244 Tires and whee ls
Ma ximum load r ating
means the load rating for a tire
at the maximum permissible in
flation pressure for that tire.
Maximum lo ad ed vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Ma ximum (permissible )
inflation pressure
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to which a tire
may be inflated. Also called
"maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants seated in the vehicle up to the
total seating capac ity of your
vehicle.
Occupant di stribution
means distribution of occu
pants in a vehicle .
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of
an inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance be
tween the ex teriors of the side
walls of an inflated tire, includ
ing elevations due to labeling,
decorations, or protective bands or ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber -coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the combined we ight of
those installed regular produc
tion options weighing over 5
lbs . (2 .3 kg) in excess of those
standard items which they re
place, no t previously consid
ered in curb weight or accessory
weight, including heavy duty
brakes, ride leve lers, roof rack,
heavy duty bat tery, and special
trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in
wh ich the p ly cords that extend
to the beads are laid at sub
stantially 90 degrees to the
centerline of the tread .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see¢ page 243J Cold tire infla
tion pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a tire design to operate
at higher loads and at higher
inflation pressures than the
corresponding standard tire. Reinforced tires may be identi
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
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 your
wheel size, you will have to pur chase new tires to match the
new rim diameter.
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance be
~ tween rim flanges.
<( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Tires and wheels 245
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be
tween the tread and bead.
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire
is designed to be driven for ex
tended periods of time. The rat ings range from 93 mph (150
km/h) to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ page 263. You may not find
this information on all tires be cause it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates
the maximum permissible road speeds ¢
A in Winter tires on
page
267.
Tire pressure monitoring system
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's tires are underinflated and illu
minates a low tire pressure
warning telltale.
Tread
means that portion of a tire
that comes into contact with
the road.
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M N <( I.J "".
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an individu
al tire that is determined by
distributing to each axle its
share of the maximum loaded
vehicle weight and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
mean s that load on an individu
al tire that is determined by
Tires and wheels 247
distributing to each axle its
share of the curb weight, acces
sory weight, and normal occu
pant weight (distributed in ac
cordance with table below
¢ page 247) and dividing by
two.
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for
various designated seating capacities
Designated seating Vehicle normal load, Occupant distribu-
capacity, number of number of occupants tion in a normally
occupants loaded vehicle
4 2 2 in front
5 3 2 in front, 1 in back
seat
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety
of a vehicle.
- Kl'A. . PSI
- KPA. .
PSI
- KPA. . PSI
; Fig. 200 Tire pressure label: located Fig. 201 Tire pressure label
.... l/1 .... on driver's side B-pillar
248 Tires and whee ls
Tire pressure generally refers to tant things you can do to help
the amount of a ir in a tire that avoid sudden tire failure. Un-
it needs it to do its job and derinflated tires are a major
safely carry the combined load cause of sudden tire failure .
of the entire vehicle and its con-
Keeping tires at the right pres-
tents . Tire pressure is measured sure is also important for safe
in kilopascals (kPa), the inter- and responsive vehic le han-
national measuring unit and in dling, traction, braking and
pounds pe r square inch (PSI). load carrying.
Tire pressu res
Ti re pressure is based in part on are particularly important
the vehicle's design and load when the vehicle is being driv-
limit -the greatest amount of en at h igher speeds, and then
weight that the vehicle can car-especially when hea vily loaded
ry safely and the tire size. The even within the permissible
proper tire pressure is frequent-load-carrying capacities ap-
ly referred to as the "recom-proved for your vehicle.
mended cold tire inflation pres-
The recommended tire pres-
sure." Air in the tires expands sures for your Audi depend on
when the tire heats up because the kind of tires on your vehicle
of internal friction when it flex- and the number of passengers
es in use. The ti re pressure is
and/or amount of luggage you
h igher when the tire has
will be transporting.
warmed up than when it is
The tire pressure labe l is locat-
"cold." It is the inflation p res-
ed on the driver's side 8-pillar.
sure in a "cold" tire that counts .
Therefore, you should never let The tire pressure label lists the
recommended cold tire infla-
air out of a warm tire to match
"cold tire inflation pressure" tion pressures for the vehicle at
its maximum capacity weight
recommendations . The tires
would then be underinflated and tires that were on your ve-
and cou ld fai l suddenly . hicle at the time it was manu-
f actured.
...
Maintaining proper tire pres-
sure is one of the most impor-
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
If you wish to improve comfort
when operating the vehicle at normal load (up to 2/3* occu
pants), you can adjust tire
pressures to those specified
for normal vehicle load. Before
operating the vehicle at maxi mum load, you must increase
the tire pressures to those
specified for maximum vehicle load
c> .&. .
Bear in mind that the tire pres
sure monitoring system can on
ly monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recognize the load
condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitoring system
will be impaired if you store normal load pressures but then
operate the vehicle at its maxi
mum load
c> .&. .
