Page 209 of 266

CX)
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Wheels
Wheels and Tires
General information
.,.Check your tires regularly for
damage (punctures, cuts, cracks
and bulges). Remove foreign ob
jects from the tire tread.
.,. If driving over curbs or similar
obstacles, drive slowly and ap
proach the curb at an angle.
.,.Have faulty tires or rims re
placed immediately.
"'Protect your tires from oil,
grease and fuel.
.,.M ark tires before removing
them so that the same running
direction can be maintained if
they are reinstalled.
"'Lay tires flat when storing and
store them in a cool, dry location
with as little exposure to light as
possible.
(D Note
-Please note that summer and
winter tires are designed for
the conditions that are typical in those seasons. Audi recom
mends using winter tires dur
ing the winter months. Low
temperatures significantly de crease the elasticity of summ
er tires, which affects traction
Wheels
and braking ability. If summer
tires are used in very cold
temperatures, cracks can form
on the tread bars, resulting in
permanent tire damage that
can cause loud driving noise
and unbalanced tires.
-Burnished, polished or
chromed rims must not be
used in winter driving condi
tions. The surface of the rims
does not have sufficient corro
sion protection for this and
could be permanently dam aged by road salt or similar
substances.
Tire designations
Fig. 178 T ir e designations on the side -
wall Ill>
207
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Wheels
(D Tires for passenger vehicles
(if applicable)
P indicat es a tire for a passenger
vehicle. T indicates a tire desig
nated for temporary use.
@ Nominal width
Nominal width of the tire be
tween the sidewalls in millime
ters. In general: the larger the
number, the wider the tire.
@ Aspect ratio
Height/width ratio expressed as a
percentage.
@ Tire construction
R indicates a radial tire.
® Rim diameter
Size of the rim diameter in inches.
@ Load index and speed rating
The load index indicates the tire's
load-carrying capacity.
The speed rating indicates the maximum permitted speed
¢ & in
W inter tires on page 222 .
"EXTRA LOAD", "xl" or "RF" indi
cates that the tire is reinforced or
is an Extra Load tire.
Speed rat- Maximum permitted speed
ing
p
up to 93 mph (1 50 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (160 km/h)
208
Speed rat- Maximum permitted speed
Ing
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 (210 km/h)
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)al
z above 149 mph (240 km/h)al
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)al
y up to 186 mph (300 km/h)al
a) For tires above 149 mph (240 km/h),
tire manufact urers sometimes use the
code "ZR".
(j) US DOT number (TIN) and
manufacture date
The manufacture date is listed on
the tire sidewall (it may only ap
pear on the inner side of the tire):
DOT ... 2216 ...
means, for example, that the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of
the year 2016.
@ Audi Original Tires
Audi Original Tires with the desig
nation "AO" or "RO" have been
specifically matched to your Audi.
When u sed correctly, these tires
meet the highest standards for
safety and handling. An author
ized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility will be able
to provide you with more infor
mation.
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® Mud and snow capability
"M/5" or "M+S" indicates the tire
is suitable for driving on mud and
snow. £ indicates a winter tire.
@Composition of the tire cord
and materials
The number of plies indicates the
number of rubberized fabric lay
ers in the tire . In general: the
more layers, the more weight a
tire can carry. Tire manufacturers
must also specify the materials
used in the ti re . These inc lude
stee l, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry.
@ Un iform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear, traction and tempera
ture ranges
c:::> page 224.
@ Running direction
T he arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirectional tires.
You must always follow the speci
fied running direction
c:::>page 233 .
~ Maximum permitted
inflation pressure
Wheels
T his number indicates the maxi
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated under normal operat
ing condit ions .
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto matic t ransmission, power steer
ing, power brakes, power win
dows , powe r seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent tha t these
items are avai lab le as factory- in
stalled equipment (whether in
s t alled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the w idth of the tire in percent.
Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low sidewall for improved steer
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinfo rced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim. ...
20 9
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Wheel s
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead .
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom
mended by the vehicle manufac
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for more than a couple of miles (kilo
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the tire
pressure is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle with standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additional weight of
optional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flation pressures than the corre sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on
the sidewal l.
210
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR ")
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system, measured
at the tire -ground interfaces .
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(" GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load that a
tire is rated to carry for a given in
flation pressure. You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law.
