important parts of the vehicle
and can lead to sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowout and
sudden deflation that can cause
the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your
passengers also depends on
making sure that load limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in
cludes everybody and every
thing in and on the vehicle.
These load limits are technical ly referred to as the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the
weight of the basic vehicle, all
factory installed accessories, a
full tank of fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum
load. The maximum load in
cludes the number of passen
gers that the vehicle is intend
ed to carry ("seating capacity")
with an assumed weight of 150 lbs . (68 kg) for each pas
senger at a designated seating
position and the total weight of
any luggage in the vehicle. If
you tow a trailer, the weight of
the trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of the loaded trailer
Tires and wheels 225
must be included as part of the
vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of
the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and the Gross Axle Weight
Rating are listed on the safety
compliance sticker label locat
ed on the driver's side 8-pillar.
Your Audi has 4 seating posi
tions, 2 in the front and 2 in the rear for total seating capacity
of 4. Each seating position has
a seat belt¢ page 123, Safety
belts.
The fact that there is an upper limit to your vehicle's Gross Ve
hicle Weight Rating means that
the total weight of whatever is being carried in the vehicle (in
cluding the weight of a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer) is limited.
The more passengers in the ve hicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard
weights assumed mean that less weight can be carried as
luggage.
•
•
'
226 Tires and wheels
The tire pressure label on your
Audi also lists the maximum
combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other
cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the location of the label
¢page 217, fig. 182.
A 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 the
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, including a blow
out and sudden deflation,
causing loss of control and a
crash .
-Always make sure that the
total load being transported
- including the weight of a 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.
Determining correct load
limit
Use the example below to cal
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth
er things that you plan to trans
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be
overloaded.
Steps for Determining
Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi
cle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢page 217,
fig. 182.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
...
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3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and passengers from
"XXX" kilo
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
.:::> page 217, fig. 182.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car go and luggage load capaci
ty . For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150
lbs . passengers in your vehi
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca
pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-750
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage and cargo being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle .
Tires and wheels 227
.,.Check the tire sidewall
(.:::> page 230, fig. 186) to de
termine the designated load
rating for a specific tire.
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends
on a lot of different things in
cluding proper installation and
balancing, correct tire pressure
and driving style.
Fig. 184 Tire tread : tread wea r ind i
cators (TW I)
____ Jj
Fig. 185 Rotat ing ti res fo r more even
wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your vehi
cle have 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
¢ fig. 184 running across the
228 Tir es an d whee ls
tread . Depending on the make, -Tire rotation interva ls may dif-
there will be six to eight of fer from the vehicle service in-
them evenly placed around the tervals outlined in your Main-
tire. Marks on the tire sidewall tenance and Warranty Book- (for example "TWI" or other
let.
symbols) indicate the positions -The longer one tire is used in
of the tread wear indicators .
one location on the vehicle ,
Worn tires must be replaced. the more it wears at certain
Different figures may apply in
points; the refore, we recom-
other countries¢
.a:... mend tha t you follow the tire
Tire pressure manufact urer's suggested tire
rotation intervals .
Incorrect tire pressure causes -Vehicles with front -wheel
premature wear and can cause drive experience more tread
sudden ti re blow-out. For this
wear on the front wheels com-
r eason, tire pressure must be
pared to all wheel drive (quat-
checked at least once a month tro).
¢page 221.
-Please rotate t ires as shown
Driving style ¢fig. 185.
Driving fast around curves, -Extra care must be taken when
heavy acceleration and hard rotating direction-specific
b rak ing increase tire wear . tires
¢
page 249.
Rotating tires for more even Wheel balancing
wear
The wheels on new vehicles are
For all four t ires on your veh ic le balanced. However
, various sit-
to have the same service life, uations d
uring everyday drivi ng
we recommend that the front can cause them to become un-
and rear tires are rotated ac- balanced, resulting in vibra
-
c o rd ing to the tire man ufact ur- tions you can
usu ally feel
er's suggested tire rotat ion in- through the s
teering wheel.
terva ls. Please remember the
Unbalanced wheels must be re-
following :
balanced to avo id excessive
...
