2014 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK wheel

238 Tires and wheels
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear indicators. Worn tires must be replaced. Different figures may apply in other countries
c::> & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire p ressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c::> page 234.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tir es on your vehicle to have the
same se rv ice life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow­
ing:
- T ire rotation inte rva ls may differ from the
vehicle serv ice intervals outlined in your
Warranty
& Maintenance booklet.
- T he longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certa in
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation intervals.
- Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front whee ls com­
pared to all-whee l drive (quattro).
- Please rotate ti res as shown
c::> fig. 198.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c::> page 2 59.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
Ho wever, 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, suspension
and tires . A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed. Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect
wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the vehi ­
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an a uthorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type.
For details see
c::>page 195.
_8 WARNING
-Sudden tire fa ilure 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 t ires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, o il, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 yea rs
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith specia l care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your veh icle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." O ld used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control.

New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in.
Fig. 199 Tir e speci fication codes on the s idewall of a
t ire
No . Description
CD Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nominal width of tire in m illimeters
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
@ Radia l
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
0 U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Audi Or iginal tire
® Sever snow condit ions
@ T ire p ly composi tion a nd materia ls
used
@ Max imum load rat ing
@ T readwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Max imum pe rm iss ible inflation pres-
sure
The t ires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The tires and r ims approved
by Aud i are specia lly matched to the charac­
ter istics of the veh icle and can make a majo r
Tires and wheels 239
contribution to good road holding and safe
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated
~ .&. .
We recommend that a ll work on tires and
whee ls be per formed by an authorized Audi
dealer. They are familiar with recommended procedures and have the necessary special
tools and spare parts as well as the proper fa­
cilities for disposing of the old t ires.
Authorized Audi dea lers have the necessary
information about technical requirements for
i nstalling or changing tires and rims .
Replacing tires and wheels
Tires should be replaced at least in pa irs and
not individually (for examp le both front tires
or both rear tires together) .
Be sure to read and heed the info rmation to
the tire pressure mo nitoring system
¢ page 246.
Always b uy replacement radia l tires that have
the same spe cifica tions as t he tires app rove d
for yo ur vehicle by Audi . Replacement tires
must a lways have the same load rating speci­
ficatio n as the origina l equipment or approved
optiona l tires listed in the table¢
page 232 .
Audi-approved specif ication t ires a re spec ial ly
matched to your vehicle and its load limits,
and can contr ibute to the impo rtant roadho ld­
ing, driv ing characteristics, and sa fety of the
vehicle. The table(¢
page 232) lists specifica­
tions of the tires approved for the Audi mod­
els covered by your Owner's Literature.
The tire pressure label located on driver's s ide
B-pillar (¢
page 232, fig. 196) lists the speci­
ficat ions of the original equipment tires in­
stalled on you r vehicle at the time it was man ­
ufactu red .
Federal law requires tire manufacturers to
place standardized information on the side­
wall of all tires¢
fig. 199. This information
i dentifies and descr ibes the fundamenta l
c haracteristics, the q uality grade of the t ire
and also provides a t ire identification numbe r
IJi,,-

240 Tires and wheels
for safety standard certification and in case of
a recall.
Tire specifications
Knowledge of tire specifications makes it eas­
ier to choose the correct tires. Radial tires
have the tire spec ifications marked on the
sidewall, for example:
275/35 R 20 102 Y XL
This contains the follow ing informat ion :
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
(where applicable)
275 Nominal tire width in mm of the tire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In
general, the larger the number, the w ider
the tire
35 Height/width ratio in percent (aspect ra-
tio)
R Tire construction: Radia l
20 Rim diameter code (in inches)
102 Load rating code
Y Speed rat ing letter code
XL (or "xl", "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF") Indicates
that the tire is a "Reinforced " or an " Extra
L oad" tire
M+S (or "M/S") Indicates that the tire has
some mud and snow capability
The tires could also have the information of
d irection of rotation¢ page 228.
Tire manufacturing date
The manufacturing date is also indicated on
the tire s idewall (possibly only on the inner
side of the wheel):
"DO T ... 2213 ... " means, for examp le, the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of 2013.
Speed rating (letter code)
The speed rating letter code on the wheels in ­
dicates the maximum permissib le road speeds
¢ .&. in Winter tires on page 243.
P up to 93 mph (150 km/h)
ll For tires wit h a max imum speed capabil ity over
149 mph (240 km/h), tire manufactu rers somet im es
use the letters "ZR."
Q up to 99 mph (158 km/h)
R up to 106 mph ( 170 km/h)
s up to 110 mph ( 180 km/h)
T up to 118 mph ( 190 km/h)
u up to 124 mph (200 km/h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)1l
z over 149 mph (240 km/h)1>
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)1l
y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)1
)
Your vehicle is normally factory equipped w ith
t ir es, w hich possess excellent dr iving charac­
teristics and g ive your Aud i optimum driving
comfort .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
and tire manufacture date
This is the tire's "serial number". It begins
with the letters "DOT" and ind icates that the
t ir e meets all federal standards . The next two
numbers or l etters ind icate the plant where it
was manufactu red, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of man ufacture.
For example, the numbers 2213 mean the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of 2013. The
other numbers are marketing codes that may
or may not be used by the tire manufacturer.
This information is used to contact consumers
if a tire defect requires a recall.
Audi Original tire
Tires w ith the identification "AO" or "RO" have
been specially matched with your Audi. We
recommend using only these tires because
they meet the highest standards regarding
safety and driving characterist ics when used
correctly. Your authorized Audi dealer will
gladly provide you with more inf ormation.
Tire ply composition and materials used
The number of plies indicates the number of
layers of rubber-coated fabric in the tire. In
genera l, the greater the number of pl ies, the
more weight a tire can support. T ire

