2015 AUDI TT ROADSTER flat tire

186 Tire s and wheel s
load limits a re not exceede d. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and everything in and on t he
ve hicle . These load limits are technically refer­
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle We ight
Rating ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the veh icle 's two axles .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weigh t Rat ing a re listed on the
safety compliance st ic k er labe l located on the
driver's side B-pill ar. T he tire pressure label on
your Audi lists the maximum combined weight of a ll of the occupants and luggage or
othe r cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
locat ion of the tire pressure label¢
fig. 136.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
hicle control, a crash or other acc ident, se­
r ious personal in jury, and even death.
- Carry ing more weight than your vehicle
was desig ned to carry will prevent the
vehicle from hand ling p roperly and in­
cr ease the risk of a loss of veh icle con­
t ro l.
- T he brakes on a veh icle that has been
overloaded may not be ab le to stop t he
vehicle within a sa fe distance.
- Ti res on a vehicle that has been ove rload ­
ed can fail suddenly causi ng lo ss of con­
tro l and a crash .
A WARNING
-Incorre ct tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can lead to a serious o r fatal acci ­
dent.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation cause increase d tire wear and can
affect the handling of t he vehicle .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/o r underin­
flation can also lead to sudden tire fa il­
ure, incl uding a blowo ut and sudden de­
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original­
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil­ lar.
The recommended tire pressures are on the
t ir e p ressu re label a nd in the table
¢
page 184, Cold tire inflation pressure. This
means tha t the pressu re m ust be che cked and
adjus ted whe n the t ire has not been dr iven fo r
more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at
l ow speeds d uring the previous t hree ho urs.
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up as a result of interna l frict ion as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than whe n it is "cold ."
It is the inflation pressure in a "co ld" t ire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let a ir o ut
of a warm tire to match "Cold t ire inflat ion
pressure" recommendat io ns ¢
page 184 . The
t ires wou ld then be unde rinflated and could
fail suddenly .
The tire pressure label on your Audi lists the recommended co ld tire inflation pressures fo r
the new, orig inal equ ipment tires that were
o n your veh icle at the time it was manufac­
tu red. Fo r the lo cat ion of t he labe l
¢page 184, fig . 136.
Most t ires lose air naturally over t ime . They
can a lso lose some air if you d rive over a pot­
hole or hit a curb while par king. It is usually
not poss ible to see whethe r the rad ial tires
u sed today are underinfla ted just by loo king
at them .
T he refore, be sure to check t ire p ressu res at
l east on ce a mo nth and a lways befo re going
o n a long trip. M ake s ure to ta ke the n umbe r
of peop le and the amount of luggage into ac ­
count when a djusting tire pressure for a trip -
even on e that yo u wo uld not conside r to be
" long." See ¢
page 188, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
Always use an accurate tire press ure ga uge
when checking and ad justing inflat ion pres­
s u res. Check all of the tires and be sure not to ..,.

