2015 AUDI R8 SPYDER brakes

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Instrument s and warning /indicator ligh ts
the electrical system . In thi s case, conta ct your
Audi de ale r.
If the ABS fails, the ABS warning/ind icator light
II (USA mode ls)/ ii] (Canada mode ls) flashes to­
gether with the brake system warning/indicator
light¢ &.
(USA models):
If the wa rning light~ and the
warn ing light
riJ ill umina te together, immed i­
ately contact your authorized Audi dea ler or
qua lified workshop to have all brake pads in­
spected ¢
page 16.
When the light comes on, an audib le warn ing sig­
na l is also given .
Parking brake set
The parking brake warning light./. (Canada
models) illuminates when the park ing brake is
set. In add ition, a warning tone will so und afte r
you have driven for longer than 3 seconds and
faster than
3 mph (5 km/h).
P ar king brake set
The ~ warning/ind icator light illuminates
when the parking brake is set¢,&. .
_& WARNING
-Always observe the w arnings in
¢ page 155, Working in the engine com ­
partment, before opening the engine hood
and checking the b rake fluid .
- Driving with low brake fluid is a safety haz­
ard! Stop the car and get professional assis­
tance.
- USA models: If both, the~ warning
light and the
II warning light come on at
the same time, the rear whee ls cou ld lock
up first under hard braking. lock-up of the
rear wheel brakes can cause loss of veh icle
control and an accident. Have your vehicle
repai red immediately by your author ized
Audi dealer or a qualified wo rkshop. Dr ive
slowly and avoid sudden, ha rd b rake appli­
cat ion .
- Canada models: If both, the brake warning
ligh t. and the ABS warning light
ii] come
on at the same time, the rear whee ls co uld
lock up first under har d braking. lock -up of the rear wheel brakes can cause
loss of vehi­
cle control and an accident. Have your veh i­
cle repaired immed iately by your authorized
Aud i deale r or a qua lified workshop. Drive
slowly and avo id sudden, hard brake appli­
cation.
- If the brake warning/ind icator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the pa rk­
ing brake is released, or lights up wh ile you
are driving, the fl uid level in the brake flu id
reservoir is too low.
If you believe that it is
safe to do so, proceed immedia tely at low
speed to the nearest authorized A udi dealer
or qualified workshop and have the brake
system inspected.
- Always keep in mind that after severa l brake
applications, you will need greater press ure
on the brake pedal to stop your vehicle. Do not rely on strained brakes to respond with
maximum stopp ing power in cr itical s itua­
tions . You must allow for increased braking
distances. The ext ra d istance used up by
fading brakes could lead to an accident.
tli1 !'! r Safety systems
T he . (USA models), . (Canada mode ls) indi­
cator lig ht monitors the safety sys tems e.g. air­
bags, pretensioners and ill uminates for a few
seconds each time you switc h the ignition on .
If the . (USA models)/ . (Canada models) in­
dicator light does not go ou t, o r if i t illumin ates
whi le you a re d riving, or if it starts to blink, then
t h ere is a ma lfunction somewhere in the system .
If the light does not illum inate when yo u switch
on the ignition, this also means there is a ma l­
funct ion.
_& WARNING
-If you have a ma lfunction in the safety sys-
tems, contact you r authorized Audi dea le r i m­
mediately. Otherwise the safety systems may
not wor k properly in an accident.
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Instrument s and warning /indicator ligh ts
high, or the coolant level is too low. In addition
to the symbo l, the following message also ap­
pears in the disp lay:
S w itc h off en gin e and ch ec k coo lant l ev e l
.. Pull off the road and stop the vehicle .
.. Turn off the engine .
.. Check coolant level~
page 162.
.. Add coolant if ne cessary ~ page 163 .
.. Continue d riving only after the engine coolant
warning/indicator light goes out .
.. Contact your authorized Audi dea ler for ass is-
tance if necessary.
I f the engine coolant level is correct, then the ra­
diator fan may be the cause of the malfunction.