manufacturers also must indicate the materi­
als in the tire, which include steel, nylon, pol­
yester, and others.
M ax imum Load R atin g
This numbe r indicates the maximum load in
kilograms and pounds that can be carried by
the tire.
Tire qualit y gra ding for treadw ear,
t ract ion , and temp erature r esistanc e
Tread wear , traction and temperature g rades
¢ page 242.
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressur e
This number is the greatest amount of air
pressure that sho uld ever be put in the ti re
under normal driving conditions.
_& WARNING ,...__._
- Using incorrect or unmatched tires and/
or whee ls or improper tire and whee l
combinations can lead to loss of contro l,
co llision and serious persona l injury.
- Always use tires, rims and wheel bo lts
that meet the specifications of original
factory-installed tires or other combina­ t ions that have been spec ifically ap­
proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- Tires age even if they are not being 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 special care and at lower
speeds .
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you are not su re of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used ti res may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to s udden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- All four wheels must be fitted with radia l
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir­ c u mference) and the same tread pattern.
Driving with different tires red uces veh i­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
Tire s an d wheel s 241
-If the replacement tire is not the same as
the t ires that are mounted on the veh icle
- for example with winter tires - only use
the replacement tire for a short per iod of
time and drive with extra care . Refit the
normal road whee l as soon as safely pos­
sible.
- Never drive faster than the max imum
speed for which the tires on you r vehicle
a re rated because tires that are dr iven
faster than thei r rated speed ca n fa il
suddenly .
- Ove rloading tires ca use heat build-up,
sudden tire fa ilure, including a blowou t
and sudden deflation and loss of cont ro l.
- Temperature grades apply to ti res that
are properly inflated and not over or un ­
derinf lated .
- F or technical reasons it is not always
possible to use whee ls from other
vehicles -in some cases not even whee ls
from the same veh icle mode l.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve ­
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not b locked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat, increas ing stopping d istances and caus­
ing a co llision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on
veh icles that were equipped with them
at the factory . The veh icle must have a
chassis designed for run flat tires . Incor­
rect use of ru n flat ti res can lead to vehi­
cle damage or accide nts. Che ck with an
author ized Audi dealer or tire spe cialist
to see if your vehicle can be eq uipped
with run flat tires . If run flat tires are
used, they must be installed on all four
wheels. Mixing tire types is not permit­
ted.
@ Note
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth­
er veh icles. Th is can hold tr ue for wheels
of the same vehicle type. .,..
•
•

