2015 AUDI A5 Owner´s Manual

® Mud and snow capability
"M/S" or "M+S" indicates the tire
has characte ris tics that make it
suitable for driving on mud and snow .
& indica tes a winter tire.
@ Composition of the tire cord
and materials
T he number of plies indicates the
number of rubber ized fabric lay­
ers in the tire . In general: the
more layers, the more weight a
tire can carry. Tire manufacturers
must also specify the mater ials
used in the ti re. These include
stee l, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi­
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry .
@ Uniform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear , traction and tempera­
ture ranges¢
page 221.
@Running direction
The arrows ind icate the running
direction of unidirect ional tires.
You must always follow the speci- fied running direction
¢
page 231.
€3) Ma ximum permitted
inflation pressure
Whe els
This number indicates the maxi­
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat­
ing conditions .
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto­ matic transmission, power steer­
ing, power brakes, power win­
dows, power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
items are available as factory-in ­
stalled equipment (whether in­
stalled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low s idewall for improved steer­
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement . .,.
207

Wheels
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim .
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands form ing the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom­
mended by the vehicle manufac­
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for
more than a coup le of miles (kilo­
meters) at low speeds in the three
hour period before the tire pres­
sure is measured or adjusted .
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve­
hicle with standard equipment in­
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oi l, and coolant , air condi ­
tioning and additional weight of optional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire des igned to operate
at higher loads and at higher in-
208
flation pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on
the sidewall.
G ross A xle Weight Rating
("GAWR ")
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system , measured
at the tire-ground interfaces .
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
( "GVWR" )
means the max imum total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad­
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code )
means the max imum load that a
tire is rated to carry for a given in­
flation pressure . You may not find
this information on all tires be­ cause it is not required by law.
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla­
tion pressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
w eight
means the sum of: ...

(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Product ion options weight
Maximum (permissible)
inflation pressure
means the max im um cold infla­
tion pressu re to which a tire may
be inflated . Also called "ma xi­
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilog rams)
times the number of occupants
seated in the veh ic le up to the to­
tal seating capacity of yo ur vehi­
c le.
Occupant distribution
means d istr ibution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire .
Overall width
means the linear dis tance be­
tween the exter iors of the side­
walls of an inflated tire , including
elevations d ue to labe ling, deco­
rations , or protective bands or
ribs .
Whee ls
Ply
means a layer of rubbe r-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the comb ined weight o f
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs . (2 .3
kg) in excess o f those s tandard
items which they re place , not pre ­
viously conside red in c urb weight
or accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rac k, heavy d uty batte ry, and
specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic t ire in which
the ply cords that ex tend to the
beads are la id at substantially 90
degrees to the centerli ne of the
tread .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ~ page 208, Cold tire infla­
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in­
flat ion pressures than the corre­
spon ding standard tire . Rein­
f orced tires may be identified as
2 0 9

Wheels
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" I I I
on the sidewal l.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change yo ur
wheel size , you w ill have to pur­
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nomina l distance between
rim flanges .
Sidewall
means that port ion o f a t ire be­
tween the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire is
designed to be driven for extend ­
ed periods of t ime. The rat ings
range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ table
on page 206 .
You may not find
this information on all tires be­
cause it is not required by la w.
2 10
The speed rating letter code ,
where applicable , is mo lded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the maximum permiss ible road
speeds
¢ .&. in Winter tires on
page 220.
Tire pressure monitoring
system*
means a system that detects
when one or mo re of a ve hic le's
tires are under inflated and illumi ­
na tes a low tire p ressu re warning
tellta le .
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact w ith the road.
Tread separation
means pu lling away of the tread
from the t ire carcass.
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections wi thin the
principal grooves designed to give
a visua l indication of the deg rees
of wear of the tread . See
¢ page 214 , Treadwear indicator
for mo re information on measur­
ing t ire wear.

Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system devel­
oped by the United States Nat ion­
al Highway Traffic Safety Adminis ­
tration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make relative com­
parisons among tires . The UTQG is
not a safety rating and not a guar­
antee tha t a tire will last for a
prescribed number of miles (ki lo­
meters) or perform in a certain
way. It simply gives tire buyers
additional information to com­
bine with othe r considerations,
s u ch as price , brand loyalty and
dealer recommendations . Under
UT QG,
tir es a re grade d by the tire
manu factu rers in three areas :
treadwear, traction, and tempera­
ture resistance. The UTQG infor­ mation on the tires, mo lded into
the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number" .
It beg ins with the letters "DOT"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal standa rds. The next
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant where it was manufac -
;::: tu red, and the last four numbers
g
~ represent the wee k and year o f IO
~ manufacture . For example , ....
Wheels
DOT ... 4514 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 4Snd week of 201 4. The
other numbers are ma rketing co­
des that may or may not be used
by the tire manufact urer. Th is in­
formation is used to contact con­
sumers if a tire defect requ ires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug ­
gage load plus 150 lbs. (68 kilo­
grams) times the vehicle's des ig ­
na ted seating capacity.
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire
means that l oad on an ind iv idual
tire that is determined by distrib­
ut ing to eac h ax le its share of t he
maximum loaded vehic le weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by d istrib­
uting to each ax le its share of the
curb weight , accessory weight,
and norma l occupant weigh t (dis­
tributed in acco rdance with
¢ page216) and dividing by two . .,.
211

