
264 Tire s and wheel s
was manufactured . Please see q page 260,
Speed roting (letter code) for
a listing of the
speed rating letter codes and the maximum
speed at which the t ires can be driven.
The speed rating letter code( ¢
page 251) is
on the side wall of the tire
c::> page 259.
A WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower t han your vehicle's max
imum speed. Always know the maximum
speed before driving off . Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
w inter t ires. This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and serious
pe rsonal inj ury to you and your passen
gers .
A WARNING
=
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your vehicle
were designed can cause tire fai lure in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflat ion,
loss of control, crashes and serious per
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
rep laced immed iate ly .
- Winter tires have maximum speed rat ing
that may be lower tha n your veh icle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
w hich the winter or other tires installed
on your vehicle are rated.
A WARNING
Always adjust your d riving to the road and
t raffic conditions. Neve r let the good ac
celeration of the wi nte r t ir es and all-whee l
dr ive temp t you in to taking extr a ris ks. A l
ways remember:
- Whe n bra king, an a ll-wheel d rive vehicle
hand les in the s ame way as
a front drive
vehicle.
- Drive caref ully and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
cannot he lp under black ice conditions.
{® For the sa ke of the env ironment
Use summer tires when weather condi
tions permit. They are qu ieter, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumpt ion.
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted only to the rear
whee ls, and o nly to certain tire sizes . Ask your
autho rized Aud i deale r on which tire sizes
snow c hains ca n be used.
The snow chains must have low-prof ile links
and must not be t hicker than 0.53 inch
(13 .5 mm), includ ing the loc k.
Remove wheel center covers and trim discs
before putt ing snow chains on your vehicle
c::>@ . For safety reasons cover caps must then
be fitted over the wheel bolts. These a re ava il
able from autho rized Aud i deale rs.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chai ns for your veh i
cle o r insta lling them inco rrect ly can in
crease the risk of loss of cont ro l leading to
se rious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in di fferent
sizes. Always make sure to follow the in
structions p rov ided by the snow chain
manufacturer.
- When driving with snow chains never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specif ic snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations .
(D Note
-Remove snow chains before dr iv ing o n
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wea ring the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direc t con
tact with the whee l rim, ca n scratch or
damage it . Therefo re, make sure that the
snow chains are s uitably covered. Check
the pos ition of the snow chains after

driving a few yards and correct if neces
sary . Follow the instructions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this norma lly also applies to
veh icles with all-whee l dr ive .
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design o f whee l bolts is matched to the
factory insta lled r ims . If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bo lts wit h the right
l ength 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 bo lts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model<=>
page 297.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose caus ing loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
Jury .
- Always keep the w heel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
w hee l bolts can t urn easily and be p rop
erly t igh tened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose wh ile d riving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torq ue.
- Only use whee l bo lts that belong to the
rim being installed .
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Alw ays m ain ta in the co rrec t tig hten ing
torq ue fo r the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor
que of the wheel bo lts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi-
Tire s an d wheel s 265
cle is mov ing. If the tightening torq ue is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
@ Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
105 ft lb (140 Nm) with a to lerance of
± 7,4 ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bolts
diagonally . After changi ng a wheel, the
torque m ust be checked as soon as poss i
ble with a to rque wrench -preferably by an
a uthorized Aud i dea le r or qualified wor k
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your A udi is fac tory -eq uipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been tho ro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of driving condi
tions . Ask your authorized Aud i dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's size
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width exp ressed in percentage. Conven
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more.
The performance of low-a spect-r atio tire s is
particularly sensit ive to improper inflation
pre ssure. It is therefor e important that low
a spect ratio tire s are inflated to the specified
pres sure and that th e inflation pr essure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s
sure s should be chec ked at lea st once a
month and always before a long trip
<=> page 2 54, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avo id tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gull ies
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
under inflated . ..,.
•
•

266 Tire s and wheels
In order to minimize the occurrence o f impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom mend that you observe the following precau
tions :
- Always maintain recommended inflation
pressures. Check your tire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add a ir if neces
sary.
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may also cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Aud i dealer . Replace a damaged
t ir e as soon as possible .
- Inspect your t ires every 2,000 miles (3,000
km) for damage and wear . Damage is not al
ways easy to see. Damage can lead to loss of
air and underinflation, wh ich could event u
ally cause t ire failure.
If you be lieve that a
ti re may have been damaged, replace the
tire as soon as possible.
-These tires may wea r more quickly than oth
ers.
- Please a lso remember that, while these tir es
deliver responsive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make more noise than
other choices.
Reduced performance in winter/cold
season conditions
All tires are designed for certain purposes .
The low aspect ratio, ultra high performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are in
tended for max imum dry and wet road per
formance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather cond it ions.
If
you dr ive under those circumstances, you
should equip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, which offe r better traction under
those conditions . We suggest you use the rec
ommended snow or all-season tires specified
for your vehicle, or their equiva lent .
Refer to~
page 263 for mo re deta iled infor
mat ion regarding w inter tires.
Tire pressure
monitoring system
ill General notes
Applies to veh icles: w ith tire pressure monito ring system
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly when co ld and in
flated to the inf lation pressure recommended
by the vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
s iz e indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in
flat io n pressu re label, you shou ld dete rmine
the proper tire inflation pressure for those
tires) .
As an added safety feature, your veh icle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system ( TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of your
tires is significant ly under -inflated . Acco rding
ly, when the low tire pressure te lltale illumi
nates, you shou ld stop and check your tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper pressure. Driving on a sign ificantly un
der-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire fa ilure . Under -inflation al
so reduces fuel effic iency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle 's hand ling and
stopp ing ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire ma intenance, and it is the driv
er's respons ibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under -inflation has not
reached the level to trigger illumination of the
T PMS low tire p ressu re tellta le .
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to ind icate when
the system is not operating properly . Th e
T PMS ma lfunction indicator is combined with
the low tire pressure telltale. When the sys
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale will
flash for approximately one minute and then
rema in con tinuously illuminated . Th is se
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunct ion exists . .,.