24 2 T ire s and wheel s
-If a replacement tire is different from
the tires that you have mounted on your
vehicle (for example winter tires or wide profile tires), then use the replacement
tire for a short period of time only and
drive w ith extra care. Replace the flat tire
with the tire matching the others on your
vehicle as soon as poss ible.
- Never dr ive without the valve stem cap .
The valves could get damaged.
@ For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old t ires in accordance with the
local requ irements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A BC
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wa ll between tread shou lder
and max imum section width
¢ page 239,
fig. 199.
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenge r car tires must confo rm to Feder ­
a l Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
u nder cont rolled conditions on a spec ified
government test course .
For example, a t ire graded 1S0 wou ld wear
one and one half (11/ 2) t imes as well on the
gove rnment course as a tire graded 100.
The relat ive perfo rmance of t ires depends
upon the a ctua l conditions of their use, how ­
ever, and may depart sign ifican tly from the
n orm due to var iat ions in dr iving habits, serv­
ice practices and differences in road cha racte r­
istics and climate .
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the
ti re's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured under contro lled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of aspha lt
and concrete. A t ire marked C may have poor
traction performance ¢.&,. .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and C, representing the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ab ility to dissi­
pate heat when tested under controlled condi­
t ions on a specif ied indoo r laboratory test
wheel.
Sustained h igh temperature can cause the
mater ial of the tire to degenerate and reduce
t ire life, and excessive temperature ca n lead
to sudden tire failure
~ .&,. .
The grade C corresponds to a level of perform ­
ance which all passenger car tires must meet
under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stand­
ard No. 109 . Grades Band A represent h igher
levels of performance on the laborato ry test
whee l than the minimum requ ired by law.
_& WARNING
The t raction grade assigned to t his tire is
based on s traight-ahead braking trac tion
tests, and does not include accelerat ion,
cornering, hydroplaning or peak t raction
cha racte rist i cs.
A WARNING "--
The temperature grade for this tire is es-
tablished for a tire that is properly inflated
and not overloaded. Excess ive speed, un­
derinflation, or excess ive load ing, either
separately or in combinat ion, can cause
heat bui ldup and possib le tire failure.
-

Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice . At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we r ecommend changing to winter
tires.
In some heavy s now areas, local governments
may require true winter or "snow " tires, those
with ve ry deeply cut tread. These t ires shou ld
only be used in pa irs and be insta lled on all
fou r wheels. Ma ke sure yo u pu rchase snow
tires that are the same size and construction
type as the other tires on your vehicle .
Your veh icle is equipped w it h all-wheel drive,
this will improve tra ct io n du ring w inte r driv­
ing, even with the s tandard tires. However, we
strongly recommend that yo u always eq uip a ll
four whee ls on your vehicle with cor rectly fit­
ted w inter tires or all-se ason tires, when w in ­
te r r oad conditions are expected . This also im­
proves the vehicle's braking performance and
reduces stopping distances .
Summe r tires provide less grip on ice and
snow.
W inter t ires (snow t ires) must a lways be fitted
on all four whee ls .
Ask yo ur autho rized Aud i dea ler o r qualified
wo rkshop fo r permi tted
winter tire siz es . Use
on ly radia l winter tires.
W inte r tir es lose the ir effectiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of 0.15 7 inch
(4 mm) .
Only drive with wi nter tires under winter con­
d it ions . Summer tires hand le better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F ( 7 °C).
I f you have a flat tire, see notes on replace­
men t wheel ¢
page 239.
Please always remember that w inter tires may
h ave a lower speed rating than the t ires origi­
n a lly installed on your veh icle at the t ime it
was manufactured. Plea se see ~
page 240,
Speed rating (letter code)
for a List ing of the
speed rat ing letter codes and t he maxim um
speed at w hic h the tir es can be driven.
Tire s an d wheel s 243
The speed rating letter code(¢ page 231) is
o n the side wall of the tire~
page 239 .
A WARNING
Winter t ires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than your vehicle's max­
imum speed. Always know the max imum
speed before driv ing off . Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for yo ur specific
winter tires . This wi ll ca use damage to the
tires leadi ng to an accident and ser ious
personal injury 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 fail ure in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation, loss of contro l, crashes and ser ious per­
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
replaced immediately .
- Wi nter tires have maximum speed rating
that may be lower than your vehicle 's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
which the w inter or othe r tires installed
on you r vehicle a re rated .
A WARNING
Always a djust yo ur dr iv ing to the road and
traffic cond it ions . Never let the good ac­
celer atio n of the winter t ires and al l-wheel
d rive tempt yo u into ta king ext ra risks. Al­
ways remember:
- W hen braking, an all-wheel drive veh icle
handles in the same way as a front drive
vehicle .
- Drive c arefully and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even w inter t ires
cannot help under black ice conditions .
@ For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather condi­
tions permi t. T hey are qu iete r, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumpt ion .
•
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-

