height AUDI A3 2015 User Guide

contribution to good road holding and sa fe
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated
¢ .&. .
We recommend that all work on t ires and
wheels be performed by an authorized A udi
dealer. They are familiar with recommended
procedures and have the necessary spec ial
too ls and spare parts as we ll as the proper fa ­
cilities for dispos ing of the old tires .
Authorized Audi dealers have the necessary information about techn ica l requ irements for
installing or changing tires and r ims.
R eplacing t ires and wheel s
Tires shou ld be rep laced at least in pairs and
not individua lly (for example both front tires
or both rear tires together).
Be s ure to read and heed the information to
the tire pressure monitoring system
¢ page 243.
Always buy rep lacement radial tires that have
the same specifications as the t ires approved
for your ve hicle by Audi. Replacement tires
must always have the same load rating speci ­
fication as the original equipment or approved
optional tires listed in the table
¢ page 229.
Audi-approved specification tires are specially
matched to your vehicle and its load limits ,
and can contribute to the important road hold­
ing, driving character istics, and safety of the
veh icle. The table
( ¢ page 229) lists spec ifica­
tions of the t ires approved for the Audi mod­
e ls covered by your Owner 's Literature .
T he tire pressure labe l located on dr iver 's side
B-pillar
( ¢ page 229, fig. 157) lists the speci­
fications o f the orig inal equipment tires in­
stalled on your veh icle at the time it was man­
ufactured .
Federal law requires t ire manufacturers to
p lace s tanda rd ized information on the s ide­
wall of all tires
¢ fig . 160 . This information
i dent ifies and desc ribes the fundamental
characterist ics , the quality grade of the tire
and a lso provides a tire ide ntificat io n number
Tire s an d wheel s 237
for sa fety standard certification and in case of
a reca ll.
Tire specifications
Knowledge of tire specifications makes it eas­
ier to choose the co rrec t tires . Radial ti res
have the tire specifications marked on the
sidewa ll, for examp le:
255 /40 R 19 100 H XL
This co nta ins the following information :
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
(where app licab le)
255 Nom inal tire width i n mm of the tire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In
general, the larger the number, the wider
the ti re
40 Height/w idth ratio in percent (aspect ra -
t io)
R Tire construct ion: Radial
1 9 Rim diameter code (i n inches)
100 Load ra ting code
H Speed ra ting letter code
XL (or "xl", "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF") Indicates
t h at the t ire is a "Reinfo rced " or an " Ext ra
Load " tir e
M+S (or "M/S") Indicates that the ti re has
some mud and snow capab ility
The tires could also have the informat ion of
direction of rotation ¢
page 225 .
Tire manufacturing d ate
The manufact uring date is also indicated on
the tire sidewall (possibly only on the
inner
s ide of the wheel):
"DOT ... 4513 .. . " means, for example, the tire
was produced in the 45nd week of 2013.
Speed rating (letter code )
The speed rating le tter code on the whee ls in­
dicates the maximum permiss ible road speeds
¢ .&. in Winter tires on page 241.
P up to 93 mp h (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (158 km/h)
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
5 up to 110 mph (180 km/h)
•
•
•

24 2 T ire s and wheel s
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all-wheel dr ive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design o f whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims . If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
r=> page 270.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose caus ing loss of
c ont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
Jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­ er ly t igh tened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while d riving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the co rrect tighten ing
torq ue fo r th e wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bo lts is too low, they
can loosen and come out w hen the veh i­
cle is moving. If the tighteni ng torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads can be damaged and the whee
l can be­
come loose.
@ Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torque wheel bolts diago­
nally. After changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque w rench -preferably by an author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-eq uipped w it h low aspect
ra tio tires. These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specifically fo r your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of d riving condi ­
t ions . Ask your author ized A udi dealer for
more details.
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation. The n umera l represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven­
t iona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect -ratio tires is
particularly sens iti ve to imp roper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflat ed to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly ch ecked and maintain ed. Tire pre s·
sure s should be checked at lea st once a
m onth and always bef ore a long trip
r=> page 231, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be d amage d more
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gull ies
or ridges on t he road, particularly if the tire is
u nd eri nflated.

hold on to the ca r to keep your ba lance
and take care not to slip.
Raising the vehicle
Th e ve hicl e must be li~ed with the jack first
before the wheel can be removed.
F ig. 170 Sill p anels : m arkin gs
Fig. 171 Sill: posi tioning th e vehicle jack
.. Place the vehicle jack (vehicle tool kit) on a
firm surface . Use a flat, stable support if
necessary . On a slippery surface such as tile,
you should use a non -slip pad (such as a rub ­
ber mat) ¢_& .
.. Engage the
p arking brak e to prevent your
vehicle from rol ling u ninten tionally.
.. Move the
se lector leve r to pos ition P.
.. Find the marki ng (imprint) on the si ll that is
nearest the wheel that wi ll be changed
¢ fig . 170 . Behind the marking, there is a
lifting point on the si ll for the vehicle jack.
.. Vehicles with a sill : Note the position of the
s ill when pos ition ing the vehicle jack
¢ fig . 171.
.. Turn the
ve hicle jack located under the lift­
ing poin t on the s ill to raise the jac k until its
arm @
Q fig. 171 is located under the des­
ignated plastic mount c:::>
A, ¢(D .
.. Align the jack so that its arm @c:::> fig. 171
engages in the designated lifting point in
What do I d o now ? 251
the door si ll and the movable base ® lies
flat on the ground. The base @ must be ver­
tical under the lifting point @ .
.. Wind the jack up further until the flat t ire
comes off the ground
c:::> _& .
Position the vehicle jack
onl y under the desig­
nated lifting points on the si ll
c:::> fig. 170.
There is exactly one locat ion for each wheel.
The jack must not be positioned at any other location ¢ 8 ¢(1).
An
uns table surface under the jack can cause
the vehicle to slip off the jack. Always provide a firm base for the jack on the ground . If nec­
essary place a sturdy board or sim ilar support
under the jack . On
hard, slippery surfaces
(such as tiles) use a rubbe r mat or similar to
prevent the jack from slipping
Q & .
_&. WARNING
-You or your passengers co uld be in ju red
while changing a wheel if you do no t fo l­
low these safety preca utions:
- Position the vehicle jack on ly at the
designated lifting points and align the
j ac k. Otherw ise, the vehicle jac k co uld
slip and cause an injury if it doe s not
h ave sufficient hold on the vehicle .
- A soft or unstable su rface unde r the
ja ck may cause the ve hicle to slip off
the jack . A lw ays p rov ide a firm b ase for
the j ack on the ground . If necessary,
u se a st urdy board under the jack .
- On hard, slippery surface (such as t iles)
u se a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping .
- Only raise your vehicle with the vehicle
j ack provided by the factory . If you use
a veh icle jack for another vehicle, you r
vehicle can slide and cause injury .
- Changes in tempe rature or load can af­
fect the height of the veh icle .
- Never sta rt the engine when the vehi­
cle is raised , which cou ld cause an acci-
dent.
~

