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
haspropertiesmakingitsuitable
todriveinmudorsnow.4indi-
catesawintertire.
Compositionofthetirecord
andmaterials
Thenumberofpliesindicatesthe
numberofrubberizedfabriclay-
ersinthetire.Ingeneral:the
morelayers,themoreweighta
328
tirecancarry.Tiremanufacturers
mustalsospecifythematerials
usedinthetire.Theseinclude
steel,nylon,polyesterandother
materials.
@Maximumpermittedload
Thisnumber indicatesthemaxi-
mumloadinkilogramsand
poundsthatthetirecancarry.
@Uniformtirequalitygrade
standardsfortreadwear,
tractionandtemperature
resistance
Treadwear,tractionand tempera-
tureranges>page342.
@Runningdirection
Thearrowsindicatetherunning
directionofunidirectionaltires.
Youmustalwaysfollowthespeci-
fiedrunningdirection
>page357.
Maximumpermitted
inflationpressure
Thisnumber indicatesthemaxi-
mumpressuretowhichatirecan
beinflatedundernormaloperat-
ingconditions.
4M0012721BG
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.
329
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
330
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.
4M0012721BG
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>page329,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
onpage327.Youmaynotfind
thisinformationonalltiresbe-
causeitisnotrequiredbylaw.
Thespeedratinglettercode,
whereapplicable,ismoldedon
thetiresidewallandindicatesthe>
331
Wheels
maximumpermissibleroad
speeds.Seealso>AinGeneral
informationonpage326.
Tirepressuremonitoring
system
meansasystemthat detects
whenoneormoreofavehicle's
tiresareunderinflatedandillumi-
natesalowtirepressurewarning
telltale.
Tread
meansthatportionofatirethat
comesintocontactwiththeroad.
Treadseparation
meanspullingawayofthetread
fromthetirecarcass.
Treadwearindicators(TWI)
meanstheprojectionswithinthe
principalgroovesdesignedtogive
avisualindicationofthedegrees
ofwearofthetread.See
=page335,Treadwearindicator
formoreinformationonmeasur-
ingtirewear.
UniformTireQualityGrading
isatireinformationsystemdevel-
opedbytheUnitedStates Nation-
alHighwayTrafficSafetyAdminis-
tration(NHTSA)thatisdesigned
tohelpbuyersmakerelativecom-
332
parisonsamongtires.TheUTQGis
notasafetyratingandnotaguar-
anteethatatirewill lastfora
prescribednumberofmiles(kilo-
meters)orperforminacertain
way.Itsimplygivestirebuyers
additionalinformationtocom-
binewithotherconsiderations,
suchasprice,brandloyaltyand
dealerrecommendations.Under
UTQG,tiresaregradedbythetire
manufacturersinthreeareas:
treadwear,traction,andtempera-
tureresistance.TheUTQGinfor-
mationonthetires,moldedinto
thesidewalls.
U.S. DOTTireIdentification
Number(TIN)
Thisisthetire’s“serialnumber”.
Itbegins withtheletters“DOT”
andindicatesthatthetiremeets
allfederalstandards.Thenext
twonumbersorlettersindicate
theplantwhereitwasmanufac-
tured,andthelastfournumbers
representtheweekandyearof
manufacture.Forexample,
DOT...2218...
meansthatthetirewasproduced
inthe22ndweekof2018.The
othernumbersaremarketingco-
desthatmayormaynotbeused>
4M0012721BG
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-
bleonpage338)anddividingby
two.
Occupantloadinganddistri-
butionforvehiclenormalload
forvariousdesignatedseating
capacities
Refertothetireinflationpressure
label>page336,fig.271forthe
numberofseatingpositions.Re-
fertothetable>tableon
page338forthenumberofpeo-
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>
333
4M0012721BG
Wheels
equippedwiththematthe
factory>page345.
—Ifyouinstallwheelcoverson
thevehicle,makesuretheyal-
lowenoughaircirculationto
coolthebrakesystem.Ifthey
donot,thiscouldincreasethe
riskofanaccident.
Tirewearanddamage
B4H-0415
Fig.269Tireprofile: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.269.Theletters“TWI”
ortrianglesonthetiresidewall
indicatethelocationofthetread-
wearindicators.
Thetireshavereachedthemini-
mumtreaddepth))whenthey
haveworndowntothetreadwear
indicators.Replacethetireswith
newones>A.
Tirerotation
Rotatingthetiresregularlyisrec-
ommendedtoensurethetires
wearevenly.Torotatethetires,
335
>
Wheels
installthetiresfromtherearaxle
onthefrontaxleandviceversa.
Thiswillallowthetirestohave
approximatelythesamelengthof
servicelife.
Forunidirectionaltires,makesure
thetiresareinstalledaccordingto
therunningdirectionindicatedon
thetiresidewall>page357.
Hiddendamage
Damagetotiresandrimscanof-
tenoccurinlocationsthatarehid-
den.Unusualvibrationsintheve-
hicleorpullingtoonesidemay
indicatethatthereistiredamage.
Reduceyourspeedimmediately.
Checkthetiresfordamage.Ifno
damageisvisiblefromtheout-
side,driveslowlyandcarefullyto
thenearestauthorizedAudideal-
erorauthorizedAudiServiceFa-
cilitytohavethevehicleinspect-
ed.
Z\WARNING
Treadthathasworntoolowor
uneventreaddepthsonthe
tirescanreducedrivingsafety.
Thiscanincreasetheriskofan
accidentbecauseithasanega-
tiveeffectonhandling,driving
throughcurves,andbraking,
336
andbecauseitincreasesthe
riskofhydroplaningwhendriv-
ingthroughdeeppuddles.
Tirepressure
B4l-1383
surelabel
B8K-1151
‘SEATINGCAPACITYTOTALFRONTpyREARigAVANTARRIERENOMBREDEPLACESTOTAL
“Thecombinedweightof19oFmborME,0Lepoidstotaldesoccut
TIRESIZE
PNEU_|DIMENSIONS
FRONT
AVANT
REAR
ARRIERE
‘SPARE
vesecours|
COLDTIREPRESSURE
PRESSIONDESPNEUS AFROID
MsKPA,MlPSI
MaKPA,MlPSI
aKPA,MlPSI
Fig.271Tirepressurelabel
Thecorrecttirepressurefortires
installedatthefactoryislistedon
alabel.Thelabelislocatedonthe
B-pillar(driver'sside)>fig.270,
>fig.271.Thelocationmayvary
dependingonthemodel.
Usethetirepressurespecifiedfor
anormalvehicleloadwhenthe
vehicleispartiallyloaded>table
onpage338.Ifdrivingthevehi-
clewhenfullyloaded,youmust>