Wheels
@USDOTnumber(TIN)and
manufacturedate
Themanufacturedateislistedon
thetiresidewall(itmayonlyap-
pearontheinnersideofthetire):
DOT...2218...
means,forexample,thatthetire
wasproducedinthe22ndweekof
theyear2018.
@)AudiOriginalTires
AudiOriginalequipmenttires
withthedesignation“AO”have
beenspeciallymatchedtoyour
Audi.Whenusedcorrectly,these
tiresmeetthehigheststandards
forsafetyandhandling.Anau-
thorizedAudidealerorauthor-
izedAudiServiceFacilitywillbe
abletoprovideyouwithmorein-
formation.
@)Mudandsnowcapability
“M/S”or“M+S”indicatesthetire
issuitablefordrivingonmudand
snow./A\indicatesawintertire.
Compositionofthetirecord
andmaterials
Thenumberofpliesindicatesthe
numberofrubberizedfabriclay-
ersinthetire.Ingeneral:the
morelayers,themoreweighta
tirecancarry.Tiremanufacturers
326
mustalsospecifythematerials
usedinthetire.Theseinclude
steel,nylon,polyesterandother
materials.
@)Maximumpermittedload
Thisnumber indicatesthemaxi-
mumloadinkilogramsand
poundsthatthetirecancarry.
@Uniformtirequalitygrade
standardsfortreadwear,
tractionandtemperature
resistance
Treadwear,tractionand tempera-
tureranges>page340.
@Runningdirection
Thearrowsindicatetherunning
directionofunidirectionaltires.
Youmustalwaysfollowthespeci-
fiedrunningdirection
>page354.
Maximumpermitted
inflationpressure
Thisnumber indicatesthemaxi-
mumpressuretowhichatirecan
beinflatedundernormaloperat-
ingconditions.
80A012721BG
Wheels
Glossaryoftireandloading
terminology
Accessoryweight
meansthecombinedweight(in
excessofthosestandarditems
whichmaybereplaced)ofauto-
matictransmission,powersteer-
ing,powerbrakes,powerwin-
dows,powerseats,radio,and
heater,totheextentthatthese
itemsareavailableasfactory-in-
stalledequipment(whetherin-
stalledornot).
Aspectratio
meanstheratioofthe heightto
thewidthofthetireinpercent.
Numbersof55orlowerindicatea
lowsidewallforimprovedsteer-
ingresponseandbetteroverall
handlingondrypavement.
Bead
meansthepartofthetirethatis
madeofsteelwires,wrappedor
reinforcedbyplycordsandthatis
shapedtofittherim.
Beadseparation
meansabreakdownofthebond
betweencomponentsinthebead.
Cord
meansthestrandsformingthe
pliesinthetire.
Coldtireinflationpressure
meansthetirepressurerecom-
mendedbythevehiclemanufac-
turerforatireofadesignated
sizethathasnotbeendrivenfor
morethanacoupleofmiles(kilo-
meters)atlowspeedsinthethree
hourperiodbeforethetirepres-
sureismeasuredoradjusted.
Curbweight
meanstheweightofamotorve-
hiclewithstandardequipmentin-
cludingthemaximumcapacityof
fuel,oil,andcoolant,aircondi-
tioningandadditionalweightof
optionalequipment.
Extraloadtire
meansatiredesignedtooperate
athigherloadsandathigherin-
flationpressuresthanthecorre-
spondingstandardtire.Extraload
tiresmaybeidentifiedas“XL”,
“xL’,“EXTRALOAD”,or“RF”on
thesidewall.
327
Wheels
GrossAxleWeightRating
(“GAWR”)
meanstheload-carryingcapacity
ofasingleaxlesystem,measured
atthetire-groundinterfaces.
GrossVehicleWeightRating
(“GVWR”)
meansthemaximumtotalloaded
weightofthevehicle.
Groove
meansthespacebetweentwoad-
jacenttreadribs.
Loadrating(code)
meansthemaximumloadthata
tireisratedtocarryforagivenin-
flationpressure.Youmaynotfind
thisinformationonalltiresbe-
causeitisnotrequiredbylaw.
Maximumloadrating
meanstheloadratingforatireat
themaximumpermissibleinfla-
tionpressureforthattire.
