
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.

Unbalanced whee ls must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed .
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect whee l alignment can cause exces
sive tire wear, impairing the safety o f the vehi
cle. If tires show excess ive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
All-wheel d rive
Vehicles w ith quattro ® must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
F or detai ls see
r=!:> page 201 .
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con
trol, a crash and serious persona l injury!
- Never drive a veh icle 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"hydrop lan ing" and loss of
co ntrol.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil , gasoline
and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires age eve n if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. T ires that are more than 6 years
o ld can only be used in an emergency
and then with spe cial care a nd at lower
s peeds.
- Never mount used ti res on yo ur vehicle if
yo u a re not s ure of their "prev ious histo
ry." Old used ti res may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to s udden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control. Tires and wheels 25
7
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 20 0 Tir e spec ificat io n codes on t he s idewall o f a
tire
No. De sc ription
CD Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nomina l w idth of t ire in mill imeters
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Rad ial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
(f) U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Aud i Origina l tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ T ire ply composition and mater ials
used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperat ure
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
T he tires and rims are essential parts o f the
vehicle's design . The ti res and rims app roved
by Audi a re spec ia lly matched to the charac
teris tic s of the ve hicl e and can m ake a major .,.
•

@ 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>-
•
•

2 76 Fuses and bulbs
Fuse panel
@ (bl ack )
No. Equ ipment
= 7 Audi adaptive cruise control
8 Airbag control module, front
passenger's seat sensor system
9 Gateway
Homelink (garage door opener),
10 night vision system contro l
module
Image processing (Audi active
11 lane assist, Audi adaptive cruise
control)
12 Steering
I 13 Terminal 15 in the luggage com-
partment
14 T
ermina l 15 in the instr ument
pane l (front passenger's s ide)
15 Terminal 15 engine
16 Starter
Fuse panel B (brown)
No. Equipment
1 Gateway
2 Climate control
3 E SC con trol module
Front door (driver's side)
5 Power seat adjustment (dr
iver's
sea t)
6 Steering
7 Sun roof
8
R ear door control module (driv-
er's side)
9
Lumbar support ( Front passen-
ger seat)
11 Sunroof, rear spoiler ( Sportbac k)
12 Driver door control mod
ule
Fuse panel c (red)
No. Equipment
2 Fuel p ump
.
3
Brake light sensor/brake pedal
sensor s ystem
4 Engine aco ustics
Amp s
10
5
5
10
5
15
30 15
40
Amps
5
10
10
30
7,5
35
20 15
5
20
15
Amps
25
5/5
7 ,5
-Fuse panel © (red )
No. Equipment Amps
=· Rear door control module (driv-
5 30
er's side)
6 Left rear seat ______ , 7,5
Ho rn 15
Windshield wiper ____ 30
Light/rain sensor ___ 5
10 Lumba r support (dr iver seat) 5
11 Front passenger door control
module
1 2 Rig ht rear door control mod ule
Front passenger side cockpit fuse
assignment
15
15
Fig. 21 6 Fro nt passen ger sid e co ckp it : fu se pa nel w it h
p last ic brac ket
Fuse panel @ (black)
No. Equipment Amps
1 Head-up D is p la y 5
2
MMI Display 5
3 C D/DVD changer 5
4 MMI unit/drives 7,5
5 Chi
p card rea der (not in a ll co un-
5
tries)
6 Instrument cluster 5
7 Stee
ring column switch module
5
8 Headlight range adjustment/
5/7,5
adaptive lighting sys tem
1 0 Left headlight (head
light wit h
7,5
adaptive light)
I
...

Fuse s and bulb s 2 77
Fuse panel @ (brown) Fuse panel@ (red )
No. Equipment Amps No.
Equipment Amps
Climate control 10 1 Left belt tensioner 25
Climate control system blower 40 2 Right belt tensioner 25
3
Diagnost ic connec tor 10 3 Socke t 20
4
Electrical ignition lock 5 4 Socket 20
5
Power s teering colum n adj ust-
5 ment
5 Ele ctromechanical parking brake 5
6 adaptive air suspension 15
6 Steering column switch module 10
7
Power steering column adjust -
25
ment
7
Rear door (front passenger 's
30 side)
8 Rear e xterior lighting 30
8 Light switch 5
9
L u ggage compa rtment lid con-
30
trol modu le
Luggage compartment fuse assignment Telephone 5
11
Sound amplif ier 30
12
Rear spoiler (Sportback) 20
Fuse panel © (b rown )
No . Amps
1
Radio receiver, Sound amplifier/ 30/20
MMI unit/drives
2 Tank leak detection system 5
Fig. 2 17 Luggage co mpar tment: fuse panel w ith plas-
t ic b racke t 4
AEM co ntrol module/battery 10/15
module
Fuse p anel A (black )
Battery fan 35
Radio receive r 7,5
No. Equipment Amps 8 Rear Seat Entertainment 7,5
Electromechanical parking brake 30
Electromechanical parking brake 30 9
Automatic d imm ing interior 5/15
rearview mirror/battery mod ule
6
Front door (front passenger's
30 side)
10 Parking system 5
7
Rear exterior lighting 30 Fuse panel @ (green )
Rear sun shade, clos ing aid, lug-No .
Equipment Amps
8
gage compartment lock, con-
20 venience key, START ENGINE
1 Aud i pre sense 5
2
Electromechanical parking brake 5
STOP, fuel fi ller door 3 ad aptive air suspens ion 5
9 Power seat adjustment 15
4 Automatic transmission 7,5
10
Parking system 5 5 Parking system 5
11
Rear seat heating 30 6 Rear Seat Entertainment 5
7
Sta rt -Stop-Sys tem 5
8 Audi side assist 5

284 Emergency situations
heavy components such as the engine
b lock or transmiss io n are removed.
- W he n removing heavy components like
these, ancho r vehicle to ho ist o r add cor
responding weig hts to ma inta in the cen
ter of g ravity . Othe rwise, the vehicle
might tilt or s lip off t he hoist, causing
ser ious p erson al injury.
(D Note
-Be awa re of the follow ing points befo re
li fting the vehicle:
- The vehicle should never be lifted or
jacked up from underneath the engine oil pan, the transmission housing, the
front or rear axle or the body side
membe rs. This could lead to ser ious
damage.
- To avoid damage to the underbody or
chassis frame , a rubber pad must be
i nserted between the floor jack and
the l ift points.
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
check that the veh icle weight does not
exceed the permissible lifting capacity
of the hoist .
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
ensure that there is sufficient clear
ance between the hoist and low parts
of the vehicle.

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)