If the generator wa rning/ind icator light shou ld
a lso i lluminate
~ page 14, then the fan belt may
be damaged .
A WARNING
-If your vehicle should break down for me­
chanical or other reasons, park at a safe dis ­
tance from moving traffic, turn off the en­
gine and turn on the hazard warning lights
~ page 48, Emergency flasher.
- Never open the engine compartment lid if
you see or hear steam or coo lant escaping
from the engine compartment - you risk be­
ing scalded . Wa it until you can no longer
see or hear steam or coolant escaping .
- The engine compartment of any veh icle is a
dange rous area. Before you perform any
wor k in the engine compa rtment, t urn off
the engine and allow it to coo l. Follow the
warning stic kers
~ page 155, Working in
the engine compartment .
(D Note
Do not co nti nu e d riving if the. symbo l ill u­
m inates. There is a mal function in the engine
cooling system -you could damage your en ­
gine .
dS Convertible top operation
The ind icator light tu rns on II!
- When the convertib le top opens or closes or -
If the convert ible top did not open or close
comp letely .
T he ind icator light blinks if the convertib le top
cannot open or close
~ page 39.
;;./ !'r, Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
Ifthc DJ indicator lamp blinks while driving, the
ESC or ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation) is actively regu­
lating.
If the
DJ indicator lamp illum inates, the system
has switched the ESC off. In this case, you can
switch the ignition off and then on to switch the
ESC on aga in. The system is functioning com ­
ple tely when the indicator lamp switches off.
If the
II indicator lamp illuminates, the ESC was
switched off with the
[ru button .
Stabilizati on progr am and ABS fault! S ee ow n­
e r's manual
If the Bl ind icator lamp and the [i] ABS indica­
tor lamp illum inate and the d river message ap­
pears, the ABS or e lectronic differentia l lock is
malfunctioning . This also interrupts the ESC. The
brakes still function with their normal power, but
ABS is not active .
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer immed iate ly
to have the mal func tion corrected .
Fo r more information about the ESC
~ page 134.
ABS/ (0 ) Anti-lock brake system
This warning/indicator light monitors the ABS
and the electronic differential lock (EDL).
The warning/indicator light Ill (USA models)/
¢ ~) o n ds when the ignition is sw itched on . The light
will go out after an automa tic check sequence is
completed.
There is a malfunction in the ABS when:
- The warning/indicator light does not illum inate
when you sw itch the ignition on .
- The warning/indicator light does not go out af -
ter a few seconds . ..,
15

Instruments and warning /indicator light s
-The warning/indicator light ill uminates whi le
driving.
The ESC ind icator light a lso illuminates if there is
a ma lf u nction in the ABS. The message
Stabiliza­
tion p rogr am and ABS: fault! See o wner 's man­
ual
also appears in the instr ument cluster disp lay
and a warning tone sounds .
The b rake sy stem will still respond even with­
out the ass is tance of th e ABS sy stem. See your
a utho riz ed Audi dealer a s soon as po ssible to re­
s tore full braking perfo rmance.
For more infor­
mat ion regarding the ABS
¢ page 134.
Malfunction in th e brake s ystem
If the b rake warning light¢ page 12 and the ABS
warning i lluminate
together there may be a mal ­
function in the ABS, and there may also be a ma l­
function in the brake system itself ¢ & .
The ABS
will not wo rk and you w ill notice a change in
bra king response and per formance.
In the event of a malfun ct ion in the br ake sy s ­
tem
the warning/indicator light 1111 (USA mod­
els)/ . (Canada models) in the instrument clus­
ter flashes¢
page 12.
Malfunction in th e electronic diffe renti al
lock (EDL )
The EDL works together with the ABS. The ABS
warn ing light w ill come on if there is a malfunc­
tion in the EDL system¢
page 134 . See your au­
thor ized Audi dealer as soon as possible.
