Smart Technolog y
A center differentia l distributes the driving power
variably to the front and rear axle. It works to
gether with selective wheel torque contro l, which
activates when driving through curves
c:::;,page 191.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for high
engine power . Your vehicle is exceptionally pow
erful and has excellent driving characteristics bo th under normal driv ing condit ions and on
snow and ice . Always read and follow safety pre
cautions
c:::;, .&. .
Wint er tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with all
wheel drive has an advantage, even with regular
tires. In winter road conditions it may be advisa
ble to mount winter tires (or all-season tires) for
improved dr iveability and braking: these tires
must be mounted on
a ll four wheels . See a lso
c:::;, page 250, Winter tires.
Tire chain s
Where tire chains are manda tory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles with
all-wheel drive c:::;, page 250, Snow chains.
Repl acing wheels /tire s
Vehicles with all-whee l drive must always have
tires of the same size. Also avoid tires with differ
ent tread depths . For deta ils see page
c:::;, page 242, New tires or wheels .
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traffic
conditions. Do not let the extra safety afford
ed by all-wheel drive tempt you into ta king
extra r is ks.
- Althoug h the all-whee l dr ive is very effec
t ive, always remember that brak ing capac ity
is limited by tire traction . You should there
fore not drive at excessive speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces .
- On wet road su rfaces, be careful not to drive
too fast because the front wheels could be
gin to slide on top of the water (aquaplan
ing). If this should occur, you will have no
warning from a sudden increase in engine
speed as with a front -whee l drive vehicle.
196
Always drive at speeds which are suited to
the road cond it ions -risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution of
electrical energy and thus optimizes the availa bility of electrical energy for starting the engine .
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system is
not driven for a long period of time, the battery
i s d ischarged by idling current consumers (e .g .
i mmob ili zer). I n certain c ircumstances it can re
s ul t in the re be ing insuffi cient energy available to
start the eng ine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehicle
hand les the d ist ribution of electrical energy.
Start ing ability is ma rkedly improved and the life
of the ba ttery is extended .
Bas ica lly, energy management consists of
bat
t e ry diagn osi s, idling curr ent man ag ement
and
d ynami c energy management .
Batte ry diag nosi s
Battery diagnosis continuously determines the
state of the battery. Se nsors determine battery
vo ltage, battery current and battery tempera
tu re. This determines the cu rrent state of cha rge
and the power of the battery .
Idling current management
Idling current management reduces energy con
sumption whi le the vehicle is standing . W it h the
i gnition switched off, it cont ro ls the energy sup
ply to the various electrical components. Data
from battery d iagnosis is cons idered.
Depend ing on the battery's state of charge , indi
v idual consumers are gradua lly tu rned off to pre
vent excessive discharge of the batte ry and thus
maint ain s tarting capability.
Dynamic ener gy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic ene rgy
management distr ibutes the energy gene rated
accord ing to the needs of the individual compo-
nents. It regu lates consumption, so that more
II>
Wheels
A WARNING
Wheel bolts that are tightened or repaired in
correctly can become loose and resu lt in loss
of vehicle control , which increases the risk of
an acc ident. For the correct tightening specifi
cat ion, refer to
c:> page 261, After changing a
wheel.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads
in the wheel hub clean and free of grease.
- Only use wheel bo lts that fit the r im .
- Always have damaged rims repaired by an
authorized Aud i dealer or authorized repair
facility. Never repair or disassemble rims
you rself, because this increases the risk of
an accident.
Winter tires
W inter tires sign ificantly improve the vehicle's
handling when driving in w inter condit ions . Be
cause of the ir construction (width, compo und,
tread pattern), summer t ires prov ide less traction
on ice and snow.
.., Use winte r tir es on all four whee ls .
.., Only use winter t ires that are approved for your
vehicle.
.., Please note that the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires
c:> .&,.
Your authorized Audi dealer or authorized re
pai r facility can inform you about the maximum
permitted speed for your tires.
.., Check the tire pressure after installing wheels
c:> page 245.
The effectiveness of winter tires is reduced great
ly when the tread is worn down to a depth of
0 .1S7 inch (4 mm). The characteristics of w inter
tires also decrease greatly as the tire ages, re
gardless of the remaining tread.
A WARNING
-Never dr ive faste r than the maximum per
mitted speed for your t ires. This could cause
the tires to heat up too much . Th is increases
the risk of an accident because it can cause
the tire to burst .
