2014 AUDI R8 SPYDER TPMS

206 Tires and wheels
and handling under a variety of driving condi­
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dea ler for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's size
designation. The numeral represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage . Conven­
tional tires have a height/width ratio o f 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is
particularly sensitive to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pressure and that the inflation pressure is regularly checked and maintained . Tire pres·
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
~ page 195, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
L ow aspect ratio t ires can be damaged more
ea5i ly by impact with potho le5, curb5, gullie5
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated .
In order to minimize the occur rence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom ­
mend that you observe the following precau­
tions :
- Always maintain recommended inflation
pressures. Chec k your tire pressure every
2.000 miles (3.000
km) and add air if neces ­
sary .
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
t h ro ugh or over such obstacles can damage
yo ur tir es. Impact with a curb may also
cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tir es 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 eventu- ally cause
tire failure. If you believe that a
tire may have been damaged, replace the
tire as soon as possible.
- These tires may wear more quickly than oth­
ers.
- Please also remember that, while these tires
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 h igh performance
t ir es or iginally installed on your vehicle are in­
tended for maximum dry and wet road per­
fo rmance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather conditions. If
you drive under those circumstances, you
sho uld equ ip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, which offer better traction unde r
those conditions. We suggest you use the rec ­
ommended snow or all-season t ires specified
for your vehicle, or their equivalent .
Refer to~
page 203 for more de tailed infor­
mation regarding winter tires.
Tire pressure
monitoring system
General notes
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
sho uld be checked monthly when co ld and in­
flated to the inflation pressure recommended
by the veh icle manufact urer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
s ize indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in ­
flat io n pressure label, you should dete rmine
the proper t ire inflation pressure for those
t i r es.).
As an added safety feature, your veh icle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system ( TPMS) that illum inates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of you r
t ir es is significantly under-inflated. According -
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale ..,.

illuminates, you should stop and check your
tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to
the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly under- inflated tire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation a l­
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the ve hicle's handling and
stopping ab ility .
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper t ire maintenance, and it is the dr iv ­
e r' s responsib ility to ma inta in correct t ire
p ressure, even if under- inflation has not
reac hed the level to t rigge r illumination of the
TPMS low tire pressure telltale .
Your veh icle has also been equ ipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The
TPMS malfunction indi cato r i s combined wi th
the low ti re pressure tell ta le . When the sys­
tem detec ts a malf unction, the te lltale will
flash for approximately one minute and t hen
remain cont inuo usly illuminated. This se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunction ex ists.
When the malfunctio n indicator is ill uminat­
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low t ire pressure as intended . TPMS
malfunct ions may occur for a variety of rea­
sons, includi ng the installat io n of rep lace­
ment or alternate tires o r wheels on the veh i­
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct ion ing
p roperly . Always chec k the TPMS malfunct ion
t ellt ale after replacing one o r more t ires or
wheels on your veh icle to ensure that the re­
p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly .
Introduction
T he tire pressure monitoring system monitors
oir pressure in all four road wheels while the
vehicle is moving .
As soon as the tire pressure monitoring sys­
tem senses a significant loss of air pressure in
one or several ti res, text messages and yellow
symbo ls appear in the instr ument cluster d is­
p lay to alert the driver. T he
RE warning light
Tire s an d wheel s 207
in the instrument cluster comes on when the
tire is significant ly underinflated .
T he wa rni ng lig ht
RE also ill umi nates in the
case of a system malfun ct ion.
Be awa re that t ire pr essure is a lso dependent
o n the tempe ratu re of the t ire. For eve ry 18 ° F
(10 °C) incre ase in tire temper ature, tire pres­
s ur e increases by about 1.5 psi (0 .1 bar). The
ti re warms up while the vehicle is moving and
tire press ure rises . So you sho uld ad just tire
pressure only when they a re
cold, when the
temperature of the tires is ro ughly the same
as the ambient a ir temperature.
In order to keep the tire p ress ure monitoring
system p roperly ca librated, t ire pressu re on
a ll four tires sho uld be checked at regu lar in­
terva ls.
The tire pressure is shown on the label located
on the dr iver's side B-pillar (v is ible when the
door is open).
A WARNING
When t he tire pressure mo nitoring system
war ning light is lit, one o r more of your
tires is s ignificantly under-infla ted . You
should stop and check you r tires as soon as
possib le, and in flate t hem to the proper
p re ssur e a s in di cate d on the ve hicle's tir e
press ure label
¢page 19 3. D riving on a
significantly under -inflated ti re causes the
tire to over heat and can lead to tire failure.
Under-inflat ion also is like ly to impair the
vehicle's handling and stopping ab ility.
@ For the sake of the environment
D riving wit h un der -inflated tires red uces
fuel efficiency an d tire t read life.
(D Tips
- Ea ch tire should be chec ked monthly
w hen the temperature of the tires is
about the same as ambient a ir tempera­
t u re and set to the recommended infla­
tion press ure as specified on the tire
pressure label
¢ page 193.
•
•

