wheel alignment AUDI A7 2014 Owners Manual

254 Tires and wheels
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed .
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the vehi­
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
For details see
~page 201.
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of"hydroplaning" and loss of control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds . Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 204 Tire specificat ion codes on the s idewall of a
tire
No. Description
@ Nominal w idth of tire in millimeters
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® L oad index and speed rating
(J) U.S . DOT tire identification number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and materials
used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle 's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac­
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major .,..

264 What do I do now?
What do I do now?
Emergency warning
triangle
App lies to vehicles: with emerge ncy warning triangle
The warning triangle is located on the inside
of the trunk lid .
-
"' M ~ 0 6
~ ~
Fig. 207 Tr unk lid: Warning triang le
.,. To open the cover , turn the locking mecha­
nism and pull the cover downward .
" m
.,. Remov e the warning triang le from its hold­
er.
The rear lid is only designed to hold the warn ­
ing triangle offered by the original accessories
program. If you would like to retrofit your ve­
hicle with a warning triangle, p lease contact
your authorized Audi dealer.
Vehicle tool kit
Vehicle tool kit and jack
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover.
Fig. 208 Lu ggage compartme nt: cargo floor cover
folded upward/spa re t ire
Fig. 209 Trunk lid: Veh icle tool kit
.,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle .
.,. Turn the handwheel counter-clockwise
~ fig. 208 and remove the spare t ire to
reach the vehicle tool kit.
The onboard tool k it includes:
- Hooks to remove the wheel covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
-Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Towing loop
-Jack
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as far as it will go.
A WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious pe rsonal injuries.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident .
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir­
cumstances sho uld it be used to
lift
heavy veh icles or other loads; you risk in­
juring yo urself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, which could cause an accident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro­
p riate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potential risk for injury. .,.

2 70 What do I do now ?
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
Fig. 216 Changing a whee l: u sing the screwdriver han­
dle (w ith th e blade removed} to turn the bolts
Fig. 2 17 Changing a w hee l: a lignm en t pi n ins ide t he
top hole
Afte r you have loosened a ll wheel bolts and
r a ised the veh icle off the ground, remove a nd
replace the wheel as follows:
Removing the wheel
.. Use the hexagonal soc ket in th e screwdriv­
er handl e
to complete ly remove the top­
most wheel bo lt and set it as ide on a
clean
s ur face qfig. 216 .
.. Screw the threaded end o f the alignment
pin
from the tool k it hand -tight into the
empty bolt hole
q fig. 217.
.. Then remove the other wheel bo lts as de­
scribed above .
.. Take off the wheel leav ing the alignment pin
in the bolt hole
c:> (D .
Putting on the spare whe el
.. Lift the spare wheel and ca refully slide it
over the a lignment pin to guide it in place
c:> Q).
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten all whee l
bolts
slightly.
.. Remove the a lignment pi n and insert and
tighten the remaining wheel bolt slightly
like the rest .
.. Tu rn the jack hand le counter-clockwise to
lower the veh icle until the jack is fully re­
leased .
.. Use the wheel bo lt wrench to tighten all
wheel bo lts f irm ly
q page 268 . Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap ­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel centered.
(D Note
When remov ing or installing the whee l,
the rim cou ld hit the b rake roto r and dam­
age the roto r. Work carefu lly and have a
second person help you .
(D Tips
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han­
d le of the screwdriver to loosen or tighten
the wheel bolts.
- Pull the reversible blade from the screw ­
dr iver before you use the hexagonal
socket in the hand le to turn the w heel
bolts .
- When mount ing tires w ith
unidirectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat­
t er n is po inted t he righ t way
~page 271.
-The wheel bolts shou ld be clean and easy
t o t urn . Check for dirt an d co rrosion on
the mat ing surfaces of both the w heel
an d t he hub . Remove all d irt from these
s urfa ce s be for e remou nting the whee l.