2014 AUDI R8 SPYDER engine

154 Driving and en vironm ent
• Never put too much motor oil in your engine
¢ page 180, Adding engine oil • Never try to push -or tow-start your veh icle.
The cata lytic converter is an efficient "clean ­
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle. The catalytic converter burns
many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be­
fore they are released into the atmosphere.
The exclusive use of unleaded fue l is critically
important for the life of the cata lytic convert­
er and proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
- Do not park or operate the veh icle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel sp ill or other material which can
cause a fi re.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
man ifold, exhaust p ipes, catalytic con­
verte r o r heat shie lds . D uring d riving, the
substance used for undercoating cou ld
overheat and cause a fire.
([) Note
- Be aware that just one tank f illing with
le aded fuel will already seriously de­
grade the performance of the catalytic
converter.
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil leve l
¢page 180 .
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The eng ine could mis­
fire. Unburned f uel could a lso get into
the exhaust system and this could cause
the catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not turn
off the ignition while the ve­
hicle is moving .
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle
under these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalytic converter. This
could result in overheat ing of the con­
verter, requ iring its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis­ sion Control System: -
Have your vehicle maintained properly
and in accordance with the service rec­
ommendat ions in yo ur Warranty
&
Maintenance book let.
- Lack of proper maintenance as we ll as
improper use of the vehicle will impair
the function of the emission contro l
system and could lead to damage.
@ For the sake of the env ironment
Even when the Emission Control System is
operating proper ly, the exhaust gas can
have a sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under
some operat ing states . This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used .
Using a different brand of fue l may help,
or fil ling the tank with lead-free super
grade gasoline.
Shutting down vehicle
If you would like your vehicle to remain inop­
erative for a longer per iod of t ime, contact an
Audi or othe r specialized dealer. They can ad­
vise you on necessary precautions e.g . corro­
sion prevention, maintenance and storage.
Pay attention to additional informat ion con­
cerning the battery. Refer to<=>
page 184.
Operation and
maintenance
Fuel economy, env ironmental impact, and
wear on your eng ine, brakes and tires largely
depend on three facto rs:
-your personal driving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitat ions
By having your veh icle regu larly se rviced by an
authorized Audi dea ler helps to ensure that it
runs properly and economica lly. The condition
of your vehicle not only affects its safety and ability to hold its va lue, it also affects
fu el
cons umpt ion.
The amount of oi l used is re lated to engine
l oad and speed.

It is normal for the oil consumption of a new
engine to reach its lowest value after a certain
mileage has been driven.
You must drive your vehicle about 3,000 miles
(5,000 kilometers) before you can properly
assess oi l consumption.
This also applies to fuel consumption and en­
g ine output.
(y Note
-Have your vehicle maintained properly
and in accordance with the service rec­
ommendations in your Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet. Lack of proper mainte ­
nance as well as improper use of the ve­
hicle will impair the function of the
emission control system and could lead
to damage.
- Do not alter or remove any component of the Emission Control System unless ap­
proved by the manufacturer.
- Do not alter or remove any dev ice, such
as heat shields, switches, ignition wires,
valves, which are designed to protect
your vehicle's Emission Control System
and other important vehicle compo­
nents.
(D Tips
The consumpt ion estimates as published
by the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY (EPA) and Transport Canada may
not correspond to your actua l consump­
tion on the road, which will vary depend­
ing upon vehicle load and speed, road and
weather conditions, trip length, etc.
Trailer towing
General information
Your Audi RB Spyder is not designed to tow a
trailer.
Towing a trai ler with your Audi RB Spyder is
not recommended and can cause damage to
the car . Damaged caused by towing a trailer is
not covered by your Aud i Warranty .
Driving and environment 155
•
•