Maximumloadedvehicle
weight
meansthesumof:
(a)Curbweight
(b)Accessoryweight
(c)Vehiclecapacityweight,and
(d)Productionoptionsweight
328
Maximum(permissible)
inflationpressure
meansthemaximumcoldinfla-
tionpressuretowhichatiremay
beinflated.Alsocalled“maxi-
muminflationpressure.”
Normaloccupantweight
means150lbs.(68kilograms)
timesthenumberofoccupants
seatedinthevehicleuptotheto-
talseatingcapacity ofyourvehi-
cle.
Occupantdistribution
meansdistributionofoccupants
inavehicle.
Outerdiameter
meanstheoveralldiameterofan
inflatednewtire.
Overallwidth
meansthelineardistancebe-
tweentheexteriorsoftheside-
wallsofaninflatedtire,including
elevationsduetolabeling,deco-
rations,orprotectivebandsor
ribs.
Ply
meansalayerofrubber-coated
parallelcords.
80A012721BG
Wheels
Productionoptionsweight
meansthecombinedweightof
thoseinstalledregularproduction
optionsweighingover5lbs.
(2.3kg)inexcessofthosestand-
arditemswhichtheyreplace,not
previouslyconsideredincurb
weightoraccessoryweight,in-
cludingheavy dutybrakes,ride
levelers,roofrack,heavyduty
battery,andspecialtrim.
Radialplytire
meansapneumatictireinwhich
theplycordsthatextendtothe
beadsarelaidatsubstantially
90degreestothecenterlineof
thetread.
Recommendedinflation
pressure
see>page327,Coldtireinfla-
tionpressure.
Reinforcedtire
meansatiredesignedtooperate
athigherloadsandathigherin-
flationpressuresthanthecorre-
spondingstandardtire.Rein-
forcedtiresmaybeidentifiedas
“XL”,“xl”,“EXTRALOAD”,or“RF”
onthesidewall.
Rim
meansametalsupportforatire
oratireandtubeassemblyupon
whichthetirebeadsareseated.
Rimdiameter
meansnominaldiameterofthe
beadseat.Ifyouchangeyour
wheelsize,youwillhavetopur-
chasenewtirestomatchthenew
rimdiameter.
Rimsizedesignation
meansrimdiameterandwidth.
Rimwidth
meansnominaldistancebetween
rimflanges.
Sidewall
meansthatportionofatirebe-
tweenthetreadandbead.
Speedrating(lettercode)
meansthespeedatwhichatireis
designedtobedrivenforextend-
edperiodsoftime.Theratings
rangefrom93mph(150km/h)
to186mph(298km/h)>table
onpage325.Youmaynotfind
thisinformationonalltiresbe-
causeitisnotrequiredbylaw.
Thespeedratinglettercode,
whereapplicable,ismoldedon
thetiresidewallandindicatesthe>
329
80A012721BG
Wheels
bythetiremanufacturer.Thisin-
formationisusedtocontactcon-
sumers
ifatiredefectrequiresa
recall.
Vehiclecapacityweight
meanstheratedcargoandlug-
gageloadplus150lbs.(68kilo-
grams)timesthevehicle'sdesig-
natedseatingcapacity.
Vehiclemaximumloadonthe
tire
meansthatloadonanindividual
tirethatisdeterminedbydistrib-
utingtoeachaxleitsshareofthe
maximumloadedvehicleweight
anddividingbytwo.
Vehiclenormalloadonthetire
meansthatloadonanindividual
tirethatisdeterminedbydistrib-
utingtoeachaxleitsshareofthe
curbweight,accessoryweight,
andnormaloccupantweight(dis-
tributedinaccordancewith>ta-
bleonpage336)anddividingby
two.
Occupantloadinganddistri-
butionforvehiclenormalload
forvariousdesignatedseating
capacities
Refertothetireinflationpressure
label>page334,fig.267forthe
numberofseatingpositions.Re-
fertothetable>tableon
page336forthenumberofpeo-
plethatcorrespondtothevehicle
normalload.
Newtiresorwheels
Audirecommendshavingallwork
ontiresorwheelsperformedby
anauthorizedAudidealerorau-
thorizedAudiServiceFacility.
