194 Tire s and wheel s
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)l)
Z over 149 mph (240 km/h)ll
W up to 168 mph (270 km/h)ll
Y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)
1l
Your veh icle is norma lly factory equipped with
tires, which possess excellent driving charac
teristics and give your Audi opt imum driving
comfort. A n electronic speed limiter
~ page 31 w ill normally prevent your vehicle
from go ing faste r than t he tire speed rating
~ .&. .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
and tire manufacture date
This is the t ire's "serial number". It begins
wi th the le tte rs "DO T" and indica tes that the
tire meets all federal standards . The next two
numbers or letters indicate the p lant where it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of manufacture.
For example, the numbers 2213 mean that
the tire was produced in the 22nd week of
2013 . The other numbers are marketing co
des that may or may not be used by the tire
manufacturer. This information is used to con
tac t consume rs if a tire defect requires a re
call.
Audi Original tire
T ires with the ident ificat ion "AO" or "RO" have
been spec ially matched with your Aud i. We
recommend using only t hese tires because
they meet the highest standards rega rd ing
safety and d riving char acter istics when used
correctly . Your authorized Audi dealer will
g lad ly provide you with more information .
Tire ply composition and materials used
The numbe r of p lies ind icates the numbe r of
l ayers of rubber -coa ted fabric in the t ire. In
general, the grea ter the number of p lies, the
mo re weight a tire can support . Tire man ufac
turers a lso must indicate the materials in the
ll For tires wit h a ma xim um spee d ca pabil ity ove r 149
mph (2 40 km/ h), tire manufac tur ers somet imes use
t h e lett ers " ZR."
tir e, which include stee l, nylon, po lyester, and
others .
Maximum Load Rating
This number ind icates the maximum load in
k ilog rams and po unds t hat can be ca rr ied by
the tire .
Tire quality grading for treadwear ,
traction, and temperature resistance
T read wear, tra ct ion and tempera ture grades
~page 195 .
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressure
This number is the greatest amount of a ir
pressure that should ever be put in the t ire
u nder norma l dr iv ing cond itions .
_& WARNING
- Using incorrect o r unm atc hed tires and/
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
combinat ions can lead to loss of control
'
collis ion and serio us personal i nju ry .
- A lways use t ires, rims and whee l bolts
that meet the specifications of original
factory- insta lled tires or other combina
tions that have been specifically ap proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at hig h
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 the ir "previo us histo
ry." O ld used tires may have been dam
a ged even thoug h the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sud den tire fa ilure
and loss of vehicle control.
- All fo ur whee ls must be fitted with radial
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir
cumference) an d the same tread pattern . ..,
was manufactured. Please see c> page 193,
Speed rating (letter code)
for a listing of the
speed rat ing letter codes and the maximum
speed at which the tires can be driven .
The speed rating letter code
( c> page 184) is
on the side wall of the tire
c::> page 192 .
A WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than 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 inte r tires . This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an acc ident and serious
personal injury to you and yo ur 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 deflation,
loss of control, crashes and serious per
sonal injuries . Have worn or damaged tires
replaced immed iately.
- Winter tires have maximum speed rat ing
that may be lower than your veh icle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
wh ich the winter or other tires installed
on your vehicle are rated .
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to the road and
traffic conditions. Never let the good ac
celeration of the winte r tires and all-whee l
drive tempt you into taking extra r is k s . A l
ways remember:
- When brak ing, an a ll-wheel drive vehicle
hand les in the same way as a front drive
vehicle.
- Drive carefu lly and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
cannot he lp under black ice conditions.
Tire s an d wheel s 197
@) For the sake of the env ironment
Use summer tires when weather condi
tions permit. They are quieter, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumption.
Snow chains
Snow cha ins may be fitted only to the front
wheels, and only to certain tire sizes . Ask your
authorized Aud i dealer on which tire sizes
snow chains can be used .
If you are go ing to use snow chains, then you
must install them on the front wheels at
least .
The snow chains mus t have low-prof ile links
and must not be th icker than 0 .53 inch
(13.5 mm), includ ing the lock.
