a co .... N
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Applies to: vehicles wit h all wheel drive
In oil wheel drive, oil four wheels ore powered .
General information
In all wheel drive, the driving power is divided be
tween all four wheels. This happens automatical
l y depending on your driving behavior as well as
the current road conditions. Also see
c:> page 119, Electronic stabilization control
(ESC) .
A center differential distributes the driving power
variab ly to the front and rear axle. It works to
gether with selective wheel torque control, which
activates when driving through curves
c:>poge 119. With the sport differential*, power
distribution to the rear wheels is variable and can
be adjusted w ith drive select
c:> poge 104 .
The all wheel drive concept is designed for high
engine power. Your vehicle is exceptionally pow
erful and has excellent driving characteristics
both under normal driv ing cond itions and on
snow and ice. Always read and fo llow safety pre
cautions
c:> .&, .
Winter tires
By using all wheel drive, your vehicle has good
forward mot ion with standard tires in winter con
ditions . However, in winter we recommend using
winter or all season tires on all four w heels, be
cause this will improve the braking effect.
Snow chains
If there are snow chain laws, snow chains must
also be used on vehicles with all wheel drive
c:> page 217, Snow chains.
Replacing tires
For vehicles with all wheel drive, only wheels with
the same rolling circumference should be used .
Avoid using tires with different tread depths
c:> page 208, New tires or wheels .
Offroad vehicle?
Your Audi is not an offroad vehicle -there is not
enough ground clearance. For this reason, avoid
difficult terrain.
Intelligent Technology
A WARNING
--
- Also, in veh icles with all wheel drive, adapt
your driving style to the current road and
traffic conditions . Do not let the increased
safety provided tempt you into taking risks,
because this increases the risk of an acci
dent.
- The braking ability of your vehicle is limited
to the traction of the wheels. In this way, it
is not different from a two wheel drive vehi
cle. Do not be tempted to accelerate to a
high speed when the road is slippery, be
cause t his increases the risk of an accident .
- Note that on wet streets, the front wheels
can "hydrop lane" if driving at speeds that
are too high. Unlik e front wheel drive
veh icles, the engine does not rev higher sud
denly when the vehicle begins hydroplaning.
For this reason, adapt your speed to the
road conditions to reduce the risk of an acci
dent.
Energy management
Your vehicle is equipped with an intelligent ener
gy management system for distributing electrici
ty . This significantly improves the start ing ability
and increases the vehicle battery life.
(D Tips
- If you dr ive short distances frequently, the
veh icle battery may not charge enough
w hile driving. As a result, convenience func
tions for electr ical equipment may be tem
porarily unavailable.
- Th e vehicle battery w ill gradually drain if
the vehicle is not driven for long periods of
time, or if electrical equipment is used
when the engine is not running. To ensure
that the vehicle can still be started, the
electrical equipment will be reduced or
switched off.
123
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You can also use all season tires instead of
winter tires . Please note that in some coun
tries where winter tires are required, only
winter tires with
the ~ symbol may be per
mitted.
Snow chains
Snow chains not only improve the driving in win
ter road conditions, but also the braking .
.. Only install snow chains on the front wheels.
This applies also to vehicles with all wheel
drive* .
.. Check and correct the seating of the snow
chains after dr iv in g a few feet, if necessary . Fol
low the instructions from the manufacturer .
.. Note the maximum speed of 30 mph (SO km/
h). Note the loca l regulations.
Use of snow chains is only perm itted with certain
rim/tire combinations due to technical reasons.
Check with an authorized Audi dealer or author
ized Audi Service
Facility to see if you may use
snow chains.
You must remove the snow chains on roads with
out snow. Otherwise, you could impair driving
ability and damage the tires.
A WARNING
Using incorrect snow chains or installing snow
chains incorrectly can result in loss of vehicle
control, which increases the risk of an acci
dent .
{[J) Note
- Snow chains can damage the rims/wheel
covers* if the chains come into direct con
tact with them . Remove the wheel covers*
first . Use coated snow chains.
- Using snow chains that add more than 0.4
inch (10.5 mm) of height can severely dam
age the wheel housings and other vehicle
components.
- Do not install and use snow chains if there is
a malfunction in the air suspension*, be
cause the vehicle height will be very low. If
Wheels
you drive with snow chains anyway, the
wheel housings and other vehicle compo
nents can be severely damaged.
(D Tips
When using snow chains, it may be useful to
switch on sport
mode¢ page 120.
