Tires and wheels
Cold tire infl ation pre ssure
means the tire pressure recom
mended by the vehicle man ufac
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven fo r
more than a couple of miles (kilo
meters) at low speeds in the three
hour period before the tire pres
sure is measured or adjusted .
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle with standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additiona l weight of
optional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flation pressures than the corre sponding standard tire. Extra load
tires my be identified as "XL",
"xl ", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on
the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR" )
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system, measured
at the tire -ground interfaces.
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Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR")
means the maximum total loaded
weight of the vehicle.
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tread ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load that a
tire is rated to carry for a given in
flation pressure . You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla
tion pressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded 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. A lso called "maxi-
mum inflation pressure ." .,.
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Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the vehicle up to the to
tal seating capacity of yo ur vehi
c le .
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire .
Overall width
means the linear distance be
tween the exteriors of the side
walls of an inflated tire, including elevations due to labeling, deco
rations, or protective bands or
ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the combined weight of
those installed regular product ion
options weighing over 5 lbs. (2 .3
kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not pre
viously considered in curb weight
or accessory weight, including
Tir es a nd whe els
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
heavy duty battery, and special
trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply cords that extend to the beads are laid at substantially
90
degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation
pre ssure
see c::> page 172, Cold tire infla
tion pressure.
R einforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire. Rein
forced tires my be identified as
"X L", "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 di ameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
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Tires and wheels
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for
various designated seating capacities
Designated seating Vehicle normal load, Normally loaded vehi-
capacity, number of occupants cle,
number of occupants occupant distribution
2 2 2 in front
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of
a vehicle.
Fig . 147 Tire pressure label: located on
driver's side 8-pillar
Tire pressure generally refers to
the amount of air in a tire that it
needs it to do its job and safely
carry the combined load of the
entire vehicle and its contents.
Tire pressure is measured in kilo
pascals (kPa), the international
measuring unit and in pounds per
square inch (PSI). Tire pressure is
based in part on the vehicle's de
sign and load limit -the greatest
amount of weight that the vehicle
can carry safely and the tire size.
The proper tire pressure is fre-
176
-... PHIU OIMl(Hll()NI
"'"'"
Fig. 148 Tire pressure label
quently referred to as the "recom
mended cold tire inflation pres
sure." Air in the tires expands
when the tire heats up because of internal friction when it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is higher
when the tire has warmed up than
when it is "cold ." It is the infla-
tion pressure in a "cold" tire that
counts. Therefore , you should
never let air out of a warm tire to
match "cold tire inflation pres
sure" recommendations. The tires ""
...
would then be underinflated a nd
could fail suddenly .
M ainta ining proper tire pressure
is one of the most important
things you can do to he lp avoid
s u dden tire fai lure . Under inflated
tires are a major cause of sudden
tire fa ilure . Keeping tires at the
r ight pressure is also important
for safe and responsive vehic le
handling, traction, braking and
load carrying.
Tire pressures are
particularly important when the
vehicle is be ing dr iven at higher
speeds, and then especially when
heavily loaded even within the
permissib le load-carrying capaci
ties approved for your vehicle .
The recommended tire pressures
for your Audi depend on the kind of tires on your vehicle and the
number of passengers and/or
amount of luggage you will be
transport ing .
The tire pressure label is located
on the driver's side 8-pillar . The
tire pressure label lists the recom mended cold tire inflation pres
s u res for the vehicle at its maxi
mum capacity weight and tires
~ that were on your vehicle at the
": ;;; time it was manufactured. "? N
"' ....
Tir es a nd whe els
If you wish to improve comfort
when operating the vehicle at
normal load (up to 2 occupants ),
you can adjust tire pressu res to
those specified for normal vehi
cle load . Before operating the ve
hicle at ma ximum load, you
must increa se the ti re pressures
to those specified for maximum
vehic le load
c:::> .&. .
Bear in mind that the tire pres
sure monitoring system can only monitor the tire pressures that
are stored. The system does not recognize the load condition of
your vehicle .
See the illustration
c:::> fig. 147 for
the location of the labe l on driv
er's side 8-pillar (color of the ac
tual label and exact location on
the vehicle will vary slightly).
Note that the following table is
accurate a t the time of going to
press and is subject to change . In
the event of discrepancies, the
tire pressure label on driver's side 8-pillar always takes precedence.
The table below lists the recom
mended cold tire inflation pres
sures for the Audi model covered by your Owner 's Literature at the
vehicle's capac ity weight and the .,.
177
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.&_ WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of vehicle control, a crash
or other accident, serious per
sonal injury, and even death .
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the vehicle
from handling properly and in crease the risk of a loss of ve
hicle control.
-The brakes on a vehicle that has been overloaded may not
be able to stop the vehicle
within a safe distance .
-Tires on a vehicle that has been overloaded can fail sud
denly causing loss of control
and a crash.
A WARNING
-
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or
underinflation can lead to a
serious or fatal accident.
-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 failure, including a blowout and sudden deflation,
causing loss of vehicle control.
Tires and wheels
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the
tires originally installed on your
vehicle is listed on the tire pres
sure label located on driver 's side
8-pillar .