Wheels
Occupant loading and distri­
bution for veh icle normal load
for various designated seat ing
capacit ies
Refer to the tire inflation pressure
label
c:> page 215, fig . 171 for
the number of seating positions .
Refer to the table
c:> page 216 for
the number of people that corre­
spond to the vehicle normal load .
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized repair facility. These fa­
cilities have the proper knowledge
and are equipped with the re­
quired tools and replacement
parts .
.,.N ew tires do no t yet have the
optimum adhesion properties.
D rive carefu lly and at moderate
speeds fo r the first 350 miles
(500 km) with new tires.
.,. Use tires of the same construc­
tion, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread
pattern as possib le on all four
wheels.
.,. Do not replace tires individually.
At least replace both tires on the same axle at the same time .
212
.,.A udi recommends that yo u use
Aud i O rig ina l equipment tires . If
you would like to use different t ir es, please note that the ti res
may pe rform differently even if
they are the same size
c:> A -
.,. If you would li ke to equ ip your
vehicle with a tire/rim combina ­
t ion tha t is different from what
was installed at the facto ry, con­
sult with an authorized Audi
dea ler or authorized repair facili­
ty before making a purchase
¢ ,&. .
The spare tire* is different from
the regular tires installed on the
vehic le - for examp le, if winter
tires or wide t ires are insta lled -
then only use the spare tire* tem­
porarily in case of eme rgency and
drive carefully wh ile it is in use. It
s h o ul d be rep laced wi th a regular
tire as soon as poss ib le .
On
all wheel drive vehic les, all
four wheels must be equipped
with tires that are the same brand
and have the same construction
and tread pattern so that the
dr ive system is not damaged by
diffe rent tire speeds. For this rea­
son, in case of emergency, only
use a spa re tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular tires . .,.

_& WARNING -
-Only use tire/rim combina­tions and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, damage to
the vehicle and an accident
could result.
- For technical reasons, it is not
possible to use tires from oth­
er vehicles -in some cases,
you cannot even use tires from
the same vehicle model.
- Make sure that the tires you
select have enough clearance
to the vehicle. Replacement
tires should not be chosen simply based on the nominal
size, because tires with a dif­
ferent construction can differ
greatly even if they are the
same size. If there is not
enough clearance, the tires or
the vehicle can be damaged
and this can reduce driving
safety and increase the risk of
an accident.
-Only use tires that are more
than 6 years old when abso­
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-If you install wheel covers on
the vehicle, make sure they al­ low enough air circulation to
Wheels
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 169 Tire profile: Treadwear indica­
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
- Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves,
rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear.
- Have an authorized Audi dealer
or authorized repair facility
check the wheel alignment if
there is unusual wear.
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an imbalance is causing noticeable
vibration in the steering wheel. If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more quickly.
213
...

Wheels
Treadwear indicator
Original equipment tires contain
treadwear indicators in the tread
pattern, which are bars that are 1/ 16 inch (1 .6 mm) high and are
spaced evenly around the tire per­ pendicular to the running direc ­
tion ¢
fig. 169. The letters "TWI"
or triangles on the tire sidewall
indicate the location of the tread­
wear indicators .
The tires have reached the mini­ mum tread depth
l) when they
have worn down to the treadwear
indicators. Replace the tires with
new ones ¢.&.
Wheel rotation
Rotating the wheels regularly is
recommended to ensure the tires
wear evenly. To rotate wheels, in ­
stall the wheels from the rear
axle on the front axle and vice ver ­
sa. This will allow the tires to have approximately the same
length of service life.
For unidirectional tires, make sure
the tires are installed according to
the running direction indicated on
the tire sidewall¢ page
231.
1> Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
2 14
H idden damage
Damage to tires and rims can of ­
ten occur in locations that are hid­
den. Unusual vibrations in the ve­
hicle or pulling to one side may
indicate that there is tire damage.
Reduce your speed immediately .
Check the tires for damage. If no
damage is visible from the out­
side, drive slowly and carefully to
the nearest authorized Aud i deal­
er or authorized repair facility to have the vehicle inspected.
! WARNING
Tread that has worn too low or
different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
This can especially have a nega­
tive effect on handling, on the risk aquaplaning when driving
through water, when driving
through curves and when brak ­
ing, which increases the risk of
an accident.