Tires and wheels 249
See the illustration c> fig. 200
for the location of the label on
driver's side B-pillar (color of
the actual label and exact loca
tion on the vehicle will vary slightly).
Note that the following table is
accurate at the time of going to
press and is subject to change.
In the event of discrepancies,
the tire pressure label is locat ed on the driver's side B-pillar
always takes precedence.
The table below lists the rec ommended cold tire inflation pressures for the Audi model
covered by your Owner's Litera
ture at the vehicle's capacity
weight and the tire sizes instal
led on the respective models as
original equipment , or as a fac-
tory option. ..,.
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'
250 Tires and wheels
Model/ Tire designation Tire pressure
Engine normal load condition
full load condition
fronta> reara>
front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A7: 235/55 Rl 7 99Y
32 220 29 200 35 240
38 260 3.0 liter High Performance
6-cylinder
255/45 R18 99H
All Season
32 220 29 200 35 240 38 260
255/45 Rl8 99Y 32 220 29 200
35 240
38 260
High Performance
255/40 R19 lOOH XL
35 240 32 220 38 260 280 All Season 41
255/40 Rl9 lOOY
XL
36 250 32 220 38 260 41 280 High Performance
265/35 R20 99H XL
35 240
32 220 38 260 41
280 All Season
265/35 R20 99Y XL
36 250 32 220 38 260 41
280 High Performance
57: 255/40 R19 lOOY XL
39 270
33 230
42 290 42 290 4.0 liter High Performance
a-cylinder 265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
41 280 35 240 44 300 44 300
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
a) normal load
condition¢ page 247.
The correct tire pressure for the
spare wheel is located on a la
bel on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may
be made to vehicle equipment
during the model year, always
compare the tire size designa
tion on the tire pressure label
on your vehicle with the tires on
your vehicle. Make sure that the
tire size information on the ve
hicle label is the same as the
size of the tires on the vehicle. This is especially important if
the vehicle belongs to someone
else or you bought the vehicle
with different rims/tires or you bought the vehicle as a previ
ously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and
that of your passengers also de
pends on making sure that load
limits are not exceeded. Vehicle
load includes everybody and ev
erything in and on the vehicle.
These load limits are
technically referred to as the
vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR"). The Gross
Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR") is
the maximum load that can be applied at each of the vehicle's
two axles. The Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating and the Gross
Axle Weight Rating are listed on the safety compliance stick
er label located on the driver's
side B-pillar. The tire pressure
label on your Audi lists the
maximum combined weight of
all of the occupants and lug
gage or other cargo that the ve
hicle can carry. For the location
of the tire pressure label
c> fig . 200.
A WARNING
-
Overloading a vehicle can
cause loss of vehicle control,
a crash or other accident, se rious personal injury, and
even death.
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the vehicle from handling properly
and increase the risk of a
~ loss of vehicle control. <(
~ -The brakes on a vehicle that has been overloaded may
Tires and wheels 251
not be able to stop the vehi
cle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has
been overloaded can fail
suddenly causing loss of control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the total load being transported
- including the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer -
does not make the vehicle
heavier than the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat
ing.
A WARNING
-Incorrect tire pressures
and/or underinflation can
lead to a serious or fatal ac
cident.
-Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation cause
increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the
vehicle.
-Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation can
also lead to sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, caus
ing loss of vehicle control.
•
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'
252 Tires and wheels
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the
tires originally installed on
your vehicle is listed on the tire pressure label located on driv
er's side 8-pillar.
The recommended tire pres
sures are on the tire pressure
label and in the table
c::> page 247, Cold tire inflation
pressure. This means that the
pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not
been driven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the previous
three hours. Air in the tires ex
pands when the tire heats up as
a result of internal friction as it
flexes in use . The tire pressure
is higher when the tire has
warmed up than when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a
"cold" tire that counts. There
fore, you should never let air
out of a warm tire to match
"Cold tire inflation pressure"
recommendations
c:::> page 247 .
The tires would then be under
inflated and could fail sudden
ly. The tire
pressure label on your
Audi lists the recommended
cold tire inflation pressures at maximum capacity for the new,
original equipment tires that
were on your vehicle at the time
it was manufactured. For the
location of the label
c::> page 247, fig. 200.
Most tires lose air naturally
over time. They can also lose
some air if you drive over a pot hole or hit a curb while parking.
It is usually not possible to see
whether the radial tires used
today are underinflated just by
looking at them.
Therefore, be sure to check tire
pressures at least once a month
and always before going on a long trip . Make sure to take the
number of people and the
amount of luggage into ac count when adjusting tire pres
sure for a trip -even one that
you would not consider to be
"long." See
c:::> page 255, Tires
and vehicle load limits for more
important information .
Always use an accurate tire pressure gauge when checking
and adjusting inflation .,.