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Bead
means the part of the tire that
is made of steel wires, wrapped
or reinforced by ply cords and
that is shaped to fit 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 .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom
mended by the vehicle manu
facturer for a tire of a designat
ed size that has not been driven
for more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before
the tire pressure is measured or
adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor
vehicle with standard equip
ment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, oil, and cool
ant, air conditioning and addi
tional weight of optional equip
ment.
Tires and wheels 213
Extra load tire
means a tire design to operate
at higher loads and at higher inflation pressures than the
corresponding standard tire. Extra load tires may be identi
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-carrying capaci
ty of a single axle system,
measured at the tire-ground in
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the maximum total
loaded weight of the vehicle.
Groove
means the space between two
adjacent tread ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that
a tire is rated to carry for a giv
en inflation pressure. You may
not find this information on all
tires because it is not required by law.
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'
214 Tires and whee ls
Ma ximum load r ating Overall width
means the load rating for a tire means the linear distance be-
at the maximum permissible in- tween the exteriors of the side-
flation pressure for that tire. walls of an inflated tire, includ -
Max imum lo ad ed vehicle ing elevations due to labeling,
weight decorations, or protective
means the sum of: bands or ribs
.
(a) Curb weight
Ply
(b) Accessory weight means a layer of rubber
-coated
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and parallel cords
.
(d) Production options weight
Production options weight
Ma ximum (permissible )
means the combined we ight of
inflation pressure those installed regular produc-
means the maximum cold infla- tion options weighing over 5
tion pressure to which a tire lbs
. (2 .3 kg) in excess of those
may be inflated. Also called standard
items which they re-
"maximum inflation pressure." place, no
t previously consid-
Normal occupant weight
ered in curb weight or accessory
weight, including heavy duty
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) brakes, ride levelers, heavy duty
times the number of occupants battery, and special trim.
seated in the vehicle up to the
Radial ply tire total seating capac ity of your
vehicle . means a pneumatic tire in
Occupant distribution
which the p
ly cords that extend
to the beads are laid at s ub-
means distribution of occu -
stantially 90 degrees to the
pants in a vehicle .
centerline of the tread.
Outer diameter
Recommended inflation
means the overall diameter of pressure
an inflated new tire.
see c::> page 213, Cold tire infla-
tion pressure .
~
216 Tires a nd whee ls
Treadwear indicators (TWI ) U.S. DOT Tire Identification
means the projections within Number (TIN)
the principal grooves designed This
is the tire's "serial num-
to give a visual indication of the ber". It begins with the
letters
degrees of wear of the tread . "
D OT" and indicates that the
See ¢
page 22 7, Tread Wear tire meets all federal stand-
Indicator (TWI) for more infor- ards. The next two numbers or
ma tion on measuring ti re wear. letters indica
te the p lant where
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
it was manufactured, and the
last four numbers represent the
is a tire informatio n system de-
week and year of manufac ture.
veloped by the United States For example,
National Highway Traffic Safety
DOT ... 2214 ... Administration (NHTSA) that is
designed to he lp buyers make means that the tire was pro
-
re lative comparisons among duced in the
22nd week of
tires. The UTQG is not a safety 201
4. T he other numbers are
rat ing and not a guarantee that marketing codes that may or
a ti re will last for a prescribed may not be used by the tire
number of miles (kilometers) or manufact
urer. This information
perform in a certain way . It is used to contact consumers if
simply g ives tire buyers add i-a tire defect requ
ires a recall.
tional information to comb ine
Vehicle capacity weight
with other considerations, such
means the rated cargo and lug-
as pr ice, brand loyalty and deal-
gage load plus 150 lbs.
er recommenda tions . Under
UT QG, tires are graded by the (68 kilograms) times the vehi-
cle's tota
l seating capacity as
tire manufacturers in three
areas: treadwea r, traction, and listed on the label loca
ted on
the drive r's side B-pillar .
...
temperature resistance. The
UT QG informa tion on the tires,
molded in to the sidewalls.
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an individu
al tire that is determined by
distributing to each axle its
share of the maximum loaded
vehicle weight and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
mean s that load on an individu
al tire that is determined by
Tires and wheels 217
distributing to each axle its
share of the curb weight, acces
sory weight, and normal occu
pant weight (distributed in ac
cordance with table below
r=> page 217) and dividing by
two.
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for
various designated seating capacities
Designated seating Vehicle normal load, Occupant distribu-
capacity, number of number of occupants tion in a normally
occupants loaded vehicle
4 2 2 in front
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall
handlingJ performance and safety
of a vehicle.
Fig. 182 Tire pressure label: located
-"' ---------------.... ,;,
& =-=====c=-=============== ::l
Ve=~= • = • =-1)§ -n,,......,..__.................................... • .... _ .. .................................... ___...,._ .. . -
- KPA, . PSI
- KPA. . PSI
- KPA. . PSI
Fig. 183 Tire pressure label
"'
"" on driver's side B -pillar
a: LL co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
218 Tires and whee ls
Tire pressure generally refers to tant things you can do to help
the amount of a ir in a tire that avoid sudden tire failure. Un-
it needs it to do its job and derinflated tires are a major
safely carry the combined load cause of sudden tire failure .
of the entire vehicle and its con-
Keeping tires at the right pres-
tents . Tire pressure is measured sure is also important for safe
in kilopascals (kPa), the inter- and responsive vehic le han-
national measuring unit and in dling, traction, braking and
pounds pe r square inch (PSI). load carrying.
