
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

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

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>

Wheels
followthetirepressuresticker
>page336,fig.270.
Makesurethatthetiredesigna-
tiononyourtirematchesthedes-
ignationonthetirepressurelabel
andthetirepressuretable.
Thefollowingtablelistsrecom-
mendedtirepressuresincold
tiresaccordingtotheloadand
thesizeofthetiresinstalled.
Model/TiredesignationTirepressure
EngineNormalloadMaximumload
(upto3people)?
FrontRearFrontRear
PSI|kPA|PSI|kPA|PSI|kPA|PSI|kPA
Q7:255/60R18108H|32|220|32|220|32|220|35|240
2.0L255/55R19111H|32|220|32|220|33|230|36|250
ee285/45R20112H|32|220|32|220|32|220]35|240
—285/45R20112Y|32|220|32|220|32|220|35|240
285/40R21109H|32|220|32|220|36|250|39|270
285/40R21109Y|32|220|32|220|32|220|35|240
285/35R22106Y|32|220|32|220|36|250|39|270
Q7:255/60R18108H|32|220|32|220|32|220|35|240
3.0L255/55R19111H|32|220|32|220|33|230|36|250
eon285/45R20112H|32|220|32|220|32|220|35|240
gine285/45R20112Y|32|220|32|220|32|220|35|240
285/40R21109H|32|220|32|220|38|260|41|280
285/40R21109Y|32|220|32|220|33|230|36|250
285/35R22106Y|32|220|32|220|38|260|41|280
a)Twopeopleinthefront,onepersonintherear
andanytirecancarry.Avehicle
JWARNING
Pleasenotetheimportantsafe-
typrecautionsregardingtire
pressure>page336andload
limits>page338.
Tiresandvehicleloadlimits
Therearelimitstotheamountof
loadorweightthatanyvehicle
338
thatisoverloadedwillnothandle
wellandismoredifficulttostop.
Overloadingcannotonlyleadto
lossofvehiclecontrol,butcanal-
sodamageimportantpartsofthe
vehicleandcanleadtosudden
tirefailure,includingablowout
andsuddendeflationthatcan
causethevehicle tocrash.

4M0012721BG
Wheels
Yoursafetyandthat ofyourpas-
sengersalsodependsonmaking
surethatloadlimitsarenotex-
ceeded.Vehicleload includesev-
erybodyandeverythinginandon
thevehicle.Theseloadlimitsare
technicallyreferredto asthevehi-
cle’sGrossVehicleWeightRating
(“GVWR”).
The“GVWR”includestheweight
ofthebasicvehicle,allfactoryin-
stalledaccessories,afulltankof
fuel,oil,coolantandotherfluids
plusmaximumload.Themaxi-
mumloadincludesthenumberof
passengersthatthevehicleisin-
tendedtocarry(“seatingcapaci-
ty”)withanassumedweightof
150lbs.(68kg)foreachpassen-
geratadesignatedseatingposi-
tionandthetotalweightofany
luggageinthevehicle.Ifyoutow
atrailer,theweightofthetrailer
hitchandthetongueweightof
the loadedtrailermustbeinclud-
edaspartofthevehicleload.
TheGrossAxleWeightRating
(“GAWR’”)isthemaximumload
thatcanbeappliedateachofthe
vehicle’stwoaxles.
Thefactthatthereisanupper
limittoyourvehicle’sGrossVehi-
cleWeightRatingmeansthatthe
totalweightofwhateverisbeing
carriedinthevehicle(including
theweightofatrailerhitchand
thetongueweightoftheloaded
trailer)islimited.Themorepas-
sengersinthevehicle orpassen-
gerswhoareheavierthanthe
standardweightsassumedmean
thatlessweightcanbecarriedas
luggage.
TheGrossVehicleWeightRating
andtheGrossAxleWeightRating
arelistedonthesafetycompli-
ancestickerlabellocatedonthe
driver’ssideB-pillar.
Z\WARNING
Overloadingavehiclecancause
lossofvehiclecontrol,acrash
orotheraccident,seriousper-
sonalinjury,andevendeath.
—Carryingmoreweightthan
yourvehiclewasdesignedto
carrywillpreventthevehicle
fromhandlingproperlyandin-
creasetheriskofthelossof
vehiclecontrol.
—Thebrakesonavehiclethat
hasbeenoverloadedmaynot
beabletostopthevehicle
withinasafedistance.
339

Wheels
—Tiresonavehiclethathas
beenoverloadedcanfailsud-
denly,includingablowoutand
suddendeflation,causingloss
ofcontrolandacrash.
—Alwaysmakesurethattheto-
talloadbeingtransported-
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)
=>page336,fig.271.
340
2.Determinethecombined
weightofthedriverandpas-
sengersthatwillberidingin
yourvehicle.
.Subtractthecombinedweight
ofthedriverandpassengers
from“XXX”kilogramsor“XXX”
poundsshownonthestick-
er>page336,fig.271.
.Theresultingfigureequalsthe
availableamountofcargoand
uggageloadcapacity.Forex-
ample,ifthe“XXX”amount
equals1400lbs.andtherewill
befive150lbs.passengersin
yourvehicle,theamountof
availablecargoandluggage
oadcapacityis650lbs.
(1400-750(5x150)=650
bs.)
.Determinethecombined
weightofluggageandcargo
beingloadedonthevehicle.
Thatweightmaynotsafelyex-
ceedtheavailablecargoand
uggageloadcapacitycalculat-
edinStep4.
.Ifyourvehiclewillbetowinga
trailer,loadfromyourtrailer
willbetransferredtoyourvehi-
cle.Consultthismanualtode-
terminehowthisreducesthe>