forget the spare tire. If the press ure in any tire
is too high when the tire is "cold," let air out
of the tire slowly with the edge of the t ire
gauge and keep checking the pressure until
you reach the pressure that is correct for the
load (passengers and luggage) and kind of
driving you plan to do .
If the pressure in any tire is too low, note the
d ifference between the pressure in the cold
tire and the pressure you need and add the a ir
that you need to reach the correct pressure for
the veh icle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your veh icle as listed on the on
your ve hicle and in this manua l and the kind
of dr iving you p lan to do .
Never exce ed the ma ximum inflation pres ­
s ur e listed on t he tire s idewall for any re a­
s on.
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer , not
the t ire manufacturer , determ ines the correct
tire pressure for the tires on your veh icle .
It is important to check the tire pressure when
the t ires a re cold .
- Read the req uired tire press ure from the tire
pressure label located on driver's s ide B-pil­
l ar .
- Turn the valve stem cap counter-clockwise
to remove it from the tire valve .
- Place the air pressure ga uge on the valve.
- The tire pressures sho uld on ly be checked
and adjusted when the tires are cold . The
s light ly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying.
- Re insta ll the va lve stem cap on the valve .
When should I check the tire pressure?
The correct tire pressure is espec ially impo r­
tant at high speeds . The pressure sho uld
therefore be checked at least once a month
and a lways befo re starting a journey.
When should I adjust the tire pressures?
Adj ust the tire pressu re to the load you are
carry ing . After changi ng a wheel
or replacing
Tire s an d wheel s 187
whee ls yo u have to adjust the ti re p ressu res
o n all whee ls. In addition, yo u m ust then initi­
a lize the new tire pressu res in the t ire pres­
s u re monitoring system
Q page 198.
A WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­
tion can lead sudden tire fa ilure, loss of
control, collision, serio us pe rsonal injury
or even death.
- When the warning symbol
It] appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the t ires.
- Inco rrect tire pressure and/or underinfla­
tion can cause increased tire wea r and
can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or unde rin­
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and su dden de­
flation, caus ing loss of veh icle cont ro l.
- Th e drive r is responsib le for the co rrec t
tire pressures for all tires on the veh icle.
The applicable pressure values a re locat ­
ed on a sticke r on the driver's side B-pil­
lar.
- On ly when all tires on the vehicle are fil ­
led to the correct pressure, the t ire pres­
sure mon itor ing system can work cor­
rectly.
- The use of incorrect tire pressu re va lues
can lead to acc idents or other damage.
Therefore it is essential that the driver
observe the spec ified t ire pressure val ues
for the tires and the correct pressures for
the function of the t i re p ress ure monito r­
ing system.
- Always inf late t ires to the recommended
and correct t ire p ress ure before dr iv ing
off.
- Driving with unde rinflated tir es bend
mo re, lett ing t hem get too hot resulting
in tre ad separ ation, sudden tire failure
and loss of cont rol.
- Excessive speed and/overloading can
cause he at bu ild- up, sudden tire failure
an d loss of cont rol. •
•

188 Tire s and wheel s
-If the tire pressure is too low or too high,
the tires w ill wear prematurely and the
vehicle will not handle well.
- If the t ire is not flat and you do not have
to change a wheel immed iately, drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta­
t ion to check the tire pressure and add
air as required.
(D Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps can cause
damage to the t ire va lves. To prevent this ,
always make sure that facto ry installed
valve stem caps on all wheels a re securely
mounted on the valve.
@ For the sake of the environment
Underinf lated tires will a lso increase t he
fue l cons umption .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or
weight that any veh icle and any t ire can c arry.
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not h andle
well and is more difficult to s top. Over load ing
can not on ly lead to loss of vehicle contro l,
but can a lso damage important parts of the
ve hicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the veh icle to crash .
Your safety and that of your passengers a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and eve ryth ing in and on the vehicle . These
l oad limits a re tech nica lly refe rred to as the
ve hicl e's
Gross V ehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the we ight of the basic
vehicle , all factory insta lled accesso ries , a fu ll
tank of f uel, oi l, coo lant and othe r fluids pl us
maximum load. The maxim um load includes
the number o f passenge rs that t he vehi cle is
intended to carry ("seating capacity") with an
assumed weig ht of 150 lbs (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating position and the total weight of any luggage
in the ve ­
hicle .
T he
Gro ss Axle Weight Rating (" G AWR") is
the max imum load th at ca n be applied at e ach
of the vehicle's two axles .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and the
G ross Ax le Weight Ra ting are listed on the
sa fety comp liance s ticke r label lo cated on the
driver's side B-pillar. Yo ur Audi has 2 seat ing
positions . Each seating position has a safety
belt
~ page 100, Safety belts.
T he fac t th at there is an upper limit to yo ur
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weight Rating means
t h at the total weight of whatever is being car­
ried in the vehicle is lim ited . T he more passen ­
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mea n that less we ight can be carried as lug ­
gage.
The tire pressure label on your Aud i also lists
the maximum combined weig ht of a ll of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo t hat
the vehicle can ca rry . For t he loca tion of the
label
~ page 184, fig . 136 .
.&, WARNING
Overloadi ng a veh icle can cause loss of ve­
hicl e co ntr ol, a crash or o the r ac cident, se­
rious personal injury, and even dea th .
- Ca rrying more we igh t tha n your ve hicle
was des igned to carry wi ll preve nt the
veh icle from handling proper ly an d in­
crease the risk of the loss of ve hicle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a ve hicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle t hat has been over load­
ed can fail s udden ly, incl uding a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash .

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 184,
fig . 136 .
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
¢ page 184 , fig. 136.
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.
Tires and wheels
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. (1400-7 50
(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 re­duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
,...Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 191 , fig. 140) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
189
•
•
'

A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, 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 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 t ires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds . Tir es 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 dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Tires and wheels 191
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 140 Tir e specificat ion codes on t he s idewall o f a
tire
No. Description
@ 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 rating
0 U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and mater ials used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac­
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major
contribution to good road holding and safe .,.

192 Tire s and wheel s
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated ¢
.&..
We re commend that all wo rk on tires and
wheels be perfo rmed by an authorized A udi
deale r. T hey a re familiar with recommended
procedures and have the necessary special
too ls and spare parts as we ll as the proper fa ­
cilities for disposing of the old tires .
Authorized Audi dealers have the necessary information about technica l requirements for
installing or changing tires and r ims .
Replacing t ires and wheels
Tires shou ld be rep laced at least in pairs and
not individua lly ( for examp le both front tires
or both rear tires together).
Be sure to read and heed the information to
the tire pressure monitor ing system
¢ page 198.
A lways buy rep lacement radial tires that have
the same specifications as the tires approved
fo r your vehi cle by Audi. Replacement t ires
must always have the same load rating speci­
f ication as the original equipment or approved
optional tires listed in the table ¢ page 184 .
Aud i-approved specification tires are speci ally
matched to yo ur vehicle and its loa d l imits,
and can contribute to the important road ho ld ­
ing, d riving characteristics, and safety of the
vehicle. The table (q page 184) lists spec ifica­
tions of the t ires approved for the Audi mod­
e ls covered by your Owner's Literature .
The tire press ure labe l located on dr iver's side
B-pillar (q page 184, fig. 137) lists the speci­
f ications of the orig inal equipment tires in­
stalled o n your veh icle at the time it was man­
ufactured .
Federal law requires t ire manufacturers to
place standard ized information on the s ide­
wall of all tires q fig. 140. This information
ident ifies and describes the fundamental
characterist ics, the quality grade of the tire
and a lso provides a tire ident ificat ion number
fo r safety standa rd cert ificat ion and in case of
a rec all.
Tire specification s
Knowledge o f ti re specifications ma kes it eas­
ier to choose the correct tires. Radial ti res
have the tire specifications marked on the
sidewa ll, for examp le:
P245 /45R1795H
Th is conta ins the following information :
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
245 Nominal tire width in mm of the tire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In general, the larger the number, the wider
the tire
45 Height/w idt h ratio in percent (aspect ra-
t io)
R Tire construct ion: Radial
17 Rim diameter code (i n inches)
95 Load rating code
H Speed ra ting letter code
XL (or "xl", "E XTRA LOAD", or "RF") indicates
t h at the t ire is a"Re inforced" or an " Extra
Lo ad " tir e
M+S (or "M/5") Indicates that the ti re has
some mud and snow capab ility
The t ires could also have the information of
direction of rotat ion q page 180.
Tire manufacturing date
The manufact uring date is also indicated on
the tire sidewall (possibly on ly on the inner
s ide of the wheel):
"DOT ... 2213 ... "means, for examp le, that
the tire was produced in the 22nd week of
2013.
Speed rating (lette r code)
The speed rating letter code on the whee ls in­
dicates the maximum permissible road speeds
q
.&. in Winter tires on page 196 .
p up to 93 mph (1 50 km/h)
Q u p to 99 mp h (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 (2
10 km/h)