Tire pressu res
Ti re pressure is based in part on are particularly important
the vehicle's design and load when the vehicle is being driv-
limit -the greatest amount of en at h igher speeds, and then
weight that the vehicle can car-especially when hea vily loaded
ry safely and the tire size. The even within the permissible
proper tire pressure is frequent-load-carrying capacities ap-
ly referred to as the "recom-proved for your vehicle.
mended cold tire inflation pres-
The recommended tire pres-
sure." Air in the tires expands sures for your Audi depend on
when the tire heats up because the kind of tires on your vehicle
of internal friction when it flex- and the number of passengers
es in use. The ti re pressure is
and/or amount of luggage you
h igher when the tire has
will be transporting.
warmed up than when it is
The tire pressure labe l is locat-
"cold." It is the inflation p res-
ed on the driver's side 8-pillar.
sure in a "cold" tire that counts .
Therefore, you should never let The tire pressure label lists the
recommended cold tire infla-
air out of a warm tire to match
"cold tire inflation pressure" tion pressures for the vehicle at
its maximum capacity weight
recommendations . The tires
would then be underinflated and tires that were on your ve-
and cou ld fai l suddenly . hicle at the time it was manu-
f actured.
...
Maintaining proper tire p res-
sure is one of the most impor-
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If you wish to improve comfort
when operating the vehicle at
normal load (up to 2 occu
pants), you can adjust tire
pressures to those specified
for normal vehicle load. Before
operating the vehicle at maxi mum load, you must increase
the tire pressures to those
specified for maximum vehicle
load
c> .&. .
Bear in mind that the tire pres
sure monitoring system* can
only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recognize the load
condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire p ressure monitoring system*
will be impaired if you store normal load pressures but then
operate the vehicle at its maxi
mum load
c> .&. .
Model Tire designation
Engine
RS 5 Cabriolet: 265/35 Rl9 98V XL
4.2
liter High Performance
a-cylinder
275/30 R20 97V XL
High Performance
Tires and wheels 219
See the illustration c> fig. 182
for the location of the label on driver's side B-pillar (color of
the actual label and exact loca
tion on the vehicle will vary slightly).
Note that the following table is
accurate at the time of going to
press and is subject to change.
In the event of discrepancies,
the tire pressure label is locat ed on the driver's side B-pillar
always takes precedence.
The table below lists the rec ommended cold tire inflation pressures for the Audi model
covered by your Owner's Litera
ture at the vehicle's capacity
weight and the tire sizes instal
led on the respective models as
original equipment , or as a fac
tory option.
Tire pressure
normal load condition full load condition (up to 2 occupants)
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
41 280 38 2 60 45 310 44 300
41 280
38 2
60 4 5 310 44 30 0
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'
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xi, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
220 Tires and wheels
Because technical changes may
be made to vehicle equipment
during the model year, always
compare the tire size designa
tion on the tire pressure label
on your vehicle with the tires on
your vehicle. Make sure that the
tire size information on the ve hicle label is the same as the
size of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if
the vehicle belongs to someone else or you bought the vehicle
with different rims/tires or you
bought the vehicle as a previ
ously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and
that of your passengers also de pends on making sure that load
limits are not exceeded . Vehicle
load includes everybody and ev
erything in and on the vehicle.
These load limits are technical
ly referred to as the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR"). The Gross Axle
Weight Rating ("GAWR") is the
maximum load that can be ap
plied at each of the vehicle's
two axles . The Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating and the Gross
Axle Weight Rating are listed on the safety compliance stick- er label located on the driver's
side B-pillar.
The tire pressure
label on your Audi lists the
maximum combined weight of
all of the occupants and lug
gage or other cargo that the ve
hicle can carry. For the location
of the tire pressure label
¢fig. 182.
&_ WARNING
-
Overloading a vehicle can
cause loss of vehicle control,
a crash or other accident, se rious personal injury, and
even death .
-Carrying more weight than
your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the ve
hicle from handling properly
and increase the risk of a
loss of vehicle control.
-The brakes on a vehicle that has been overloaded may
not be able to stop the vehi
cle within a safe distance.
-Tires on a vehicle that has
been overloaded can fail
suddenly causing loss of
control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the
total load being transported
- including the weight of a
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trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer - does not make the vehicle heavier than the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat
ing.
A WARNING
-Incorrect tire pressures
and/or underinflation can lead to a serious or fatal ac
cident.
-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, caus ing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the
tires originally installed on
your vehicle is listed on the tire pressure label located on driv
er's side 8-pillar.
The recommended tire pres
sures are on the tire pressure
label and in the table
Tires and wheels 221
¢ page 217, 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 miles (kilometers) at low speeds during the previous
three hours. Air in the tires ex
pands when the tire heats up as
a result of internal friction as it
flexes in use. The tire pressure is higher when the tire has
warmed up than when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a
"cold" tire that counts. There
fore, you should never let air out of a warm tire to match
"Cold tire inflation pressure" recommendations ¢
page 217.
The tires would then be under
inflated and could fail sudden
ly.
The tire pressure label on your
Audi lists the recommended cold tire inflation pressures at
maximum capacity for the new,
original equipment tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was manufactured. For the
location of the label
¢ page 217, fig. 182. .,.
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