208 Tire s and whee ls
- The tire pressure monitoring system
helps the driver to keep an eye on tire
pressures. But the driver st ill has the re­
sponsibility for maintaining the correct
tire pressure.
- Tire pressure must only be adjusted
when the temperature of the tires is
about the same as ambient air tempera­
ture.
- When tires are replaced, the sensors and
valves should not be exchanged . The
valve core, nut, valve sealing and seal
washer (rep lacement kit) needs to be re­
placed. If necessary, the valve and the
whee l electronics have to be rep laced.
- The tire pressure monitoring system on
your Audi was calibrated us ing tires w ith
"RO" identification. We recommend us­
ing these tires.
- If you should put different whee ls and
ti res on yo ur vehicle (e.g. w inter wheels
and tires), yo u m ust be certain that the
whee ls and tires are compatible with the
tire pressure monitoring system . Other­
wise the system w ill reg ister a ma lf u nc­
tion and a fault message will be d is­
played . For more information, contact
your authorized Audi dealer .
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions ~
page 230 .
Programming a new set of tires
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
When driving with a new set of ti res, you can
program them to the t ire pressure monitoring
system using the menu disp lay.
"'Turn the ign ition on .
"' Select the menu :
Set > Tir e pr essu re >
Wheel cha ng e.
"'Confirm that you wo uld like to begin the
programming process. The message
Wh eel
s en sors a re being in it ia lised. Thi s ma y ta ke
a fe w minut es ...
appears in the instrument
clus te r disp lay. You can switch between programmed tire sets
at any time without r einitializing the system .
(D Tips
-If the programm ing process was no t
completed s uccessfully, the message
Wheel senso rs could not be init ialised
appears in the disp lay and the 119;~, in­
dicator light turns on. If this happens,
repeat the procedure.
- Do not store the tire pressure if there are snow chains on the tire.
' TPMS Tire pressure monitoring system
malfunction
A malfunction can have various causes .
If the (Bl warning light in the instrument clus­
ter flashes for app roximate ly one minute and
then remains cont inuously illumin ated and
additionally the
lliiff1 symbol appears in the
display, the tire pressure monitor ing system is
not availab le . The text
Ti re pre ssure! S ystem
malfun ction
appears in the d isplay. This can
have various ca uses .
- A wheel sensor or other component may
have fai led.
- Dur ing init ialization the system has detect ­
ed more than 4 wheels on the vehicle, for
examp le w hile d riving next to anothe r ca r
w ith a t ire press ure monitoring system.
- Aud i rep lacement parts were not used .
- If snow cha ins are be ing used, system func -
tion can be compromised due to the sh ield­
ing prope rties of the chains.
- The tire pressure mon itoring system may
not be ava ilab le because of a radio malfunc­
tion.
- Transm itters w ith the same frequency, such
as radio headphones in the vehicle o r radio
equipment, can cause a temporary disrup­
t ion of the system through excessive elec ­
tromagnetic fie lds .
- Eliminate the interference if yo u can and
then proceed as fo llows: T urn off the eng ine
for 20 minutes . Then drive another 10 mi ­
nutes .
If the warning light comes on again, ll-