2013 AUDI A7 wheel bolt torque

@ 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 70 What do I do now ?
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following .
.. Always store the vehicle too l kit, the jack*
and the replaced ti re i n the luggage com­
partment ¢
page 136.
.. Check the tire pres sure on the spare w heel
i m media tely after mount ing it .
.,. As soo n as po ssible, have the
tightening
torques
on a ll w heel bol ts checked with a
tor que wrench . The correct tightening tor ­
que is 90 ft lb ( 120 Nm) .
.. Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as poss i­
ble.
@ Tips
- If you notice t hat the whee l bolts are
corroded and difficult to t urn while
changing a t ire, they should be replaced
bef ore yo u check the tighten ing torque .
- Drive at reduced speed unt il y ou have the
tightening torques checked .
- After changing a wheel, the tire pressure
i n a ll four tires must be checked/cor rect­
ed and t he tire pressure mo nitor ing indi­
cator must be stored in the MMI
¢page 266 .
Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: with decorative wheel covers
T he decora tive wh eel covers must be removed
first to access the wheel bolts .
Fig. 206 Changing a w hee l: Re movin g the w heel cove r
Removing
.,. Inse rt the hook (provided with the ve hicle
tool kit ) in t he hole in the wheel hub cove r. ..
Pull off the
decorative wheel cover
¢fig . 206.
Wheels with wheel bolt caps
Applies to veh icles: w it h w heel bolts with caps
The ca ps must be removed first from the
wheel bolts before the bolts can be un­
screwed.
Fig . 20 7 Cha ng ing a w heel: re m oving t he w hee l b o lt
caps
Removing
.. Push t he plastic clip (provided with the ve­
hicle tool kit) over t he wheel bolt cap u nti l
the inner reta iners on the clip a lign with the
edge of the cover.
.,. Remove the cap wit h the
plastic clip (veh i­
cle tool kit)
¢ fig . 207 .
Refitting
.. Place the caps over the whee l bolts and
push them back o n.
The caps are to protect and keep the wheel bo lts clean .

274 What do I do now? Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction .
Using a spare tire w ith a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spa re tire w ith a t read patte rn
i n tended fo r use in a specific direction, please
note t he followi ng:
- The direction of rotation is marked by a n ar­
r ow on the side of the tire.
- If the spare t ire has to be installed in the in­
correct direction, use the spare tire only
tempora rily si nce the t ire will not be a ble to
achi eve its optimum perfo rm anc e cha racter­
i st ics w ith reg ard t o aqu aplani ng, noise and
we ar.
- W e reco mmend t hat you pay pa rticular at­
te nti on t o this fact d uring wet we ather and
t h at you a dju st yo ur spee d to m atc h ro ad
con ditions.
- R epl ace the fla t tire w ith a n ew one an d
have it ins talled o n your ve hicle as soon as
p oss ible to restore the handlin g ad vantages
of a uni direct io na l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please rea d the informati on c> page 257 , New
t ires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
go ing t o u se a spare tire which is d ifferent
from the tires on your ve hicle.
Afte r you chan ge a t ire :
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme­
diately after installation.
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as possible by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualified service station.
- With steel and alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm ).
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor­
roded and difficult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be replaced before you
check the tightening torque . -
Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover .
Until then , drive with extra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
-
- If you are going to e quip your ve hicl e
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were facto ry installed, then be
sure to rea d the informati on
9 page 257,
New tir es and replacing tires and
w he els .
- Always ma ke sure the damag ed wheel o r
even a flat tire and the jack a nd tool ki t
ar e prop erly s ecu red in the luggage co m­
p artm ent and are not lo ose in the pas ­
s e ng er c ompa rtm ent .
- I n an acci dent or sudd en man euve r they
could fly forwa rd, inju ring anyon e in the
v eh icle.
- Always store d amag ed wh eel, jack and
too ls secur ely in the lugg age c ompart ­
ment. Otherwi se, in an accident or su d­
de n maneuve r they co uld fly forw ard,
causing inj ury to passe ngers i n the ve hi­
cle.