252 What do I do n ow ?
-Support the vehicle securely with ap ­
propriate stands if work is to be per ­
formed underneath the vehicle;
otherw ise, there is a potential risk for
in Jury .
- To help preven t injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle u nti l you a re
sure the jack is sec urely e ngaged .
- Passengers mus t not rema in in the ve­
h icle when it is jacked up .
- Ma ke sure that passengers wait in a
safe p lace away from the vehicle and
well away from the road and traffic.
- Make sure jack posi tion is co rrect, ad­
just as necess ary and then contin ue to
raise the jack .
- Changes in temperature or load can af­
fect the height of the vehicle .
0 Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the s ill. Pos ition
the vehicle ja ck only at the designated lift­
ing poi nts on the sill. Othe rwise, your vehi­
cle will be damaged .
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
Follow these instructions s tep-by-step for
c hanging the wheel.
Fig . 172 Chang ing a w hee l: u sing th e screw driver ha n­
dl e (w it h th e bla de re mov ed) to t urn the bolts
Fig. 173 Ch ang ing a wheel : alignment p in in sid e th e
t op hole
After you have loos ened all wheel bo lts and
raised the vehicle off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows :
Removing the wheel
.,. Use the hexagon al so cket in th e screwdri v­
er handle
to completely remove the top­
most whee l bolt and set it aside on a
clean
surfac e Q fig. 172 .
.,. Screw the threaded end of the al ignme nt
p in
from the tool k it hand-t ight into t he
empty bol t hole
Q fig . 173.
.,. Then remove the other wheel bolts as de ­
scr ibed above .
.,. Take off the whee l leaving the a lignment pin
in the bo lt ho le
Q (J) .
Putting on the comp act sp are wheel
.,. Lift the spare whee l and carefully slide it
over the alignment p in to guide it in place
Q (J) .
.,. Use the hexagonal socket i n the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten a ll whee l
bolts
slightly .
.,. Remove the alignment pin and insert and
tighten the rema ining whee l bolt slightly
like the rest .
.,. Turn the jack handle counter -clockwise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re­
leased .
.,. Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all
wheel bo lts fi rmly
Q page 250 . Tighten
them
crosswise , from one bolt to the (ap­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel cente red.

26 6 Techni cal data
designated s eating position) and luggage
w eight ¢.&, .
Gross Axle W eight Rating
The Gross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle ¢Lr!, .
Vehicle cap acit y weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max . load) is list­
ed either on the dr iver's side B-pilla r or inside
the fuel filler flap.
_& WARNING
- T he actual Gross Axle Weight Rat ing at
the front and rear axles shou ld not ex­
ceed the permissible weights, and their
combination must not exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating .
Dimensions
The dimensions can vary depend ing on the
model and equipment.
Length
Width
W idth (ac ross m irrors)
Height (unloaded) a)
Turn ing circle d iameter
-
- Exceeding permissible weight ratings can
result in veh icle damage, acc idents and
personal injury.
(D Note
- The vehicle capacity weight figures apply
when the load is distributed evenly in the
vehicle (passengers and luggage). When
transport ing a heavy load in the luggage
compartment, carry the load as near to
the rear axle as poss ible so that the vehi­
cle's handling is not impaired .
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible axle loads or the maximum gross veh icle
we ight. Always remember that the vehi­
cle's handling w il l be affected by the ex­
tra load. Therefo re, adj ust your speed ac­
cordingly.
- Always observe local regulat ions .
in (mm)
175 .3 (4456)
in (mm) 70 .7 (1796)
in (mm) 77 .l (1960)
in (mm) 55 .7 (1416)
ft (m) 35.8 (10.9)
al The he igh t o f th e ve hicle depe nds o n the tire s and the s usp en sion .
When driving on poor roads, by curb s and on
s teep ramp s, make sure tha t low-lying compo­
nent s such as the spoiler and exhaust sy stem
Capacities
Fuel tank
Front whee l Drive
All wheel drive
Winds hield washer system do not
come into contact w ith these or they
could be dam aged. This applies espe cia lly
when the vehicle is fully loaded .
gal (liters) approx.
13.2 (50.0)
gal (lite rs) approx. 14.5 (55.0)
quarts (liters) approx. 3.2 (3.1)