2015 AUDI A6 flat tire

258 Tires an d whee ls
No . Description
® Load index and speed rat-
ing
(J) U.S . DOT tire identifica-
tion number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and materials used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and
temperature grades
@ Maximum permissible in-
flation pressure
T he tires and rims are essential
parts of the vehicle's design .
The tires and rims approved by
Audi are specially matched to
the characteristics of the vehi­
cle and can make a major con­
tribution to good road holding and safe handling when in good
condition and properly inflated
c::> ,&. .
We recommend that a ll work
on tires and wheels be per­
formed by an authorized Audi
deale r. They are familiar with
r ecommended p rocedures and
have the necessary special too ls
and spare parts as well as the proper facilities for disposing of
the old ti res.
Autho rized Audi dealers have
the necessary information
about technical requirements
for installing or changing tires
and rims .
Replacing tires and wheels
Tires sho uld be replaced at
least in pairs and not individu­
ally (for example both front
tires or both rear tires togeth­
er).
B e sure to read and heed the in ­
formation to the tire pressure
monitoring system
c::> page 267.
Always buy replacement radial
tires that have the same specifi­
cations as the tires approved
f or your vehicle by Audi. Re­
placeme nt tires m ust always
have the same load rating spec­
ification as the orig inal equip­
ment or approved optional tires
listed in the table
c::> page 244.
Audi-app roved spec ificat io n
tires are specially matched to
your vehicle and its load limits ,
and can contribute to the im -
portant roadholding, driv ing .,.

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0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
tires because they meet the highest standard s regarding
safety and driving characteris­
tics when used correctly. Your
authorized Audi dealer will
gladly provide you with more
information.
Tire ply composition and materials used
The number of plies indicates
the number of layers of rubber­
coated fabric in the tire. In gen­
eral, the greater the number of
plies, the more weight a tire
can support. Tire manufactur­
ers also must indicate the ma­
terials in the tire, which include steel, nylon, polyester, and oth­
ers.
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the max­
imum load in kilograms and
pounds that can be carried by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for
treadwear, traction, and
temperature resistance
Tread wear, traction and tem­ perature grades¢
page 263.
Tires and wheels 261
Maximum Permissible
Inflation Pressure
This number is the greatest
amount of air pressure that
should ever be put in the tire under normal driving condi­
tions.
A WARNING
- Using incorrect or unmatch­
ed tires and
I or wheels or
improper tire and wheel
combinations can lead to
loss of control, collision and
serious personal injury.
-Always use tires, rims and wheel bolts that meet the specifications of original
factory-installed tires or
other combinations that have been specifically ap­
proved by the vehicle manu­
facturer.
-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
•
•
'

262 Tires and wheels
sure of their "previous histo-
and sudden deflation and
ry." Old used tires may have loss of control.
been damaged even though -Temperature grades apply
the damage cannot be seen to tires that are properly in-
that can lead to sudden tire flated and not over or un-
failure and loss of vehicle derinflated.
control. -For technical reasons it is
-All four wheels must be fit- not always possible to use
ted with radial tires of the wheels from other vehicles -
same type, size (rolling cir- in some cases not even
cumference) and the same wheels from the same vehi-
tread pattern. Driving with cle model.
different tires reduces vehi- -If you install wheel trim
cle handling and can lead to discs on the vehicle wheels,
a loss of control. make sure that the air flow
-If the spare tire is not the to the brakes is not blocked.
same as the tires that are Reduced airflow to the
mounted on the vehicle -for
brakes can them to over-
example with winter tires -
heat, increasing stopping
only use the spare tire for a distances and causing a col-
short period of time and lision.
drive with extra care. Refit -Run flat tires may only be
the normal road wheel as used on vehicles that were
soon as safely possible. equipped with them at the
- Never drive faster than the
factory. The vehicle must
maximum speed for which have a chassis designed for
the tires on your vehicle are run flat tires. Incorrect use rated because tires that are of run flat tires can lead to
driven faster than their rat- vehicle damage or acci-
ed speed can fail suddenly. dents. Check with an au-
-Overloading tires cause heat thorized Audi dealer or tire build-up, sudden tire fail -specialist to see if your vehi -
ure, including a blowout cle can be equipped with
..

