2016 AUDI S8 Owners Manual

the risk of an accident. Read
and follow the important safe­
ty precautions inc:::>
page 248 ,
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
~ page 246, fig. 207.
Wheels
braking behavior, which in ­
creases the risk of an accident.
Replace lost valve caps to re­
duce the risk of damage to the
tire valves.
Tire pressure that is too low in­ creases fuel consumption.
Audi recommends using the
tire pressure specified for a
normal load c:::>
table on
page 248
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 .
247

Wheels
Tire pressure
Model/ Tire designation Normal load Maximum load
Engine (up
to
2*/3 people)a>
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A8/A8 L : 235/55 Rl8 104H
35 240 32 220 36 250 38 260
3.0L
255/45 Rl9 104H 35 2
4 0
32 22 0 36 25 0 38 2 60
6 cylinders 265/40 R20 104H 35 24 0 32 220 36 250 38 260
265/40 R20 104V 33 2
30 32 22 0
33 2
30
35 240
275/35 R21 103Y
XL 35 240 32 220 36 250 35 240
A8/A8 L: 235/55 Rl8 104H 35 240 32 22
0
38 26
0
38 26
0
4.0L
255/45 Rl9 104H 35 240 32 220 38 260 38 260
8 cylinders 265/40 R20 104H 35 240
32 220
38 260
38 2
60
265/40 R20 104Y 33 230 32 220 35 240
35 240
275/35 R21 103V XL 35 240 32 2 20 38 260
38 260
AB L: 265/40 R20 104Y 35 240 32 220 36 250 35 240
6.3L
255/45 Rl9 104H 36 25 0 32 2 20
39 270 38 260
12 cylin-265/40 R20 104H 36 25
0 32 220 39 270 38 260
ders
275/35 R21 103Y XL 35 24 0 32 220 36 250 35 240
58: 265/40 R20 104Y 36 250 32 22 0 39 27
0
38 260
4.0L 265/35 R21 101 Y 39 270 35 240 44 300 42 290
8 cylinders 275/35 R21 103V XL 39 27
0
35 2
4 0 4 4
300 42
290
a) Vehicles with 4 seating positions: two people in the front, Vehicles with S seating
positions:
two people in the front , one person in the rear
A WARNING
Please note the important safe­
ty precautions regarding tire
pressure ¢
page 246 and load
limits¢
page 248.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of
load or weight that any vehicle
and any tire can carry. A vehicle
that is overloaded will not handle
well and is more difficult to stop.
248
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.
Your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on making
sure that load limits are not ex­
ceeded . Vehicle load includes ev ­
erybody and everything in and on
the vehicle. These load limits are ..,.

Wheels
technically referred to as the vehi- sengers in the vehicle or passen-cle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat-gers who are heavier than the
ing ("GVWR"). standard weights assumed mean
The "GVWR" includes the weight that less weight can be carried as
of the basic vehicle, all factory in-luggage.
stalled accessories, a full tank of The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids and the Gross Axle Weight Rating
plus maximum load. The maxi- are listed on the safety compli-
mum load includes the number of ance sticker label located on the
passengers that the vehicle is in- driver's side B-pillar
c::::> page 246,
tended to carry ("seating capaci-fig. 207.
ty") with an assumed weight of
.&_ WARNING
150 lbs . (68 kg) for each passen-
Overloading a vehicle can cause
ger at a designated seating posi-
loss of vehicle control, a crash
tion and the total weight of any
or other accident, serious per-
luggage in the vehicle. If you tow
sonal injury, and even death.
a trailer, the weight of the trailer
-Carrying more weight than
hitch and the tongue weight of
your vehicle was designed to
the loaded trailer must be includ-
carry will prevent the vehicle
ed as part of the vehicle load.
from handling properly and
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating increase the risk of the loss of
("GAWR") is the maximum load vehicle control.
that can be applied at each of the -The brakes on a vehicle that
vehicle's two axles. has been overloaded may not
The fact that there is an upper be able to stop
the vehicle
limit to your vehicle's Gross Vehi- within a safe distance.
cle Weight Rating means that the -Tires
on a vehicle that has
total weight of whatever is being been overloaded can fail sud-
carried in the vehicle (including denly, including a blowout and
.... the weight of a trailer hitch and sudden deflation, causing loss
N the tongue weight of the loaded of control and a crash. ci ... :c ": trailer) is limited. The more pas-....
'° "? ....
'° ....
249