24 4 T ire s and wheel s
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted on ly to the front
wheels, and only to certain tire sizes. Ask your
authorized Audi dealer on whic h tire sizes
snow chains can be used.
I f you are going to use snow chains , then you
must install them on the front wheels at
l east.
The snow chains must have low-profile links
and must not be thicker than 0.4 inch (10 ,5 mm), including the lock .
Remove wheel center covers and tr im discs
before putting snow cha ins on your vehicle
c:;, Q) _ For safety reasons cover caps must the n
be fitted over the whee l bolts. These are ava il­
ab le from authorized Audi dea lers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for yo ur vehi ­
cle or installing them incorrectly can in­
crease the risk of loss of control leading to
ser ious personal inj ury.
- Snow chains are ava ilable in different
sizes. Always make sure to follow the in­
struct ions provided by the snow chain
manufacturer .
- When driving w ith snow chains never
dr ive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow cha ins.
- Always observe local regulat ions .
([) Note
-Remove snow cha ins before driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging t ires and wear ing the snow
chains down unnecessar ily.
- Snow chains, wh ich come into d irect con­
tact with the wheel rim, can scratch or
damage it . Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitab ly covered . Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sa ry. Follow the i nstructions from the
snow cha in manufacture r when doing so.
- If the Adaptive Air Suspension* should
malfunction, do no t mo unt or use snow chains because the vehicle will be ex
­
treme ly low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev ­
el, the snow cha ins might severely dam­
age the whee lhouse and other parts of
the vehicle .
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on cer­
tain roads, th is normally a lso applies to
vehicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bol ts mus t alway s be tightened to the
correc t torque.
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims . If different r ims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bol ts with the righ t
length and correct ly shaped bolt heads must
be used . T his ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the b rake system functions
co rrect ly.
In certa in circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different veh icle -even if it
is the same model
c:;, page 275 .
A WARNING
Imp rope rly t ightened or ma inta ined wheel
bo lts can become loose c ausing loss of
control, a col lision and serio us pe rsonal i n­
jury .
- Always keep the wheel bo lts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bo lts can turn easily and be prop­
erly tightened.
- Never g rease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in t he wheel hubs . They can
become loose while driv ing if greased or
oiled, even if t ightened to the specified
torque.
- On ly use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed .
- Never use different wheels bolts on yo ur
veh icle.
- Always maintain the correct t ightening
torque for the whee l bolts to reduce the

risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving. If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
c ome loose.
(D Note
The spec ified torque for the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) w ith a tolerance of ± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torque wheel bo lts d iago­
na lly . After chang ing a wheel, the torque
m ust be che cked as soon as possib le w it h a
t orque wrenc h -preferab ly by an a utho r­
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipp ed with low aspect
ratio t ires. These t ires have been thorough ly
tested and been selected spec ifically for your
model for the ir superb performance, road feel
and handling unde r a va riety of driving condi­
tions. Ask your a uthorized Aud i dea le r fo r
mo re deta ils.
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated
by a nume ral of
55 or less in the tire's size
des ignation . T he numeral represents the rat io
of the ti re's sidewall height in relat io n t o its
tread wid th expressed in per cen tage . C o nven­
tional t ires have a height/width ra tio of 60 or
mo re.
Th e performan ce of low -aspe ct-ratio tir es is
parti cularl y se nsitive to improper inflation
pressure . It is therefore impor tant that low
a s pect ratio tire s are inflated to the specified
pressure and that the inflation pre ssure is
regularly checked and maintained. Ti re pres­
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
c::> page 234, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
eas ily by impact with potho les, curbs, gu llies
Tire s an d wheel s 245
or r idges on the road, partic ularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
In orde r to minimize t he occ urren ce of impact
dam age to the tires o f your vehi cle, we recom ­
mend that you observe the following p reca u­
tions:
- Always ma int ain re commended inflation
pressu res . Check your tire pressu re eve ry
2,000 miles ( 3,000 km) and add air if neces ­
sary.
- Dr ive ca re fu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies o r 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, immed iate ly inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
au thor ized Audi dealer. Replace a damaged
tire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your tires every 2,000 m iles (3,000
km) for damage and wear. Damage is no t al­
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air a nd under inflat ion, which could eventu­
ally cause tire failure .
If you believe that a
t ire may have been damaged, rep lace the
t ire as soon as possib le.
- These tires may wear more quickly tha n oth­
ers.
- Please also remember that, while these tires
de live r respon sive handling, they may ride
less comfo rtably and m ake more noise tha n
other choi ces .
Reduced performance in winter /cold
season conditions
A ll ti res are designed for cer ta in p urposes.
T he low aspect ratio, ult ra h igh performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are i n­
tended for maxim um dry and wet road per­
f ormance and handling. They are not suitable
for cold , snowy or icy weather condi tions. If
you drive under those circumstances, you
shou ld equ ip your vehicle w it h all -season or
winter tires, which offer bette r traction under
those conditions. We suggest you use the rec­
ommended snow o r all-season t ires specified
f o r yo ur vehicle , or t hei r equivalent . .,..
•
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