156 Cleaning and protection
Cleaning and protect ion
General information
Regular core preserves vehicle value .
Regular and correct care will contribute to
maintaining the beauty and value of your
Audi. Furthermore, good care may be a condi ­
tion for substant iat ing a warranty claim
should corrosion damage or pa int defects oc­
cur.
Your authorized Audi R8 dealer has a variety
of
dedicated vehicle-care products. Please
make sure you apply them correctly .
.8, WARNING
-Cleaning agents may be poisonous. Keep
them out of the reach of children.
- Heed all caution labels.
- Always read directions on the container
before using any product . Follow the di­
rect ions carefu lly.
- Most chemical cleaners are concentrated
and have to be diluted.
- Use spot removing fluids only in well
ventilated areas.
- Do not use gasoline, kerosene, d iesel
fuel, nail pol ish remover or other volatile
fluids. They may be toxic, flammable or
haza rdous in other ways. Do not wash,
wax or dry the vehicle with the ignit ion
on or the engine running.
- Do not clean the undersides of chassis,
fenders, wheel covers, etc. without pro­
tecting your hands and arms. You may cut yourse lf on sharp-edged metal parts.
- Moisture and ice on brakes may impair
braking efficiency¢
page 146, General
information .
Test the brakes carefully
each time you wash the vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Select only environmentally friend ly clean­
ing products . Leftover cleaning products
should not disposed of in the household
waste.
Care of exterior
Washing your vehicle
T he longer i nsect remains, bird dropp ings,
tree res in , road and indust rial dust, tar, soot
part icles, road salt, and other aggressive de­
posits remain on the vehicle surface, the more
lasting their destructive effect will be . High
temperatures, for example from intense sun­
li ght, intens ify the corrosive effect.
After the end of winter road salting, the un­
derside of the vehicle should be thoroughly
washed .
Automatic car washes
Before going through an automatic car wash,
yo u should take the usual precautions (closing
the windows). If your vehicle has special ac­ cessories -e.g . spoilers, radio antenna -it is
best to speak to the operator of the car wash
c:> (D .
Only use car washes where the vehicle re­
mains stationary and the cleaning equipment
moves aro und the vehicle while washing and
drying . It is not possib le to use car washes
where the vehicle is moved forward on a con­
veyer
c:> ,& .
It is preferab le to wash your vehicle in a
brush less carwash .
Washing with a power washer
When washing yo ur vehicle with a power
washer, be sure to follow the operating in­
structions for the power washer . This applies
particularly to the
pressure and the spraying
distance.
Maintain sufficient distance from
soft materials such as rubber hoses, sound
deaden ing mater ial, and the parking aid sen ­
sors* that are located in the front or rear
bumper .
Do not use washers with
a rotating jet or a
nozzle spraying
a high pressure jet of water in
any case. ..,.

(D Note
-Never use chemical solvents (e.g . lighter
flu id, turpentine), waxes, shoe polish or
s imilar products on Alcantara ® surfaces.
- To avoid damage, have stubborn stains
removed by a commercia l cleaning spe­
cialist.
- Do not use brushes, stiff sponges or sim­
ilarly abrasive cleaning aids.
Safety belts
Heavily soiled safety belts may not retract
properly .
~ Keep belts clean.
~ For cleaning, use a mild soap and water sol­
ution. Let belts dry thoroughly and away
from direct sunlight.
~ Do not allow inertia reel safety belts to re­
tract before they are completely d ry.
~ Check the condition of your safety belts reg­
ularly.
A WARNING
Damaged safety belts can break in a crash.
- Any thing tha t might damage you r safety
belts co uld mean that you and your pas ­
sengers wo uld not be adequately pro­
tected in an accident.
- Safety belt performance depends on cor­ rect installation . Never remove belts
from the vehicle to clean them.
- Do not use chemical cleaning agents,
bleach o r dyes . They have corrosive prop­
erties which weaken the webbing.
- When cleaning your safety belts, inspect
them for damage. If you discover dam­
age, see your authorized Audi dea ler.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
the informat ion
¢page 156.
1) Use o nly the correct cleaning sol utio ns. Neve r use gas­
oline or d iese l fuel.
Cleaning and protec tion
Engine compartment
Be especially careful when cleaning the en­
gine compartment.
Corrosion p rotection
The engine compartment and transmission
have been corrosion-protected at the factory.
Good anti-corrosion treatmen t is very impor­
tant, partic ularly in the winter.
If the vehicle
is frequently driven on salt treated roads, the
entire engine compartment and plenum panel
shou ld be thoroughly cleaned at the end of
winter and retreated to prevent salt damage .
At the same time, the underside of the veh icle
shou ld be washed as well.
If the engine compartment is cleaned at any
time with grease remov ing solutions
1>, or if
you have the engine washed, the a nti-corro­
s ion treatment is almost always removed as
well.
It i s therefo re essentia l to have a long­
lasti ng corrosion protection reapplied to all
su rfaces, seams, joints and components in the
engine compa rtment .
A WARNING
--=
Be aware: The eng ine compartment of any
motor veh icle is a potentially hazardous
area.
- Before work ing in the engine compart­
ment, be sure to read the information
¢page 172.
-Before reaching into the front p lenum
panel, a lways remove the ignit ion key.
Otherwise, the w indshield wiper system
could u nintentionally be sw itched on,
possibly caus ing persona l injury from the
mov ing wipe r linkage.
- Never reach i nto the area around or
touch the rad iator fan. The aux iliary fan
is tempe ratu re controlled and ca n sw itch
on s uddenly -even when the ignition is
off. .,.
165
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•