.&_ WARNING
- If the II (USA models) ;tiJ (Canada mod­
els) warning light does not go out, or if it
comes on while driving, the ABS system is
not working properly . The vehicle can then
be stopped only with the standard brakes
(without ABS) . You will not have the protec­
t ion ABS prov ides. Contact your Audi dealer
as soon as possible.
- USA models: If the 1111 warning light, the
J_i) warning light and the II warn ing light
come on together, the rear wheels could
l ) - : USA models only
16
-
lock up first under hard braking . Rear wheel
lock- up can cause loss of veh icle contro l and
an accident. Have your vehicle repaired im­ mediately by your author ized Audi dealer or
a qualified workshop. Dr ive slowly and avoid
sudden, ha rd brake applications.
- Canada models: If the brake warning light
• • the
JjJ warn ing light and the ABS warn­
ing light
EIJ come on togethe r, the rear
wheels could lock up fi rst under hard bra k­
ing. Rear wheel lock-up can c ause loss o f ve­
hicle control and an accident. Have your ve ­
hicle repai red immediately by your author­
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop.
Dr ive slow ly and avoid sudden, hard brake
applications.
(0) Worn brake pads
£i1 Check brake pads!
If the warning light i lluminates, immediate ly
contact your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop to have all brake pads inspected. On
USA mode ls the warning light £i1 comes on to·
gether w ith the warning light 1111 . Both sets of
brake pads on an ax le must always be replaced at
the same time .
.&_ WARNING
Driving w ith bad bra kes can cause a collision
and se rious personal injury.
- If the warn ing light
£i1 and the warn ing
light
llll1 l with the message Brake pad s!
comes on in the ins trumen t clus ter display,
immed iate ly contact yo ur authorized Audi
dea le r or q ualified workshop to have all
brake pads checked or rep laced if necessary.
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the elec­
tronic power control .
The~ warning/indicator l igh t (E lec tronic Powe r
Control) illuminates when you swi tch on the igni­
tion as a function check .

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and damage your vehicle's electronic
equipment or stain the upholstery, etc.
Ashtray
F ig . 71 Cen te r co nsole: ash tray
The ashtray is inserted in the cupholder.
Opening the a shtra y
• Fold the cover upward.
Emptying the ashtray
• Lift the closed ashtray up out of the cupholder .
A WARNING
-
Never put waste paper in the ashtray. Hot
ashes or other hot objects in the ashtray could
set waste paper on fire.
Cigarette lighter/socket
The cigarett e lighter o r socket only work with the
ignit ion on.
Using the cigar ett e lig hter
• Press the cigarette lighter in .
• Remove the cigarette ligh ter when it pops out.
Conn ecting an appliance
• Slide the cover open to reach the cigarette
lighter .
• Remove cigare tte lighte r.
• Pl ug in appliance to be used.
The socket of the cigarette lighter may be used
for 12-volt appliances with maximum consump· tion of up to 100 watts , such as a flash light,
small vacuum cleaner, etc.
Seats and storage
A WARNING
-Improper use of the cigarette lighter can
cause ser ious injury o r start a f ire.
- Be careful when using the c igarette Lighter.
If you do not pay attention to what you are
doing when you are using the cigarette
lighter you can bur n yourse lf .
(D Note
- To avoid damaging the socket, only use
plugs that fit proper ly.
- Only use the cigarette lighter socket as a power source for e lectr ical accessories for
short durations. Use the sockets in the veh i­
cle when a power source is needed for lon·
ger d urat ions .
(i} Tips
-When the eng ine is off and accessories are
st ill plugged in and are on, the vehicle bat·
tery can st il l be drained .
- The vehicle battery must not be charged
with a standard small charger that plugs in­
to the c igarette lighte r or outlet.
Storage
General
A WARNING
=
- Always remove objects from the instrument
panel. Any items not put away co uld slide
around ins ide the veh icle w hile driving or
when accele rating o r when app ly ing the
brakes or when driving around a corner .
- When you are dr iv ing make s ure that any­
thing you may have placed in the center con ­
sole or other storage locations cannot fa ll
out into the footwe lls. I n case of sudden
braking you would not be ab le to brake, de­
press the clutch or accelerate.
