2015 AUDI S3 flat tire

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KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve­
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
c:> page 240,
fig. 168.
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 pas­ sengers from
"XXX" kilo ­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
c:> page 240 , fig. 168.
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.
Tires and wheels 251
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.
~check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 254, fig . 172) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
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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
¢ ,&.
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
Tires and wheels 255
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
i=> page 264.
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
c> page 240.
Audi-approved specification
tires are specially matched to
your vehicle and its load limits, and can contribute to the im­portant roadholding, driving
characteristics, and safety of
the vehicle. The table
{ c> page 240) lists specifica­
tions of the tires approved for
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258 Tires an d whee ls
tires because they meet the
h ighest standards regarding
safety and driving characteris ­
tics when used correctly. Your
authorized Audi dealer w ill
g ladly provide you with more
information.
Tire ply composition and materials used
T he number of plies indicates
the number of layers of rubber­
coated fabric in the tire. In gen­
eral, the greater the number of
plies , the more weight a tire
can support . Tire manufactur­
ers also must indicate the ma­
ter ia ls in the tire, wh ich include
steel, nylon, polyester, and oth­
ers .
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the max­
imum load in kilograms and
pounds that can be carried by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for
treadwear, traction, and
temperature resistance
Tread wear, trac tion and tem­
perature grades
¢ page 260.
Maximum Permissible
Inflation Pressure
T his number is the g reatest
amount of air pressure that should ever be put in the tire
under normal driv ing condi­
tions.
A WARNING
-Using incorrect or unmatch­ ed tires and/or wheels or
improper t ire and wheel
combinations can lead to loss of control , collision and
ser ious personal injury.
-Always use tires, rims and
wheel bolts that meet the
specifications of original
factory-installed tires o r
other combinations that
have been specifically ap ­
proved by the vehicle manu­
facturer.
- Tires age even if they a re
not being used and can fail
sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that a re more
than 6 years old can on ly be
used in an eme rgency and
then with special care and
at lower speeds.
-Never mount used tires on
your vehicle if you are no t

Tires and wheels 259
sure of their "previous histo-and sudden deflation and
ry." Old used tires may have loss of control.
been damaged even though -Temperature grades apply
the damage cannot be seen to tires that are properly in-
that can lead to sudden tire flated and not over or un-
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failure and loss of vehicle derinflated.
control. -For technical reasons it is
-All four wheels must be fit- not always possible to use
ted with radial tires of the wheels from other vehicles -
same type , size (rolling cir-
in some cases not even
cumference) and the same wheels from the same vehi-
tread pattern. Driving with cle model.
different tires reduces vehi- -If you install wheel trim
cle handling and can lead to discs on the vehicle wheels,
a loss of control. make sure that the air flow
-If the spare tire is not the to the brakes is not blocked.
same as the tires that are Reduced airflow to the
mounted on the vehicle - for brakes can them to over-
example with winter tires - heat, increasing stopping
only use the spare tire for a distances and causing a col-
short period of time and lision.
drive with extra ca re. Refit -Run flat tires may only be
the normal road wheel as used on vehicles that were
soon as safely possible. equipped with them at the
-Never drive faster than the factory. The vehicle must
maximum speed for which have a chassis designed for
the tires on your vehicle are run flat tires. Incorrect use
rated because tires that are of run flat tires can lead to
driven faster than their rat- vehicle damage or acci-
ed speed can fail suddenly. dents. Check with an au-
-Overloading tires cause heat thorized Audi dealer or tire
' M • N
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......
ure, including a blowout cle can be equipped with ... \!) 1.1'1
M 1.1'1 ......

260 Tires and wheels
run flat tires. If run flat tires
are used, they must be in­
stalled on all four wheels. Mixing tire types is not per­
mitted.
@) Note
-For technical reasons, it is not generally possible to
use the wheel rims from
other vehicles. This can hold
true for wheels of the same
vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different
from the tires that you have mounted on your vehicle
(for example winter tires or
wide prof ile tires), then use
the spare tire for a short pe­
riod of time only and drive
with extra care. Replace the
flat tire with the tire match­ ing the others on your vehi­
cle as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the
valve stem cap . The valves
could get damaged.
@) For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accord­
ance w ith the local require­
ments.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality g rades can be foun d where applicab le
on the t ire s ide wall between t read sho ulder
and maximum section width¢
page 254,
fig . 172 .
