oil ........ .... 23S
Unleaded fuel .. .. ................ . 22S
What should I do with an old battery? . 244
ESC (Electronic Stabilization Control) Warning/indicator lights ........ .. .. . 19
Event Data Recorder (EDR) ........ .. .. 196
Exhaust tail pipes .. .......... ...... . 219
Expansion tank .... ................ . 237
Exterior lighting . ... ............ .. .. . 43
Exterior mirrors Adjusting ..... .. .. ........ ...... .. 49
Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Heating ...... ... .. .............. .. 49
Exterior temperature display ...... .. .. . 23
F
Fastening
Booster seats .. .. ............. .... 184
Convertible child safety seats . . . . . . . . 182
Infant seats ... .. ............. .... 181
Floor mats . ..... .. ................ . 13S
Foot pedals ..... .. ..... ........... . 13S
For the sake of the environment Gasoline fumes and the environment .. 227
Reducing engine noise by early upshift-
ing ...... .... ... .. ................ 11
Refueling ... .. .. ....... ...... .. .. 227
Sav ing fuel by early upsh ifting . .. .. .. . 11
Four- zone automatic climate control . .. . 71
Front airbags
Description .... .. ................ . 1S3
How they work ... ................ . 159
Frontal coll is ions and the laws of phys ics 141
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Adjusting ... .. .. ....... ...... .. .. 132
Child restraints in the front seat ...... 151
Fuel Additives .. .... .. ............. .... 225
Blended gasoline .............. .... 225
Current consumption .............. .. 25
Economy messages (efficiency program) 26
Fuel filler flap emergency release ... .. 228