Wheel s
(J) US DOT number (TIN) and
manufacture date
The 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, tha t the ti re
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 A udi dealer or author
ized Audi Service Facility will be
able to provide you with more in
formation .
® Mud and snow capability
"M/5" or "M+S" indicates the tire
has properties ma king it suitable
to drive in mud or snow.
& indi
cates a winter t ire .
@ Compos ition 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 weight a
168
tire can carry. Tire manufacturers
must also specify the materials
used in the tire . These include
steel, 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,
tr action and temper atur e
resistance
Treadwear, traction and tempera
ture ranges
¢ page 182.
@ Running direction
The arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirectional tires.
You must always follow the speci
fied running direction
¢ page 196 .
@) Maximum permitted
inflation pressure
This number indicates the maxi
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated under normal operat
ing condit ions .
0 C0
-N
" N
-0 g a)
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined we ight (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 a re available as factory- in
stalled equipment (whether in
stalled or not) .
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width o f the tire in percent .
Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low s idewal l for improved steer
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement.
Bead
means the part of the t ire 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 .
Wheels
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tir e pressure recom
mended by the vehicle manufac
tu rer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for
more than a couple of m iles (k ilo
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the t ire
pressure is measured or adjusted .
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle with standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
f u el, o il, and coolant, a ir cond i
tioning and additional weight of
optio nal eq uipment .
Extra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flat ion pressu res than the corre
sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be ident ified as "X L",
"xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on
the sidewall. .,.
169
Wheel s
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR ")
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system , measured
at the tire -ground interfaces.
Gross Veh icle 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 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.
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla
tion pressure for that tire.
Ma ximum loaded veh icle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
170
Ma ximum (permissible)
inflation pressu re
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to which a tire may be inflated. A lso called "maxi
mum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants seated in the vehicle up to the to
tal seating capacity of your vehi
cle.
Occupant d istribution
means distr ibution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer d iameter
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, includ ing
elevations due to labeling, deco rations, or protective bands or
ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords.
0 C0
-N ,... N
-0
0
::, a)
Production options weight
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 we ight, in
cluding 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.
Re commended inflation
pressure
see ¢ page 169, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in
flation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire. Rein
forced tires may be identified as
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" 1 , ,
on the sidewall.
Wheels
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated.
Rim diamet er
means nominal d iameter 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 designat ion
means rim diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal 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 rat ings
range from
93 mph (150 km/h)
to
186 mph (298 km/h) ¢ table
on page 167.
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 ...
17 1
0 C0
-N
" N
-0
0
::, a)
by the tire manufacturer. This in
formation is used to contact con
sumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Ve hicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug
gage load plus 150 lbs. (68 k ilo
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 distrib
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
178) and dividing by
two.
Occupant loading and distr i
bution for vehicle normal load
for various design ated seating
capacities
Refer to the tire inflation pres
sure label¢
page 176, fig. 147
Wheels
for the number of seating posi
tions . Refer to the table ¢
table
on page
178 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 gripp ing properties .
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 miles (500 km) with new tires.
.,,. Only use tires with the same de
sign, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread
pattern as possible on all four
wheels.
.,,. 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 ...
173
Wheels
and the tire pressures specified
on the label on the driver's side B
pillar, always follow the specifica
tion on the B-pillar label
¢ page 176, fig. 146.
Make sure that the tire designa
tion on your tire matches the des-
Model/ Tire designation
Engine
ignation on the tire pressure label
and the tire pressure table.
The following table lists recom mended tire pressures in cold
tires according to the load and
the size of the tires installed.
Tire pressure
Normal load Maximum load
(up to 3 people)a)
front rear front rear
PSI
Q3: 235/50 Rl8 97H 32
2.0L
235/50 Rl8 97V 32
4 cylinders 255/40 Rl9 l00Y 33
255/35 R20 97Y 33
255/40 Rl9 l00H 33
a) 2 peop le in the front ; 1 perso n in the rear
.8, WARNING
Please note the important safe
ty precautions regarding tire
pressure ¢
page 176 and load
limits ¢
page 178.
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
178
kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
220 32 220 33 230 36 250
220 3 2 22 0
33 230
36 250
230 33 230 44
300 46 320
230 33 230 44 300 4
6 320
230 33 230 44 300 46 320
tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation 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 are
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 tank of
11>
fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum load. The maxi
mum load includes the number of
passengers that the vehicle is in
tended to carry ("seating capaci
ty") with an assumed weight of
1 50 lbs. (68 kg) for each passen
ger at a designated seating posi
tion and the total weight of any
luggage in the vehicle. If you tow
a trailer, the weight of the trailer
hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer must be includ
ed as part of the vehicle load.
The
Gr oss Axle Weight R ating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of the
veh icle'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 (including
the weight of a trai ler hitch 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.
-N
" N
-0
0
::, a)
Wheels
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the Gross Axle Weight Rating
are listed on the safety compli
ance sticker label located on the
driver's side B-pillar.
_&. WA RNIN G
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 -
including 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 Veh icle Weight Rating .
179
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 pre ssure label)
c:::> page 176, fig. 146.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3 . Subtra ct the combined weight
of the driver and passengers
from
"XXX" kilograms or " XXX"
pounds shown on the sticker
c:::> page 176 , fig. 146 .
4. The re sulting figure equals the
available amount of cargo and luggage load capacity. For ex
ample, if the
"XXX" amount
equals 1400 lbs. and there will
180
be five 150 lbs. passengers in
your vehicle, the amount of available cargo and luggage load capacity is 650 lb s.
(1400-750 (5 X 150) = 650
lb s.)
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely ex
ceed the available cargo and luggage load capacity calculat
ed in Step 4 .
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load from your trailer
will be transferred to your ve
hicle. Con sult this manual to
determine how this reduces
the available cargo and lug gage load capacity of your vehi
cle .
~check the tire sidewall
(c:::> page 167, fig. 144) to deter
mine the designated load rating
for a specific tire.
· Wheel bolts and rims
Wheel bolts
W heel bolts mus t be clean and loose n/tighten
eas ily.
Rims
R ims with a bo lted r im ring * or with bo lted wheel
covers" co nsist of mult ip le p ieces . T h ese compo-
n ents were bolted togethe r usin g s pec ial bolts ..,.