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er
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co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
wear on steering, suspension and tires. A wheel must also be
rebalanced when a new tire is
installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can
cause excessive tire wear, im
pairing the safety of the vehi
cle. If tires show excessive
wear, have the wheel alignment checked by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must al
ways have tires of the same
size, construction and tread
type. For details see
¢page 176.
A 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.
Tires and wheels 229
-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
failure and loss of vehicle
control.
•
•
'
230 Tires and wheels
New tires and replacing
tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to
be broken in.
Fig. 186 Tire specification codes on
the sidewall of a tire
No. Description
CD Passenger car tire (where
applicable)
@ Nominal width of tire in
millimeters
@ Ratio of height to width
(aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rat-
1ng
(j) U.S. DOT tire identifica -
tion number
No. Description
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and
materials used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and
temperature grades
@ Maximum permissible in-
flation 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 characteristics of the vehi
cle and can make a major con
tribution to good road holding and safe handling when in good
condition and properly inflated
¢ A .
We recommend that all work
on tires and wheels be per
formed by an authorized Audi
dealer. They are familiar with recommended procedures and
have the necessary special tools
and spare parts as well as the
proper facilities for disposing of
the old tires.
Authorized Audi dealers have
the necessary information
M N
er
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co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
about technical requirements
for installing or changing tires and rims.
Replacing tires and wheels
Tires should be replaced at least in pairs and not individu
ally (for example both front
tires or both rear tires togeth er) .
Be sure to read and heed the in
formation to the tire pressure monitoring system*
¢page 239.
Always buy replacement radial
tires that have the same specifi
cations as the tires approved
for your vehicle by Audi. Re
placement tires must always
have the same load rating spec
ification as the original equip
ment or approved optional tires
listed in the table
¢ page 217.
Audi-approved specification
tires are specially matched to
your vehicle and its load limits and can contribute to the im
portant roadholding, driving
characteristics, and safety of
the vehicle. The table ( ¢
page 217) lists specifica
tions of the tires approved for
I
Tires and wheels 231
the Audi models covered by
your Owner's Literature.
The tire pressure label located on driver's side B-pillar
(r=>page 217, fig. 183) lists the
specifications of the original
equipment tires installed on
your vehicle at the time it was
manufactured.
Federal law requires tire manu
facturers to place standardized information on the sidewall of
all tires¢
fig. 186. This infor
mation identifies and describes
the fundamental characteris
tics, 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 specifications
makes it easier to choose the
correct tires. Radial tires have
the tire specifications marked on the sidewall , for example:
P265 / 35 R19 98V XL
This contains the following in-
formation: ..,..
•
•
'
232 Tires and wheels
P Indicates the tire is for pas
senger cars (where applica ble)
265 Nominal tire width in mm
of the tire from sidewall
edge to sidewall edge. In
general, the larger the num
ber, the wider the tire
35 Height/width ratio in per
cent (aspect ratio)
R Tire construction: Radial
19 Rim diameter code (in in-
ches)
98 Load rating code
Y Speed rating letter code
XL (or "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" Indicates that the t ire is
a"Reinforced" or an "Extra
Load" tire
M+S (or "M/5") Indicates that
the tire has some mud and snow capability
The tires could also have the in
formation of direction of rota
tion
¢page 211.
Tire manufacturing date
The manufacturing date is also
indicated on the tire sidewall
l) For t ires with a maximum speed ca
pability ov er 149 mph (240 km/h) ,
tire manufacturers sometimes use
the letters "ZR."
(possibly only on the inner side
of the wheel):
"DOT ... 2214 ... " means, for
example, that the tire was pro
duced in the 22nd week of
2014.
Speed rating (letter code)
The speed rating letter code on
the wheels indicates the maxi
mum permissible road speeds
¢ A in Winter tires on
page 237.
P up to 93 mph (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (158 km/h)
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
S up to 110 mph (180 km/h)
T up to 118 mph (190 km/h)
U up to 124 mph (200 km/h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)
1 )
Z over 149 mph (240 km/h)1)
W up to 168 mph (270 km/h)1
)
Y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)1) .,.