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0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
run flat tires. If run flat tires
are u sed , they must be in­
stalled on all four wheels. Mixing tire types is not per­
mitted.
(D Note
-For technical reasons, it is not generally possible to
use the wheel rims from
other vehicles. This can hold
true for wheels of the same
vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different
from the tires that you have mounted on your vehicle
(for example winter tires or
wide profile tires), then use
the spare tire for a short pe­ riod of time only and drive
with extra care. Replace the
flat t ire with the tire match­
ing the others on your vehi­
cle as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the
valve stem cap. The valves
could get damaged .
@) For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accord­
ance with the local require­ ments.
Tires and wheels
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature AB C
Quality g rades ca n be foun d where applicab le
on the t ire s ide wall between t read sho ulder
and maximum section width
c> page 257,
fig. 199 .
For example : Tread wear 200, Traction AA,
Temperat ure A .
All passenge r ca r tir es must con form to Feder ­
a l Safety Re quirements in add ition to these
grades.
Tread wear
T he tread wear g rade is a c omp arat ive rating
based on the wear ra te of the tire when tes te d
u nder con tro lled conditions o n a specifie d
government test course .
F o r example, a tire gr aded 1S 0 wo uld wear
one a nd one h alf ( 11/ 2) times as well on the
governmen t course as a ti re g raded 100 .
T he re lative perfo rman ce of tires depe nds
up on the actu al c ondition s of the ir u se, how ­
ever, and m ay depa rt s ignificantly from t he
no rm due to va ria tions i n driving ha bits, se rv ­
ice p ractices and differences in road c haracter­
istics and cl imate.
Traction
T he trac tio n gr ad es, from hig hest to lowes t,
a re AA, A, Ban d
C. Those g rades represe nt the
ti re 's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured u nder cont rolled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of aspha lt
and concrete. A t ire mar ked C may have poor
traction performance
c> ,&. .
Temperature
The temperature gr ades are A (the highest),
B, and C, represent in g the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ab ility to d issi­
pate heat when tested un der controlled condi­
tions on a specif ied indoo r labo rato ry test
whee l.
263
•
•

264 Tire s and wheel s
Sustained high temperature can cause the
materia l of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure<=>,& .
The grade C corresponds to a level of perform­
ance which a ll passenger car tires must meet
under the Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Stand ­
ard No.
109. Grades Band A represent higher
levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the m inimum required by law .
A WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this t ire is
based on stra ight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration,
corne ring, hydrop lan ing o r peak traction
character istics .
A WARNING ,.,.____
The temperature grade for this tire is es­
tablished for a tire that is p roperly inflated
and not overloaded. Excessive speed, un­
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separate ly or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire fa ilure.
Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice. At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires .
In some heavy snow areas, loca l governments
may require true winter or "snow" tires, those
with very deeply cut tread. These t ires should
only be used in pairs and be installed on all
four wheels. Make sure yo u purchase snow
tires that are the same size and const ruct ion
type as t he other tires on your ve hicle.
If your vehicle is equ ipped with all -wheel
drive*, this will improve t ract ion during w inter
d riving, even wit h the standard tires. Howev­
e r, we strong ly recommend that you always
eq uip a ll four w heels on yo ur vehicle wi th cor­
rectly fitted win ter tires or a ll-season tires,
when winte r road conditions are expected . This also improves the veh
icle's brak ing per ­
formance and reduces stopping distances.
Summe r tires p rovide less gr ip on ice and
snow.
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted on all fou r wheels .
Ask your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop for perm itted
winter tire siz es. Use
o n ly rad ial winter t ires .
Winter tires lose their effectiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of
0 .157 inch
(4 mm).
Only drive w ith w inter t ires under winter con ­
ditions. Summer t ires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °() .
If you have a flat tire, see notes on spare
wheel
<=>page 257.
Please a lways remember that winter tires may
have a lower speed rating than the tires origi ­
nally installed on your vehicle at the time it
was manufactured. P lease see<=>
page 260,
Speed rating (letter code)
fo r a listing of the
speed rating lette r codes and the max imum
speed at which the tires can be d riven .
The speed rating letter code (<=>
page 242) is
on the side wall of the t ire
c> page 257.
A WARNING ,.___
W inter t ires have maximum speed lim its
that may be lower than yo ur vehicle's max­
i mum speed. Always know the max imum
speed before dr iv ing off. Never dr ive faster
than the speed permitted for yo ur specific
winter tires . This wi ll ca use damage to the
tires leading 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 t ire failure in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation,

26 6 T ire s and whee ls
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims. If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
secure ly and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In ce rtain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same mode l
~page 294.
_& WARNING
Improperly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different wheels bolts on your
vehicle.
-Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torque for the wheel 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 veh i­
cle is moving. If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
come loose.
@ Note
The spec ified torq ue fo r the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) w ith a toleran ce of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bo lts diago- nally
. After changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equ ipped w ith low aspect
r atio tires . These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling under a variety of d riving cond i­
tions . As k your au thor ized A udi dealer for
more de tails .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation. The nume ra l represen ts the ra tio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage . Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/width ratio of 60 or
more.
The performance of low- aspect-r atio tires is
p ar ticu la rly s ens iti ve to improper infl ation
p re ss ure. I t is th erefore im portant th at low
as pect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pressure and that the inflation pressu re is
r e gularl y che cked and mainta ined. Tir e pre s­
su res should be ch ecked at least onc e a
month and alwa ys bef ore a long trip
~ page 249, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to a void tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact w it h potholes, curbs, gull ies
o r r idges on the road, pa rticularly if the tire is
u nderinfla ted .
In order to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to the tires of you r vehicle, we recom­
mend that you observe the follow ing p recau ­
tions:
- Always ma inta in recommended inflation
pressures. Check your tire pressure eve ry
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces­
sary .
- Dr ive carefully on roads with potholes, deep
gullies o r ridges. The impact from dr iv ing ..,.

