2013 AUDI A8 wheel size

that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U .S . Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met .
- Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
cially 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured .
T he front Advanced Airbag System supple­
ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes .
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle .
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up­
right , wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained , not just
because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to meet the "low risk" re­
quirements for 3 and 6 year-old children on
the passenger side and very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite-
Airbag system 157
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in­
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for example, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
¢ page 178, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear -facing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified . For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 178,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re­
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward­
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen ­
ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to­
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re ­
quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control
unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
11-
•
•

-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Child Safety 177
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
•
•

Driving with your
quattro ®
With All Wheel Drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
Gene ral inform ation
W ith All Whee l Drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the t ime. See also
t::;> page 198.
W ith the spo rt differential*, power d istribu­
tion to the rear wheels is variable and can be
adj usted with Aud i drive select*
t::;> page 109.
Always read and fo llow safety precautions
c:> .&. .
Winter t ires
When driving in the winter , your vehicle with
All Wheel Dr ive has an advantage, even with
regular t ires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­ ing: these tires must be mounted on
a ll four
w he els .
See also c:> page 264, Winter tires.
Sn ow cha ins
Where snow cha ins a re mandatory on certa in
roads, th is normally a lso applies to vehicles
with A ll Wheel Drive
c:> page 265, Snow
chains .
Replacing whe els/ tires
Vehicles w ith All Whee l Dr ive must always
have tires of the same size. Also avoid t ires
with different tread depths. For details see
page
c:> page 260, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle.
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un ­
even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
c:> page207.
Int ellig ent technolog y 203
A WARNING
Always adjust your driv ing to road and traf­
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by All Wheel Dr ive tempt you into
taking extra risks .
- Although the All Wheel Drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking capacity is lim ited by tire t raction. You
should therefore not d rive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the fron t wheels
could begin to slide on top of the water (aquaplaning) . If this should occur, yo u
will have no warning from a s udden in­
crease in engine speed as w ith a front­
wheel drive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
ditions - risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting
the engine .
If a vehicle with a conve ntiona l energy system
is not drive n for a long per iod of t ime, the bat­
tery is discharged by idling current consume rs
(e.g . immobilizer). In certain circumstances it
can resu lt in the re being insuff icient energy
available to start the engine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi­
cle handles the distribution of e lectrica l ener­
gy. Starting ability is marked ly improved and
the life of the battery is extended.
Basica lly, energy management consists of
b atte ry diagno sis, i dling current man age­
ment
and d y namic ene rg y management .
Battery diagno sis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the sta te of the battery. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and battery
Ii),,
•
•

Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a g iven inflation pressure. You
may not find this information on all tires be­
cause it is no t req uired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i­
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called "maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diamete r of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ ­
in g elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Tires and wheels 251
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production options we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and spec ial tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan­
tia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see¢ page 250, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standard tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl" , "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewa ll.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new rim di­
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead.
•
•

Tires and wheels 253
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for various d esignated seat ing
capaci tie s
Designated seating capacity ,
number of occupants Vehicle normal load
, number Occupant distribution in a nor-
of occupants _____ mally loaded vehicle
4 2 _________ 2infront
5 3 2 in front, 1 in back seat
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
Fig . 20 4 Tire pressu re lab el: located o n driv e r's side B­
p ill ar
Tire pressure genera lly refers to the amo unt
of air in a tire that it needs it to do its job and
safely car ry the combined load of the en tire
vehicle and its contents . T ire pressure is
measured in kilopasca ls (kPa) , the interna ­
tional measu ring unit and in pounds per
s quare inch (PSI). Tire p ressure is based in
part on the vehicle's design and load limit -
the greatest amount of weight that the vehi ­
cle can carry safe ly and the t ire size . The prop­
e r tire pressu re is frequent ly referred to as the
" recommended cold tire inf lation pressure ."
Air in the tires expands when the ti re heats up
bec ause of interna l fri ct ion when it flexes in
use. The tire p ress ure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold ." It is the
inflat ion p ressure in a "cold" tire that counts.
Therefore, you should never let air out of a
warm tire to match "cold tire inflation p res­
sure" recommendations. The t ires would the n
be underi nflated and could fail suddenly .
Maintaining proper tire pre ssure is one of the
most important things you can do to he lp
avoid sudde n tire failure . Underinflated t ires
are a majo r cause of sudden tire failure . Keep­
i ng tires at the r ight pressure is also impor-
-"' --~ - -,e
• (:::=~. ~: I =: I :,.. I)( ::: ) l3 n,........,..,.__...,~ ........ ....,_...... • ... _ .. , ....................................... ..,_ "" ..
-""u
--
-...........
- KPA. a PSI
- KPA.
a PSI
-KPA. a PSI
Fi g. 20 S Tire pres sure label
tant for safe and respo nsive ve hicle han dling,
tr action, braking and load carrying.
Tir e pres­
sure s are particul arly important when the
vehicle i s being dr iven at higher speeds, and
then e speciall y when hea vily loaded even
within the pe rmissible load- carrying capaci­
ties app roved for your veh icle .
The recommended t ire pressures for your Audi
depen d on the kind of tires on your vehicle
and the n umber of passengers and/or amount
of luggage you wi ll be transporting.
The tire pressure label is located on the driv­
er 's side B-pillar. The tire pressure labe l lists
the recommended cold t ire inflat ion pressures
for the vehicle at its maximum capac ity
weight and tires that were on your veh icle at
the time it was manufactured .
If you wish to improve comfort when operat­
ing the vehicle at normal lo ad (up to 2* /3
occup ants ), you can adjust t ire pressures to
those specified for normal v ehicle load . Be­
fore operating the vehicle at maximum load ,
you must increase the tire pre ssures to tho se
spe cified for maximum v ehicl e load
¢ ,&. . IJi,,-

