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,&_ WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead
to loss of control, a crash and
serious personal injury!
-Never drive a vehicle when the tread on any tire is worn down to the wear indica
tors.
-
-Worn tires are a safety haz
ard, they do not grip well on
wet roads and increase your
risk of "hydroplaning" and
loss of control.
-Always keep chemicals that
can cause tire damage, such
as grease, oil, gasoline and
brake fluid away from tires.
-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
sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have
been damaged even though
the damage cannot be seen
that can lead to sudden tire
Tires and wheels 291
failure and loss of vehicle
control.
New tires and replacing
tires and wheels
New tires and wheels hove to
be broken in.
Fig. 254 Tire specification codes on
the sidewall of a tire
No. Description
CD Passenger car tire (where
applicable)
0 Nominal width of tire in
millimeters
® Ratio of height to width
(aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
Tires and wheels 293
characteristics, and safety of This contains the following in-•
the vehicle. The table formation: • '
(¢ page 2 78) lists specifica-p Indicates the tire is for pas-
tions of the tires approved for senger cars (where applica-
the Audi models covered by ble)
your Owner's Literature.
255 Nominal tire width in mm
The tire pressure label located of the tire from sidewall
on the driver's side B-pillar edge to sidewall edge. In
¢page 278~ fig. 251 lists the general, the larger the num-
specifications of the original ber, the wider the tire
equipment tires installed on
55 Height/width ratio in per-
your vehicle at the time it was cent (aspect ratio)
manufactured.
R Tire construction: Radial
Federal law requires tire manu-
18 Rim diameter code (in in-
facturers to place standardized ches)
information on the sidewall of
109 Load rating code
all tires ¢
fig. 254. This infor-H Speed rating letter code
mation identifies and describes
XL (or "xl", "EXTRA LOAD" , or
the fundamental characteris- "RF" Indicates that the tire is
tics, the quality grade of the a"Reinforced" or an "Extra
tire and also provides a tire Load" tire
identification number for safety
M+S (or "M/5") Indicates that
standard certification and in the tire has some mud and
case of a recall. snow capability
Tire specifications The tires could also have the in-
Knowledge of tire specifications formation of direction of rota-
tion
¢
page 2 72.
makes it easier to choose the
correct tires . Radial tires have
Tire manufacturing date
the tire specifications marked
The manufacturing date is also
M on the sidewall, for example: indicated on the tire sidewall N
0 ...J
P255 / 55 R 18 109 H XL (possibly only on the inner side 'SI: ,...., \!)
of the wheel): 1.1'1 .... ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
M N
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 291,
fig. 254 .
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 Requ irements in add ition to these
grades.
Tread wear
T he tread wear g rade is a c omp arati ve rati ng
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 ex ample , 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 character
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.
297
•
•
300 Tires and wheels
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
I n certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
¢ page 328.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose causing loss of
control, a collision and serious personal 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 tightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
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 loos en and come out when the vehi
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 specified torq ue for the wheel bolts is
120 ft lb (160 Nm) with a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts
diagonally. After changing a whee l, the
torque must be checked as soon as possi
ble with a torque wrench -preferably by an
author ized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road feel
and handling under a variety of driving condi
t ions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated
by a numera l of
55 or less in the tire's size
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven
t iona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is
particularly sensitive to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pressure and that the inflation pressure is
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pres
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
¢ page 282, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact with potholes, curbs, gullies
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated .
In order to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom
mend that you observe the following precau
tions:
- Always maintain recommended inflation
pressures. Check your tire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces
sary .
- Drive carefully on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from dr iving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may also cause damage to your tires .
- After any impact, immed iately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
II>
324 Technical Dat a
designated seating position) and luggage
weight¢ .&,.
Gross Axle W eight Rating
The Gross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle ¢Lr!, .
Vehicle capacit y weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max. load) is list
ed on the driver's side B-p illar.
A WARNING
- T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing for your
vehicle, fo und on the safety compliance
label on the driver's side B -pillar, must
never be exceeded under any circumstan
ces. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle We ight
Rating of your vehicle is likely to damage
your vehicle, and such damage will not
be covered by your Lim ited New Vehicle
Warranty. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle
We ight Rating will also change the per
formance and handling cha racte rist ics of
yo ur vehicle, which cou ld cause a crash
result ing in se rious in jury or death.
- T he Gross Veh icle Weight Rat ing fo r yo ur
vehicle would be exceeded if yo ur vehicle
is simultaneo us ly equipped with Panor
amic sliding sunroo f; th ird-row seating;
Dimensions
Length
Width
Width (across mirrors) Height (unloaded) al trailer towing
equipment (factory or
dea le r-installed), and running boards
(dealer-installed). UNDER NO CIRCUM
STANCES MAY ALL SUCH ITEMS BE IN
STA LLED ON THE SAME VE HICLE .
- The actual Gross Ax le Weig ht Rating at
the front and rear ax les should not ex
ceed the permissible weights, and the ir
comb inat io n must not exceed the Gross
Vehi cle Weight Rating.
- Exceeding permiss ible weight ratings can
result i n ve hicl e damage, a ccidents and
personal inj ury.
....--
CD Note
- The vehicle capacity weight figu res apply
when the load is d istr ibuted evenly in the
vehicle (passenge rs and luggage). When
t ransport ing a heavy load in the lugg age
compar tment, carry the load as near to
t he rear ax le as possible so that the vehi
cle's handling is not impaired.
- Do not exceed the maximum permissib le
ax le loads or the maximum gross vehicle
we ight . A lways remember that the vehi
cle's handling w ill be affected by the ex
tra load. Therefore, ad just your speed ac
cordingly.
- Always observe local regulat ions.
in (mm)
200 .3 (5089)
in (mm) 78.1 (1983)
in (mm) 85 .7 (2 177)
in (mm) 68.4 (1737)
al The he ight of the veh icle depen ds on the tires and th e su spension.
When driv ing up steep ramps, on rough roads,
over curbs, etc . it is important to remember
that some parts of your vehicle, such as spoil-ers
or exha ust system components, may be
close to the ground. Be carefu l not to damage
them.
1