Remove wheel center covers and trim discs
before putting snow chains on your vehicle
c::> (D . For safety reasons cover caps must then
be fitted over the wheel bolts . These are avail
able from authorized Aud i dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi
cle or insta lling them incorrect ly can in
crease the risk of loss of cont ro l leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes . Always make sure to follow the in
structions provided by the snow chain manufacturer .
- When driving with snow chains never drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations .
(D Note
-Remove snow chains before dr iv ing on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direc t con
tact with the whee l rim, can scratch or
damage it . Therefore, make sure that the .,.
•
•
198 Tire s and wheel s
snow cha ins a re suitab ly covered. Check
the position of the snow chains after driving a few yards and correct if neces
sary. Follow the instr uctions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
{O) Tips
Where snow cha ins are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this norma lly also applies to
veh icles with all-wheel dr ive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correc t torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims . If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolt s with the r ight
length and correctly shaped bol t heads mus t
be used . This ensures that wheel s are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a d iffe rent vehicle -even if it
i s the same model
Q page 228.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose ca using loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious person al in
jury .
- Always keep the w heel bol ts and the
t h reads in t he wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can t urn easily and be p rop
er ly t ightened .
- N ever grease or oil the wheel bo lt s an d
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile d riving if greased or
oi led, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use whee l bolts that be long to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
- Always mai ntai n the co rrect tighte ning
torq ue for the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor- que of the whee
l bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is mov ing. If the tig hte ning torq ue is
too high, the w heel bolts a nd threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for t he 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 . After changing a whee l, the to rq ue
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque w rench - prefe rably by an author
iz ed A udi dealer or quali fied workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-eq uipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have b een tho ro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their supe rb performance, road fee l
and hand ling under a variety of driving condi
t ions . Ask your author ized Audi dealer for
more de tails .
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire 's s ize
designation . The numera l rep resents the ratio
of the tire 's s idewa ll height in relation to its
t read width exp ressed in percentage. Conven
tiona l tire s have a he igh t/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The p erformance of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
particularly sensitiv e to improper inflation
pre ssure. It i s ther efore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pre ssure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s
sures should be checked at least once a month and always before a long trip
Q page 187, 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 po tholes, curbs, gul lies ..,.
What do I do now? Trunk escape handle
In case of an emergency, the rear lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk es
cape handle .
Fig. 148 Luggage compa rtment: Tr unk escape handle
"' To open the trunk lid pu ll the handle down
as indicated by the -arrow-~
fig. 148.
The trunk escape handle inside the storage
compartment is made of fluorescent materia l
to g low in the dark.
& WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only
in an emergency .
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage compartment.
F ig. 1 49 Luggage co mpa rt ment : veh icle tool ki t
"'Swing the luggage compartment floor up
wards.
"' Remove the vehicle tool k it.
The onboard tool kit includes:
What do I d o now ? 205
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Plastic clip to remove wheel bo lt covers*
- Wheel bolt w rench
- Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Replacement bit (reversible Torx bit for changing lamps)
- Open ended wrench 10 x 13
- Towing eye
- Jack*
Some of the on board items listed above are
provided on ce rtain mode ls only or are option
al ext ras.
Before returning the jack* to its place, retract
the jack arm fu lly.
& WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious pe rsonal injuries .
- Never use the screw drive r hex head to
tighten wheel bo lts, since the bolts can
not attain the necessary tighte ning tor
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on
ly for yo ur vehicle model. Under no ci r
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy veh icles or other loads; you risk in
juring yourself .
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich could cause an accident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro
priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potential risk for injury.
- Never use the jack supplied with your Audi on another vehicle, particularly on a heav ier one . The jack is only suitable for
use on the veh icle it came with .
A WARNING
If tire pressure is less than 1.3 bar after
driving for 10 minutes, the tire is too se
vere ly damaged . Do not continue to drive .
Seek p rofessional assistance.
@ Tips
After a tire repair, have the sealant bottle
rep laced at a dealership . This restores full
functionality to the Tire Mob ility System .
What should I be
aware of when
changing a tire?