166 Cleaning and protection
- Do not wash, wax or dry the engine with
the engine running. Moving or hot parts
could injure you.
- Do not clean the underside of the chas­
sis, fenders, wheel covers, or other hard
to reach parts w ithout protecting your
hands and arms. You may cut yourself on
sharp-edged metal parts.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
~ page 156.

Fuel supply and filling
your f uel tank
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Using the right fuel helps keep the environ­
ment clean and prevents engine damage.
Fuel recommendation
The fuel recommended for you r vehicle is un­
leaded premium
g rade gasolin e. See also
¢ page 225, Data . Audi recommends usi ng
TO P TI ER Deterge nt Gaso line wi th a minim um
oc ta ne ra ti ng of 9 1 AK I (9 5 RON). For more
in fo rmation on TO P TI ER De tergent Gaso line,
p lease go to the official website
(www .toptiergas .com) .
The re commended g asoline octane r ating for
your engine can a lso be fo und o n a label loca t­
e d on the ins ide of the fuel filler flap . This rat ­
ing may be specif ied as A KI or RO N.
Your veh icle m ay also be oper ated using un­
l e aded regular gasoline with a minimum oc ­
tane rating of 87 AKI/91 RON . However, using
87 AKI/9 1 RO N octa ne fue l w ill sli ghtly re­
d uce eng ine perfo rmance .
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded gaso ­
line is available th rougho ut the USA, Canada,
a nd in most E uropean cou ntries . We recom ­
mend that you do not ta ke yo ur vehicle to
areas or count ries where unleaded gasoline
may not be ava ilable.
F or mo re informat io n on refue ling your ve hi­
cle, see
¢ page 168.
Octane rating
Octane r ati ng in dicates a gaso line's abili ty to
r es ist engine damaging "knock" ca used by
p remature ign ition and detonation. Therefore,
buy ing the correct grade of gaso line is very
i mportant to help prevent possible engine
damage and a loss of engine performance.
Gasoline most common ly used in the Unite d
States and Canada has the followin g octane
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 167
ra tings that can usu a lly be found on the fi ller
p ump :
- Premium Gr ade: 9 1 -9 6 AKI
- Regular Grade : 87 -90 AKI
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI = Anti K nock In d ex = (R+M )/2 = (RO N
+M ON)/2
RON= Resear ch O ctane Num ber
MO N= Motor Octane Number.
(D Note
- Do not use a ny fue l w it h octane rat ings
lower than 87 A KI or 9 1 RO N othe rwise
e xpensive engi ne damage w ill occur.
- Do
not use leaded gasoli ne! The use of
leaded gasolin e w ill severely damage
yo ur vehicl e's cata lytic co nve rter and its
ability to control exh aust em iss ions.
Blended gasoline
U se of gasoline containing alcohol or
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded g asoline blende d with
a lcohol o r MTBE (commonly re fer red to as
oxygenates) if the blende d mixture meets the
fo llow ing criteria:
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
- Anti -kno ck index mus t be 87 A KI or higher.
- Blend must contain no mor e than 3% meth-
anol.
- Blend must co ntain more than 2% co-sol-
vents .
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol
or ethyl alcohol)
- Anti -knoc k index must be 87 A KI or higher.
- Blend must not conta in mo re tha n 10%
ethanol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
- Anti -knoc k index must be 87 AKI or higher . ll>-
•
•