254 Tires and wheels
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system* can only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored . The system does not recog­
nize the load condit 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 max imum load
c:> &. .
See the illustration c:> fig. 204 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (color of
the act ua l label and exact location on the ve­
hicle will vary slightly). 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
t ir e inflation 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 opt ion.
Tire pressure
Model/En­ gine Tire designation
normal load condition full load condition
AB/AB L: 235/55 R18 104H
3.0
liter 255/45 R19 104H
6
-cyli nd
er 265/40 R20 104H
265/40 R20 104V
275/35 R21103Y XL
AS/AS L: 235/55 R18 104H
4.0
liter 255/45 R19 104H
B-cyli nd
er 265/40 R20 104H
265/40 R20 104V
275/35 R21103Y XL
AS/AB L: 235/55 R18 104H
4.2
liter 255/45 R19 104H
B-cyli nd
er 265/40 R20 104V
ASL:
6.3 liter
12-cylin­
der
265/40 R20 104H
275/35 R21103Y XL
265/40 R20 104V
255/45 R19 104H
265/40 R20 104H
275/35 R21103Y XL
SB: 265/40 R20 104V
4.0
liter 265/35 R21101 Y
B-cyli nd
er 275/35 R21103Y XL
rearal front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
260
260
260
240
240
260
260
260
240
260
260
260
240
260
260
240
260
260
240
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side­
wall.
•> normal load condition <=>page 253 .

The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
l ocated on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because tec hnical changes may be made to
veh icle equ ipment dur ing the model yea r, a l­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle wit h the
tires on your vehicle . Make s ure that the tire
size information on the veh icle label is the
same as the s ize of the t ires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be ­
longs to someone else or you bought the veh i­
cle with different rims/tires or you boug ht the
ve hicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on mak ing su re that
l oad l imits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
veh icle. These load limits are technically refer­
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating ("GVWR") . The Gross Ax le Weight Rat ­
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be app lied at each of the veh icle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle We ight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance st icker label located on the
driver's side B-p illar . The t ire pressure label on
your Aud i lists the maximum combined
weight of a ll of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
l ocat ion of the tire pressure labe l
c;, fig. 204.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Car rying more weight than yo ur vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­
crease the risk of a loss of veh icle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a veh icle 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
t rol and a crash.
Tire s an d wheel s 255
-Always make sure that the total load be­
ing transported - includ ing the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue we ight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi­
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating.
A WARNING
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can lead to a ser ious or fatal acci­
dent.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de­
flation, caus ing loss of veh icle contro l.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original­
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressvre label located on driver's side 8-pil ­
lar.
T he recommended tire pressures are on the
ti re pressure label and in the table
c;, page 253, Cold tire inflation pressure .This
means that the pressure m ust be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not been dr iven 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 frict ion as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is h igher when the tire
has warmed up t han when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" t ire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let a ir out
of a warm tire to match "Cold t ire inflat ion
pressure" recommendat io ns
c;, page 253 . The
ti res wo uld then be unde rinfl ated and co uld
fail suddenly.
T he tire pressure label on your Audi lists the
recommended co ld tire inflation pressures at
max imum capacity for the new, or ig inal
equipment tires that were on your vehi cle at
1J1>
•
•

260 Tires and wheels
-Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all-wheel drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
¢fig. 207.
- Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
¢ page 2 78.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
H owever, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal­
anced , resu lting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on steering , suspens ion
and tires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect whee l alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impair ing the safety of the vehi­
cle .
If tires show excess ive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All Wheel Drive
Vehicles with quattro® must always have ti res
of the same size, construction and tread type.
F or details see
¢page 203.
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle 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 laning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years old can only be used in an emergency and then with specia
l care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in.
Fig. 208 Tir e spec ificatio n codes on the s idewall of a
tire
No.
©
®
®
0
®
®
@
Description
Passenger car tire (where applicable)
Nominal width of tire in mill imeters
Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
Rad ial
Rim diameter code
Load index and speed rating
U.S. DOT tire identification number
Aud i Original tire
Sever snow conditions
Tire ply composition and materials
used
Maximum load rating