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla tion pressure for that tire.
Ma ximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of :
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options we ight
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u. a:,
Maximum (permissible )
inflat ion pressure
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to wh ich a t ire may
be inflated . Also called "maxi
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilograms)
times the numbe r of occupants
seated in the veh icle up to the to
tal seating capacity of your vehi
c le .
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants
in a vehicle .
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire .
Overall width
means the linear dis ta n ce be
tween the exteriors of the side
walls of an inflated tire, inc luding
e levations due to labeling, deco
rations, or protect ive bands or
ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
Wheels
Production options weight
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not pre
viously considered in curb weight
or accessory weight , including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
heavy duty battery, and special
trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply cords that extend to the
beads are laid at substantia lly 90
degrees to the centerline of the
tread .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see c:::> page 210, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
fl ation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire. Rein
forced tires may be iden tified as
"X L" "x l" "EXTRA LOA D" or "RF"
, , ,
on the sidewa ll. ..,
211
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Wheels
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the t ire beads are seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat . If you change your
wh eel size, you will have to p ur
chase new tires to match the new
rim d iameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and w idth.
Rim width
means nomina l distance between
r im flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a t ire be
twee n the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a t ire is
designed to be driven for extend
ed periods of ti me. The ratings
range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ table
on page 2 08 .
You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code,
wh ere applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and ind icates the
2 12
maximum permissible road
speeds
¢ A in Winter tires on
page 222 .
Tire pressure monitoring
system *
means a system that detects
when one or mo re of a vehicle's
tires a re underinflated and illumi
nates a low tire pressure war ning
telltale .
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact wi th the road.
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the project ions wi thin the
pr inc ipal grooves designed to g ive
a visua l indication of the degrees
of wear of the tread . See
¢ page 215, Treadwear indicator
for mo re information on meas ur
ing tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
i s a tire informa tion system devel
oped by the Unite d States Nation
a l Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make re lative
..
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u. a:,
comparisons among tires. The
UTQG is not a safety rating and
not a guarantee that a tire will
last for a prescribed number of
miles (kilometers) or perform in a
certain way . It simply gives tire
buyers additional information to
combine with other considera
tions, such as price, brand loyalty and dealer recommendations. Un
der UTQG, tires are graded by the
tire manu facturers in three areas:
treadwear, traction, and tempera
ture res istance . The UTQG infor
mation on the tires, molded into
the sidewalls.
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
T his is the tire 's "seria l number" .
It beg ins with the letters "DO T"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal s tandards. The next
two numbers o r letters indicate
the plant where it was manufac
tured , and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of
manufactu re . For example,
DOT ... 2216 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week of 2016 . The
other numbers are marketing co des that may or may not be used
Wheels
by the tire man ufact urer. This in
formation is used to contact con
sumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug
gage load plus 150 lbs. (68 k ilo
grams) times the vehicle's desig
na ted seating capacity.
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by dist rib
uting to each ax le its share of the
maximum loaded veh icle weight
an d div id in g
by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by distrib uting to each ax le its share of the
curb weight , accessory weight,
and normal occupant weight (dis
trib uted in acco rdance with
¢ page218) and dividing by two .
Occupant loading and distri
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating
capacities
R efer to the t ire inflation pres
sure label
¢ page 217, fig.181
for the number of seating .,.
213
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Wheels
positions. Refer to the table
¢
page 218 for the number of
people that correspond to the ve
h icle normal load.
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au
thor ized Audi Service Facility.
These facilit ies have the proper
knowledge and are equipped with
the required tools and replace ment parts.
.,. New tires do not yet have the
optimum gripping properties .
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 miles
(500 km) with new tires.
1>-Use ti res of the same construc
tion , size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread
pattern as possible on all four
wheels.
1>-0o not replace tires individually.
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time.
1>-Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original Tires. If you would like to use different tires, please
note that the tires may perform
differently even if they are the
same size ¢
.&..
214
1>-Ifyou 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 Audi Service Facility before making a pur
chase ¢,&. .
The spare tire* is different from
the regular tires installed on the
vehicle -for example, if winter
tires or wide tires are installed -
so only use the spare tire* tempo
rarily 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 that the
drive system is not damaged by
different tire speeds . For this rea
son, 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 .,.