
u a, .... N r-N ....
~ a,
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.
329

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 328 , 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.
330
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 326 .
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
...

u a, .... N r-N ....
~ a,
maximum permissible road
speeds. See
also ¢.& in General
information on page 325.
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 334, 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, tract ion, 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
.,.
33 1

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 vehic 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 33 7)
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 335, fig. 269
332
for the n umbe r of seating posi
tions. Refer to the
table ¢ table
on page 337
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.
... New t ires 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 .
... Only 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 .
...
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 O riginal Tires. If you would
like to use di fferent tires, please
note that the tires may perform
...

u a, .... N r-N ....
~ a,
differently even if they are the
same
size ¢,&. .
.,,. If you would like to equip your
vehic le 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¢ ,&..
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* temporari ly 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.
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
use a spare tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular
tires.
A WARNING
-
-Do not use steel rims that are 17 inches or larger. Other-
Wheels
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.
-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
,..
333

Wheels
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. 267 Tire 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.
-Have an authorized Audi dealer
or authorized Audi Service Facili-
l) Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
334
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. 267. The letters "TWI"
or tr iangles 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
¢ .&. -
Tire rotation
Rotating the tires regularly is rec
ommended to ensure the tires
wear evenly. To rotate the tires,
install the tires from the rear axle
.,.

u co .... N r--N .... 0 <( 0 00
on the label on the driver's side B
pillar, always follow the specifica
tion on the B-pillar label
c:::> page 335, fig. 268.
Make sure that the tire designa
tion on your tire matches the des-
Model/ Tire designation
Wheels
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
Engine Normal load Maximum load
(up to 3
people)a)
front
PSI kPA
Q5: 235/60 R18 103H 29 200
2.0L
235/55 R19 101H 29 200
4-cylinder
255/45 R20 101H 29 200
gasoline en-
255/45 R20 101W
29 200 gine
255/40 R21102Y
32 220
SQ5: 255/45 R20 101H 33 230
3.0L
255/45 R20 101W 36 250
6-cylinder
gasoline en- 255/40 R21102Y 33 230
gine
a
) 2 people in the front, 1 person in the rear
A WARNING
Please note the important safe
ty precautions regarding tire
pressure
c:::> page 335 and load
limits
c:::> page 337.
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
rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
29 200 35 240 38 260
29 200 33 230 36 250
29 200 33 230 36 250
29 200 32 220 35 240
32 220 32 220 35 240
30 210 36 250 36 2 50
33 230 4
1
280 44
300
33 230 36 250 39 270
loss of vehicle control, but can al
so damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden
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
..,
337

Wheels
vehicle's Gross Veh ic le Weig ht
R ati ng
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the weight
of the basic vehicle, all factory in
stalled accessories, a full tank of
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 150 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
Gro ss Ax le W eight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of the
vehicle's two axles .
T he 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 trailer hitch and
the tongue weight of the loaded
trailer) is limited . The more pas
sengers in the vehicle or passen -
338
gers who are heavier than the
standard weights assumed mean
that less weight can be carried as luggage .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the Gross Axle Weight Rat ing
are listed on the safety compli
ance sticker labe l located on the
driver's side B-pillar.
1.8. WARNING
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 contro l and a crash.
-Always make sure that the to tal load being transported
-..