250
-Always adapt your driving to the road and
traffic cond itions. Drive carefully and reduce
your speed on icy or slippery roads. Even
w inter t ires can lose traction on black ice.
@ For the sake of the environment
Reinstall summer tires at the appropriate
time, beca use they provide better handling
when roads are free of snow and ice. Summer
tires cause less road noise, tire wear and fuel
consumpt ion.
(D Tips
You can a lso use all season tires instead of
winter tires. Please note that in some coun
tries where w inter t ires are required, only win
ter tires with the
& symbol may be permit
ted.
· Snow chains
Snow chains improve traction in the snow .
.., Only install snow chains on the rear wheels .
.., Check and correct the seating of the snow
chains if necessary after driving a few feet. Fol
low the instruct ions from the manufacture r.
.., Note the maximum permitted speed when dr iv
ing w ith snow chains . Do not exceed 30 mph
(SO km/h) .
Snow cha ins not onl y improve the
driving in w in
ter road conditions , but also the
braking .
Use of snow chains is only permitted with certain
rim/tire combinations due to technical reasons .
Check with a n author ized Audi dealer or author
iz ed repair facility to see if you may use snow
c hains.
Use
fine-mesh snow chains. They must not add
more than 0.53 inch (13.5 mm) in he ight, includ
i ng the cha in lock.
You must remove the chains when driving on
roads that are
free of snow. When roads are free
of snow , snow cha ins can impair hand ling and
damage the tires, and the chains will quick ly be
destroyed. .,.
Wheels
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wall between t read sho ulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
c::> page 235, fig . 204.
For example: Tr ead wear 200 , Tract ion AA, Tem
peratu re
A .
All passenger ca r tires must confo rm to Federal
Safety Req uiremen ts in add it ion to these grades.
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
unde r controlled conditions on a spec ified gov
ernment test course.
For examp le, a t ire graded 150 would wear one
and one half ( 1 1/2) t imes as well on the govern
ment course as a tire graded 100 .
The relat ive performance of t ires depends upon
the actua l conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the norm due to
variations i n driving hab its, service practices and
d iffe rences in road character istics and clima te.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A , Band
C. Those grades represent the tire's
ab ility to stop on wet pavement as measu red u n
de r controlled cond it ions on spec ified govern
ment test su rfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
c::> &_ .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B,
a nd C, rep resent ing t he tire's res istance to the
genera tion of heat and its a bility to dis sipate
heat w hen tested unde r controlled cond itions on
a specified indoo r laboratory test whee l.
Sustained high temperature can cause the mate rial of the tire to degenerate and red uce tire life,
a nd excessive tempera ture can lead to sudden
tire failure
c::> &. .
The grade C co rresponds to a level of perform
ance wh ich a ll passenge r ca r tires m ust meet un
de r th e Federal Motor Vehicle Safety S tandard
No. 109. G rades Band A represent higher levels
252
of pe rformance on the laboratory test whee l than
the minimum required by law .
A WARNING -
The traction grade assigned to th is tire is
based on straight-ahead braking tract ion
tests, and does not include acce lerat ion, cor
nering, hyd roplaning or peak traction charac
teristics.
A WARNING
The temperature g rade for th is tire is estab
lished for a tire that is properly inf lated and
n ot ove rloaded. Excess ive speed, underi nfla
tion, o r ex cess ive lo adi ng, eithe r separately or
i n comb inat io n, can ca use heat bu ild up and
possible tire failure.
A WARNING
Tempe ratu re grades apply to ti res that are
properly inflated and not over or underinflat
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
(l) General notes
App lies to vehicl es: wi th tire p ress ure mo nito rin g system
-
Each tire, incl uding the spare (if provided),
sho uld be checked monthly when co ld and inflat
ed to the inflat ion pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle placard or
tire inflat ion pressure label. (If your vehicle has
tires of a different s ize than the size indicated on
the ve hicle placard or t ire inflation pressu re la
bel, you should dete rm ine the p roper t ire infla
tion pressu re for those t ires).
As a n added safety feature, your ve hicle has been
equipped with a tire pressure mon itor ing system
( TP MS) that illum inates a low t ire pressure te ll-
ta le w hen o ne or mo re of yo ur ti res is sign ificant -
l y unde r-i nflated. According ly, w hen t he low t ire
pressure te lltale illuminates, you shou ld stop and
check yo ur tires as soon as possible, and inflate
them to the proper pressure . Dr iving on a signifi
cant ly under-inf lated tire causes the t ire to over
heat and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation .,,.