The recommended tire pressures
are on the tire pressure label and
in the table
c:::> page 176 , 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 m iles (kilome
ters) at low speeds during the
previous three hours. Air in the
tires expands when the t ire heats
up as a result of internal friction
as it flexes in use . The tire pres
sure is higher when the tire has
warmed up than when it is "cold".
It is the inflation pressure in a
"cold" tire that counts. Therefore,
you shou ld never let air out of a
warm tire to match "Cold tire in
flation pressure" recommenda
tions
c:::> page 176. The tires would
then be underinflated and could
fail suddenly.
The tire pressure label on your
Audi lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the
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Tires and wheels
new, original equipment tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it
was manufactured. For the loca tion of the label¢
page 176,
fig. 147.
Most tires lose air naturally over
t ime. They can also lose some air
if you drive over a pothole or hit a
curb while parking. It is usually not possible to see whether the
radia l tires used today are under
inflated just by look ing at them .
T herefore, be sure to check tire
pressures at least once a month
and always before going on a long
trip. Make sure to take the num
ber of peop le and the amount of
luggage into account when ad
justing tire pressure for a trip -
even one that you would not con
sider to be "long". See
¢ page 182, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important in
forma tion .
Always use an accurate tire pres
sure gauge when checking and
adjust ing inflation pressures .
Check all o f the tires . If the pres
sure in any tire is too h igh when
the tire is "cold", let air ou t of the
tire slowly with the edge of the
tire gauge and keep checking the
1 8 0
pressure until you reach the pres
sure that is correct for the load
(passengers and luggage) and
kind of driving you plan to do .
If the pressure in any tire is too low , note the difference between
the pressure in the co ld tire and
the pressure you need and add
the air that you need to reach the
correct pressure fo r the vehicle
load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on yo ur vehicle as listed
on the on your veh ic le and in this
manual and the kind of driving
you plan to do .
Never exceed the ma ximum in
flation pressure listed on the tire sidewall for any reason.
Remember that the vehicle manu
facturer, not the tire manufactur
er, determines the cor rect tire
pressure for the t ires on you r ve
hicle.
It is important to check the tire pressure when the tires are cold .
- Read the required tire pressure
from the tire pressure label lo
cated on driver 's side B-pillar .
- Turn the va lve stem cap counter
cl ockw ise to remove it from the
tire va lve . .,.
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-Place the air pressure gauge on the valve .
- The tire pressu res should only be
checked an d adjusted when the
t ires are cold. The slig htly raised
pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced .
- Adjust the tire pressure to the
load you are carrying.
-Reinstall the valve stem cap on the valve .
When should I check the tire
pressu re?
The correct tire pressure is espe
cially important at high speeds .
The pressure should therefore be
checked at least once a month
and always before starting a jour
ney.
When should I adjust the tire pressures ?
Adjust the tire pressure to the
load you are carrying . After
changing a wheel
or replacing
wheels you have to adjust the tire pressures on all wheels. In addi
tion, you must then initialize the
new tire pressures in the tire pres
sure mon itoring system
¢page 196 .
Tires and wheels
A WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and/or
underinflation can lead sudden
tire failure, loss of control, col lision, serio us personal injury or
even death .
-When the warning symbol
rD]
appears in the instrument
cluster, stop and inspect the
tires.
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or
underinflation can cause in
creased tire wear and can af
fect the handling of the vehi
cle and stopping ab ility.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or
underinflation can also lead to
sudden tire failure, including a
blowout and sudden deflation,
causing loss of vehicle control.
- The driver is responsib le for
the correct tire pressures for
all t ires on the vehicle . The ap
plicable pressure values are lo
cated on a sticker on the driv
er's side B-pillar.
-Only when all tires on the ve hicle are filled to the correct
pressure, the tire pressure monitoring system can work
correct ly .
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..
Tires and wheels
sudden deflation, causing loss
of control and a crash .
Determining correct load
limit
Use the example below to calcu
late the total weight of the pas
sengers and luggage or other
things that you plan to transport so that you can make sure that
your vehicle will not be overload ed .
Steps for Determining Correct
Load Limit
1 . Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OCCU
PANTS AND CARGO SHOULD
NEV ER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX
LBS"on your vehicle's placard
(tire inflation pressure label)
c:::> page 176, fig. 147.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle .
3 . Subtract the combined weight
of the driver and passengers
from "XXX" kilograms or "XXX"
pounds shown on the sticker
c:::> page 176, fig. 147.
4 . The resulting figure equa ls the
available amount of ca rgo and
1 8 4
luggage load capacity. For ex
ample, if the "XXX" amount
equals 1400 lbs. and there will
be five 150 lbs. passengers in
your vehicle, the amount of
available cargo and luggage
load capac ity is 650 lbs .
(1400-7 SQ (5 X 150) = 650
lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehic le.
That weight may not safely ex
ceed the available cargo and luggage load capacity calculat
ed in Step 4 .
6. If your vehic le w ill be towing a
trailer, load from your t railer
will be transferred to yo ur vehi
cle . Consult this manual to de
termine how this reduces the ava ilable cargo and luggage
load capacity of your vehicle.
~ check the tire sidewall
(c:::> page 186, fig. 150) to deter
mine the designa ted load rating
for a specific tire .