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loss of control, crashes and serious per
sonal inj uries. Have worn or damaged tires
rep laced immediate ly.
- Winter tires have maximum speed rating
that may be lower than your veh icle's
maximum speed.
- Never drive faster than the speed for wh ich the winter or other tires installed
on your vehicle are rated.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to the road and traffic conditions . Never let the good ac
celeration of the winte r tires and all-whee l
drive temp t you into taking extra r is k s. Al
ways remembe r:
- When braking, an a ll-w heel driv e vehicle
hand les in the same way as a front dr ive
vehicle.
- Drive carefu lly and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
c annot he lp un der blac k ice cond it ions.
@) For the sake of the environment
Use summe r tires when weathe r cond i
tions perm it. They are quieter, do not wea r
as quickly and red uce fue l consumption.
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted on ly to the rear
wheels, and only to certain tire sizes . Ask yo ur
authorized Audi dealer on whic h tire sizes
snow chains can be used.
The snow chains must have low -profile links
a nd must not be thicker than 0 .S3 inch
(13 .5 mm), including the lock.
Remove wheel cente r covers and tr im discs
before p utting snow chains on you r vehicle
~ 0 . For safety reasons cover caps must the n
be fitted over the whee l bolts. These are avail
ab le from authorized Audi dea lers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi
cle or installing them incorrectly can in-
Tire s an d wheel s 2 99
crease the risk of loss of contro l leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes. Always make sure to follow the in
structions prov ided by the snow chain
manufacturer.
- When driving with snow cha ins neve r
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
([) Note
-Remove snow c hains be fore driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct con
tact with the whee l rim, can scratch or
damage it. Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are s uitably covered. Check
t he pos itio n of the snow chains afte r
dr iving a few yards and co rrect if neces
sary. Fo llow the inst ruct io ns from the
s now chain ma nufa ct urer when do ing so.
- If the Adaptive Ai r Suspens io n* s hou ld
ma lfun ction, do not mount o r use snow
c h ains be cause the ve hicl e w il l be ex
t reme ly low. If you do d rive with snow
chains on while t he ve hicle is at this lev
el, the snow chains m ight seve rely dam
age the whee lhouse and other parts of
the vehicle.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, th is normally a lso applies to
vehicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
T he design of w heel bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims. If different rims a re fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right length and correct ly shaped bolt heads must
be used. Th is ensures that wheels are fitted .,..
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(D Note
When removing or installing the wheel,
the rim could hit the bra ke rotor and dam
age the rotor . Wor k carefully and have a
second person help you.
- W hen mounting tires with
unidirectional
tread design
ma ke s ure the tread pat
tern is pointed the r ight way
<=> page 311.
-The wheel bolts should be clea n and easy
to tu rn. Check for d irt and corrosio n on
t h e mat ing su rfaces of both the whee l
and the hub. Remove a ll dirt from these
su rfaces before remo untin g t he wheel.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tr ead pattern point ed in
the right dire ction.
Using a spare tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
W hen using a spa re tire w ith a t read patte rn
in te nded fo r use in a specific direction, p lease
n ot e t he followi ng:
- The direction of rotation is marked by an ar
row on the side of the tire.
- If the spare tire has to be installed in the in
correct di rection, use the spa re tire only
tem porarily si nce th e tir e will not be able to
a ch ieve i ts op timum pe rfo rm ance chara cter
is tics with reg ard to aq uaplani ng, noise and
wea r.
- W e recommend that you p ay pa rticular at
tent io n t o this fact du ring wet weathe r and
t h at you adjus t your spee d to matc h roa d
con dit ions.
- Re place the fla t tire w ith a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
poss ible to restore the hand ling advantages
of a unid irect iona l tire.
What do I do now?
Notes on wheel changing
P lease read t he i nfo rmat ion c:> page 291, New
t ires and replacing tires and wheels
if y ou a r e
go ing to use a sp are tire w hich is different
from the ti res on yo ur vehicle.
After yo u cha nge a tire:
- Check the tire pressure on the spare imme
diately after installation .
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as
possible by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualified workshop.
- With steel and alloy wheel rims, the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of 120 ft lb (160 Nm) .
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor
roded and difficult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be replaced before you
check the tightening torque.
- Repla ce the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as s oon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover.
Until then, drive with extra care and at re
duced speeds .
&_ WARNING
-
- If yo u are goi ng to e quip yo u r ve hicl e
wit h tires o r rims whi ch di ffer from those
which were fac to ry installed, t hen be
sure to rea d the information
c:> page 2 91,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always make s ure the damaged wheel o r
even a flat tire and the jack and t ool kit
are prope rly secured in the luggage com
pa rtme nt and are not loose in the pas
senge r compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forwa rd, inj uri ng a nyo ne in the
veh icle.
- Always sto re damaged wheel , jack a nd
too ls sec urely in the luggage compa rt
men t. Othe rwise, in a n accide nt o r sud
de n m aneuver they could fly forwa rd,
c a u sing i nju ry to passenger s in th e ve hi
cle.
311
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