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Tempera ture A .
All passenge r ca r tir es must con fo rm to Feder ­
al Safety Req uirements in ad dition to these
grades.
Tread wear
T he tread we ar g rade is a c omparative r ati ng
b as ed on the wea r ra te of the tire when tes ted
u nder con tro lled cond itions o n a specifie d
government test course .
F o r ex am ple, a tire gr aded 1 S0 would wear
o n e and one h alf ( 11/ 2) times as well on the
government course as a ti re gr aded 10 0 .
T he re lative per forman ce of tires depen ds
up on the actu al cond itions of the ir use, h ow­
ever, and m ay dep art s ignific antly from the
no rm due to va ria tions i n driving ha bits, se rv ­
ice p ractices and differe nces in road c haracter­
ist ics and climate.
Traction
The tr actio n gr ad es, fro m hig hest to lowes t,
are AA, A, Ban d
C. Those grades represent t he
ti re 's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured unde r cont rolled conditions on
specified g overnment test surfaces of aspha lt
and co ncrete. A t ire mar ked C may have poor
traction performance ¢
A.
Temperature
The temperature g rades are A (the highest),
B, an d C, represe nting the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ab ility to dissi­
pate heat when tested unde r controlled condi­
t ions on a specif ied ind oor l abo rato ry test
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Sustained high tem perature can cause the
materia l of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to su dden ti re fa ilure <=>,& .
The grade C corresponds to a level of per form­
a nce which a ll passenger car tires must meet
under the Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Stand­
ard No. 109. Grades Band A represent higher levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the m inimum required by law.
_&. WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this t ire is
based on stra ight-ahead b raking t raction
tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydrop lan ing o r peak traction
character istics .
_&. WARNING
The temperature grade for this t ire is es­
tablished for a ti re that is properly inflated
and not overloaded . Excessive speed, un­
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separately or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire fa ilure.
Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice. At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires .
In some heavy snow areas, loca l governments
may require true winter or "snow" tires, those
with very deeply cut tread. These tires shou ld
only be used in pa irs and be installed on all
four wheels. Make sure you pu rchase snow
tires that are the same size and const ruct ion
type as t he other tires on your ve hicle.
If your vehicle is equipped with all-wheel
d rive*, this will improve tract ion during winte r
d riving, eve n w it h the standard t ires. Howev­
e r, we strong ly recommend t hat you a lways
eq uip a ll four wheels on yo ur vehicle wi th cor­
rectly fitted win ter t ires or a ll-season tires,
when winter road conditions are expected .
Tires an d wheel s 261
This also improves the veh icle's b rak ing per ­
formance and reduces stopping distances.
Summe r ti res prov ide les s gr ip on i ce and
snow.
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted
o n all fo ur whee ls.
Ask your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop for permitted winter tire sizes. Use
o nl y rad ial winter t ires.
Winter tires lose their effectiveness whe n the
tread is worn down to a depth of0 .157 inch
(4 mm) .
Only drive w ith w inter t ires under w inter con­
dit ions. Summer t ires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °() .
If you have a flat tire, see notes on spare
whee l
r=;,page 254.
Please a lways remember that winter tires may
have a lower speed rating t han the tires o rigi­
nally installed on your vehicle at the time it
was manufactured. P lease seer=;,
page 257,
Speed rating (letter code)
for a listing of the
speed rating le tter codes and the max imum
speed at which the tires can be d rive n.
The speed rating letter code(¢
page 238) is
o n the side wall of the t ire r=;,
page 254.
_&. WARNING
Winter t ires have maximum speed limits
that may b e lower than yo ur vehicle's max­
imum speed. Always know the max imum
speed before dr iv ing off. Never dr ive faster
than the speed permitted for yo ur spe cific
win ter tires . This wi ll ca use damage to the
tires leading to an accident and ser ious
personal injury to you and your passen­
gers.
_&. WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your ve hicle
were designed can cause t ire failure in­
cluding a blowout and sudden d eflation,
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In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a different vehicle -
even if it
i s the same mode l
Q page 291.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose caus ing loss of
control, a collision and ser ious personal in­
jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose w hile d riving if greased or
o iled,
even if tightened to the spec ified
torq ue.
- Only use wheel bo lts that belong to the
rim being ins talled.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
- Always maintain the correct tightening
torque fo r the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tigh teni ng tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving . If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel ca n be­
come loose .