168 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
-Blend must contain not more than 15%
MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
especially well for winter or summer driving .
During seasonal change-over, we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stat ions where the sea­
sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time.
(CT) Note
- Methanol fuels which do not meet these
requirements may cause corrosion and
damage to plastic and rubber compo­
nents in the fuel system.
- Do not use fuels that fail to meet the
specified criteria in this chapter.
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fuel blend meets the
specifications, ask your service station or
its fuel supplier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents cannot be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance
problems resulting from the use of fuels
different from those specified are not
the responsibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy
or driveability and performance prob­ lems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufac ­
turers is carbon deposit build-up caused by
the type of gasoline you use.
A lthough gasoline grades differ from one
manufacturer to another, they have certain
things in common. All gasoline grades contain
substances that can cause deposits to collect
on vital engine parts, such as fuel injectors
and intake valves. Although most gasoline
brands include additives to keep engine and fuel
systems clean, they are not equally effec­
tive .
A udi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline. For more information on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www.toptiergas.com).
After an extended period of using inadequate
fuels, built-up carbon deposits can rob your
engine of peak performance.
(D Note
'
Damage or malfunction due to poor fuel
quality is not covered by the Audi New Ve­
hicle Limited Warranty.
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
side panel behind the fuel filler flap.
If the unlocking system should fail, you can
still open the flap manually -for detailed in­
structions see¢
page 170.
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve­
hicle in
Technical Data <=>page 225.
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap
tells you the correct fuel for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see ¢
page 167.
Your vehicle fuel tank has an on-board refuel­
ing vapor recovery system. This feature helps
to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from the
tank and polluting the environment while you refuel your vehicle . In order to fill the tank
properly while protecting the environment,
please follow this refueling procedure careful­
ly.
.8, WARNING
Under normal operating cond itions, never
carry additional fuel containers in your car.
Gas canisters and other containers used to
transport fuel can be dangerous. Such con­
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collision. If you must

transport fuel to use for your lawn mower,
snow blower, etc., be very careful and al­
ways observe local and state laws regard­
ing the use, transportation and storage of
such fuel containers. Make certain the con­
tainer meets industry standards (ANSI/
ASTM F8S2 -86) .
@ Note
Never drive your vehicle until the fuel tank
is completely dry. The irregular supply of
fue l can cause misfiring. Gasoline cou ld
enter into the exhaust system and damage
the catalytic converter .
Refueling
Fig. 130 Drive r's doo r: Unlock ing fuel filler flap
Fig. 131 Fu el cap hooked on the opened fuel filler flap
When adding fuel, the ignition and any cellu­
lar phones in the vehicle must be switched
off .
Tak ing the fuel cap off
.. To open the fuel filler flap, press the button
9 fig . 130.
.. Unscrew fuel filler cap counter-clockwise
and hang it on the fuel filler flap ¢
fig. 131.
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 169
Refueling procedure
.. Insert the fuel nozzle from the gasoline
pump into the fuel filler neck as far as it will
go.
.. Select a medium refueling rate so that the
nozzle switches off automatically when the
tank is full.
Putting the fuel cap back on
.. After filling your tank, twist the fuel filler
cap clockwise until you hear a definite click.
.. Close the fuel filler flap.
To avoid fuel spilling or evaporating from the
fuel tank always close fuel filler cap proper ly
and completely. An improperly closed fuel fill­
er cap may also cause the MIL lamp ¢
page 26
to come on.
A WARNING
Improper refueling or handling of fuel can
cause fire, explosion and severe burns.
- Fuel is highly flammable and can cause
severe burns and other injuries.
- Failure to shut the engine off while refu­
eling and/or to insert the pump nozzle
fully into the fuel filler neck could cause
fuel to spray out of filler neck or to over­
flow. Fuel spray and overflowing fuel can
cause a fire.
- Never use a cellular telephone while re­
fueling. The electromagnetic radiation
can cause sparks that can ignite fuel va­
pors and cause a fire.
- Never get back into your vehicle while re­
fueling.
If in exceptional circumstances
you must get back in your vehicle while
refueling, make certain that you close
the door and touch metal to discharge static electricity before touching the fill­
er nozzle again. Static electricity can
cause sparks that can ignite fuel vapors
released during refueling .
- Never smoke or have an open flame any­
where in or near your vehicle when refu-
eling or filling a portable fuel container. ..,.