Wheels
-Always make sure that the to­tal load being transported -
including the weight of a trail ­
er hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer -
does not make the vehicle
heavier than the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load
limit
Use the example below to calcu­ late the total weight of the pas­
sengers and luggage or other
things that you plan to transport
so that you can make sure that
your vehicle will not be overload­ ed .
Steps for Determining Correct
Load Limit
1 . Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT O F OCCU ­
PANTS AND CARGO SHO ULD
NEV ER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX
LBS"on your vehicle's placard
(tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 246, fig . 207 .
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle .
250
3. Subtract the combined weight
of the driver and passengers
from
"XXX" kilograms or "XXX"
pounds shown on the sticker
¢ page 246, fig . 207 .
4. The resu lting fig ure equals the
available amount of cargo and luggage load capacity . For ex­
ample, if the "XXX" amount
equals
1400 lbs. and there will
be five
150 l bs . passengers in
your vehic le, the amount of
available cargo and luggage load capac ity is
650 lbs .
(1400-750 (S x 150) = 650
lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle .
That weight may not safely ex­
ceed the available cargo and luggage load capacity calcu lat­
ed in Step 4.
6 . If your vehicle will be towing a
trailer, load from your trailer
w ill be transferred to your ve­
hic le. Consu lt th is manua l to
determine how this reduces
the available cargo and lug­
gage load capacity of yo ur vehi-
cle.
~

.,.Che ck th e tir e s idewall
(c:::> page 2 3 6, fig. 205 ) to deter­
min e th e des ig nated load r atin g
for a spec ific tir e.
Wheel bolts and rims
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must be clean and loosen/t ighten
easi ly.
Rims
R ims with a bolted rim ring* or with bolted wheel
covers* consist of m ultip le pieces. These compo­
n ents were bolted toge ther using specia l bolts
a nd a specia l procedu re. You must not repair or
disassemble them¢
A.
A WARNING
Wheel bolts that are t ightened or repaired in­
co rrectly 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.
-Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the whee l hub clean and free of
grease.
- Only use wheel bolts that fit the rim.
- Always have damaged r ims repaired by an
authorized Audi dealer or authorized repair
facility. Never repair or d isassemble rims
yourself, because th is increases the r isk of
an acc ident .
Winter tires
W inte r tires s ignificantly improve the vehicle's
h andling when d rivi ng in winter condit ions. Be­
cause of the ir constr uction (width, compound,
t read pattern), summe r ti res provide less trac­
tion on ice and snow.
"'U se winte r tir es on all four wheels.
"' Only use winter t ires that a re approved for your
vehicle.
"' Please note that the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires
¢ &, .
Wh eel s
Your authorized A udi dealer or authorized re­
pair facility can inform you about the maximum
permitted speed for your tires.
"' Check the tire pressure after insta lling wheels
¢page 246.
The effectiveness of winter tires is reduced great­
ly when the tread is worn down to a depth of
0.157 inch (4 mm). The characteristics of winter
tires also decrease greatly as the tire ages, re­ gardless of the rema ining t read .
A WARNING
'---
-Never d rive faster than the max imum pe r­
mitted speed for your tires. This could ca use
the t ires to heat up too mu ch. This in cr eases
the r isk of an accident because it can ca use
the t ire to burst.
- Always adapt your driving to the road and
traffic cond itions. Drive carefully an d reduce
your speed on icy or slippery roads. Even
winter t ires can lose tract ion on black ice.
@ For the sake of the environment
Reinsta ll summer tires a t the app ropr iate
time, beca use they prov ide bette r handling
when roads are free of snow and ice . Summer
tires cause less road noise, tire wear and fue l
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, 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 front wheels.
"' Check and co rrect 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) . ...
251