General information
The fo llow ing se ctions wi ll provide yo u wit h
importa nt information on how to change a
tire using the vehicle too l kit .
H oweve r, we recomme nd that you have a
q ua lified servi ce center cha nge the tire and
perform all wo rk associa ted with changing it.
Wheels with cap-covered wheel bolts
Applies to vehicles: with cap-covered wheel bolts
The caps must be removed first from the
wheel bolts before the bol ts can be un
screwed .
Fig. 154 Wheel c hang e: remov ing the whee l bo lt caps
Rem oving
.,. Push the plastic clip provided w it h the on
board tool kit down over the whee l bolt cap
until it engages .
.,. Pull on the properly engaged
plastic clip to
extract the cap
c> fig . 154.
What do I d o now ? 209
Refitting
.,. Place the caps over t he whee l bolts and
push them back in.
T he caps are t here to protect and keep the
whee l bolts clean .
Decorative wheel covers
App lies to vehicles: wi th deco rative w heel covers
Th e decorative whe el covers must be removed
firs t to ac cess the wheel bolt s.
Fi g. 1 55 Wheel change: remov ing the w heel cover
Removing
.,. Insert the hook provided with the on board
too l kit into the hole o n the center hub
piece.
.,. Pull off the
decorative wheel cover
<=>fig. 155.
Loosening and tightening the wheel
bolts
The wheel bolts must be loosened before rais
ing the vehicle .
Fig. 1 56 Wheel cha nge: loosen ing the wheel bolts
Loosening
.,. Fit the wheel bolt wren ch over the whee l
bolt and push i t down as far as it will go .
210 What do I do now?
• Close your grip around the end of the
wrench handle for maximum torque and
turn the wheel bolts
counter-clockwise
about one single turn in the direction of ar
row
¢ fig. 156.
Tightening
• Fit the wheel bolt wrench over the wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go .
• Close your grip around the
end of the
wrench handle for maximum torque and
turn each wheel bolt
clockwise until it sits
t ight.
A WARNING
- Us ing force without control to speed the
wheel change up can cause the veh icle to
slip off the jack and cause serious per
sonal inju ries.
-Do not loosen the wheel bolts more than
one turn
before you raise the vehicle with
the jack. -Risk of injury!
- Never t ry and use the hexagonal socket
in the handle of the screwdriver to loos
en or tighten the wheel bolts.
- If a wheel bolt sits very t ight, you may
find i t eas ier to loosen by carefully push
i ng down on the end of the whee l bolt
wrench with
one foot only. As yo u do,
hold on to the car to keep yourself stable
and take care not to slip .
Raising the vehicle
The vehicle must be lifted with the jack first
before the wheel con be removed .
a
Fig. 157 Sill pa nels : m ar kings
Fig. 158 Sill : posit ioning the vehicle jac k
• Apply the parking brake firmly to prevent
your veh icle from roll ing unintentionally.
• Move the
selector lever to position P .
• Position the jack be low the door sill under
t he
mounting point that is closest to the
wheel to be changed ¢
fig. 157.
• Extend the jack under the lifti ng point on
the door s ill until its arm is positioned di
rectly under the lifting point ¢,&. .
• Align the jack so that its arm®¢
fig. 158
engages in the designated lifting point in
the door s ill and the movable base ® lies
flat on the ground . The base @ must be
ver
tical
under the lifting point@.
• Wind the jack up further unti l the flat tire
comes off the ground ¢
.&,.
Position the vehicle jack only under the desig
nated lifting points on the sill
¢fig . 157.
T he re is exactly one locat ion for eac h wheel.
T he jack must not be positioned at any other
location ¢
.&,¢(D .
An unstable surface under the jack can cause
the vehicle to slip off the jack. Always provide
a firm
base for the jack on the ground. If nec
essary p lace a sturdy board or simi lar support
under the jack. On
hard, slippery surfaces
(such as tiles) use a rubber mat or similar to
prevent the jack from slipping ¢
.&,.
A WARNING
--You or your passengers cou ld be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fol
low safety precautions:
- Position the vehicle jack on ly at the
designated lifting points and align the
jack. Otherwise, the vehicle jack could
slip and cause an injury if it does not
have sufficient hold on the veh icle.
