2018 AUDI S3 SEDAN Owners Manual

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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
c luding 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 333, Cold tire infla­
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in ­
flat ion pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire. Rein­
forced t ires may be identified as
"XL " "xl" "EXT RA LOA D" or "RF" , , ,
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 diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
whee l 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 ti re 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 331.
You may no t find
this info rmat ion on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law.
T he speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates t he
11>
335

Wheels
maximum permissible road
speeds . See also ¢
A in General
information on page 330 .
Tire pressure monitoring
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 co ntact with the road.
Tread separat ion
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass.
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
pr incipal grooves designed to g ive
a vis ual indication of the degrees
of wear of the tread . See
¢ page 339, Treadwear indicator
for more information on measu r­
ing tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system devel ­
oped by the United States Nat ion­
a l Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration ( NHTSA) tha t is designed
to he lp buyers make relative com-
33 6
parisons among tires . The UTQG
is not a safety rat ing and not a
guarantee that a tire will last for
a prescribed number of miles (kilo meters) or perform in acer ­
t ain way . It simply g ives tire buy ­
ers add itiona l information to
combine with other considera ­
tions , such as price, brand loyalty
and dealer recommendations. U n­
de r UT QG, tires a re graded by the
tire manufacturers in three areas: treadwear, tract ion, and tempera ­
ture res istance. The UTQG info r­
mation on the tires , molded into
the si dewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number".
It beg ins with the letters
"DO T"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal s tandards. The next
two numbers or le tters indicate
the plant whe re it was ma nufac ­
tured, and t he last four num bers
represent the week and year of
manufacture. Fo r example,
DOT ... 2217 .. .
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week o f 2017. The
other numbers are ma rketing co­
des that may or may not be used
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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 ma ximum load on the
tire
means that load on an indiv idual
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 indiv idual
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 342)
and dividing by
two .
Occupant loading and distr i­
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating
capacities
Refer to the tire inflation pres­
s u re
label¢ page 341, fig . 2 78
Wheels
for the n umber of seating posi­
tions . Refer to the table
¢ table
on page 34 2
for the number of
people tha t correspond to the ve­
hicle normal load.
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires o r wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility.
These facilities have the proper
knowle dge and are eq uipped with
the requ ired too ls and replace­
ment parts.
.,. New tires do not yet have the
optimum g ripping properties .
Drive carefully and at mode rate
speeds for the first 350 miles
(500 km) with new tires.
.,. Only use tires with the same de­
s ign , size (rolling circumfer­
ence), and as close to the same
tread pattern as possible on all
four whee ls .
.,. Applies to: RS models : only use
tires with the same design and
the same tread pattern on all
four whee ls.
.,. Do not replace tires indiv idually .
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time .
...
337

Wheels
.,.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
¢ 11:,. .
.,. 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¢ ,&.
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
338
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
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
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-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. 276 T ire profile : treadwear indica­
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regular ly 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.
l ) Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
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 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
c::> fig. 2 76. The letters "TWI"
or triangles on the tire sidewall indicate the location of the tread­
wear indicators.
The 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::> .&.-
Tire rotation
Applies to: RS models: tires may
only be rotated if the tires on the
..,.
339

Wheels
front and rear axles are the same
size¢&.
Rotating the tires regularly is rec­
ommended to ensure the tires
wear evenly . To rotate the tires,
install the tires from the rear axle
on the front axle and vice versa.
This will allow the tires to have
approximately the same length of
service life.
For unidirectional tires, make
sure the tires are installed accord­
ing to the running direction indi­
cated on the tire sidewall
¢page 368.
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 slowly and carefully to
the nearest authorized Audi deal­
er or authorized Audi Service Fa­
cility to have the vehicle inspect­
ed .
340
.&_ WARNING
-Tread that has worn too low or
different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
This can increase the risk of an
accident because it has a neg­
ative effect on handling, driv­
ing through curves, and brak­
ing, and because it increases
the risk of hydroplaning when
driving through deep puddles.
- Applies to: RS models: de­
pending on the equipment,
the widths of the standard
summer tires may be different
on the front and rear axles.
The wider tires are mounted
on the front axle. The tires
must not be rotated .

Tire pressure
Fig. 277 Driver's side B-pillar: tire pres­
sure label
"' -,------------~ ,::
9c:==. ~: I :.:: I :.. I ) @ l8 n. _____________ ....., _ _. . ... _ ..
vi ................ ~--"""""' ..... .... ..
TR IIZl 00lO '1111. NaSIUl'll ,,._U DNlNIIONS .......,,.DUftillUSAAIOIJ
-KPA. -PSI
Fig. 278 Tire pressure label
The correct tire pressure for tires
mounted in the factory and for
the spare tire* is indicated on a la­ bel. The label is located on the
8-
pi llar ¢ fig. 2 77, ¢ fig. 2 78. The
location may vary depending on
the model.
Use the tire pressure specified for
a normal vehicle load when the
vehicle is partially loaded
¢ table
on page 342.
If driving the vehi­
cle when fully loaded, you must
increase the tire pressure to the
~ maximum specified pressure ¢,&. .
N
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Checking/correcting tire
pressure
Wheels
11>(heck the tire pressure at least
once per month and also check it
before every long drive.
11>Always check the tire pressure
when the tires are
cold. Do not
reduce the pressure if it increas­
es when the tires are warm.
11>(heck the label¢ fig. 2 78 for
the correct tire pressure based on vehicle load.
11>(orrect the tire pressure if nec­
essary.
11>Store the new tire pressure in
the Infotainment system
¢ page 349 or ¢page 352.
11>(heck the pressure in the emer­
gency tire* /spare tire*. Always
maintain the maximum temper­
ature that is specified for the
tire.
A WARNING
Always adapt the tire pressure
to your driving style and vehicle load.
-Overloading can lead to loss of vehicle control and increase
the risk of an accident. Read and follow the important safe­
ty precautions
inc:::> page 343,
Tires and vehicle load limits.
341

Wheels
-The tire must flex more if the
tire pressure is too low or if
the vehicle speed or load are
too high. This heats the tire up
too much. This increases the
risk of an accident because it
can cause the tire to burst and
result in loss of vehicle con­
trol.
-Incorrect tire pressure in­ creases tire wear and has a
Tire pressure table
Please note that the information
contained in the following table
was correct at the time of print­
ing, and the information is sub­
ject to change. If there are differ­
ences between this information
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
c> page 341 , fig. 2 77.
Model/ Tire designation
negative effect on driving and
braking behavior, which in­
creases the risk of an accident.
@ Note
Replace lost valve caps to re­
duce the risk of damage to the
tire valves.
@ For the sake of the environment
Tire pressure that is too low in­ creases fuel consumption.
Make sure that the tire designa­
tion on your tire matches the des­
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 2/3*
people)al
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A3 sedan: 225/40 R18 92Y 35 240 32 220 36 250 36 250
2.0 L
225/45 R17 91H 33 230 30 210 41 280 41
280
4-cylinder
225/40 R18 92H 36 250 33 230 41
280 41 280
235/35 R19 91 Y 33 230 30 210 38 260 41 280
342