- Any articles of clothing that you have hung
up must not interfere with the driver's view .
The coat hooks are designed only for light·
weight clothing . Never hang any clothing
with ha rd, po inted or heavy objects i n the
pockets on the coat hooks. Dur ing sudden ..,.
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A WARNING
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Always release t he parkin g brake completely.
A part ially engaged brake will over heat th e
rear brakes, reduce their effect iveness and
cause excess ive wear. This could lead to brake
fai lure and an accident.
([) Note
Only after the ve hicle has come to complete
stop, sho uld you firmly set the parking brake
and move the gearshift lever into a gear.
Parking
Parking
~ Stop t he vehicle using the brake pedal.
~ Set the parking b ra ke firmly.
~ Swi tch off the engine.
~ Move t he se lecto r lever into the P pos ition ( au­
tomatic t ransmis sion )
or move the gearshift
lever into 1st . gear
(manual transmission )
c:>.&_ .
~ When on incl ines or declines, turn the steering
whee l so that t he vehicle w ill roll into the curb
if it beg ins to move .
A WARNING
This is how yo u can reduce the risk of in jury
w hen leav ing you r vehicle.
-
- Never park the vehicle whe re it ca n come i n
co ntact wi th dry g rass, spilled fuel or a ny
other flammable mater ials.
- Never allow anyone - especially small chi l­
dre n -to remai n in t he vehicle when it is
locked. Locke d doors ma ke i t mo re d iff icult
for rescuers to access the passenger com­
partment in the event of an emergency .
Dange r to life!
- Never leave c hildren unsupervised in the ve ­
hicle. C hildren cou ld re lease the par king
brake or move the gearshift lever out of
gear. The vehicle could sta rt to roll away and
cause an accident .
- No matter what the season is, the tempera­
ture in a parked veh icle can reach dangerous
levels.
On th e road
Starting on hills
Applies to vehicles: wit h hill ho ld assist
Hill ho ld assist makes it eas ier to sta rt on hills.
The system is activated when the brake peda l is
depressed
for a few seconds .
After releasing the brake pedal, the b rake power
is he ld for a
brief moment to prevent the vehicle
from rol ling back when starting . At this time, you
can eas ily beg in to move your vehicle.
A WARNING
- I f you did not begin moving imme diate ly af­
ter re leasi ng the b ra ke peda l, unde r ce rtain
cir cumstan ces, the vehicle w ould beg in to
roll bac kward. Depress t he brake pe dal im­
mediately or engage the hand brake.
- Should t he e ngine sta ll, dep ress the brake
pe dal immed iately or enga ge the hand
b rake.
- I n or der to preven t the vehicle from roll ing
back unintentionally when s tarting in s top ­
and-go traffic, keep the brake pe dal de­
pressed for a few seconds before driving off.
(D Tips
You can find o ut if yo ur vehicle is eq uipped
wi th "Hill hold ass ist" at an autho riz ed Au di
d ealersh ip.
Speed warning system
Speed warning system
The speed warning system helps you to keep your
driving speed below a set speed limit .
The speed warn ing system warns the driver if he
exceeds a previously stored max imum speed. A
warning tone will sound as soon as the veh icle
speed exceeds the set speed by about
3 mph
(3 km/h) . At the same t ime, a warning symbo l
appea rs i n the display .
The speed warn ing system has
two warn ing
thre sholds
tha t function independe ntly of each
othe r and t hat have somewhat d iffe rent pu rpos­
es:
69

On the road
@ Tips
-Vehicles with manua l transmission: You can
attain the set speed only if the currently en­
gaged gear a llows it and the engine is not
stressed. Shifting to a h igher or lower gear
promptly will allow the engine to run
smoothly.
- The cruise control cannot maintain a con­
stant speed when driving downhill. The ve­
hicle will accelerate under its own weight .
Downshift to a lower gea r or use the brakes
to slow down.
