2018 AUDI A7 Owners Manual

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(J) US DOT number (TIN) and
manufacture date
T he manufacture date is listed on
the tire sidewall (it may only ap­
pear on the inner s ide of the tire):
DOT .. . 2217 .. .
means , for example, that the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of
the year 2017 .
@ Audi Original Tires
Audi Original equipment tires
with the designation
"AO" have
been specially matched to your
Audi . When used correct ly , these
tires meet the highest standards
for safety and handling . An au­
thorized Audi dealer or author­
ized Audi Service Facility wi ll be
able to provide you with more in­
formation .
® 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 we ight a
tire can carry . Tire manufacturers
Wh eel s
must also specify the materials
used in the tire . These include
steel, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Ma ximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi­
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry .
@ Uniform tire qual ity grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear , tract ion and tempera­
ture ranges
r=:>page221 .
@ Running direction
The arrows indicate the runn ing
direction of unidirectional tires .
You must always follow the speci­
fied running direction
c> page 241.
@ Ma ximum permitted
inflation pressure
This number indicates the maxi­
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated under normal operat­
ing cond itions .
207

Wheel s
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 transmission, power steer­
ing , power brakes , power win­
dows , power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
items are available as factory-in­
stalled equipment (whether in­
stalled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width 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
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.
208
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the t ire 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 w ith standard equipment in­
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, ai r condi­
tioning and additional weight of
optional equipment.
E x tra load ti re
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 "X L",
"
l" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" on X I I
the sidewall. .,.

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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 vehic le.
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 .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla­
tion pressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Ma ximum (permissible )
inflation pressure
Wh eel s
means the maximum cold infla­
tion pressure to which a tire may be inflated . Also called "maxi ­
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occup ant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the vehicle up to the to­
ta l seating capacity of your vehi­
cle .
Occupant distribut ion
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.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords.
209

Wheels
Production options we igh t
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs.
(2.3 kg) in excess of those stand­
ard items which they replace, not previously considered in curb
weight or accessory weight, in­
cluding heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack, heavy duty
battery, and special trim.
Radial pl y tir e
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.
R ecomm ended in flation
pressure
see ¢ page 208 , Cold tire infla­
tion pressure.
R einforced 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
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" , , ,
on the sidewall.
210
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated.
Rim diam eter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat . If you change your
wheel size, you will have to pur ­
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nomina l distance between
r im
flanges .
Sidewall
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 ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to
186 mph (298 km/h) ¢ table
on page 206 .
You may not find
this information on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law .
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the
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maximum permissible road
speeds. See
also ¢.& in General
information on page 205.
Tire pre ssure mon itoring
system *
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's
tires are underinflated and illumi­
nates a low tire pressure warning
telltale.
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact with the road .
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass.
Treadwea r indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visual indication of the degrees
of wear of the tread. See
¢ page 214, Treadwear indicator
for more information on measur­
ing tire wear .
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-
Wheels
parisons among tires . The U TQG
is not a safety rating and not a
guarantee that a tire will last for
a prescribed number of miles
(kilometers) or perform in acer­
tain way . It simply gives tire buy ­
ers additional information to
combine with other considera­
tions, such as price, brand loyalty and dealer recommendatio ns. Un­
der UTQG, tires are graded by the
tire manufacturers in three areas :
treadwear, traction, and tempera­
ture resistance. The UTQG infor­
mation on the tires, molded into
the sidewalls.
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
T his is the tire's "se ria l number" .
It begins with the letters "DO T"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal standards. The next
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant whe re it was manufac­
tured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of
manufactu re . For example,
DOT .. . 2217 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week of 2017 . The
other numbers are marketing co­ des that may or may not be used
.,.
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Wheels
by the tire manufacturer. 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 kilo ­
grams) times the vehicle's desig­ nated seating capacity .
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by distrib­
uting to each axle its share of the
maximum loaded veh ic le weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by distrib­
uting to each axle its share of the
curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupant weight (dis ­
tr ibuted in accordance
with¢ ta ­
ble on page
2 17) and d ividing by
two .
Occupant loading and distri­
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating capacities
Re fer to the tire inflation pres ­
sure
label¢ page 215, fig. 190
2 12
for the n umbe r of seating posi­
tions. Refer to the
table ¢ table
on page
217 for the number of
people tha t correspond to the ve­
hicle normal load .
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on t ires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility.
These facilities have the proper
know ledge and are eq uipped with
the required too ls and rep lace­
ment parts.
1>- New tires do not yet have the
optim um gripping properties.
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 35 0 m iles
(500 km) with new tires .
1>-Qnly use tires with the same de­
sign, size ( rolling circumfer ­
ence) , and as close to t he same
tread pattern as possible on a ll
four wheels .
.,.Applies to: RS models: only use
tires with the same design, size (ro lling circumfere nce), and the
same tread pattern on all four
whee ls.
1>- Do not replace tires individually.
At least replace bo th 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
i=:> &, .
..,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
i=:> &, .
Because the spare tire* is differ­
ent from the regular tires instal­
led on the vehicle (such as winter
tires or wide tires), only use the spare tire* temporarily in case of
emergency and drive carefully
while it is in use. It should be re­
placed with a regular tire as soon
as possible.
Applies to: vehicles with all wheel drive: 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 dam­ aged by different wheel speeds .
~ For this reason, in case of emer-
-~ gency, only use a spare tire* that
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Wheels
is 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.
-Only use tire/rim combina­ tions and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, 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.
...
213

Wheels
-Only use tires that are more than six years old when abso­lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-Do not use run-flat tires on your vehicle. Using them when not permitted can lead to
ve­
hicle damage or accidents.
-If you install wheel covers on the vehicle, make sure they al­low enough a ir circulation to
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 188 Tire profile: trea dwear indica ­
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
-Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
l) Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
214
-Driving qu ickly through curves,
rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear.
-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 quick ly.
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
c> fig . 188. The letters "TWI"
or triangles on the tire sidewall indicate the location of the tread­
wear indicators.
The t ires have reached the mini­
mum tread depth
l) when they
have worn down to the treadwear
indicators. Replace the tires with
new ones
c> A . "'