(D Note
The specified torque for the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) w ith a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts
diagonally. After changing a wheel, the
torque must be checked as soon as possi­
b le with a torque wrench -prefe rably by an
author ized Audi dealer or qualified wo rk­
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been thorough ly
tested and been selected spec ifically for your
model for the ir superb performance, road feel
Tire s an d wheel s 263
and handling under a variety o f driving condi ­
tions. Ask your authorized A udi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspec t ratio of these tires is ind icate d
by a numera l of
55 or le ss in the tire's size
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage.
Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
particularl y sens it iv e to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tir es are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pr essure i s
regularly checked and ma intain ed . Tire pr es­
s ure s should be checked at lea st on ce a
month and alway s bef ore a long trip
~ page 245 , Checking tire pressure .
A Word about Low Aspect Ratio and High
Performance Ti res
Hig h pe rformance tires are des igned for bet­
ter performance and handling in warm cli­
mates. When driving in cold, snowy or icy
weather, you sho uld equ ip your vehicle w it h
four all-season or winter tires, which
offer
better traction under those condit ions. We
suggest you use the Audi recommended win­
te r or a ll-season tires specified for you r Audi.
High performance tires a lso have a lower as ­
pect ratio that aids performance and han­
dling . Driving over rough or damaged road
surfaces, as well as debr is, cu rbs and other
obstacles can cause serious damage to
whee ls, tires, vehicle body, and suspens ion
parts . B e carefu l to avo id road hazards and re­
du ce your speed , espec ia lly if your vehicle is
equipped wi th low prof ile tires .
Please a lso remember when making your se­
lection that, wh ile these tires deliver respon­
s ive handling, t hey m ay ride less comfo rtably
and make more noise than o thers . Finally,
these tires may wear more quickly than other
c h oices.
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264 Tire s and wheel s
It is important that the inflation pressu re is
regularly checked and maintained at recom­
mended levels .
F or more informat ion p lease ask your A udi
deale r for more details .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio t ires can be damaged more
easi ly by impact with potho les, curbs, gu llies
or ridges on the road, part icularly if the t ire is
underinflated .
I n o rder to m inim ize the o ccu rrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom­
mend that you observe the following precau­
tions:
- Always mainta in recommended inflat ion
pressures. Check your tire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces­
sary .
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
thro ugh or over such obstacles can damage
your t ires. Impact with a curb may also
cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
t ires or have them inspected by the neares t
authorized Aud i dealer . Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your t ires every 2,000 miles (3,000
km) for damage and wear . Damage is not al­
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air and unde rinflat ion, wh ich could eventu­
ally cause t ire fail ure.
If you be lieve that a
t ire may have been damaged, replace the
tire as soon as possible.
- T hese tires may wea r more quick ly than oth­
ers.
- Please a lso remember that, whi le these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make mo re noise than
other c hoices.
Reduced performance in winter /cold
s eason condition s
All tires are designed for certain pu rposes .
The low aspect ratio, u ltra hig h performance t
ir es or iginally insta lled on yo ur vehicle a re in ­
tended for maximum dry and wet road per­
formance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather conditions. If
you drive under those c ircumstances, you
shou ld equ ip your vehicle w ith all -season or
winter tires, which offer bette r traction unde r
those conditions . We suggest you use the rec­
ommended snow o r all-season t ires specified
for yo ur vehicle , or thei r equivalent .
Refer to~ page
261 for more detailed infor­
mation regard ing winter tires .
Tire pressure
monitoring system
ill General notes
E ach tire, including the spare ( if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly wh en co ld and in­
flated to t he inflat io n pressure recommended
by the veh icle man ufact urer on t he veh icle
placard or tire inf lation pressure labe l. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
size indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in ­
flat ion pressure labe l, you should determine
the proper t ire inflation press ure for those
t i res).
As an added safety feature, your ve hicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system (TPMS) that illum inates a low tire
pressure tell tale when one or more of your
t ires is s ignificantly under-inflated . According­
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale illumi­
nates, you shou ld stop and check you r tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper p ress ure. Driving on a sig nifican tly u n­
der -inflated t ire causes the tire to overhea t
and can lead to tire fa ilure . Under-inflation al­
so reduces fuel eff iciency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's hand ling and
stopp ing ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substit ute
for proper tire maintenance, and it is the driv­
er 's respons ibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not