Low-profile tires
Applies to: vehicles with low-profile tires
Compared to other tire/rim combinations, low
profile tires offer a wider tread surface and a
larger rim diameter with shorter tire sidewalls.
This results in an agile driving style . However, it
may reduce the level of comfort and increase
road noise when driving on roads in poor condi
tion.
Low -profile tires can become damaged more
quickly than standard tires when driving over
large bumps, potholes, manhole covers , and
curbs . Therefore, it is particularly important to
maintain the correct tir e pressure
¢ page 211.
To reduce the risk of damage to the tires and
rims, drive very carefully on poor roads.
Check your wheels regularly every 2,000 mi
(3,000 km) for damage . For example, check for
bulges/cracks on the tires or deformations/
cracks on the rims.
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 .
Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Traction AA ABC
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wall between tread shoulder and maximum section width
¢ page 202, fig. 185 .
217
Wheels
For example: Tr ead wea r 200, Traction AA, Tem
pe rature
A .
All passenge r ca r tires m ust conform to Federa l
Safety Requi rements in addition to these g rades.
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparat ive rat ing
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tested
unde r contro ll ed conditions o n a specified gov
e rnmen t test co urse.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one
and one ha lf ( 11/2) t imes as well on the gove rn
ment course as a tire g raded 1 00.
The relative performance of t ires depends upon
the actual condi tions of their use, howeve r, and
may depart s ignificant ly from the norm d ue to
va ria tions in driving hab its, service pra ctices and
d ifferences in road ch aract eris tics and clim ate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, Band
C. T hose grades represent the t ire's
ab ility to stop on wet pavement as meas ured un
de r contro lled condi tions o n specified gove rn
men t tes t su rfa ces of asp ha lt and conc re te. A tire
mar ked C m ay have poor trac tion pe rforma nce
q _&. ,
Temperature
The temperature grades a re A (t he highest), B,
and C, rep resent ing the tire' s resistan ce to t he
gener ation o f heat and it s abili ty to d iss ipate
heat when tested unde r controlled condi tions on
a specified in door laboratory test whee l.
Susta ined hig h tem perature can cause t he ma te
r ial of the t ire to dege nerate and re duce tire life,
an d excess ive temperatu re can lead to sudden
tire fai lure
q .&. .
The gr ade C co rresponds to a leve l of perfor m
a nce wh ich all passenge r car tir es mus t mee t un
der t he Fede ra l Mo tor Vehicle Safety Standar d
No . 109 . Grades Band A represent higher leve ls
of perfo rmance on the labo rato ry test w heel than
the min imum required by law.
218
A WARNING -
The tract io n grade assigned to this t ire is
based on straight-a head braking traction
tes ts, a nd does no t in clude acceleration, cor
ne ring, hy droplaning or pea k traction cha rac
teris tics.
A WARNING
The tem perat ure grade fo r thi s tire is estab
lishe d fo r a t ire th at is p roperl y infl ated and
n ot overloaded . Excessive s peed, under infla
tion, o r excessive loa ding, either separate ly or
i n comb inat io n, can cause heat bu ildup and
possib le t ire fai lure.
A WARNING
-
-
Tempe rature grades app ly to t ires that are
proper ly inflated a nd not over or under inflat
ed .
Tire pressure monitoring
system
ill General notes
Each tire, including the spare (if prov ided),
shou ld be checked monthly when cold and inflat
ed to the i nflat ion press ure recommended by the
vehicle manufacture r on the veh icle placard or
ti re infla tion p ressure labe l. (If your ve hicle has
t ir es of a diffe rent size t han the si ze ind icated on
t h e ve hicle placard or tire i nflat io n press ure la
bel, you sho uld dete rm ine the proper tire in fla
tion press ure for those tires) .
As a n ad ded safety featu re, you r vehicle has been
equipped wi th a t ire p ress ure mon itor ing system
(TPMS) t hat ill umi nates a low tire p ressure tell
ta le w hen one or mo re of your tires is s ignificant
l y under -inflated. According ly, w hen the low ti re
pressure telltale illum inates, you sho uld stop and
c h eck your t ires as soon as possible, and inflate
them to the proper pressure. Dr iv ing on a sign ifi
cant ly under -inflated t ire ca uses the t ire to over
heat and ca n lead to tire fa ilu re . U nder-inflation
also red uces fue l eff ic iency a nd tire tread life,
and may affect t he ve hicl e's handling a nd s top-
ping ability.
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