Wheels
Snow chains not only improve the driving in win­
ter road conditions, but also the broking.
Use of snow cha ins is o nly pe rm itted with certain
r im/t ire combinations due to tec hni cal reasons.
Check with an authorized Audi dealer or author­
ized repair faci lity to see if yo u may use snow
cha ins .
The snow c ha ins must have
low-profile lin ks and
m ust not be thicker than 0 .4 inch (10.S mm), in ­
cluding the lock.
You mus t remove the c hains whe n driving on
roads that are
free of snow. When roads are free
of snow, snow c hains can impair handling and
damage the tires, and the chains wi ll quickly be
destroyed .
_& WARNING
Using inco rrect snow chains or insta lling snow
chains incorrectly can result in loss of vehicle
cont rol, which inc reases the risk of an acc i­
dent .
{CT) Note
-Snow cha ins can damage the rims/wheel
covers* if the chains come into d irect con­
tact with them . Remove the wheel cove rs*
first. Use coated snow chai ns.
- Using snow chains that add more than 0.4
inch (10.5 mm) of he ight can severely dam­
age the wheel hous ings and other vehicle
components.
- Do not i nstall and use snow chai ns if there is
a malfunct ion in the adaptive air suspen­
s io n, because the vehicle he igh t will be very
l ow. If you drive wi th snow ch ains anyw ay,
the wheel ho usings and other vehi cle com ­
ponen ts can be severely damaged .
(D Tips
When using snow chains, it m ay be useful t o
sw itch on sport mo de
¢page 192.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Aud i is factory-equipped with low aspect ra ­
tio tires . These ti res have been tho roughly tested
252
and been sele cted specifica lly for your mode l for
their superb performance, road fee l and hand ling
u nder a var iety of dr iv ing cond it ions. Ask your au ­
thori zed Audi dea ler fo r more details.
The low aspect rat io o f these tires is indica ted by
a n umera l of
55 or less in the tire's size designa­
t ion . The n umera l represents the ratio of the
tire's sidewall height in relation to its tread width
expressed in percentage. Convent iona l tires have
a height/width ratio of 60 or more .
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is par­
t ic ularly sensitive to improper inflation pres ­
sure.
It is the refore important that low aspect
ratio tire s are inflated to the specified pressure
and that the inflation pressur e is regularly
checked and maintained . T ir e pressures should
b e c hec ked at l east on ce a month and alway s
befor e a long trip
¢ page 246.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more eas i­
l y by impact with potholes, curbs, gullies or
ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is un­
derinflated.
In orde r to mi nimi ze the occur rence of impact
dam age to the tires of yo ur vehicle, we recom ­
mend tha t you observe the following preca u­
tions:
- Always ma intain recommended i nflation pres­
sures. Check yo ur tir e pressure eve ry 2,0 00
m iles (3,000 km) and add air if necessary .
- Dr ive ca refully on roads w ith potholes, deep
gullies o r ridges. The impac t from dr iv ing
through or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may a lso ca use
damage to your ti res.
-After any impact, immediate ly inspect you r
tires or have them inspected by the nearest au­
thorized A udi dealer. Replace a damaged tire as
soon as possible.
- Inspect your tires every 2,000 mi les (3,000 km)
for damage and wear. Damage is not always
easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of air and
underinflation, wh ich could eventually cause
tire fa ilure . If you be lieve that a tire may have .,.

