260 Tire s and wheel s
chains because the vehicle will be ex
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev
el, the snow chains might severe ly dam
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
(D} 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 installed r ims. 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 fitted
secure ly 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 mode l
¢page 287.
_& WARNING
Imprope rly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bol ts an d the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can tu rn easily and be prop
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the risk of a whee
l loss. If the tightening tor
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is mov ing. If the tighte ning torque is
too high, the wheel bolts a nd threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
([) 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). Torque whee l bolts diago
nally. Afte r changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible wi th a
torque wrench -pre ferably by an au thor
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and hand ling u nder a var iety of d riv ing condi
t ions . As k your author ized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral rep resents the ratio
of the t ire's s idewa ll height in relation to its
t read width ex pressed in percentage. Conven
t iona l tires have a he igh t/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performanc e of low -a sp ec t-ratio tires i s
pa rticularly sensitive to improper inflation
pre ssure . It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s
sures should be checked at least once a month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 249, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gull ies .,..
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the doing the following .
• Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire in the luggage com
partment
Q page 136.
• Check the tire pressure on the spare wheel
immediately after mou nting it.
• As soon as possible, have the
tightening
torques
on al l wheel bolts checked with a
torque wrench. The correct tightening tor
que is 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
• Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possi
ble.
(D Tips
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are
corroded and difficult to turn wh ile
changing a tire, they should be replaced
before you check the tightening torque.
- Drive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked .
- After changing a wheel, the tire pressure
i n all four tires must be checked/correct
ed and the tire pressure mon itor ing indi
cator must be stored in the MMI
Qpage263 .
Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: with decorative wheel covers
The decorative wheel covers must be removed
first to access the wheel bolts .
Fig. 210 Ch ang ing a whee l: Removing the wheel cove r
Removing
.. Insert the hook (provided with the veh icle
tool kit) in the hole in the wheel hub cover.
What do I do now? 267
• Pull off th e decorative wheel cover
Qfig. 210.
Wheels with wheel bolt caps
Applies to vehicles: with wheel bolts with caps
The caps must be removed first from the
wheel bolts before the bolts can be un
screwed.
Fig. 211 C hanging a whee l: removing the wheel bolt
caps
Removing
• Push the plastic clip (provided with the vehi
cle too l kit) over the wheel bo lt cap until the
inner retainers on the clip align w ith the
edge of the cover.
.. Remove the cap with the
plastic clip (veh icle
tool kit)
Qfig . 211 .
Refitting
• Place the caps over the whee l bolts and
push them back on.
The caps are to protect and keep the wheel
bo lts clean .
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 with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spare tire w ith a tread pattern
in tended for use in a specific direction, please
note the following:
- The direction of rotation is marked by an ar
row 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
temporarily since the tire will not be able to
achieve its optimum performance character
istic s with rega rd to aquaplaning, noise and
wear.
- We recommend that you pay particular at
tention to this fact during wet weather and
that you adjust your speed to match road
conditions.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your veh icle as soon as
possib le to restore the handling advantages
of a unid irectiona l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the information c:> page 254, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
going to use a spare t ire which is different
from the tires on your veh icle.
After you change a tire :
-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. What do I do now? 271
- 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 equ ip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be
sure to read the information<=>
page 254,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always make sure the damaged wheel or
even a flat tire and the jack and tool kit
are properly secured in the luggage com
pa rtment and are not loose in the pas
senger compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forward, in juring anyone in the
veh icle.
- Always store damaged wheel, jack and
too ls securely in the luggage compa rt
ment. Otherwise , in an accident or su d
den maneuver they could fly forward,
causing injury to passengers in the vehi
cle.
•
•