Wheels
(D Tires for passenger vehicles
(if applicable)
"P" indicates 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
c> & in
Winter tires on page 298.
"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 (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (160 km/h)
284
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 1 18 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)a)
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h) al
y up to 186 mph (300 km/h)a)
a) For tires above 149 mph (240 km/h),
tire manufacturers sometimes use the
code
"ZR".
0 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 ... 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 correctly, these
tires meet the highest standards
for safety and handling. An au
thorized Audi dealer or author
ized Audi Service Facility will be
able to provide you with more in
formation.
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 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 standa rd equipment in
cluding the maximum ca pacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and addit ional weigh t of
optional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher
in -
28 6
flation pressures than t he corre
spond ing standard tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "X L",
"xl" , "EXTRA LOAD" , or "RF" on
the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-car rying capacity
of a single axle system , measu red
at the ti re-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 tha t a
tire is rated to carry for a given i n
flation pressure. You may no t 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 pressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means t he sum of:
....
"' -N .... N
-0
0
J: ..
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Ma ximum (permissible }
inflation pres sure
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 l bs. (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 .
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 286, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flat ion pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire. Rein
forced tires may be iden tified as
.,.
28 7
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 will have to pur
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between
rim 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 284 .
You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law .
288
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on the tire sidewall and indicates the maximum permissible vehicle
speeds
¢ .1,. in Winter tires on
page 298 .
Tire pressure monitoring
system*
means a system that detects
when one or mo re 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 .
Treadwear 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 292, Treadwear indicator
for more information on measur- ing tire wear.
.,.
....
"' -N .... N
-0
0
J: ..
Uniform Tire Quality Gr ading
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 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 recommendations . Un
der UTQG, tires are graded
by the
tire manufacturers 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 )
This is the tire's "serial number".
It begins with the letters
"DOT"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal standards . The next
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant where it was manufac
tured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year of
manufacture. For example,
Wheels
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
by the tire manufacturer. This in
formation is used to contact con
sumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Vehicle c apacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug
gage load plus 150 lbs. (68 kilo grams) times the vehicle's desig
nated seating capacity.
Vehicle ma ximum 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 vehicle weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by dist rib
uting to each axle its share of the
curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupant weight (dis
tributed in accordance
with¢ ta
ble on page 295) and dividing by
two.
~
289
Wheel s
Occupant loading and distri
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating
capacities
Refer to the tire inflation pres
sure
label ¢ page 293, fig . 267
for the number of seating posi
tions . Refer to the
table¢ table
on page 295
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 pe rformed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized Audi Service Facility .
T hese 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 fo r 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 .
290
.,.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
F acility 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.
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
.,.
LL
"' .... N ,-.. N .... g :r st
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
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.
-Only use tires that are more
than six years old when abso-
Wheels
lutely 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 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. 265 T ir e 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.
291
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 noticeab le
vibration in the steering wheel.
If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more qu ickly .
Treadwear indicator
Original equipment t ires 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 ti re per
pendicular to the running direc
tion. The letters
"TWI" or trian
gles on the tire sidewall indicate
the location of the treadwear in
dicators .
T he tires have reached the mini
mum tread depth
l) when they
have worn down to the treadwear
indicators. Replace the tires with
new ones
c:::> ,.1. .
Tire rotation
Rotating the tires regularly is rec
ommended to ensure the tires
1> Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
2 92
wear evenly . To rotate the tires,
install the tires from the rear ax le
on the front axle and vice versa .
This will allow the tires to have app roximately the same lengt h of
service life .
F or unidirectional tires , make
sure the ti res are installed accord
ing to the running direction indi
cated on the tire sidewall
c:::>page 319 .
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 slow ly and caref ully to
the nearest authorized Audi deal er or authorized Audi Service Fa
cility to have the vehicle inspect
ed .
& WARNIN G ~
Tread that has worn too low or
different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
11>