Wheels
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" I I I
on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated.
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat . If you change your
wheel size, you w ill have to p ur
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nomina l distance between
rim flanges.
S idewall
means that portion of a tire be
tween the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire is
designed to be driven for extend
ed periods of time. The rat ings
range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ table
on page 232.
You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not requ ired by law.
23 6
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and ind icates the
maximum permissible road
speeds
¢ .&. in Winter tires on
page 246.
Tire pressure monitoring system*
means a system that detects
when one or mo re of a vehicle's
tires are underinflated and illum i
na tes a low tire pressure warning
te lltale .
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact w ith the road .
Tread separation
means pulling away o f the tread
from the t ire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visua l indication of the deg rees
of wear of the tread. Se e
¢ page 240, Treadwear indicator
for more information on measur
ing tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system devel
oped by the United States Nation
al Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make relat ive com
parisons among tires . The UTQG
is not a safety rating and not a
guarantee that a tire will last for
a prescribed number of mi les
(kilometers) or perform in acer
tain way. It simply gives t ire buy
e rs add itional informa tion to
combine with other considera
tions, such as p rice, brand loya lty
and dealer recommendations . Un
der UTQG, tires are graded by t he
tire manufacturers in th ree areas:
treadwear, traction, and tempera
ture res istance. The UTQG infor
mation on the tires, molded into
the s idewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number".
It beg ins with the le tters "DO T"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal standards . T he nex t
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant where it was manufac
tured , and the last fo ur numbers
represent the week and yea r of
manufacture. For examp le,
Wheels
DOT ... 2214 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week o f 201 4. The
other numbers are marketing co des that may or may not be used
by the t ire manufact urer. This in
formation is used to contact con sumers if a tire defec t req uires a
reca ll.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug
gage load plus lS0 lbs . (68 k ilo
grams) t imes the vehicle's desig
na ted seating capacity.
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire
means that load on an ind iv idual
tire tha t is determined by dist rib
ut ing to eac h ax le its share of the
maximum loaded vehic le weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on a n individual
tire that is determined by dist rib
uting to each ax le its share of the
curb weight , accessory weight ,
and normal occupant weigh t (dis
tributed in accordance wit h
c:::> ta
ble on page 243) and dividing by
two.
23 7
..
Wheel s
Occupant loading and distri
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seat ing
capacit ies
Refer to the tire inflation pres
sure label ¢
page 241, fig . 196
for the number of seating posi
tions . Refer to the table¢
table
on page 243
for the number of
people that correspond to the ve
hicle normal load .
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized repair facility . These fa
cilities have the proper knowl
edge and are equipped with the
required tools and replacement
parts.
.,. New tires do not yet have the
optimum adhesion properties .
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 miles (500 km) with new tires .
.,. Use tires of the same construc
tion, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread pattern as poss ible on all four
wheels .
238
.,.Do not replace tires individually .
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time.
.,. Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original equipment tires . If
you would like to use d ifferent
tires, please note that the tires may perform differently even if
they are the same size ¢
,&.
.,. If you would like to equip your
vehicle with a tire/rim combina
tion that is different from what
was installed at the factory, con
sult with an authorized Audi dealer or authorized repair facili
ty before making a purchase
~ & -
The spare tire* is different from
the regular tires installed on the
vehicle -for example, if winter
tires or wide tires are installed -
then only use the spare tire* tem
porarily in case of emergency and
drive carefully while it is in use. It
should be replaced with a regular
tire as soon as possible.
On
all wheel drive vehicles, all
four wheels must be equipped
with tires that are the same brand and have the same construction
and tread pattern so tha t the
drive system is not damaged by
different tire speeds. For this reason, in case of emergency, only
use a spare tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular
tires.
&_ WARNING -
-Only use tire/rim combina tions and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, damage to
the vehicle and an accident could result.
-For technical reasons, it is not possible to use tires from oth
er vehicles - in some cases,
you cannot even use tires from
the same vehicle model.
-Make sure that the tires you
select have enough clearance
to the vehicle. Replacement
tires should not be chosen
simply based on the nominal
size, because tires with a dif
ferent construction can differ
greatly even if they are the
same size. If there is not
enough clearance, the tires or
the vehicle can be damaged and this can reduce driving
safety and increase the risk of
an accident.
Wheels
-Only use tires that are more
than 6 years old when abso lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-Do not use run-flat tires on
your vehicle. Using them when
not permitted can lead to ve
hicle damage or accidents.
- If you install wheel covers on
the vehicle, make sure they al low enough air circulation to
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 194 Ti re profi le: T readwear indica
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
-Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves,
rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear. .,.
239
Wheels
-Have an authorized Audi dealer or authorized repair facility
check the wheel alignment if
there is unusual wear .
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an
imbalance is causing noticeable
vibration in the steering wheel. If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more quickly.
Treadwear indicator
The original tires on your vehicle
have 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high
"wear indicators"¢
fig. 194 run
ning across the tread. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for example
"TWI" or other symbols) indicate
the positions of the tread wear in
dicators.
The tires have reached the mini
mum tread depth
l) when they
have worn down to the treadwear
indicators. Replace the tires with
new ones ¢Ai..
