(D Note
- Please note that summer and
winter t ires are designed for
the conditions that are typical in those seasons . Audi recom
mends using winter tires dur
ing the winter months . Low
temperatures significantly de
crease the elasticity of summ
er tires, which affects traction
and braking ability. If summer
tires are used in very cold tem peratures, cracks can form on
the tread bars, resulting in
Tires and wheels
permanent tire damage that
can cause loud driving noise
and unbalanced tires . Audi is
not responsible for this type
of damage.
- Burnished, polished or
chromed rims must not be
used in winter road condi
tions . The surface of the rims
does not have sufficient corro
sion protection for this and
could be permanently dam aged by road salt or similar
substances .
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto
matic transmission, power steer
ing, power brakes, power win
dows , powe r seats , radio , and
heater , to the extent that these
items a re available as factory-in
stalled equipment (whether in
stalled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
;:;: the width of the tire in percent .
" ~ Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a ...
~ low sidewall for improved steer -
"' ....
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement.
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to f it the rim .
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead .
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
17 1
...
.... N
" N ": ... IO "? N U'> .....
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
1 73
Tires and wheels
wheel size, you will have to pur
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter .
Rim size designat ion
means rim diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between
rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be
tween the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code )
means the speed at which a tire is
designed to be driven for extend
ed periods of time. The ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
c::;, page 189. You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law.
T he speed rat ing letter code,
where applicable, is mo lded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the
maximum permissible road
speeds
c::;, .& in Winter tires on
page 194 .
Tire pressure monitoring
system
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's
1 7 4
tires are underinflated and ill umi
nates a low tire p ressure warning
telltale.
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact with the road .
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visual indication of the degrees
of wear of the t read. See
c::;, page 185 , Tread Wear Indica
tor (TWI) for more information
on measuring tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system devel
oped by the United States Nation
a l Highway Traffic Safety Adminis
tration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buye rs make relative com
parisons among tires . The UTQG is
not a safety rating an d not a guar
antee tha t a tire will last for a
prescr ibed number of mi les or
perform in a certain way. It sim
ply gives tire buyers addit ional in
formation to combine w ith other
considerat ions, such as pr ice,
...
Tires and wheels
All-wheel drive
Only the wheel/tire sizes specified
by the manufacturer may be used
on vehicles with all-wheel drive. For details see¢
page 139.
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to
loss of control, a crash and seri
ous personal injury!
-Never drive a vehicle when the tread on any tire is worn down
to the wear indicators.
-Worn tires are a safety hazard,
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 sud
denly, 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 history." Old
186
used tires may have been
damaged even though the
damage cannot be seen that
can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires
. and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be
broken in.
Fig. 150 Tire specification codes on the
sidewall of a tire
No Description
•
@ Passenger car tire (where ap-
plicable)
@ Nominal width of tire in mil-
limeters
.... N
" N ": ... IO "? N
"' ....
No Descript ion
•
® Ratio of height to width (as -
pect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
(j) U.S. DOT tire identification
number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and ma-
terials used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and tern-
perature grades
@ Maximum permissible infla-
tion pressure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the vehicle's design. The
tires and rims approved by Audi
are specially matched to the char
acteristics of the vehicle and can
make a major contribution to
good road holding and safe han
dling when in good condition and
properly inflated ¢
&.
We recommend that all work on
tires and wheels be performed by
an authorized Audi dealer. They
are familiar with recommended
Tires and wheels
procedures and have the necessa
ry special too ls and spare parts as
well as the proper facilities for
disposing of the old ti res.
Authorized Audi dealers have the necessary information about
technical requirements for insta l
ling or changing tires and rims.
Replacing tire s and wheel s
Tires should be replaced at least
in pairs and not individually (for
example both front tires or both rear tires together).
Be sure to read and heed the in
formation to the tire pressure
monitoring system¢
page 190.
Always buy replacement radial
tires that have the same specifica
tions as the tires approved for
your vehicle by Audi . Replacement
tires must always have the same
load rating specification as the
original equipment or approved
optional tires listed in the table
i=> page 176 .
Audi-approved specification tires
are specially matched to your ve
hicle and its load limits, and can
contribute to the important road holding, driving characteristics,
and safety of the vehicle. The .,.
187
Tires and wheels
table( ¢ page 176) lists specifica
tions of the tires approved for the
Audi models covered by your
Owner's Literature.
The tire pressure label located on driver's s ide 8-pillar
(¢page 176,
fig. 148) lists the specifications of
the original equipment tires in
stalled on your vehicle at the time
it was manufactured.
Federal law requires tire manufac
turers to place standardized infor
mation on the sidewall of all tires
¢ fig .
150 . This information iden
tifies and describes the funda
mental characteristics, the quality
grade of the tire and also provides
a tire identification number for
safety standard certification and in case of a recall.
