26 2 T ire s and wheel s
chains because the vehicle will be ex
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev
el, the snow chains might severe ly dam
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
(D} Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with All Wheel Drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If different rims
are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
secure ly 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 mode l
¢page 292.
_& WARNING
Imprope rly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bol ts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can tu rn easily and be prop
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the risk of a whee
l loss. If the tightening tor
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is mov ing. If the tighte ning torque is
too high, the wheel bolts a nd threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
([) Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts diago
nally. Afte r changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible wi th a
torque wrench -pre ferably by an au thor
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and hand ling u nder a var iety of d riv ing condi
t ions . As k your author ized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral rep resents the ratio
of the t ire's s idewa ll height in relation to its
t read width ex pressed in percentage. Conven
tiona l tires have a he igh t/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performanc e of low -a sp ec t-ratio tires i s
pa rticularly sensitive to improper inflation
pre ssure . It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and th at the inflation pressure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s
s u res should be checked at least once a
month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 251, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gull ies .,..
2 70 What do I do now ?
-Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced t ire in the luggage com
partment ¢
page 139.
@ Tips
Before changing the wheel, yo u m ust acti
vate t he jac king mode, so t hat the auto
mat ic cont rols fo r the Adaptive Air S us
pens io n do not make it mo re diff ic u lt to
lift the vehicle with the jack
c.';> page 2 72.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order .
1. Activate the vehicle jack mode
¢page 272.
2. Remove the decorative wheel cover* . For
more deta ils see also
¢ page 270, Deco
rative wh eel covers
o r ¢ page 2 71 ,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps.
3 . Loosen the wheel bolts ¢ page 2 71.
4. Locate the proper mo unt ing po in t for the
j ack and align t he jack be low tha t poi nt
¢ page 272 or r::!>page 273.
5. Raise the car with the jack¢ page 272 or
¢page 273.
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then i nstall
the spare ¢page 274.
7. Tighten all wheel bolts ligh tly.
8 .
Lower th e ve hicle w it h the jack .
9 . Use the whee l bolt wren ch and
firmly
tig hte n al l whee l bolts ¢p age 271.
10. Rep lace the decorative wheel cover* .
11. D eactivate t he ve hicle jack mode in the
M MI :
!CARI function button > Car systems
control button > Se rvicing & checks > Air
susp.: jack mode
> Off .
The vehicle jac k mode sw itches off automati
cally at speeds above 10 km/h.
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
informati on
¢ .&. in AB: Raising the vehicle
on page 272
and ¢page 275 .
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following .
.,. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack"
and the rep laced tire in the luggage com
pa rtment
¢ page 139.
.,. Check the tire pressure on the spare whee l
immed iate ly afte r mounting i t.
.,. As soon as poss ible, h ave the
tightening
torques
on all whee l bolts che cked with a
torque wre nch. The correc t tig hten ing tor
que is 90 ft l b (120 Nm).
.,. Have the flat tire
replaced as s oon as possi
ble.
@ Tips
- If you not ice that the w heel bo lts a re
co rroded and difficult to turn while
chang ing a tire, t hey shou ld be rep laced
before you check the tig htening to rque.
- Dr ive at reduced speed until you have the
t ightening torques checked.
- After changing a whee l, the t ire p ress ure
in all four tires must be chec ked/co rrect
ed and the tire p ress ure monito ring in di
cator must b e sto red in th e MMI
¢ page 265.
' Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: w ith decorative whee l covers
The decorative wheel covers must be removed
first to access the wheel bolts.
Fig. 2 21 Cha ngin g a w hee l: Remov ing th e w heel cove r
Removing
.,. Insert the hook (prov ided w ith th e vehicle
t oo l ki t) in the hole in the whee l hub cover . ..,.
,....,
N .... N
0 J:
'SI: .... \!) ..,.,
.... ..,., ....
-Pull the reversible blade from the screw
driver before you use the hexagonal
socket in the handle to turn the wheel
bolts.
- When mounting tires with
unidirectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat
tern is pointed the right way
<=>pag e 275.
- The wheel bolts should be clean and easy
to turn. Check for dirt and corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the wheel
and the hub . Remove all dirt from these
surfaces before remounting the wheel.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction.
Using a spare tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spare tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction, please
note the following:
- The direction of rotation is marked by an ar
row on the side of the tire.
- If the spare tire has to be installed in the in
correct direction, use the spare tire only
temporarily since the tire will not be able to
achieve its optimum performance character
istics with regard to aquaplaning, noise and
wear.
- We recommend that you pay particular at
tention to this fact during wet weather and
that you adjust your speed to match road
conditions.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible to restore the handling advantages
of a unidirectional tire.
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the information <=> page 256, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
going to use a spare tire which is different
from the tires on your vehicle .
What do I do now? 275
After you change a tire:
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme
diately after installation.
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as
possible by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualified service station.
- With steel and alloy wheel rims, the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm).
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor
roded and difficult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be replaced before you
check the tightening torque.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover.
Until then, drive with extra care and at re
duced speeds.
A WARNING
-
- If you are going to equip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be sure to read the information<=>
page 256,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels .
-Always make sure the damaged wheel or
even a flat tire and the jack and tool kit
are properly secured in the luggage com
partment and are not loose in the pas
senger compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forward, injuring anyone in the
vehicle.
-Always store damaged wheel, jack and
tools securely in the luggage compart
ment. Otherwise, in an accident or sud
den maneuver they could fly forward,
causing injury to passengers in the vehi
cle. •
•