Thesefacilitieshavethe proper
knowledgeandareequippedwith
therequiredtoolsandreplace-
mentparts.
>Newtiresdonotyethavethe
optimumgrippingproperties.
Drivecarefullyandatmoderate
speedsforthefirst350miles
(500km)withnewtires.
>Onlyusetireswiththesamede-
sign,size(rollingcircumfer-
ence),andas close tothesame
treadpatternas possibleonall
fourwheels.
>Donotreplacetiresindividually.
Atleastreplacebothtiresonthe
sameaxleatthesametime.
>Audirecommendsthatyouuse
AudiOriginalTires.Ifyouwould
liketousedifferenttires,please
notethatthetiresmayperform>
331
80A012721BG
Wheels
not permittedcanleadtove-
hicledamageoraccidents.
—Ifyouinstallwheelcoverson
thevehicle,makesuretheyal-
lowenoughaircirculationto
coolthebrakesystem.Ifthey
donot,thiscouldincreasethe
riskofanaccident.
Tirewearanddamage
B4H-0415
Fig.265Tireprofile:treadwearindica-
tor
Tirewear
Checkthetiresregularlyforwear.
—Inflationpressurethatistoolow
orhighcanincreasetirewear
considerably.
—Drivingquicklythroughcurves,
rapidacceleration,andheavy
brakingincreasetirewear.
—HaveanauthorizedAudidealer
orauthorizedAudiServiceFacili-
DObeyanyapplicableregulationsinthe
country
wherethevehicleisbeingoper-
ated.
tycheckthewheelalignmentif
thereisunusualwear.
—Havethewheelsrebalancedifan
imbalanceiscausingnoticeable
vibrationinthesteeringwheel.
Ifyoudonot,thetiresandother
vehiclecomponentscouldwear
morequickly.
Treadwearindicator
Originalequipmenttirescontain
treadwearindicatorsinthetread
pattern,whicharebarsthatare
1/16in(1.6mm)highandare
spacedevenlyaroundthetireper-
pendiculartotherunningdirec-
tion>fig.265.Theletters“TWI”
ortrianglesonthetiresidewall
indicatethelocationofthetread-
wearindicators.
Thetireshavereachedthemini-
mumtreaddepth))whenthey
haveworndowntothetreadwear
indicators.Replacethetireswith
newones>A.
Tirerotation
Rotatingthetiresregularlyisrec-
ommendedtoensurethetires
wearevenly.Torotatethetires,
333
>
Wheels
includingtheweightofatrail-
erhitchandthetongue
weightofaloadedtrailer-
doesnotmakethevehicle
heavierthanthevehicle’s
GrossVehicleWeightRating.
Determiningcorrectload
limit
Usetheexamplebelowtocalcu-
latethetotalweightofthepas-
sengersandluggageorother
thingsthatyouplantotransport
sothatyoucanmakesurethat
yourvehiclewillnotbeoverload-
ed.
StepsforDeterminingCorrect
LoadLimit
1.Locatethestatement“THE
COMBINEDWEIGHTOFOCCU-
PANTSANDCARGOSHOULD
NEVEREXCEEDXXXKGORXXX
LBS”onyourvehicle’splacard
(tireinflationpressurelabel)
=>page334,fig.267.
2.Determinethecombined
weightofthedriverandpas-
sengersthatwillberidingin
yourvehicle.
3.Subtractthecombinedweight
ofthedriverandpassengers
from“XXX”kilogramsor“XXX”
338
poundsshownonthestick-
er>page334,fig.267.
.Theresultingfigureequalsthe
availableamountofcargoand
luggageloadcapacity.Forex-
ample,ifthe“XXX”amount
equals1400lbs.andtherewill
befive150lbs.passengersin
yourvehicle,theamountof
availablecargoandluggage
loadcapacityis650lbs.
(1400-750(5x150)=650
lbs.)
.Determinethecombined
weightofluggageandcargo
beingloadedonthevehicle.
Thatweightmaynotsafelyex-
ceedtheavailablecargoand
luggageloadcapacitycalculat-
edinStep4.