Changing speed
.. Press lever in the 0 or O direction¢ page 71,
fig .
Bl to increase or decrease your speed .
.. Re lease the lever to save that speed .
You ca n also press the accelera tor pedal down to
increase your speed, e.g . if you want to pass
someone . The speed you saved earlier will re­
sume as soon as you release the accelerator ped­
al.
If , however, you exceed your saved speed by
S mph
(10 km/h) for longer than S minutes , the
cruise control will turn off temporarily. The sym­
bol will go out but the saved speed will be re­
tained.
Presetting your speed
You can preset your desired speed while the vehi­
cle is not moving .
.. Turn on the ignition .
.. Pull lever into position@¢
page 71 , fig . Bl .
.. Press the lever in the 0 or O direction to in-
crease or decrease your speed .
.,. Release the lever to save that speed .
This function makes it possible, for example, to
save the speed you want before driving on the
highway. Once on the highway, activate the cruise
control by pulling the lever toward @.
72
Switching the system off
Temporary deactivation
.. Press the brake pedal, or
.. Keep the clutch pedal pressed down longe r, or
.,. Press the lever into position @(not clicked into
place)
¢page 71, fig. Bl, or
.. Drive for longer than 5 minutes at more than
S mph
(10 km/h) above the stored speed .
Switching off completely
.,. Press lever into position @(clicked into place),
or
.. Switch the ignition off.
The system retains the saved speed if you deacti­
vate the cruise control temporarily. To resume
the saved speed, release the brake or clutch ped­
al and pull the lever to pos ition @.
Switch ing the ignition off erases the saved speed.
.&_ WARNING
You should only return to the saved speed if it
is not too fast for the current traffic condi­
tions -risk of an accident!
Audi magnetic ride
Damping can be adjusted to the driver's prefer­
ence and it adapts automatically to the current
driving situation .
SPORT •
Fig. 82 Center console: Sw itch for Audi magnet ic ride
.,. To turn sport setting on/off, press the sw itch
¢ fig. 82.
Audi magnetic ride is an electronically controlled damp ing system . This chassis system assists the
driver by adapting to the particular situation
liJI,

throug h im perce ptib le contro l processes . The
damping provides individua l modulation of
damping forces. For example, with damping
characterist ics set to prov ide greater comfort,
damping is set somewhat harder for a brief peri­
od only as requ ired, when round ing a curve and
when braking .
Standard setting
Select the standard sett ing if you prefer a sus ­
pension setting emphasi zing comfort.
Sport s etting
Select the sport setting if you prefe r a spor ty sus­
pension setting. The LED in the button
[l] comes
on to indicate sport setting .
@ Tips
The warning/indicato r ligh t R in the instr u­
ment cluster comes on in the event of a mal­
function. Drive to the closest a uthorized Audi
dea ler as soon as possible and have the mal­
function repaired.
Sporty driving
Warming up and cooling down
B y care fully warming up and cooling down you r
veh icle, you can he lp ensure tha t it is not over ­
stressed unnecessarily du ring sporty driving.
W hen warming up , the veh icle is driven a t a max ­
i mum eng ine speed of 6 000 R PM
(Vl O engine) or
70 00 RPM (V8 engine) in order to raise the en ­
g ine oi l tempe ratu re to a minimum of 140 °F
(60 °() . The tires also only reach the ir full road
h olding capability once they have warmed up.
The cooling fan can continue to run in you r vehi ­
cle after the engine is switched off . However,
d riving the vehicle to cool it down is part icu larly
important. During sporty driving, the engine and
brakes, the exhaust system, and the transmission
all become extremely hot . Before you park the
ve hicle, you should dr ive it for a few m iles/kilo-
~ mete rs a t light load in the low rpm range to al-
~ low i t to cool down. "': ,...., \!) 1.1'1
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On th e road
Driving on a track
Befo re you take your veh icle o ut on a track, en­
s u re th at i t is in perfe ct condi tion. Fo r ex ample ,
yo u should chec k the tire trea d an d the bra ke
pads . It is bes t to inc rease tire pressu re by about
0 .3 bar.
