tires AUDI A6 2017 User Guide

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' (D Tires for passenger vehicles
(if applicable)
P indicat es a tir e for a p asse ng er
vehi cle. T indi cates a tire de sig­
nated for tempor ary us e.
@ Nominal width
Nominal width of the tire be­
tween the sidew alls in millime­
ters. In general: the larger the number, the wider the tire.
@ Aspect ratio
Height /width ratio expressed as a
percentage.
@ Tire construction
R indicates a radial tire.
® Rim diameter
Siz e of the rim diameter in inches.
@ Load index and speed rating
The load ind ex indi cates the tire' s
lo ad-ca rry in g ca pacity.
The speed rating indicates the maximum permitted speed¢.&
in
W inter tires o n page 225 .
"EXTRA LOAD", "xl" or "RF" indi­
cate s that the tire i s reinfor ced or
is an Extra Load tire.
Speed rat- Maximum permitted speed
ing
p
up t o 93 mph ( 150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (160 km/ h)
Wheels
Speed rat- Maximum permitted speed
ing
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
s u p to 11 0 mph ( 180 km/h)
T up to 118 mph (190 km/h)
u u p to 124 mph ( 200 km/h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 14 9 mph (2 40 km/h) al
z above 149 mph (240 km/h)al
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)al
y up to 1 86 mph (300 km/h)al
a) For tir es ab ove 149 mph (2 40 km/h),
t ir e man ufact ure rs sometimes use the
co de "Z R".
(j) US DOT number (TIN) and
manufacture date
The m anufac ture date i s listed on
the tire sidewall (it ma y only ap­
pear on the inner side of the tire):
DOT ... 2216 ...
means, for example , that the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of
the year 2016.
@ Audi Original Tires
Audi Original equipment tire s
with the de signation "AO" ha ve
been specially matched to your
Audi. When used correctl y, these
tires meet the high est standards
for safety and handling. An au­
thorized Audi dealer o r author­
ized Audi Ser vice Fa cilit y will be
a ble to pr ovide you with more in-
formation . ""
211

Bead separa tion
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom­
mended by the vehicle manufac­
turer for a tire of a designated size that has not been driven for
more than a couple of miles (kilo­
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the tire
pressure is measured or adjusted .
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve­
hicle with standard equipment in­
cluding the maximum capac ity of
fuel, oi l, and coolant, a ir condi­
tioning and add itional weight of
optional equipment.
E xtra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in ­
flation pressures than the corre­ sponding standard tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
~ "xl", "E XTRA LOAD" , or "RF" on .....
~ the sidewal l. ..... 0
s ..
Wheels
Gross Axle Weight Rating
(" GAWR")
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system, measured
at the tire -ground interfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(" GVWR ")
means the max imum total loaded
weight of the vehicle.
Groove
means the space between two ad­
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maxim um load that a
tire is rated to carry for a given in­
flat ion pressure . You may not f ind
this informat ion on all tires be ­
cause it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla­
tion pressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity we ight , and
(d) Production options we ight
2 13

Wheel s
Maximum (permissible)
inflation pressure
means the max imum cold infla­
tion pressure to which a t ire may
be inflated . Also called "maxi ­
mum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 k ilograms)
times the number of occupants seated in the vehicle up to the to­
tal seating capacity of your vehi­
cle .
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer d iameter
means the overall diamete r of an
inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance be­
tween the exteriors of the side ­
walls of an inflated tire , including
elevations due to labeling, deco­ rations, or protective bands or
ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
para llel cords.
2 14
Production options we ight
means the combined weight of
those installed regular product ion
options weighing over 5 lbs . (2 .3
kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not pre­
viously considered in curb weight or accessory weight , including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rack, heavy duty battery, and
special trim.
Radial ply ti re
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply cords that extend to the beads are la id at substantially 90
degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ¢ page 213 , Cold tire infla­
tion pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in­
flation pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire . Rein ­
forced tires may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF"
on the sidewall. ...

a,
a,
..... N r-. N ..... 0
s ..
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated.
Rim di amet er
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
wheel 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 tire be­
tween the tread and bead.
Speed rating (letter code )
means the speed at wh ich a tire is
designed to be driven for extend­
ed periods of time . The ratings
range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ table
on page 211.
You may not find
this information on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the
Wheels
maximum permissible road
speeds
¢ A in Winter tires on
page 225.
T ire pressure mon itoring
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.
T read
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact with the road .
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass.
Treadwear indicators (TWI )
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visual indication of the degrees
of wear of the tread. See
¢ page 219, Treadwear indicator
for more information on measur­
ing tire wear .
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system devel­
oped by the United States Nation­
a l Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make relative
215
..