- A soft or unstable surface under the
jack may cause the vehicle to slip off the jack. Always provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground. If necessary, use a sturdy board under the jack .
- On hard, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping .
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle u nti l yo u are
sure the jack is sec urely engaged .
- Pa ssenge rs must not remai n in the ve
h icle when it is jacked up.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe pl ace away from the vehicle and
well away from the roadway and traffic.
- Make sure ja ck position is correc t, ad
just as necessary and then continue to
ra ise the jack .
(D Note
A floor jac k or the pads o n the hoist arms
m ust
n ot be po sit ioned at the po ints
shown
-arrows- .
Taking the wheel off
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
Fig . 159 W hee l ch ange : us ing th e sc rewdr ive r hand le
(w ith t he blade re m ove d) to turn t he bo lts
What do I d o now ? 211
Fig . 1 60 W hee l cha nge : alignmen t pin inside the top
ho le
After yo u have loosened all wheel bo lts and
raised the vehicle off the ground, perform the
follow ing steps to remove and replace the
whee l:
Remo ving the wheel
.,. Use the he xagonal socket in the scr ewdri v
er handle
to completely turn out the top
most whee l bolt and set it aside on a
clean
surface ¢ fig. 159.
.,. Screw the threaded end of the alignment
pin
from the tool kit hand-tight into the
now vacant bolt hole¢
fig. 160 .
.,. Then completely unscrew the other wheel
bolts as desc ribed above.
.,. Take off the whee l leaving the alignment pin
in the bo lt ho le ¢ (D.
Putting on th e wheel
.,. Lift the spare wheel and carefully slide it
over the alignment p in to guide it in place
Q (D .
.,. Use the hexagona l socket in the screwd river
handle to screw in and tig hten all whee l
bolts
slightly .
.,. Unscrew the alignment p in and insert and
tighten the remaining wheel bolt slightly like the rest .
.,. Turn the jack handle counter-clockwise to
lower the veh icle until the jack is fully re
leased .
.,. Use the whe el bo lt wrench to tighten all
wheel bo lts fi rm ly
Q page 209 . Tighten
t hem
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap
proxima tely) opposi te one, to keep t he
wheel cente red.
212 What do I do now?
When removing or installing the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor and dam
age the rotor. Work carefully and have a
second person help you.
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han
dle of the screwdriver to loosen or t ighten
the wheel bolts.
- Pull the reversible b lade from the screw
driver before yo u use the hexagonal
socket in the handle to turn the whee l
bo lts.
- When mounting tires with
unid irectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat
tern is pointed the r ight way
~page 212.
- The wheel bolts should be clea n and easy
to tu rn . Check for d irt and corrosion on
the mat ing su rfaces of both th e whee l
and the h ub. Remove a ll dirt from these
su rfaces before remo unti ng the wheel.
Notes on wheel change
Pl ease read the informa tion ~ page 192, 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 vehicle.
After you change a tire :
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme
diately after mounting .
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
che ck e d with a torqu e wrench a s soon as
possible b y your auth orized Audi dealer or
a qualified ser vice station .
- With steel and alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (1 20 Nm ).
- If y ou notice while changing a tire that the
wheel bolts are co rroded and difficult to
turn , then the y should be repl aced befo re
you check the t ightening torque . -
Repla ce the flat ti re with a new one and
have it installed on your veh icle a s soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cove r.
Until then , dr ive with extra care and at re
duced speed s.
_& WARNING
-
- If you are going to eq uip your vehicle
wit h tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be
sure to read the information
9 page 192,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always store the tools secu rely i n lug
gage compartment. Othe rwise, in a n ac
cident or s udden maneuver they cou ld fly
forwa rd, causi ng injury to passengers in
the vehicle.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed the
right direction.
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar
rows on the sid ewall ,
which point in the direc
tion of the rota tion. Yo u m ust follow the
specified direction of rota tion. This is ne ces sa
r y in order fo r these tires to develop t heir op
timum character istics regard ing grip, road
noise, wear, and hydrop laning.