Wheels
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim .
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 vehic le manufac
turer for a tire of a des ignated
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 adj usted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle w ith standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additiona l weight of
op tional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire des igned to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in -
336
flation pressures than t he corre
spond ing standa rd tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl" , "EXTRA LOAD" , or "RF" on
the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating
("GAWR ")
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system , measured
at the ti re-gro und interfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR")
means the max imum total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load tha t a
tire is rated to carry for a given in
flation pressure. You may not find
this informat ion on all ti res be
cause it is not required by law .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla
tion p ressure for that ti re .
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
u
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options we ight
Ma ximum (permissible)
inflation pressure
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to which a t ire may
be inflated. Also called "maxi
mum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number 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 distance be
tween the exteriors of the side
walls of an inflated tire, including
elevations due to labeling, deco
rations, or protective bands or
~ ribs . N
" N .... 0
0
l'. ...
Wheels
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
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,
roof rack, 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 substantially 90
degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ~ page 336, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flation pressures than the corre sponding standard tire. Rein
forced tires may be identified as .,.
337
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 334.
You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not requ ired by law.
33 8
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 348.
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
telltale .
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact w ith the road .
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the t ire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a vis ua l indication of the deg rees
of wear of the t read. See
¢ page 342, Treadwear indicator
for mo re information on measur-
ing tire wear. .,.
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 343, fig . 276
for the number of seating posi
tions . Refer to the table¢
table
on page 345
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 Audi Service Facility .
These facilities 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 .
.,. 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 .
340
.,.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 Tires. If you would
like to use different 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 Audi Service Facility before making a pur
chase ¢&, .
If the spare t ire 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 .,.
u a,
-N
" N .... 0
0
l: ..
different tire speeds. For this reason, in case of emergency, only
use a spare tire that has the same
circumference as the regular
tires.
&,_ WARNING
-Do not use steel rims that are 17 inches or larger. Other
wise, 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.
-Only use tires that are more
than six years old when abso-
Wheels
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-Run-flat tires* may only be used on vehicles that were
equipped with them at the
factory
¢ page 3 52.
-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. 274 T ire profile: treadwear 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.
341
Wheels
&_ WARNING
Please note the important safe
ty precautions regarding tire
pressure¢
page 343 and load
limits¢
page 346.
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 .
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 deflat ion 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 a re
technically referred to as the vehi
cle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat
ing
("GVWR") .
The "GVWR" includes the weight of the basic vehicle, all factory in
stalled accessories, a full tan k of
fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids
3 4 6
plus maximum load. The maxi
mum load includes the number of
passengers that the veh icle is in
tended to carry ("seating capaci
ty") with an assumed weight o f
150 lbs (68 kg) for each passen
ger at a designated seat ing pos i
tion and the total weight of any luggage in the veh icle. If you tow
a trailer, the weight of the trailer
hitch and the tongue we ight of
the loaded trailer must be includ ed as part of the vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of the
vehicle's two axles .
The fact that there is an upper
limit to your vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating means that the
total weight of whatever is being
carried in the vehicle (inc luding
the weight of a trailer h itch and
the tongue weight of the loaded
trailer) is limited . The more pas
sengers in the vehicle or passen
gers who are heavier than the
standard weights assumed mean
that less weight can be carried as luggage .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the Gross Axle Weight Rat ing .,.
u
"' ... N
" N ... 0
~ ...
are listed on the safety compli
ance sticker label located on the
driver's side 8-pillar.
.&_ WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of vehicle control, a crash
or other accident, serious per
sonal injury, and even death.
-Carrying more weight than
your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the vehicle
from handling properly and increase the risk of the loss of
vehicle control.
-The brakes on a vehicle that
has been overloaded may not
be able to stop the vehicle
within a safe distance.
-Tires on a vehicle that has
been overloaded can fail sud
denly, including a blowout and
sudden deflation, causing loss
of control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the to
tal load being transported - incl uding 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.
Wheels
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 OF OCCU
PANTS AND CARGO SHOULD
NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX
LBS" on your vehicle's placard
(tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 343, fig. 2 76.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and passengers
from
"XXX" kilograms or "XXX"
pounds shown on the stick
er ¢
page 343, fig. 2 76.
4. The resulting figure equals the
available amount of cargo and
luggage load capacity. For ex
ample, if the
"XXX" amount
equals 1400 lbs. and there will.,,.
347
Wheels
After a heavy impact or damage, have the tires
and rims inspected or replaced immediately by
an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Facility.
Low-profile tires can wear out faster than stand
ard tires.
Summer tires are not suitable for cold weather ,
snow or black ice. If you are driving in these con
ditions, use winter or all season tires
¢ page 348.
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
¢ page 333, fig. 273.
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
(1 1/2) 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
350
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 ti re life,
and excessive temperature can lead to sudden
tire failure ¢& .
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.
.
-