Page 337 of 402

u
"' .... N
" N .... 0
0
l'. ...
® Mud and snow capability
"M/5" or "M+S" indicates the tire
has properties making it suitable
to drive in mud or snow.~ indi
cates a winter tire .
@ Composition of the tire cord
and materials
The number of plies indicates the
number of rubber ized fabric lay
ers in the t ire. 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 incl ude
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 .
@ Uniform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
T readwear , traction and tempera
ture ranges¢
page 350.
@ Running direction
The arrows indicate the running
direction of un idirectional t ires .
You must always follow the speci- fied running direction
¢
page 365.
€3) Maximum permitted
inflation pressure
Wheels
T his number ind icates the max i
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat
ing conditions.
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined we igh t (in
excess of those standard items
wh ich may be replaced) of auto
matic transmission, power steer
ing, power brakes, power win
dows, power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
items are availab le as factory-in
stalled equipment (whether in
stalled 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 s idewall for improved steer
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement .
335
Page 338 of 402

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:
Page 339 of 402

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
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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. .,.
Page 341 of 402

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 -
~ tu red, and the last fo ur numbers ....
~ represent the week and yea r of ....
~ manufacture. For examp le, ...
Wheels
DOT ... 2216 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week o f 2016 . 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 345) and dividing by
two. .,.
339
Page 342 of 402

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 .,.
Page 343 of 402

u a,
-N
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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
Page 344 of 402

Wheels
-Have an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili
ty 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
Original equipment tires contain
treadwear indicators in the tread
pattern, which are bars that are 1/16 in (1.6 mm) high and are
spaced evenly around the tire per pendicular to the running direc
tion¢
fig . 2 74 . The letters "TWI"
or triangles on the tire sidewall indicate the location of the tread
wear indicators .
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 ¢
..&..
Tire rotation
Rotating the tires regularly is rec
ommended to ensure the tires
1> Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
342
wear evenly. To rotate the tires,
install the tires from the rear 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 365.
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 Audi Service Fa
cility to have the vehicle inspect
ed .
.&_ WARNING
Tread that has worn too low or
different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety. ,..