Wheel rotation
Rotating the wheels regularly is
recommended to ensure the tires
wear evenly . To rotate wheels, in
stall the wheels from the rear
1> Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
240
axle on the front axle and vice
versa. This will allow the tires to
have approximately the same
length of service life.
For unidirectional tires, make
sure the tires are installed accord
ing to the running direction indi
cated on the tire sidewall
¢page 258.
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and rims can of
ten occur in locations that are
hidden. Unusual vibrations in the
vehicle or pulling to one side may indicate that there is tire damage .
Reduce your speed immediately .
Check the tires for damage. If no
damage is visible from the out
side, drive slowly and carefully to
the nearest authorized Audi deal
er or authorized repair facility to
have the vehicle inspected.
A WARNING ~
Tread that has worn too low or
different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
This can especially have a nega
tive effect on handling, on the
risk aquaplaning when driving .,.
....
through water, when driving
through curves and when braking, which increases the risk of
an accident.
Tire pressure
Fig. 195 Driver's side B -pillar : tire pres
sure label
;;; ~
,---------------.,. ,,
- KPA. -PSI
- KPA. -PSI
Fig. 196 Tire pressure label
The correct tire pressure for tires
mounted in the factory and for
the spare tire* is indicated on a la
bel. The label is located on the 8-
pillar
c:> fig. 195, c:> fig. 196.
Use the tire pressure specified for
a normal vehicle load when the
vehicle is partially loaded
c:> table
~ on page 243. If driving the vehi
~
~ cle when fully loaded, you must Ln
"' \0 ....
Wheels
increase the tire pressure to the
maximum specified pressure
c:> &. -
Checking/correcting tire
pressure
.,,.Check the tire pressure at least
once per month and also check it before every long drive .
.,,.Always check the tire pressure
when the tires are
cold. Do not
reduce the pressure if it increas
es when the tires are warm .
... check the label
c:> fig. 196 for
the correct tire pressure based on vehicle load.
.,,.Correct the tire pressure if nec
essary .
... vehicles with Tire Pressure Mon
itoring System*: store the modi
fied tire pressure in the Infotain
ment system
c:> page 250.
.,,.Check the pressure in the emer
gency tire*/spare t ire*. Always
maintain the maximum temper
ature that is specified for the
tire .
_& WARNING
Always adapt the tire pressure
to your driving style and vehicle
load.
-Overloading can lead to loss of vehicle control and increase
the risk of an accident. Read
241
Wheels
and follow the important safe
ty precautions in
q page 243,
Tires and vehicle load limits.
-The tire must flex more if the
tire pressure is too low or if
the vehicle speed or load are
too high. This heats the tire up
too much. This increases the
risk of an accident because it
can cause the tire to burst and
result in loss of vehicle con
trol.
-Incorrect tire pressure in
creases tire wear and has a
negative effect on driving and
Tire pressure table
Please note that the information
contained in the following table
was correct at the time of print ing , and the information is sub
ject to change. If there are differ
ences between this information
and the tire pressures specified
on the label on the driver's side B
pillar, always follow the specifica
tion on the B-pillar label
q page 241, fig. 195.
242
braking behavior, which in
creases the risk of an accident.
(D Note
Replace lost valve caps to re
duce the risk of damage to the
tire valves.
@ For the sake of the environment
Tire pressure that is too low in
creases fuel consumption.
(D Tips
Audi recommends using the
tire pressure specified for a normal load
q table on
page 243
or for a full load
when the vehicle is partially
loaded.
Make sure that the tire designa
tion on your tire matches the des
ignation on the tire pressure label
and the tire pressure table.
The following table lists recom
mended tire pressures in cold
tires according to the load and
the size of the tires installed. ..,
Wheels
Model/ Tire designation Tire pressure
Engine Normal load Maximum load
(up to 3 people)a)
front rear front rear
PSI
A6: 225/55 Rl 7 97H 2.0L All Season
32
4 cylinders 245/45 Rl8 l00H XL
All Season
33
255/40 Rl9 l00H XL
All Season 33
255/40 Rl9 l00Y XL
High Performance
32
255/35 R20 97V XL
High Performance
35
A6: 225/55 Rl 7 97H
3.0L All Season
35
6 cylinders 245/45 Rl8 l00H XL
All Season
35
255/40 Rl9 l00H XL
All Season
35
255/40 R19 l00Y XL
High Performance
36
255/35 R20 97V XL
High Performance
39
56: 255/40 Rl9 l00Y XL
4.0L High Performance 39
8 cylinders
255/35 R20 97V XL
High Performance
44
a) 2 people in the front, 1 person in the rear
A WARNING
Please note the important safe
ty precautions regarding tire pressure
c::> page 241 and load
limits
c::>page 243.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or weight that any vehicle
kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
220 29 200 35 240
38 260
230 32 220 35 240 38 260
230 32 220 35 240 38 260
220 32 220 33 230 36 250
240 32 220 38 260 41 280
240 32 220 38 260
41 280
240 32 220 38 260 41 280
240 32 220 38 260 41 280
250 33 230 39 270 42
290
270 36 250 44
300 46 320
270 35 240 42 290 44 300
300 39 270
46
320 48
330
and any tire can carry. A vehicle
that is overloaded will not handle
well and is more difficult to stop.
Overloading can not only lead to loss of vehicle control, but can al
so damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden
tire failure, including a blowout and sudden deflation that can
cause the vehicle to crash.
243