2015 AUDI A7 rims

266 Tire s and wheel s
run flat tires. If run flat tire s
are u sed , they mu st be in­
stalled on all four wheel s.
Mixing tire types is not per­
mitted.
@) 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 prof ile tires), then use
the spare tire for a short pe­
riod of time only and drive
with extra care. Replace the
flat tire 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 w ith the local require­
ments.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality g rades can be foun d where applicab le
on the t ire s ide wall between t read sho ulder
and maximum section width
¢ page 260,
fig . 204 .
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car t ires must con fo rm to Feder ­
al Safety Req uirements in ad dition to these
grades.
Tread wear
T he tread we ar g rade is a c omp arative r ati ng
based on the wea r ra te of the t ire when tes ted
u nder con tro lled cond itions o n a specifie d
government test course .
F or example, a tire gr aded 1S 0 wo uld wear
o n e and one h alf ( 11/ 2) times as well on the
government course as a ti re g raded 100.
T he re lative per formance of tires depends
u pon the actu al conditions of their use, how­
ever, and m ay depart s ignificantly from the
no rm due to va ria tions i n driving hab its, se rv ­
ice p ractices and differences in road character­
ist ics and cl imate.
Traction
T he trac tio n gr ad es, fro m highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Ban d
C. Those grades represent t he
ti re 's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured under cont rolled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of aspha lt
and concrete. A t ire mar ked C may have poor
traction performance
¢ A .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and C, represe nting the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ab ility to dissi­
pate heat when tested unde r controlled condi­
t ions on a specif ied ind oor laborato ry test
whee l.

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Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If differen t rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right l ength and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a different vehicle -eve n if it
i s the same model
~ page 296.
_&. WARNING
Improperly tig htened or 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
whee l 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 wh ile driving if greased or
o iled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque .
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
-Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torque for the wheel bo lts 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
cl e 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.
Q;) Note
The spec ified torque 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-
Tire s an d wheel s 269
nally . After changing a whee l, the torq ue
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equ ipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been selected specifically for your model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling u nder a variety of driving condi­
tions . Ask your au thorized Aud i dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or l ess in the tire's si ze
designation. The n umera l represents the ra tio
of the ti re's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage . Conven­
tiona l tires have a height/width ratio of 60 or
more.
The perform ance o f low-a spe ct-r atio tire s is
p ar ticul arl y s ens it iv e to imp ro per infl ation
pressur e. It is t herefo re im porta nt t hat low
a spect ratio t ires are inflat ed to the specified
pr essure and that the inflation pressure is
r e gularly checked and ma int ained. Tire pr es­
s ure s should be check ed at lea st on ce a
month and alwa ys befor e a long trip
~ page 252 , Checking tire pressure.
What you c an do to avoid 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 rtic ularly if the tire is
u nder infla ted .
In order to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom­
mend that you observe the following p re ca u­
tions:
- Always ma inta in recommended inflation
p ressures . Check your tire pressu re eve ry
2 ,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces­
sary .
- Dr ive caref ully on roads wi th potholes , deep
gullies o r ridges. The impact from driv ing ..,. •
•

28 0 What do I do no w?
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction .
Using a sp are t ire wi th a tread pattern
int ended fo r use in a specific dir ect ion
When us ing a spare tire w ith a tread patte rn
intended for use in a specific direction, please
note the following:
- The direction of rotation is marked by an ar­
row on the side of the tire.
- If the spare t ire has to be installed in the in­
correct direction, use the spare tire only
temporarily since the t ire will not be able to
achieve its optimum performance character­
ist ics with rega rd to aquaplaning, noise and
wea r.
- We recommend that you pay particular at­
tent ion to this fact du ring wet weather and
that you adjust your speed to matc h road
conditions.
- Replace the flat tire w ith a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible to restore the handling advantages
of a unidirectiona l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the information c> page 260 , New
t ires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
going to use a spare tire which is different
from the tires on your vehicle .
After you change a tire :
-Che ck the tire p re ssure on the sp are imme ­
di ately afte r in st a llat ion.
- Ha ve th e wh eel b olt tightenin g torque
che ck e d w ith a torque wrench as soon a s
possible b y you r autho rized Aud i de aler o r
a qu alified ser vice station .
- With ste el and alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts are cor rectl y tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (1 20 Nm ).
- If yo u notice that the wheel bolt s are cor­
r oded a nd d iffi cult to tu rn while changi ng
a t ire, the y should be replaced before you
check the t ightening torq ue. -
Re pl ac e the flat ti re with a new one and
h av e it in st a lled on you r vehicle as soon as
po ssible. Remount th e wheel cov er.
Un til then , driv e with ex tra c are a nd at re­
duc ed sp ee ds.
A WARNING
-
- If you are going to equ ip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be
sure to read the information
9 page 260,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels .
-Always make sure the damaged wheel or
even a flat tire and the jack and tool kit
are properly secured in the luggage com­
pa rtment and are not loose in the pas­
senger compartment.
- I n an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forwa rd, injuring anyone in the
veh icle.
- Always sto re damaged wheel, jack and
too ls securely in the luggage compart­
ment. Otherwise, in an accident or su d­
den maneuve r they could f ly forward,
causing injury to passengers in the ve hi­
cle.