Tire specifications
Knowledge of tire spec ifications
makes it easier to choose the cor
rect tires. Radial tires have the
tire specifications marked on the
sidewall, for example:
P235 / 35 R 19 91 Y
This contains the following infor
mation:
P I ndicates the tire is for passen
ger cars
1 88
235 Nominal tire width in mm of
the tire from sidewall edge to
sidewall edge . In general, the
larger the numbe r, the wide r
the tire
35 Height/width ratio in percent
(aspect ratio)
R Tire construction: Radial
19 Rim diameter code (in inches)
91 Load rating code
Y Speed rating letter code
XL (or "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF") indicates that the tire is
a"Reinforced" or an "Ext ra
Load" ti re
M+S (o r "M/S") Indicates that the
tire has some mud and sn ow
capability
The tires could also have the in
formation of direction of rotation
¢page 170.
Tire manufacturing date
The manufactur ing date is a lso in
dicated on the tire sidewa ll (pos
sibly only on the
inner side of the
wheel) :
"DOT .. . 2213 ... "means, for ex
ample, that the tire was produced in the 22nd week of 2013. .,.
..... N
r-N "': ..... \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 .....
CD Note
-Remove snow chains before driving on roads
not covered with snow to avoid damaging
tires and wearing the snow chains down un necessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct contact
with the wheel rim, can scratch or damage
it. Therefore, make sure that the snow
chains are suitably covered . Check the posi
tion of the snow chains after driving a few
yards and correct if necessary. Follow the in
structions from the snow chain manufactur
er when doing so.
(j) Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the fac
tory installed rims. If different rims are fitted,
the correct wheel bolts with the right length and
correctly shaped bolt heads must be used. This
ensures that wheels are fitted securely and that
the brake system functions correctly.
In certain circumstances, you may not use wheel
bolts from a different vehicle -even if it is the
same model ¢
page 217.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose causing loss of con
trol, a collision and serious personal injury.
-
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads
in the wheel hubs clean so the wheel bolts
can turn easily and be properly 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.
Tires and wheels
- Never use different wheels bolts on your ve
hicle.
- Always maintain the correct tightening tor
que for the wheel bolts to reduce the risk of
a wheel loss. If the tightening torque of the
wheel bolts is too low, they can loosen and
come out when the vehicle is moving. If the
tightening torque is too high, the wheel bolts and threads can be damaged and the
wheel can become loose.
CD Note
The specified torque for the wheel bolts is 90
ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7 .4 ft lb
(± 10 Nm) . Torque wheel bolts diagonally. Af
ter changing a wheel, the torque must be
checked as soon as possible with a torque
wrench -preferably by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect ra
tio tires. These tires have been thoroughly tested
and been selected specifically for your model for
their superb performance, road feel and handling under a variety of driving conditions . Ask your au
thorized Audi dealer for more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated by
a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's size designa
tion. The numeral represents the ratio of the
tire's sidewall height in relation to its tread width
expressed in percentage. Conventional tires have
a height/width ratio of 60 or more.
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is par
ticularly sensitive to improper inflation pres
sure. 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 pressures should be checked at least once a month and always
before a long trip
c> page 179, Checking tire
pressure.
195
Gross Axle We ight Rating
The G ross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the vehi
cle ~.& .
Vehicle capacity weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max. load) is listed
e ither on the driver's side B-pillar or inside the
f u el filler flap.
& WARNING
-The actual Gross Axle Weight Rating at the
front and rear ax les should not exceed the
permissible weights, and their combination
must not exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating.
Dimensions
Length
Width (across mirrors)
He ight (unloaded) al
Technical Data
- Exceeding permissible weight ratings can
result in veh icle damage, acc idents and per
sonal injury.
(D Note
-The vehicle capacity weight figures apply
when the load is distributed evenly in the
vehicle (passenger and luggage). When
transport ing a heavy load in the luggage
compartment, carry the load as near to the
rear axle as possible so that the vehicle 's
handling is not impaired .
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible
axle loads or the maximum gross veh icle
we ight. Always remember that the vehicle 's
handling will be affected by the extra load.
Th erefore, adjust your speed accordingly.
- Always observe local regulations .
in (mm) 174.6 (4435)
in (mm) 80.0 (2029)
in (mm) 49 (1252)
al The heigh t of th e ve hicle depe nds on th e tir es and the s usp en sion .
When driving up steep ramps, on rough roads,
over curbs, etc. i t is important to remember that
some parts of your vehicle, such as spoilers or ex -
Capacities
Fuel tank: total capacity
Windsh ield and headlight* washer fluid conta iner haust system components, may be close to the
ground. Be careful not to damage them.
gal (liters) approx. 21.1 (80.0)
quarts (liters) approx. 4 .2 (4 .0)
213