Wheels
comparisons among tires. The
UTQG is not a safety rating and not a guarantee that a tire will
last for a prescribed number of
miles (kilometers) or perform in a
certain way. It simply gives tire
buyers additional information to
combine with other considera ­
tions, such as price, brand loyalty
and dealer recommendations. Un ­
der UTQG, tires are graded by the
tire manufacturers in three areas:
treadwear, traction, and tempera ­
ture resistance. The UTQG i nfor­
mation on the tires, molded into
the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number".
It begins with the letters "DOT"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal standards. The nex t
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant where it was manufac­
tured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year of
manufacture. For example,
DOT ... 2216 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd wee k of 2016. The
other numbers are marketing co­
des that may or may not be used
2 16
by the t ire manufacturer . This in­
formation is used to contact con­
sumers if a tire defect requ ires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug­
gage load pl us 150 lbs. (68 k ilo ­
grams) times the vehicle's desig­ na ted seating capacity .
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by distrib ­
uting to each axle its sha re of the
maximum loaded vehic le we ight
and dividing
by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by d istrib­
ut ing to each axle its share of the
curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupan t weight (dis­
tr ibuted in accordance with ¢
ta­
ble on page 222) and dividing by
two.
Occupant loading and distri­ bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating capacities
Refer to the tire inflation p res -
sure label¢
page 220, fig. 191 .,.

a,
a,
..... N ,.__ N ..... 0
s ..
for the number of seating posi­
tions. Refer to the table ¢
table
on page 222
for the number of
people that correspond to the ve­
hicle normal load.
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work on tires or wheels performed by
an author ized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility.
These facilities have the proper
knowledge and are equipped with
the required tools and replace­
ment parts.
.,.New tires do not yet have the
optimum gripping properties. Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 miles
(500 km) with new tires.
.,.Use tires of the same construc­
tion, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread
pattern as possible on all four
wheels.
.,.Do not replace tires individually .
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time.
.,.Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original Tires. If you would
like to use different tires, please
note that the tires may perform
Wheels
differently even if they are the
same size¢.&,. .
.,. 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¢ .&,..
The spare tire* is different from
the regular tires installed on the
vehicle -for example, if winter
tires or wide tires are installed -
so only use the spare tire* tempo­
rarily in case of emergency and
drive carefully while it is in use . It
should be replaced with a regular
tire as soon as possible.
Applies to: vehicles with all whee l dr ive
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 damaged by
different tire speeds. For this rea­
son, in case of emergency, only
use a spare tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular
tires. ,..
217

Wheels
&,. 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.
-Do not use run-flat tires on
your vehicle. Using them when
218
not permitted can lead to ve­
hicle damage or accidents.
-If you install wheel covers on the vehicle, make sure they al­low enough air circulation to
cool the brake system. If they do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 189 Tire profile: treadwear indica­
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
-Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Dr iving quickly through curves,
rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear.
-Have an authorized Audi dealer
or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty chec k the wheel alignment if
there is unusual wear.
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an imbalance is causing noticeable
i.

a,
a,
.... N
vibration in the steering wheel. If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more quickly.
Treadwear indicator
The original tires on your vehicle
have 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high
"wear indicators"¢
fig. 189 run­
ning across the tread. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for example
"TWI" or other symbols) indicate
the positions of the tread wear in­
dicators .
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 ¢A.
Tire rotation
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-
~ l) Obey any applicable regulations in your 0
§ country.
Wheels
ing to the running direction indi­
cated on the tire sidewall
¢ page 241 .
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.
A WARNING
Tread that has worn too low or
different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
This can especially have a nega­
tive effect on handling, on the risk aquaplaning when driving
through water, when driving
through curves and when brak­
ing, which increases the risk of
an accident.
219

Wheels
Tire pressure
Fig. 190 Driver's side 8-pillar: tire pres ­
sure label
io
-
i' 9 ~ c=-=_-_,_, ---- ... - .- -- .- -- .-~ t='I-- ----_ l i
_NOlall!:Ol,ua.s fOTAL AYA>lf .t.MICftf I/~ n,.....,...__ ........ .,._... ..... ._....,. .... ... l ..................... ......,....,..,.......,.... ... - ..
1W IIZE cou, tW. l"flCSIUIIE. PNEU ~ """'°"' OU "CU$ A ffllOII>
-KP a PSI
- KPA.
a PSI J
l== ==== ·= KP='A. =· = PSl =~ ~~~
Fig. 191 Tir e pr essur e lab el
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 B­
pillar ¢
fig. 190, ¢ fig. 191.
Use the tire pressure specified for
a normal vehicle load when the
vehicle is partially loaded¢
table
on page 222.
If driving the vehi­
cle when fully loaded, you must increase the tire pressure to the
maximum specified pressure¢
_A.
220
Checking/correcting tire
pressure
,..Check the tire pressure at least
once per month and also check it
before every long drive .
.,..Always check the tire pressure
when the tires are
cold. Do not
reduce the pressure if it increas­
es when the tires are warm.
.,.Check the labe l¢
fig. 191 for
the correct tire pressure based
on vehicle load.
.,..Correct the tire pressure if nec­
essary .
.,..Store the new tire pressure in
the Infotainment system
¢ page 230 .
.,.Check the pressure in the emer­
gency tire* /spare tire*. A lways
maintain the maximum temper­
ature that is specified for the
tire.
A WARNING
Always adapt the t ire 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 in ¢
page 223,
Tires and vehicle load limits.

-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
negative effect on driving and
braking behavior, which in­
creases the risk of an accident .
(D Note
Replace lost valve caps to re­
duce the risk of damage to the
tire valves.
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
! ¢ page 220, fig. 190. N r-. N ..... 0
s ..
Wheels
'® For the sake of the environment
Tire pressure that is too low in­
creases fuel consumption .
Audi recommends using the
tire pressure specified for a normal load
¢ table on
page 222
or for a full load
when the vehicle is partially loaded.
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 . ..
221