V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)l)
Z over 149 mph (240 km/h)
1
)
W up to 168 mph (270 km/h)ll
Y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)
1 )
Your veh icle is norma lly factory equipped with
t ires, which posses s excellen t driving charac­
ter istics and give your Audi opt imum driving
comfort . An electronic speed limiter
¢ page 30 w ill normally prevent your vehicle
from go ing faste r th an the tire speed rating
¢ &_ .
U.S. DOT T ire Identification Number (TIN )
and tire manufactur e date
This is the t ire's "serial numbe r" . It begins
with the le tters "DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federal standards . The next two
numbers or letters indicate the p lant where it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year of manufactu re.
Fo r example, the numbers 2213 mean that
t he t ire was produced in the 22nd week of
2013 . T he other numbers are marketing co ­
des that may or may not be used by the t ire
manufacturer . This information is used to con­
tact consume rs if a tire defect requires a re­
call.
Audi Original tire
Tires with the ident ificat ion "AO" or "RO" have
been spec ially matched with your Aud i. We
recommend using only these tires because
they meet the highest standards regard ing
safety and driving charac ter istics whe n used
correctly. Yo ur authorized Audi dealer will
g lad ly provide you with more informat ion.
Tire ply composition and materials used
The numbe r of p lies ind icates the numbe r of
l ayers of rubber -coa ted fabric in the t ire. In
general, the greater the number of p lies, the
mo re weight a tire can support . Tire manufac ­
turers also must indicate the materials in the
1) F o r tires wit h a m ax im um s pee d ca pabil ity over 149
mph (2 4 0 k m/h) , tire ma nufa cturers some times use
t h e le tters "Z R."
Tire s an d wheel s 193
tire, which include stee l, nylon, po lyester, and
others .
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the max imum load in
kil ograms and po unds that can be ca rr ied by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for treadwear ,
tract ion , and temperature resistance
T read wear, t raction and tempe ra tur e grades
¢page 194 .
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressure
This number is the greatest amount of a ir
pressure that should ever be put in the tire
u nder norma l dr iv ing cond itions .
_&. WARNING
-Using incorrect o r unm atc hed tires and/
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
comb inat ions can lead to loss of control
,
collision and serio us personal inj ury .
- Always use t ires, rims and whee l bolts
that meet the specifications of original
factory- insta lled tires or other combina­
tions that have been specifically ap­ proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at hig h
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at lower
speeds .
- Never mount used tires on your veh icle if
you are not sure of the ir "previous histo­
ry ." O ld used tires may have been dam­
a ged even thoug h the damage cannot be
seen tha t can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control.
.
- All fo ur whee ls must be fitted wit h ra dial
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir­
cumference) and the same tread pattern . ..,
•
•

194 Tire s and wheel s
Driving with different tires reduces vehi­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
co ntrol.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
t ires that are mounted on the veh icle -
for example with winter tires - on ly use
the spare tire for a short period of time
and dr ive with extra ca re. Refit the nor­
ma l road whee l as soon as safely possi­
ble.
- Never drive faste r than the maximum
speed for which the tires o n your veh icle
are ra ted because ti res th at are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
sudden ly .
- Over loading t ires c ause heat b uild- up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- T emperature grades app ly to tires t hat
are properly inflated and not over o r un­
derinflated.
- F or technical reasons it is not a lways
possible to use wheels from other
vehicles -in some cases not even w heels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you insta ll wheel trim discs on t he ve­
hicle whee ls, make sure that the air f low
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat, increasing stopping distances and caus­
ing a collision.
- Run flat t ires may on ly be used on
vehicles that were equ ipped w it h them
at the facto ry. The vehicle must have a
chassis des igned for run f lat t ires and a
fac to ry-installed t ire p ress ure moni to r­
ing system that ind ic a tes a loss of tire
pressure. Incorrect use of run flat tires
can lead to vehicle damage or accidents .
Check with an a uth orized Audi dea ler or
t i re spec ialist to see i f your vehicle can be
equipped with run flat tires. If r un flat
t ires a re used, they must be installed on
all four wheels . M ixing tire types is not
permitted . (D Note
-For technical reasons, it is not generally
poss ible to use the w heel rims from oth­
er ve hicles. T his can hold tr ue for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is diffe rent from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve­
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profi le tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive w ith
extra care. Replace the flat tire w it h the
ti re mat ching the othe rs on your vehicle
as soon as possi ble.
- N ever d rive without the valve stem cap.
T he v alves co ul d get damaged.
@ For the sake of the environment
Dis pose of o ld tires in accordance w ith the
l ocal requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Tra ction AA A B (
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicab le
o n the tire s ide wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
¢ page 191,
fig . 140 .
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car ti res must conform to Feder­
al Safety Req uirements in add ition to these
grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear g rade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
u nder contro lled conditions o n a specified
government test course.
F o r example, a tire gra ded 150 wo uld wear
one and one ha lf (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a ti re graded 100.