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variab ly to the front and rear axle.
It works to
gether with selective wheel torque control, which
ac tivates when driving through curves
¢page 190.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for high
engine power. Your ve hicle is exceptionally pow
erful and has excellent driving characterist ics
both under norma l dr iving condit ions and on
snow and ice. Always read and follow safety pre
cautions ¢.&. .
Winter tires
When driving in the w inter, your vehicle with a ll
wheel drive has an advantage, even with regular
tires. In winter road conditions it may be adv isa
b le to mount w inter t ires (or all-season tires) for
i mproved driveab ility and brak ing : these tires
must be mounted on
all four wheel s. See a lso
¢ page 249, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are manda tory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles w ith
a ll-wheel drive¢ page 249 , Snow chains.
Replacing wheel s/tires
Veh icles with all -whee l dr ive must always have
tires of the same s ize. A lso avo id tires with differ
ent tread depths . For detai ls see page
¢ page 241, New tires or wheels.
A WARNING
Always adjust you r driving to road and t raff ic
conditions. Do not let the extra safety affo rd
ed by all-wheel drive te mpt you into tak ing
extra risks.
- Alt hough the all-whee l dr ive is very effec
t ive, always remember th at br akin g ca pac ity
is limited by tire traction. Yo u should t here
fore not d rive at excess ive speeds on icy or
slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be caref ul not to drive
too fast because the front wheels co uld be
gin to slide on top of the water (a quaplan
ing). If this shou ld occu r, you w ill have no
warning from a sudden increase in eng ine
speed as with a front -whee l dr ive vehicle.
Intellig ent Technology
Always d rive at speeds which are suited to
the road conditions -risk of c rash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
E nergy management controls the distribution of
electrical energy and thus optimizes the availa
bility of electrical energy for starting the engine .
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system is
not dr iven fo r a long pe riod of time, the ba ttery is
discharged by id ling curre nt cons umers (e.g. im
mobili ze r). In ce rtain circumstances i t can resu lt
i n t he re being insuffi cient energy av ailabl e to
st ar t the eng ine.
Intellige nt ene rgy manageme nt in yo ur vehicle
hand les the d ist ribution of electrical e nergy.
St art ing abil ity is m arkedly improved and the life
of the ba ttery is ex tende d.
Bas ica lly, energy management co nsists of
bat
tery diagnosis , idling current management
and
dynami c energy management .
Battery diagnosis
Battery d iagnosis continuously determ ines the
state of the battery . Sensors de termine battery
vo ltage, battery curren t and batte ry tempera
tu re . This determines t he cur rent state of c harge
and the power of t he ba ttery.
Idling current management
Idli ng cur rent management reduces energy con
s u mption wh ile the vehicle is standing . With the
ignition switched off , it contro ls the energy sup
ply to the vario us elec trical componen ts. Data
fr om b attery diagnosis is co nsidere d.
Depend ing on the ba tte ry's s ta te of charge, indi
v idual consumers are gradually turned off to pre
ven t ex cess ive disc ha rge of t he battery and thus
m ain ta in starting c ap abili ty.
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynam ic e nergy
manageme nt dis trib utes the energy generated
according to the needs of the ind ividual compo-
nents.
It regula tes consu mption, so that more ..,.
195
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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 acc ident. For the correct tightening specifi
cation, refer to ¢
page 260, 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 r ims repa ired by an
authorized Audi dealer o r autho rized Aud i
Service Facility . Never repair or d isassemble
rims yourself, because this increases the risk
of an accident.
Winter tires
W inte r ti res s ignificantly improve the vehicle's
h andling when driving in win ter condit ions . Be
cause of the ir constr uction (width, compound,
tread pattern), summer tires provide less trac
tion on ice and snow .
"'U se winter t ires on all fo ur wheels .
.. Only use winter t ires that are approve d for your
v ehicl e.
"' Please note that the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires¢.&_ . An
authorized Aud i dealer or au thori zed Aud i Serv
ice Fac ility can inform you about the maximum
permitted speed fo r your tires .
"' Check the tire press ure after installing wheels
¢page 244.
The effectiveness of winter tires is reduced great
l y when the tread is worn down to a depth of
0 .1 57 inch (4 mm). The character ist ics of winter
tires a lso de crease great ly as the tire ages, re
ga rdless of the remain ing tread.
WARNING
- Never drive faster than the maxim um per
mitted speed for your t ires. This cou ld cause
the tires to heat up too much. Th is increases
Wh eel s
the risk of an accident because it can cause
the t ire to burst.
- Always adapt your driving to the road and
traffic cond itions . Drive carefully and reduce
your speed on icy or slippery roads . Even
winter t ires can lose tract io n on black ice.
@ For the sake of the environment
Reinsta ll summer tires at the app ropr iate
time, beca use they prov ide better handling
when roads are free of snow and ice. Summer
tires cause less road no ise, tire wear and fue l
consumpt io n.
(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, on ly
winter tires w ith the
& symbo l may be per
mitted .
Snow chains
Snow chains improve traction in the snow.
"'On ly install snow chains on the rear wheels.
"' Check and correct the seating of the snow
chains if necessary after drivi ng a few feet. Fol
low the instructions from the manufacturer .
"' Note the maximum pe rmitted spe ed wh en dr iv
ing w it h snow cha ins. Do not excee d 30 mph
( SO km/h) .
S now c ha ins not o nly improve the
driving in win
te r road condit io ns, but also the
braking.
Use of snow chains is only permitted w ith certa in
r im/tire comb inat 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.
U se
fine-mesh snow chains . They must not add
more than 0 .53 inch (13 .5 mm) in heig ht, incl ud
ing the cha in lock.
You m ust remove the chai ns when driving on
r oads t hat are
free of snow . When roads are free
of snow, snow chai ns can impa ir han dling and .,.
249