.Ifyourvehiclewillbetowinga
trailer,loadfromyourtrailer
willbetransferredtoyourvehi-
cle.Consultthismanualtode-
terminehowthisreducesthe
availablecargoandluggage
loadcapacityofyourvehicle.
>Checkthetiresidewall
(=page325,fig.264)todeter-
minethedesignatedloadrating
foraspecifictire.
80A012721BG
Wheels
ThegradeCcorrespondstoalevelofperform-
ance
whichallpassengercartiresmustmeetun-
dertheFederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard
No.109.GradesBandArepresenthigher levels
ofperformanceonthelaboratorytestwheelthan
theminimumrequiredbylaw.
Z\WARNING
Thetractiongradeassignedtothistireis
basedonstraight-aheadbrakingtraction
tests,anddoesnotincludeacceleration,cor-
nering,hydroplaningorpeaktractioncharac-
teristics.
ZAWARNING
Thetemperaturegradeforthistireisestab-
lishedforatirethatisproperlyinflatedand
notoverloaded.Excessivespeed,underinfla-
tion,orexcessiveloading,eitherseparatelyor
incombination,can cause heatbuildupand
possibletirefailure.
Z\WARNING
Temperaturegradesapplytotiresthatare
properlyinflatedandnotoverorunderinflat-
ed.
Tirepressuremonitoring
system
(1)Generalnotes
Eachtire,includingthespare(ifprovided),
should becheckedmonthlywhencoldandinflat-
edtotheinflationpressurerecommendedbythe
vehiclemanufactureronthevehicleplacardor
tireinflationpressurelabel.(Ifyourvehiclehas
tiresofadifferentsizethanthesizeindicatedon
thevehicleplacardortireinflation pressurela-
bel,youshoulddeterminethepropertireinfla-
tionpressureforthosetires).
Asanaddedsafetyfeature,yourvehiclehasbeen
equippedwithatirepressuremonitoringsystem
(TPMS)thatilluminatesaLowtirepressuretell-
talewhenoneormoreofyourtiresissignificant-
lyunder-inflated.Accordingly,whenthelowtire
pressuretelltaleilluminates,youshouldstopand
checkyourtiresassoonaspossible,andinflate
themtotheproperpressure.Drivingonasignifi-
cantlyunder-inflatedtirecausesthetiretoover-
heatandcanleadtotirefailure.Under-inflation
alsoreducesfuelefficiencyandtiretreadlife,
andmayaffectthevehicle'shandlingandstop-
pingability.
PleasenotethattheTPMSisnotasubstitutefor
propertiremaintenance,anditisthedriver'sre-
sponsibilitytomaintaincorrecttirepressure,
evenifunder-inflationhasnotreachedthelevel
totriggerillumination oftheTPMSlowtirepres-
suretelltale.
YourvehiclehasalsobeenequippedwithaTPMS
malfunctionindicatortoindicatewhenthesys-
temisnotoperatingproperly.TheTPMSmal-
functionindicatoriscombinedwiththelowtire
pressuretelltale.Whenthesystemdetectsa
malfunction,thetelltalewillflashforapproxi-
matelyone minuteandthenremaincontinuously
illuminated.Thissequencewillcontinueupon
subsequentvehiclestart-upsaslongasthe mal-
functionexists.
Whenthemalfunctionindicatorisilluminated,
thesystemmaynotbeabletodetectorsignal
lowtirepressureasintended.TPMSmalfunctions
mayoccurforavarietyofreasons,includingthe
installationofreplacementoralternatetiresor
wheelsonthevehiclethatpreventtheTPMS
fromfunctioningproperly.Alwayscheck the
TPMSmalfunctiontelltaleafterreplacingoneor
moretiresorwheelsonyourvehicletoensure
thatthereplacementoralternatetiresand
wheelsallowtheTPMStocontinuetofunction
properly.
Meeemermelee
appears
Appliesto:vehicleswithTirePressureMonitoringSystemin-
dicator
Thetirepressureindicatorintheinstrument
clusterinformsyouifthetirepressureistoolow
orifthereisasystemmalfunction.
UsingtheABSsensors,thetirepressuremonitor-
ingsystemcomparesthetiretreadcircumference
andvibrationcharacteristicsoftheindividual>
341