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engine power. Your vehicle is exceptionally pow
erful and has excellent driving characterist ics
both under normal dr iving condit ions and on
snow and ice. Always read and fo llow safety pre
cautions <=>
,&.
Winter t ire s
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with a ll
wheel drive has an advantage, even with regular
tires. In winter road conditions it may be adv isa
ble to mount w inter tires (or all-season tires) for
i mproved driveab ility and brak ing : these tires
must be mounted on
all four wheels . See also
<=> page 220, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles w it h
all -wheel drive <=>
page 220, Snow chains.
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles with all-whee l dr ive must always have
tires of the same size. A lso avoid tires with differ
ent tread depths. For details see page
<=>
page 212, New tires or wheels.
Off-Road dri ving ?
Your Aud i does not have enough ground clear
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle.
It is there
fore best to avoid rough tracks and uneven ter rain as much as possible . Also refer to
<=> page 177 .
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and t raff ic
conditions. Do not let the extra safety affo rd
ed by all-wheel drive temp t yo u into ta king
extra risks.
- Although the all-whee l drive is very effec
t ive, a lways remember th at br akin g capac ity
is limited by tire traction. Yo u should t here
f ore not drive at excess ive speeds on icy or
slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be caref ul no t to drive
too fast because the front wheels co uld be
gin to slide on top of the water (aq uaplan
ing). If this shou ld occur, you wi ll have no
Intellig ent Technology
warn ing from a s udden increase in engine
speed as w ith a front-wheel drive vehicle.
Always drive at speeds which are suited to the road conditions - risk of crash .
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution of
elec trical energy and thus optimizes the availa
bility of ele ctrical energy for star ting the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventiona l energy system is
not dr iven fo r a long pe riod of time, the batte ry is
discharged by id ling curre nt cons umers (e.g. im
mobili ze r). In cer tain circumstances i t can res ult
in the re being insuffi cien t energy ava ilable to
start the engine .
Intellige nt energy manageme nt in yo ur vehicle
hand les the distri bu tion of elec trical energy.
Start ing ability is markedly improved and the life
of the battery is extended .
B as ic all y, energy managemen t cons ists of
bat
tery diagn osis , idling current man agement
a nd
d ynamic energy man agement.
Battery diagnosis
Battery d iagnosis con tinuously dete rmines the
state of the bat tery. Sensors de termine battery
vo ltage, b attery curren t and batte ry tempera
tu re. This de termines t he current state of charge
and the power of the battery .
Idling current management
Idling cur rent management reduces ene rgy con
s u mption wh ile the vehicle is standi ng. With the
ignition swi tched off , it co ntrols the energy sup
ply to the vario us elec trical components . Data
from battery diagnosis is considered .
Depend ing on the ba tte ry's s ta te of charge, indi
v idual consumers are g radually turned off to pre
ven t excess ive d ischarge of the battery and thus
maintain starting capab il ity.
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynam ic ene rgy
manageme nt dis trib utes the energy generated ""'
175
Wheels
and a special procedure. You must not repair or
disassemble them¢&. .
A WARNING
Wheel bolts that are tightened or repaired in
correctly can become loose and result in loss
of vehicle control, which increases the risk of
an accident. For the correct t ightening specifi
cation, refer to ¢
page 22 7, After changing a
wheel .
-Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hub clean and free of
grease.
- Only use wheel bolts that fit the rim .
- Always have damaged rims repaired by an
authorized Audi dealer or authorized Aud i
Service Facility . Never repair or disassemble
rims yourself, because this inc reases the risk
of an accident.
Winter tires
Winter tires s ignificantly improve the vehicle's
handling when driving in winter conditions . Be
cause of their construction (width, compound,
tread pattern), summer tires provide l ess trac
tion on ice and snow.
.,. Use winter tires on all four wheels.
.,. Only use winter tires that are approved for your
vehicle.
.,. Please note that the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires
q .&,. . An
authori zed Audi dealer or authori zed Audi Serv
ice Facility can inform you about the maximum
permitted speed for your tires .
.,. Check the tire pressure after install ing wheels
q page 215.
The effectiveness of winter tires is reduced great
ly when the tread is worn down to a depth of
0 .157 in (4 mm). The characteristics of winter
tires also decrease greatly as the tire ages, re
gardless of the remaining tread.
A WARNING
- Never drive faster than the maximum per
mitted speed for your tires. This could cause
the tires to heat up too much. This increases
220
-
the risk of an accident because it can cause
the tire to burst.
- Always adapt your driving to the road and
traffic conditions . Drive carefully and reduce
your speed on icy or slippery roads . Even
winter tires can lose traction on black ice .
@ For the sake of the environment
Reinstall summer tires at the appropriate
time, because they prov ide better handling
when roads are free of snow and ice. Summer
tires cause less road noise, tire wear and fuel
consumpt ion .
(D Tips
You can also use all season tires instead of
winter tires. Please note that in some coun
tries where winter tires are required, only
winter tires w ith the ~ symbol may be per
mitted.
Snow chains
Snow chains improve traction in the snow .
.,. Only install snow chains on the front wheels.
This applies also to vehicles with all wheel
drive* .
.,. Check and correct the seating of the snow
chains if necessary after driving a few feet. Fol
low the instructions from the manufacturer.
.,. Note the maximum permitted speed when dr iv
ing with snow chains. Do not exceed 30 mph (SO km/h).
Snow cha ins not only improve the
driving in win
ter road conditions, but also the
braking .
Use of snow chains is only permitted with certain
rim/tire combinat ions due to technical reasons .
Check with an author ized Audi dealer or author
ized Audi Service Facility to see if you may use
snow chains.
Use
fine-mesh snow chains. They must not add
more than 0.53 inch (13.5 mm) in height, includ
ing the chain lock.
You must remove the chains when driving on
roads that are
free of snow . When roads are free ..,.
Wheels
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wall between tread shoulder and maximum section width
c::> page 205, fig. 167.
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA, Tem
perature
A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified gov
ernment test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one
and one half (11/2) times as well on the govern
ment course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon
the actual conditions of their use, however, and may depart significantly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the tire's
ability to stop on wet pavement as measured un
der controlled conditions on specified govern
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
¢ &. .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B,
and C, representing the tire's resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to dissipate
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the mate
rial of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life,
and excessive temperature can lead to sudden
tire failure
c::> .&. .
222
The grade C corresponds to a level of perform
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No . 109 . Grades Band A represent higher levels
of performance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minimum required by law.
A WARNING -
The traction grade assigned to this tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor
nering, hydroplaning or peak traction charac
teristics.
A WARNING , ~ -
The temperature grade for this tire is estab
lished for a tire that is properly inflated and
not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinfla
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or
in combination, can cause heat buildup and
possible tire failure.
A WARNING
Temperature grades apply to tires that are
properly inflated and not over or underinflat
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
(l) General notes
App lies to vehicles : wit h tire pressure mo nitori ng syste m
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold and inflat
ed to the inflation pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle placard or
tire inflation pressure label. (If your vehicle has
tires of a different size than the size indicated on
the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure la
bel, you should determine the proper tire infla
tion pressure for those tires) .
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been
equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system
(TPMS) that illuminates a low tire pressure tell
tale when one or more of your tires is significant- ly under-inflated. Accordingly, when the low tire
pressure telltale illuminates, you should stop and ""