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0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
thro ugh or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may a lso
cause damage to your tires .
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Audi dea ler. Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as possible.
- Inspect yo ur tires 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 fa ilure . If you be lieve that a
t ire may have been damaged, replace the
t ir e as soo n as possible.
- T hese tires may wear more quickly than oth­
ers .
- Please also remember that, while these tires deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make more no ise than
othe r cho ices .
Reduced perf ormance in winter /cold
season condition s
All t ires are des igned for certain pu rposes.
The low aspect ratio, ultra hig h pe rformance
tires orig inally installed on your veh icle are in ­
tended for maximum dry and wet road per ­
formance and handling . They are not s uitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather conditions. If
you dr ive under those circumstances, you
should equip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, which offer better traction under
those cond itions . We suggest you use the rec­
ommended snow or all-season tires specified
fo r your ve hicle, or their equ ivalent.
Refer to¢
page 264 for mo re deta iled infor ­
mat io n regarding winter t ires .
Tire pressure
monitoring system
U) General notes
Each t ire, includ ing the spare (if provided),
should be checked month ly when cold and in­
flated to the inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacture r o n the vehicle
p lacard or tire inflation pressure label. (If yo ur
Tire s an d wheel s 267
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
size indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in­
flat ion pressure labe l, you sho uld determine
the proper t ire inflation press ure for those
tires).
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system (TPMS) that illum inates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of your
ti res is significant ly under-inflated. According­
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale illumi­
nates, you shou ld stop and check you r tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper pressu re. Driving on a sign ifican tly un­
der -infla ted ti re causes the tire to overhea t
and can lead to tire fai lure . Under-inflation al ­
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle 's hand ling and
stopp ing ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire maintenance, and it is the driv­ er's respons ibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the level to tr igger illuminat ion of t he
TPMS low tire pressu re tellta le.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to ind icate when
the system is not operating properly. The
TPMS ma lfunction indicator is combined with
the low t ire pressure telltale . Whe n the sys­
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale will
flash fo r approximate ly one m inute and then
r em ain continuously illum ina ted . Thi s se­
quence will continue upon s ubsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunction exists .
When the malfunction indicato r is illum inat­
ed, the sys tem may no t be ab le to detec t or
s ignal low tire pressure as in tended . TPMS
malfu nctions may occur for a var iety of rea ­
sons, incl uding the insta llation of rep lace­
ment or a lternate tires or wheels on the vehi­
cle that prevent the TPMS from functioning properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction
telltale after rep laci ng one or more tires or
whee ls on your vehicle to ensu re that the re­
placement o r alternate tires and wheels a llow
the TPMS to con tinue to funct ion p ro perly .
•
•

268 Tires and wheels
Tire pressure indicator appears
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 200 Display : und erinflatio n warn ing
Fig. 201 Display: Syste m malfunction
Using the ABS sensors , the tire pressure moni­
toring system compares the tire tread circum­
ference and vibration characteristics of the in­
dividual tires.
If the pressure decreases in one
or more tires, this is indicated in the instru­
ment cluster with a warning symbol
[9] and a
message ¢
fig. 200.
The tire pressure monitoring system must be
reset via MMI each time the pressures are ad­
justed (e. g. when switching between partial
and full load pressure) or after changing or re­
placing a tire on your vehicle¢
page 269 . The
TPMS indicator only monitors the tire pres­
sure that you have previously stored. You can
find the recommended tire pressures for your vehicle on the label on driver's side 8-pillar
¢page 244.
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac­
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- the tire pressure in one or more tires is too
low, -
the tire has structural damage,
- th e tire pressure was changed, wheels rotat-
ed or replaced but the TPMS was not reset
¢page 269.
- the spare tire* is mounted .
Warning symbols
[9] Loss of pressure in at least one tire¢&. .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repair if
necessary. The indicator light
[9] in the instru­
ment cluster also illuminates
¢page 12.
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires
and reset TPMS via MMI.
Ill (Tire Pressure Monitoring System ) Tire
pressure! System malfunction . Iflll appears
after switching the ignition on or while driving
¢
fig. 201 and the indicator light [9] in the in­
strument cluster blinks for approximately one
minute and then stays on, there is a system
malfunction . Attempt to store the correct tire
pressure ¢
page 269. If the indicator light
does not turn off or if it turns on shortly
thereafter, immediately drive your vehicle to
an authorized Audi dealer or authorized repair
facility to have the malfunction corrected.
A WARNING
- If the tire pressure indicator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or
more of your tires is significantly under­
inflated. Reduce your speed immediately
and avoid any hard steering or braking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possible and
check the tires and their pressures. In­
flate the tire pressure to the proper pres ­
sure as indicated on the vehicle's tire
pressure label¢
page 244 . Driving on a
significantly under-inflated tire causes
the tire to overheat and can lead to tire
failure. Under-inflation also is likely to
impair the vehicle's handling and stop­
ping ability.
- The driver is responsible for maintaining the correct tire pressures. You must
check the tire pressures regularly. ..,