been damaged, replace the t ire as soon as
possible .
- T hese tires may wear more q uickly than others.
- Please a lso remembe r th at, while these tires
deliver responsive handling, they may r ide less
comfortab ly and make more noise than other
choices .
Reduc ed performance in wint er/ cold sea son
condit ions
All ti res are designed fo r ce rtain purposes. The
l ow aspect ratio, ultra high performance tires
originally insta lled on your vehicle are intended
for maximum dry and wet road performance and handling . They are not suitable for cold, snowy or
i cy weather cond it ions. If you dr ive under those
circumstances, you should equ ip your vehicle
with a ll-season or winter tires, wh ich offer better
traction under those condit ions. We suggest you
use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified for yo ur vehicle, or the ir eq uivalent.
Refer to
c::;, page 251 for more detai led informa­
tion rega rding winter tires.
Uniform tire quality grading
- T read wear
- T raction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wall between tread shoulder and maximum sect ion w idth
c::> page 236, fig . 205.
For e xample: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA , Tem­
perature A.
All passenger car tires m ust conform to Federa l
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades .
Tread wea r
The
tread wear grade is a comparat ive rating
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tes ted
under cont ro lled conditions on a specified gov ­
ernment test course.
F or examp le, a t ire graded
150 would wear one
and one h alf
(1 1/2) times as well on the govern­
ment course as a tire g raded
100 .
Wh eel s
The re lat ive pe rformance of tires depends upon
the actual cond itions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the norm due to
variations in driv ing habits, service practices and
differences in road character istics and cl imate.
T raction
The
traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, Band
C. Those grades rep resent the tire's
ability to stop on wet pavement as measured un­
der controlled cond itions on specified govern­
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
c::;, .&_ .
Te mperature
The
temperature grades are A (the highest), B,
and C, representing the tire 's resistance to the
generat ion of heat and its ability to dissipate
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained h igh 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::;, .&. .
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 pe rformance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minim um req uir ed by law.
A WARNING
-
The t ract io n grade assigned to this t ire is
based on straight -ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, co r­
nering, hydroplaning or peak traction charac­
terist ics.
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
i n comb inat ion, can cause heat bu ildup and
-
possib le tire fai lure. ~
253

Wheels
_& WARNING
Temperature grades apply to tires that are
properly inflated and not over or underinf lat ­
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
U) General notes
Applies to: vehicles with tire pressure monito ring system
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 inflat ion 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 fo r those tir es) .
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been
equipped with a t ire pressure monitoring system
(TPMS) that illuminates a low tire pressure tell­
tale when one or more of your tires is significant­
ly under-inflated . Accord ingly, when the low tire
p ressure telltale illuminates, you should stop and
check your tires as soon as possible, and inflate
them to the proper pressure. Driving on a signifi­
cantly under-inflated tire causes the tire to over­
heat and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation
also reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's handling and stop­
ping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute for
proper tire maintenance, and it is the driver's re­
sponsib ility to maintain correct tire pressure,
even if under-inflation has not reached the level
to trigger illumination of the TPMS low tire pres­
sure telltale.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a TPMS
malfunct ion indicator to indicate when the sys­
tem is not operating properly. The TPMS mal­
function indicator is comb ined w ith the low tire
pressure telltale. When the system detects a
malfunction, the telltale will flash for approxi­
mately one minute and then remain cont inuous ly
illuminated. This sequence will continue upon
254
subsequent vehicle start-ups as long as the mal­
function exists.
When the malfunction indicator is illum inated,
the system may not be able to detect or s ignal
low tire pressure as intended . TPMS malfunctions
may occur for a variety of reasons, including the
i nstallation of replacement or alternate tires or
wheels on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS
from functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing one or
more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure
that the replacement or alternate tires and
whee ls allow the TPMS to continue to function
properly.
If the Tire Pressure Monitoring System
indicator appears
Applies to: vehicles with tire pressure monitoring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too low
or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig . 209 Instrument cl uste r: indicator light with me ssage
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure monitor­
ing system compares the tire tread c ircumfer­
ence and v ibration characteristics of the individu­
al tires.
If the pressure changes in one or more
ti res, this is ind icated in the instrument cluster
display with an indicator light
[I] and a message.
If only one tire is affected, the locat ion of that
tire will be indicated.
The tire pressures must be stored in the Infotain­
ment system again each time the pressures
change (switching between partial and full load
pressure) or after changing or replacing a tire on
your vehicle ¢
page 255. The tire pressure moni­
tor ing system only monitors the tire pressure you
have stored . Refer to the t ire pressure label for ..,.