W hen dr iving on a track , oil consump tion may be
somewhat higher than in "norma l" ope rat ion
¢ page 159 .
You should definitely inspec t your ve hicle afte r
s u bje cting it to seve re condi tions. Are the br ake
pads OK? Is there any thing unusua l about the
t ir es, including the inner and outer sidewalls (e .g.
tread , blistering)? A re the air intakes free of
l eaves and tire dust? Is the o il level OK?
Your a uth orized Audi dea ler or q ua lified wor k­
sho p will be happy to underta ke an inspection be ­
fore and after use on the race track .
A WARNING ._
Some race tracks (e.g. steeply banked turns)
may affect the response of t he ESC.
(D Tips
- Review the t rack requ irements and condi ­
tions befo re you sta rt driv ing.
- W hen d riven on a race track, all vehicle
parts are severe ly stressed. This can result
in increased wear .
73

Transmi ssio n
rotation of the whee ls, then the time wi ll in­
crease a ccording ly .
A WARNING
- If a gear is engaged when the vehicle is sta­
tionary, the acce lerator must not be pressed
inadvertently under any circumstances. Oth­
erwise the vehicle will immed iately start to
move - sometimes even if the park ing brake
is f irmly applied.
- Before you or other persons open the engine compartment l id and work on a running en­
gine, select neutral pos it ion
N and firmly
apply the handbra ke. Always read and fol­
low the app licab le warn ings¢
page 155,
Working in the engine compartment.
@ Tips
- If you accidenta lly shifted into N w hile d riv­
i ng, you can engage a gear in the normal
way using the selecto r lever.
- An indicator light i s displayed if a malfunc­
tion occurs while in S tronic. Refer to
~page 78.
Manual mode
App lies to veh icles: w ith 5 tro nic
S tronic allows the driver to shift gears man ua lly.
Starting from a stop
.,. Press and ho ld the brake pedal.
.. Move the selecto r leve r to the left.
.. Tap the se lec tor lever forwa rd
0 -
.. Re lease the brake pedal and press the accelera -
tor pedal ¢ .&,. .
Shifting
.,. To shift up, tap the selector lever fo rward 0 -
.,. To shift down, t ap the sele ctor lever to the re ar
o.
Stopp ing temporarily
.,. Press the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle
from moving, for examp le at traff ic lights .
Par king
.. Press and ho ld the brake pedal¢.&,. .
76
.. Activate the parking brake .
.. Turn off the ignition and remove the key .
Stopping on an incline
.,. Always keep the vehicle stat ionary using the
foot brake to prevent it from " rolling back"
¢ .&,. . D o not try to p revent the vehicle from
"ro lling back" when a gear is engaged by in ­
creasing engine speed.
.. Activate the parking brake.
Starting on a hill
.. With a gear engaged, remove your foot from
the brake, accelerate and slowly release the
parking brake.
When acce lera ting, S tronic sh ifts i nto the nex t
gear in gea rs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 shor tly befo re
the maximum permissib le engine speed is
r eached.
If you have se lec ted a lower gear than the current
one, S tron ic w ill shift down only when the engine
will not be ove r-revved.
You can switch to a utomat ic operation at any
time
¢ page 77.
A WARNING
-
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
ru nning while in gear. If you must leave yo ur
vehicle with the engine r unning, set the
parking brake firmly and engage neutral
N .
- With the engine r unning and a gear engag­
ed, you have to ho ld the vehicle with the
foot brake .
- Do not accelerate when you sh ift gears with
the vehicle stationary and the engine run­ ning.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce
your speed and sh ift into a lower gear with S
tronic.
- Do not ride the bra kes or press the bra ke
pedal too often or too long. Constant brak­
ing causes the brakes to overheat and sub­
stantially reduces brak ing performance, in­
creases braking d istance or causes comp lete
fa ilu re of the brake system. ..,.